Robert Walker - Darkest Instinct

“ From what Judy tells me, no. Cynthia’s in worse shape over this thing than Judy, and she’s been unable even to speak to Judy about it.”

“ Sounds like her level of intoxication that night may’ve been way over the limit. Just the same…”

“ If Quince and Samernow can come up with the other witness-and near victim as he tells it-she could be a much more reliable source. If their stories match, then they’re both credible. Let’s give it time.”

Santiva nodded and made for the door while Jessica retrieved the taped session which had come to mean so much to them all. On the way downstairs in the elevator, Eriq asked Jessica, “How much store do you think we can put in Templar’s testimony?”

“ My gut reaction?”

He nodded.

“ A great deal. I think she’s sincere and very observant.”

“ What she said about the ropes hanging over the bow…” he mused, letting the words linger in the air between them. “If those damned reporters had been kept back, no- body’d have learned about the black nylon rope we took off the bodies today. As it is… well, she told me that what got her to return to us-to authorities-in the first place was the report of the black nylon ropes used in the murders. It’s not as if she’s trying to put one over. I think the news about the ropes triggered a lot of pent-up guilt in her.”

“ And Dr. LeMonte? She believes the girl is telling the truth?”

“ She says she hasn’t a doubt.”

They stepped off the elevator and located the Police Sketch Artist sector of the MPD, where Judy Templar sat before a man who kept asking her question after question about noses, eyes, ears, chins, cheeks, temples, foreheads, facial hair, hairlines and hair in general. Donna LeMonte stood nearby, offering encouragement.

Jessica took Donna’s hand in hers; they’d become the closest of friends over the years, Jessica respecting the hard- edged, tough-talking Dr. LeMonte not only for her professional acumen but for her personal triumphs. She had herself weathered many horrid hardships to overcome problems in life, the most awful being the loss of her child to leukemia and the subsequent divorce from her husband, stemming from the dissolution of her family due to the dreadful disease. She started over late in life, returned to college, finished and went on to graduate study in medicine and psychiatry to become the best head doctor Jessica had ever known.

They exchanged warm regards now, Santiva noticing the warmth and closeness in the firm hand-holding they shared. Jessica next introduced Eriq to Dr. LeMonte, whom he had heard of but whom he had never met. Dr. LeMonte didn’t work for the FBI, but she had counseled many of its agents over the years. She appeared ten, maybe twelve years Jessica’s senior, but she was a strikingly handsome woman.

“ You may’ve worked a minor miracle here, Doctor,” Eriq confided. “It may be the first break we’ve had in this case.”

“ And hopefully, it will lead us to this demon,” agreed Jessica.

“ I’m happy that it has worked out so well, happy to’ve done what I can,” she whispered back, “but I don’t think I’m finished just yet. Judy here”-she intentionally raised her voice so that Judy could hear-”she’s not doing so well on the specifics, but I think she’s agreed to another round of hypnosis, with an eye to details, facial and otherwise, of our mysterious Patric without the K. Haven’t you, dear?”

Judy bit her lip and reached out to take Jessica’s hand now, saying, “I’m trying my best, but it’s just no good.”

“ Do you feel up to another hypnosis session with Dr. LeMonte, Judy?”

“ I’m tired, but… okay, I guess.”

“ Good… then we’ll set it up.”

“ We’ll do it right here, right now,” countered Donna LeMonte, “while we’ve got this young man here to draw from your words, Judy.” Judy and the young officer with the sketch pad exchanged a long, meaningful look that ended in smiles. Jessica realized that a flirtation was in full swing. Maybe something good could come of this nightmare Judy was reliving time and again.

Donna had Judy under in a matter of seconds. She asked her to revisit the night of Tammy’s disappearance, to go back to the wharf where she stood beside Todd Simon (who had already been interrogated, found lacking in information and released) and to stare out across the water at the boat and the man holding Tammy in his arms. She next asked her to return to her table when Patric was sitting across from her and whispering in Tammy’s ear.

“ Tell me now, Judy,” began Donna. “What does his hair look like?”

“ Raven-black, near blue; he may’ve used a gel. It was slicked back, wavy.”

The artist began sketching on a new pad, listening intently now.

“ His forehead, it was like… like…,” Donna encouraged.

‘ ‘ Covered with a shock of hair on the right, but large on the left.”

“ Clear-skinned or blemished?”

“ Blemished a bit, like a large freckle or maybe a birthmark where the hair lay over the forehead. It was the only imperfect thing about him.”

“ Anything special about his eyes?”

“ Oh, was there! They were so blue, I wondered if they were real or contacts.”

“ Eyebrows?”

“ Thick but not bushy, perfectly arched.”

“ Anything else?”

“ Set deep in, below the brow.”

“ And his ears?”

“ His hair lay over them, but what I could see of them… well, they were well-proportioned, not too large, but not small either.”

The sketch artist worked furiously now to keep up with Judy and Dr. LeMonte, working next on cheeks, nose and lips, in that order, Dr. LeMonte asking if he smiled a lot or remained aloof. Whether he spoke often or only when spoken to.

“ He spoke mostly to Tammy, in whispers, licking at her ear, the bastard.”

“ How tall was he, Judy? Judy?”

“ Not terribly, maybe five-eleven, six foot.”

“ Weight?”

“ I don’t know.”

“ Estimate it; your best guess, Judy.”

“ One seventy or seventy-five, maybe.” Soon the team had a sketch, which held Jessica’s rapt attention as she stared into deepening, glinting eyes that seemed to be alive on the paper. After a moment, the sketch was placed on the table and turned away until Judy was brought from her trance and asked if she was ready to look at what Brent Conway, the artist, had created.

“ I… I think so,” she confided, steeling herself as Officer Conway reached out to lift up the picture.

The effect made her nearly jump from her seat. “Ahhh, God, it’s-it’s him,” she swore. “My God, it’s him.”

“ Excellent,” said Eriq, raising a fist in a show of victory. “Excellent work.”

“ I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes,” confessed Conway.

“ Me neither,” said Samernow from behind them. He’d obviously stepped into the room earlier. His hands were full with a file folder, some loose envelopes and a cigarette.

“ I’ve got the information on the other possible witness. She said in her interview the guy had an accent, possibly British, and that he used the name Patric Allain. Says his boat had a name on it with a T figuring prominently, but she wasn’t sure of the complete name.”

“ Startling cross-references, Detective,” said Jessica, taking the paperwork from him.

“ Was Quincey able to locate the girl?” asked Eriq.

“ We’ve got relatives we’re checking. We’ll locate her. Meanwhile, you’ve got everything we have on her.” He indicated the file now in Jessica’s possession.

“ I’ll see to it the information gets keyed into the computer; see what other kinds of matchups and cross- references we get, if any,” Jessica replied to this. She then turned to Judy Templar and asked, “Does that name, Allain, ring any bells with you, Judy?”