High Noon
Chapter 9
With one ear cocked toward Phoebe's room, Essie carefully folded the white-on-white bedspread with its stylized pattern of lovebirds. The intricate stitching had kept her mind calm, as it tended to.
She often thought that being productive-and creative with it, if she could brag a bit-held a firm rein on her mind and refused to allow it to wander into those places where panic waited.
It was good work, she could think that, and the bride who received it as a wedding gift would have something unique and special, something that could be passed on for generations.
She arranged the dark silver tissue. Even that, the fussing with the finished product, the meticulous packaging of it, helped keep her hands busy and her mind steady.
Because she didn't want to be afraid every time Phoebe went out of the house, didn't want to whittle her family's world down to walls, as she'd whittled her own. She couldn't allow herself to let that fear in, to let it take over. It snuck up, she knew, inch by inch, stealing little spaces, little movements.
First it might set your heart thumping, it might shut your lungs down in the grocery store, right there in Produce while you're surrounded by tomatoes and snap beans and romaine lettuce with Muzak playing "Moon River" until you want to scream.
Until you had to run, just leave your cart there, half full of groceries, and run.
It might be the dry cleaner's next, or the bank where the teller knew you by name and always asked about your children. It might sneak up then, dropping rock after rock after rock on your chest until you were buried alive.
Your ears ringing, the sweat pouring.
You let it win all those little spaces, all those little movements, until it had them all. Until it owned everything outside the walls.
She could still go out on the terraces, into the courtyard, but that was getting harder and harder. If it wasn't for Carly, Essie didn't think she could push herself even that far. The day was coming, she could feel it sliding closer, when she wouldn't be able to sit on the veranda and read a book with her precious little girl.
And who was to say she was wrong? Essie thought as she put the pretty oval sticker with her initials on the folded tissue to close it in place.
Terrible things happened in the world outside the walls. Hard, frightening and terrible things happened every minute of every day, on the streets and the sidewalks, at the market and the dry cleaner's.
Part of her wanted to pull her family inside those walls, lock the doors, bar the windows. Inside, she wished she could keep them inside, where everyone would be safe, where nothing terrible could happen to any of them, ever.
And she knew that was her illness whispering, trying to sneak in a little closer.
She lay the card that detailed instructions for the care of the lovebird spread, then closed the bright silver box.
While she gift-wrapped the box as the customer had ordered, she was calmer. Her gaze strayed to the windows now and then, but that was just a check, just a peek at what might be out there. She was pleased it was raining. She loved rainy days when it seemed so cozy and snug and right to be inside the house, all tucked in like the lovebirds in the silver box.
By the time she had the gift cushioned in its shipping box, sealed and labeled, she was humming.
She carried it out, pausing to peek into Phoebe's room, and smiling when she saw her baby girl sleeping. Sleep and rest and quiet, that's what her baby needed to heal. When she woke from her nap, Essie decided she'd bring Phoebe up a tea tray, a nice little snack, and sit with her the way she had so many years ago when her daughter had been down with a cold or a touch of flu.
She was halfway down the steps with the big box when the doorbell rang. The jolt shot through her like a bullet, driving her right down, legs folding, heart slamming, to sit on the steps with her arms wrapped around the box as if it would shield her.
And she could have wept, could have dropped her head down on the box and wept at the instant and uncontrollable terror.
The door was locked, and could stay locked if she needed it to. No one in, no one out. All the pretty birds inside the silver box.
How could she explain to anyone, anyone, the grip of the sudden, strangling fear, the way it set the little white scar on her cheek throbbing like a fresh wound? But the bell would ring again if she didn't answer-hear that, it's ringing again. It would wake Phoebe, and she needed to sleep.
Who was going to protect her baby if she ran away and hid?
So she was not going to cower on the steps; she was not going to allow herself to fear opening the front door, even if she was unable to walk out of it.
She got up, made herself walk to the door, though she did continue to clutch the box in front of her. And the relief made her feel foolish, and a little ashamed, when she saw Duncan on the other side.
Such a nice boy, Essie thought as she took a moment, just one moment more, to get her breath back. A solid, well-mannered young man who'd carried her hurt baby girl up to bed.
There was nothing to be afraid of.
Shifting the box, Essie unlocked the door and beamed a smile.
"Duncan! How nice of you to come by. Look at you, all that rain and no umbrella! Come in the house."
"Let me take that for you."
"No, that's all right. I'm just going to set it down here." She turned as she did, hoped he couldn't see her hands still shaking. "I've got a pickup scheduled for it. How about some coffee?"
