Кей Хупер - Hiding in the Shadows

"What else did you dream?" Richardson asked, with none of the skepticism she'd expected.

"Tell him," Bishop instructed.

So she did, relating as many details of the flashes and dreams as she could recall, including the dog attack. But she didn't mention the voice in her head, which had probably just been her subconscious anyway ...

Richardson looked more grim than before. "So you and Dinah were investigating something on your own, and whatever it was got her killed."

Holding her voice steady, Faith said, "That's what we think. Unfortunately, I can't remember whatever it was. And all I really got from these... these flashes of mine was that whoever had Dinah wanted something they thought she — or we — had."

Then she added, "I think I took whatever it is, but I have no idea what I did with it even where I found it. But it must be important, because they... they tortured Dinah trying to make her tell them where it was."

Kane moved almost convulsively but didn't turn.

Bishop, his gaze on his friend, said to Richardson, "All this has to tie together. Did you find out anything about who took a shot at Faith night before last?"

Was it only then, only night before last? Faith felt as though years had passed.

"The apartment directly across from here is vacant. The door was found unlocked, and there were indications that someone had been using the place at least for a few hours. From that balcony, it would have been a fairly easy shot, even in a storm. Whether they aimed at a lighted window or actually at Faith, I can't say for certain."

"Isn't that supposed to be a security building?"

"Supposed to be. You'd never know it, though. The fire door on the ground floor was unlocked. In fact, the wind from the storm had practically blown it off its hinges. As far as I can tell, anybody could have gotten inside and up to that apartment." Richardson sighed heavily. "And I figure we've got about another hour before the news breaks that Dinah's body was found. We sealed up the scene fairly well, but there were news crews on to it about the time I left. It'll make the noon news, I'd say."

"And we'll have a media circus," Bishop said.

"Bound to." The detective looked at Kane. "That million-dollar bounty caught their interest, and now that there's no chance of earning it..."

Kane turned from the window with more animation than he'd yet shown.

"There's every chance of earning it. I'll pay every dime to anyone who points the way to the men who held Dinah captive." His voice was sharp.

Richardson frowned. "I hope you don't mean to word the announcement that way, Kane. You can't reward someone for just pointing the way. They have to provide concrete evidence we can use in court."

"Evidence leading to the arrest and conviction," Bishop murmured.

"It's my money," Kane said. "I'll promise it to anyone I goddamn please."

Very polite now, Richardson said, "That could be construed as reckless endangerment. These bastards have shown all too clearly they'll do their best to remove anyone who gets in their way. Would you put someone else in the line of fire, Kane?"

Kane didn't reply, and the hard expression on his face didn't change. He said again, "I want to see Dinah. "

"That isn't a good idea."

"I want to see her."

"Kane..."

"Are you going to take me down there, or do I have to call the chief of police?"

Richardson glanced at Bishop, but the agent showed no inclination to protest what was such an obviously bad idea. The detective sighed again.

"Okay, okay, I'll take you. Grab a jacket and we'll go now, before the media camps out on your doorstep."

Kane left the room.

Richardson glared at Bishop. "You were a lot of help."

"He needs to see her."

"Bishop, do you have any idea what she looks like?"

The agent nodded, his expression bleak. "A pretty good idea, yeah. But he needs to see her."

"Shit. Look, call down to the morgue and tell Conners we're on our way. Tell him to... to do what he can to make her look human."

Faith was numb, but not even that could protect her from the horrible image of Dinah's damaged body. A sound of pain escaped her, and she closed her eyes for a moment.

Richardson seemed about to apologize, then threw up his hands and went to meet Kane by the front door.

Kane didn't say goodbye.

After the door closed behind them, the silence stretched for several minutes, then Faith said, "Why didn't you stop him? You could have if you'd tried. Why didn't you?"

Bishop's face was set, the scar down his cheek white and angry looking.

"You heard me. He needs to see her."

"Why? Why does he have to have that horrible memory of her forever?"

"Because her death won't be real to him until he sees her lying lifeless and mangled on a slab," Bishop answered, the words brutal but his voice very soft. "The first stage of grief is denial. Until he gets past that, he can't go on."

Part of Faith understood, but another part wanted to spare Kane. She nodded and tried to think about something else. "Were you nearby when Richardson called you? I didn't think you'd come back to Atlanta yet.

"I hadn't. I was in Tennessee."

When he didn't explain, Faith said, "I guess you caught a fast plane."

"Fast enough."

Faith gave up. "Look, I... I need to go to Haven House. They knew Dinah.They should hear about it from someone before they see it on the news.But I promised Kane I wouldn't go anywhere unescorted, especially after the shooting. Tim, would you..."

"Of course," the private investigator answered.

She looked at Bishop. "When Kane gets back ... I don't think he should be here alone. Do you?"

"No more than he already is," Bishop said bleakly.

Unlike several of the adults in the shelter, Katie didn't cry when Faith told her about Dinah. Instead, the solemn little girl retreated to the music room and began picking her way through one of the songs Faith had brought her to learn.

"Will she be all right?" Faith asked Karen.

"I don't know," the director said wearily. "She wasn't in great shape before, especially since she saw her bastard of a father take a baseball bat to her mother. He was crazy enough this time to go after Andrea in a mall, of all places, so at least he's locked up, but Katie saw more than ever before and she's been awfully quiet since then."

Karen frowned. "She talked more to you when you were here Sunday than she has to anybody else since it happened."

Faith had intended to stay only long enough to break the news about Dinah; she was worried about Kane and wanted to get back to his apartment. But now she was worried about Katie as well and couldn't leave without trying to make sure the little girl was all right.

"Hey, kiddo." She sat down on the bench beside Katie. "Do you like the new music?"

Katie nodded and looked up at Faith gravely. "You didn't forget. Thank you."

"Of course I didn't forget." Faith hesitated. "I thought you might want to talk about Dinah."

"Why? She's dead, that's what you told us."

Faith wasn't deceived by the callous words; she had seen Katie's bottom lip quiver.

"When people die," she said carefully, "we keep them alive inside us. By thinking about them. Talking about them. I just wanted you to know it's okay to do that. You can talk to Karen, and you can talk to me."

Katie looked down at the piano as she picked out the first few notes of "Beautiful Dreamer". After a moment, she said, "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course you can, kiddo."

"Can you an you talk to Dinah now? In your head, the way you used to could?"

Out of the mouths of babes.

Oh, God, can I? Can I talk to her?

"No," Faith said, "not that way." It was true? If nothing else was true, at least it was true that nothing was the way it had been before .