"Don't trouble. Hey." He took her hands, so she knew he had seen. "Are you all right?"
"I'm a little on edge, that's all. Foolish."
"Not foolish at all, not after what happened. I've been jumpy myself." No, Essie thought, no, he hadn't. He wasn't the type to jolt at sounds and shadows. But it was sweet of him to say otherwise. "Don't tell Phoebe I said so, but it calms my nerves having a big, strong man in the house."
"Someone else here?" he said and made her laugh. "Secret's safe. I just stopped by to see how the patient's doing."
"She had a restless night." Essie took his arm, steered him into the parlor. "But she's sleeping now. Sit down and keep me company, won't you? Ava's at the flower shop. She works there a couple, three days a week when they can use her. My daughter-in-law's going to come by later. Josie's a nurse, a private-duty nurse. She took a look at Phoebe yesterday, and she's going to stop in later, with Carter, after his classes. And you know why I'm talking so much?"
"Are you?"
"Duncan, I'm so embarrassed by the way I acted yesterday."
"You shouldn't be. You had a shock."
"And I didn't handle it well."
"Essie, you ought to give yourself a break." He saw surprise cross over her face, as if she'd never thought of any such thing. "What've you been up to today?"
"Keeping busy, pestering Phoebe with food on trays until I imagine she wants to knock me over the head with them. I finished a project and made half a dozen lists I don't need."
Little tickled his interest more than the word project. Duncan stretched out his legs, prepared for a cozy chat. "What's the project?"
"Oh, I do needlework." Essie waved a hand toward the foyer, where the shipping box waited for pickup. "Finished up a bedspread-wedding gift-last night."
"Who's getting married?"
"Oh, a sometime customer of mine's goddaughter. I sell some of my pieces locally and over the Internet here and there."
"No kidding?" Enterprising projects doubled the interest. "You've got a cottage industry?"
"More like a sitting-room interest," she said with a laugh. "It's just a way to pay for my hobby, earn a little pin money."
While he sat, at ease, his mind calculated: handmade. Customized. One of a kind. "What kind of needlework?"
"I crochet. My mother taught me, her mother taught her. It was a keen disappointment I could never get Phoebe to sit still long enough to teach her. But Carly's getting a hand at it."
He scanned the room, homed in on the deep blue throw with its pattern of showy pink cabbage roses. Rising, he moved over to pick up an edge, study it.
Oh yeah, add in intricate and unique. "Is this your work?"
"It is."
"It's nice. It's really nice. Looks like something maybe your grandma made over lots of quiet nights, then passed down to you."
Pleasure shone like sunshine on Essie's face. "Why, isn't that the best of compliments?"
"So, what, do you make specific pieces from, like, what, patterns, or tailor to clients?"
"Oh, it depends. Why don't I get you that coffee?"
"I've got to head out in a minute. Have you ever thought of... Hey." It was the way his face lit up that had Essie pursing her lips, even before she turned and saw Phoebe in the parlor doorway.
"Now, what are you doing up and coming downstairs by yourself?" In full scold, Essie hurried over to her daughter's side. "Didn't I put that bell right on your nightstand so you could ring if you wanted anything?"
"I needed to get out of that bed. I'm not going to lie there Cousin Bessing it all damn day."
Duncan saw the look, the quick flash of maternal disapproval before Essie turned back to him. "You'll have to excuse her, Duncan. Feeling poorly brings out the sass in her. I'll go make us that coffee."
"Mama." Phoebe brushed a hand over Essie's arm. "Sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you."
"You get a pass on that, due to being hurt. Talk to Duncan awhile. He's come out on this rainy day just to see how you're feeling." Phoebe only frowned at him as her mother left the room. "Yes, I know I look worse than I did yesterday."
"Then I don't have to mention it. Do you feel worse?"
"Some parts of me do. Including my temper." She glanced back toward the foyer, sighed. "Being fussed over makes me irritable."
"I'll try to restrain myself, then. And I should probably take these back." He picked up the shopping bag he'd brought in. "As it hits on two points-not wanting to lie around, and being fussed over. I assume bringing by a gift is fussing."
"Depends on the gift. Oh, sit down, Duncan. I'm irritating myself with my bad mood."
"I really have to go. I have a couple of things." He held up the bag, shook it lightly. "You want?"
"How do I know when I don't know what's in it?" She limped her way over, peered into the bag. "DVDs? God, there must be two dozen."
"I like to read or watch movies when I'm laid up. And I thought reading might be tough with the bum wing, so I went for movies.
Chick flicks. I lean toward the oeuvre of The Three Stooges, but figured it would be wasted around here."
"You figured correctly."
"I don't know if you go for that type or if you like slasher films or watching stuff blow up, but I figured in a household of four women, this was the best bet."
"I like chick flicks, and slasher films and watching things blow up." Intrigued, she poked in the bag. "Since when is The Blues Brothers a chick flick?"
"It's not, I just happen to like it. It's the only one I picked out, actually. Marcie at the video store handled the rest. She assured me that they're all appropriate for a kid Carly's age, unless her mother's a real tight-ass. She didn't say tight-ass," he added, when Phoebe narrowed her eyes at him. "I inferred."
"It's very thoughtful of you. And Marcie. And when these help stave off screaming boredom, I'll think of you."
"That's the plan. I have to go. Tell your mother I said goodbye." He touched his lips to her forehead beside the bandages. "Take a dose of Jake and Elwood and call me in the morning."
"If I don't walk you to the door, I'll have to lie to my mother and say I did." She set the bag down to lead him out. "I appreciate the movies, and everything else you did-and didn't do. Such as comment on my bed hair and foul disposition."
"Good. Then when you're feeling up to it, you can pay me back and have dinner with me again."
"Are you bribing me with DVDs?"
"Sure. But I think my discretion over hair and mood earns even more points." Since it pleased him to see her lips curve up in a quick smile, he lowered his for a little taste. "I'll see you later."
He opened the door just as a woman jogged up the steps. "Hey," he said.
"Hey back. Lieutenant."
"Detective. Detective Liz Alberta, Duncan Swift."
"Oh yeah, we spoke on the phone." He held out a hand. "Nice to meet you, and I'll get out of your way. Talk to you later, Phoebe." Liz turned, studied Duncan as he dashed out and through the rain.
As she lowered her umbrella she raised her eyebrows at Phoebe. "Nice." The tone, the look, told Phoebe that Liz referred to the exit view. "Oh yeah, it certainly is. Come in out of the wet."
"Thanks. I didn't think I'd find you up and around today."
"If I don't get back to work soon, I'm going to go straight out of my mind." She took Liz's umbrella, slid it into the porcelain umbrella stand.
"Bad patient?"
"The worst. Are you here for a follow-up?"
"If you can handle it."
"I can." Phoebe gestured toward the parlor. "Anything I should know?"
"Your weapon hasn't been recovered, but I did bring you this." She pulled an evidence bag out of her satchel. Inside was Phoebe's badge. "It was found at the base of the stairs, where we assume your attacker tossed it. No prints but yours."
"He wore gloves," Phoebe murmured. "Yes, so you said."
Her badge would have been hooked to the waistband of her skirt, Phoebe thought. He'd cut her skirt to pieces, shoved his hand up under what he'd left of it to... She shook her head. No point, none, in putting herself back there. "Sorry. Please, sit down."
"How's the shoulder?"
"I tell myself it could be worse. It could. It could all be worse." "Lieutenant-"
"Just make it Phoebe. This may be an official follow-up, but we're not in the house."
"Okay, Phoebe. You and I both know that sometimes the emotional injuries take a lot longer to heal than the physical ones."
Knowing and experiencing were two different things. "I'm working on that."
"All right."
"He set me up. Arnie Meeks set me up and he took me down." Before Liz could respond, Essie wheeled in a cart. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you had other company. Duncan?"
"He had to go. Mama, this is Detective Alberta. My mother, Essie MacNamara."
"You took care of my daughter when she was hurt yesterday. Thank you."
"You're welcome. It's good to meet you, Mrs. MacNamara."
"I hope you'll have coffee, and some of this cake." Essie set cups, saucers, plates on the coffee table as she spoke. "I just have a few things to see to in the kitchen." She lifted the tray holding the pot, the creamer, the sugar. "Y'all just let me know if you need anything else."
"Thank you, Mama."
"Detective Alberta, you don't mind pouring, do you?"
"No, ma'am." Falling in, Liz picked up the coffeepot, poured out the cups. She shot a glance over as Essie slipped out of the room. "I thought carts like that were just for movies and fancy hotels."
"Sometimes this house feels like a little of both. You're going to tell me that you're actively investigating, but don't have any solid evidence implicating Officer Arnold Meeks at this time."
"I am, and I don't. I spoke with him. He was in the building and was smart enough not to deny it. He claims he was getting a few items out of his locker at the time of the attack."
"This was payback, Liz."
She looked out the window as her mother had earlier, but instead of being comforted by the rain, felt trapped by it. Trapped inside when there were things to do.
"I've bumped up against a few other cops, that's just the way it is.
But no one recently, and never anyone to the extent Meeks and I rammed heads. I slapped him back, I suspended him, I recommended a psych eval. He wanted to kick my ass then and there, and in fact considered drawing on me. I saw it in his eyes, in his body language. As did
Sykes, who interrupted for that reason."
"Yeah, I spoke with Detective Sykes, and he concurs that he sensed trouble from Meeks that day in your office. 'Sensed' isn't going to be enough. I've got nothing that places him in that stairway. In the building, yes, with a grudge against you, yes. He's called in his delegate, and he's got his father's considerable weight behind him. If you can give me more, if you remember anything, any detail."
"I gave you everything."
"Let's go over it again. Not just from the attack, but from when you left the house that morning."
Phoebe knew how it worked. Every repetition of the story could add another detail, and another detail might turn the investigation.
She went through it. Heading out to catch the bus as her car was in for repairs. She'd borrowed the MP3 player Ava liked to use when she gardened, and had tried to convince herself the bus was more relaxing, maybe more efficient than driving herself.
She detoured for coffee before taking the to-go cup into work.
"Did you notice anything? Anyone? Get the sense you were followed?"
"No. I can't say I wasn't. I wasn't tuned for that, but I didn't have any sense of it either. I went straight up to my office, started paperwork." She went through it, the officers and detectives she'd spoken with, the movements. Routine, routine, routine, she thought. Just another Monday morning.
"After my conversation with the captain, I started down."
"You always take the stairs."
"Yes. It's habitual."
"Did you stop, talk to anyone?"
"No... Yes. I stopped by my PAA's desk to tell her I was going down to the session. Wait." Phoebe set down her coffee, sat back, closed her eyes. She pulled it back into her head, the running image of herself striding out of her office, across the squad room.
"She held me up there for a minute, asked me some questions, nothing necessary-especially since she'd know I was running close to the clock. I didn't think anything about it at the time, except for being a little annoyed because I was cutting it close, and because she already knew-or should have-that I had the session waiting on me."
"Who's your PAA?" Liz asked as she pulled out her notebook.
"Annie Utz. I've only had her a few months. She stalled me." As she thought back, tried to bring it into focus, Phoebe closed her eyes. "I think she was stalling me, just a minute or two. Then she said something about how I'd be taking the stairs down, like always."
Phoebe opened her eyes, and now they were fierce with fury. "She was signaling him, by radio or phone. Son of a bitch, she was letting him know I was on my way."
"Do you know if Arnie Meeks and your PAA have a personal relationship?"
"No. She's new, like I said, only a couple of months on the desk. Sharp-looking, single, friendly. Maybe a little on the flirty side, but nothing over the line. She was nervous, a little nervous yesterday. I was in a hurry so I didn't pay attention. I didn't think of her, of that quick conversation again until now."
"I'll talk to her."
"No. No, we will. I'm going in with you."
"Lieutenant. Phoebe-"
"Put yourself in my place."
Liz drew a deep breath. "Do you need any help getting dressed?" Phoebe was struggling, sweating and cursing her way into a shirt when Essie steamed into the room. "Just what do you think you're doing?"
"Trying to get into this goddamn shirt. I have to go with Detective Alberta."
"You're not to go anywhere but back to bed, Phoebe Katherine MacNamara."
"I should be back within an hour."
"Don't make me drag your stubborn self into that bed, Phoebe."
"Mama, for God's sake." Frustrated and starting to ache again, Phoebe dropped her arm. "Will you help me button this stupid shirt?"
"No. I said you're not going anywhere."
"And I said I am. There's a lead on my case, and I-"
"You are not a case. You're my child."
Out of breath, Phoebe cradled her bad arm. And through her own anger and annoyance saw the warning glints of panic in her mother's eyes. "Mama... All right, let's both calm down."
"I'll calm down when you get your beat-up self back into bed where you belong." Marching over, Essie flung back the bedclothes. "Right this minute! I'm not-"
"Mama, listen to me. My arm will heal, the rest of me will heal on the outside. We know how it is on the inside though, you and me. We know. So you understand when I tell you I'm not going to heal until the person who did this to me is held accountable."
"There are other people who can see that he's held accountable."
"I know you feel that way. I know you have to. Understand that I feel this way. That I have to. I can't live afraid, Mama, I just can't."
"That's not what I want, that's not what I'm asking you."
"But I am afraid. And I close my eyes and I'm back in that stairwell."
"Oh, baby." Tears swam as Essie hurried over to stroke her daughter's face.
"Part of me's going to stay afraid, and I'm going to keep finding myself trapped in that stairwell, until I do this. Help me with this shirt. Please."
Though her eyes were damp, Essie studied Phoebe's face and saw clearly enough. "I don't want you to live the way I do. I don't want you to be afraid."
"I know that."
Slowly, her eyes on Phoebe's, Essie buttoned the shirt. "Do you have to go so far the other way?"
"I guess I do. I'm sorry."
"Phoebe." Gently, Essie eased Phoebe's arm back into the sling. Then she brushed at Phoebe's hair with her fingertips. "When you get back, you're going straight to bed."
"Yes, ma'am."
"And you're going to eat all the dinner I bring up to you."
"Every bite." Phoebe kissed Essie's cheek where the little white scar rode under carefully applied makeup. "Thank you."
When Phoebe came back into the parlor with Essie at her side, Liz looked from one to the other. "Ah... your PAA called in sick this morning. I have her home address."
"We'll try her there."
"Detective? I don't care if she does outrank you, you take good care of my baby girl-and see she gets home."
"I'll do that, Mrs. MacNamara. Thank you for the coffee." Liz waited until they were outside to open her umbrella, and to speak again. "I don't care if you do outrank me, I take the lead on this."
"No argument. Friendly, flirty and efficient, that's how I'd describe her. Mid-twenties. I think she likes being around cops-likes the buzz. Thanks," she added when Liz opened the car door for her. "How bad do I look?" Phoebe asked when Liz got behind the wheel.
"Not quite bad enough to scare small children."
"Let her see me first. My gut says he didn't tell her he was going to hurt me. Scare me, maybe, or just plead his case." Despite the rainy day, Phoebe slipped on her sunglasses. "But I don't think she'd have gone along if she knew he intended to hurt me. She calls in sick the day after. She's probably scared, guilty, wondering what happened. The way cop shops work, she's heard a few variations. She sees me first, she's already going to start cracking."
Annie looked sick when she opened the door to her apartment. Against the cotton-candy pink of her pajamas, her face was white and drawn. Her eyes popped wide when she saw Phoebe. Stumbling back, she stuttered out Phoebe's name.
"Annie Utz? I'm Detective Alberta. Can we come in?"
"I-I-"
"Thanks." Liz pushed the door all the way open so Phoebe could walk in ahead of her. In the background a couple of soap opera actors argued bitterly over someone named Jasmine.
"Lieutenant MacNamara needs to sit down. She's hurt pretty bad."
" I... I have a head cold. I'm probably contagious."
"We'll risk it. You heard about what happened to Lieutenant MacNamara, didn't you?"
"Yes. I mean, I guess I did. I'm so sorry, Lieutenant. You should be home, resting."
"Annie... Mind if we turn this off?" Without waiting for permission, Liz picked up the remote and ended the threatening tirade of a shirtless blond hunk. "I'm looking into what happened to the lieutenant. You were the last one to speak to her before she was attacked."
" I... I don't know."
"You don't know that she stopped by your desk on her way out, on her way downstairs?"
"I mean, yes, sure. You said you were going downstairs for the training session." When she addressed Phoebe, Annie's gaze trained several inches over Phoebe's good shoulder.
"What time was that?"
"Just before ten. Just a few minutes before ten."
"You were aware the lieutenant intended to take the stairs down?"
"Everyone knows Lieutenant MacNamara uses the stairs." Annie tugged on a heart-shaped button on her pajamas. "I really don't feel well. I'm sorry."
"Lieutenant MacNamara doesn't feel very well either. Do you, Lieutenant?"
"No." Her sunglasses were back in her bag, where she'd tucked them on entering the building. Phoebe knew the bruised eyes, the scrapes, the bandages were a shocking and painful sight. Just as she knew how to wait, how to use the silence as a lever to pry Annie's eyes to hers. "He pushed me down, after he'd cuffed my hands behind me so I couldn't break my own fall."
Her gaze steady on Annie's tearful one, Phoebe lifted her hands to show her bandaged wrists. "After he'd taped my mouth, put a hood over my head." She brushed the hair back from her forehead so the livid bruises showed more clearly. "After he'd smashed my face into the wall." Tears spilled, plump drops on pale cheeks. "I... I heard it was really just a bad accident. I heard that you fell. That you fell down the stairs."
"Was it an accident his fist rammed into her face?" Liz demanded. "That the cuffs snapped over her wrists?" She pulled up Phoebe's arm, gestured to the wrists. "Did her clothes accidentally rip off her body so she had to crawl, half naked, for help?"
"Things get exaggerated. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I don't feel well. Can you go? Can you just go?"
"Did he tell you he just wanted to talk to me, Annie?" Phoebe kept her voice low, the tone even. "Just talk to me in private? Maybe scare me just a little, or push his point just a little, since I was being so unfair? I was being unfair to him, wasn't I? Did he tell you that when he asked you to signal him I was heading down?"
"I don't know what you mean. I didn't do anything. If you fell-"
"I didn't fall. Look at me, Annie!" Phoebe snapped the words out so that Annie jumped, then hunched her shoulders. "You know I didn't fall. That's why you're sitting here, sick, scared, trying to convince yourself it was an accident. He told you that. He told you it was an accident and I-what?-lied to save face? I made up the attack so I wouldn't be embarrassed about falling?"
"How long have you been sleeping with Officer Arnold Meeks, Annie?" Liz demanded.
"I didn't! We didn't. Not really. I didn't mean anything. I didn't do anything." As the dam broke, Annie snatched up tissues from a flow ered box of Kleenex and buried her face in them. "He said it was an accident, that you were going to make things up, maybe to try to get him in trouble. He told me how you came on to him, and then-"
"Officer Meeks told you Lieutenant MacNamara approached him sexually?"
"He turned her down, and she's been trying to ruin his reputation ever since." Lowering the tissues, Annie turned a pleading face toward Liz. "He'd file sexual harassment charges, but he's embarrassed to, and his wife's not giving him any support at home. Plus she's sleeping with Captain McVee, so what good would it do?"
"He told you all this, and you swallowed it?" Liz shook her head from side to side. "Maybe that's excusable, maybe not. Maybe you thought, really thought, you were just doing Arnie a favor. Maybe you didn't want to believe he was lying to you, again and again and again, leading you on. But you know he lied to you now, don't you, Annie? You can't look at Lieutenant MacNamara and believe what he told you."
"I don't know. I don't know."
"How about some pictures?" Liz pulled some out of her satchel.
"There's the lieutenant's blood in the stairwell. Oh, here, here's her clothes that accidentally tore off her body. How about the laundry bag he pulled over her head? Here's a good one, of her blood on the cuffs he snapped on her. That's some accident."
"Oh God." The tissue shield went up again. "Oh God."
"What kind of person does this, Annie? Maybe the kind of person who's thinking about doing it to you, or doing worse. Because you're the one who can tie him to it."
"I didn't know. I didn't know." Annie sobbed, yanked more tissues from the box. "I didn't do anything wrong. He just needed a few minutes to talk to her, to show he wasn't going to be intimidated. That's all. I only called his number, let the phone ring twice. That was the signal. It's all I did. I didn't know."
"But you know now. You're going to have to get dressed and come with me."
"Are you arresting me? Oh God, am I under arrest?"
"Not yet. If you get dressed and come in now, give a true statement tell the truth, Annie-I'll talk to the DA for you. He lied to you. I believe you when you said he lied."
"So do I." Phoebe kept her fury banked and spoke soothingly. "I believe you, Annie."
"I'm so sorry, Lieutenant. I'm really sorry."
"Yes, I'm sure you are."
Liz looked over at Phoebe. "I'll drop you back home and take it from here."
She often thought that being productive-and creative with it, if she could brag a bit-held a firm rein on her mind and refused to allow it to wander into those places where panic waited.
It was good work, she could think that, and the bride who received it as a wedding gift would have something unique and special, something that could be passed on for generations.
She arranged the dark silver tissue. Even that, the fussing with the finished product, the meticulous packaging of it, helped keep her hands busy and her mind steady.
Because she didn't want to be afraid every time Phoebe went out of the house, didn't want to whittle her family's world down to walls, as she'd whittled her own. She couldn't allow herself to let that fear in, to let it take over. It snuck up, she knew, inch by inch, stealing little spaces, little movements.
First it might set your heart thumping, it might shut your lungs down in the grocery store, right there in Produce while you're surrounded by tomatoes and snap beans and romaine lettuce with Muzak playing "Moon River" until you want to scream.
Until you had to run, just leave your cart there, half full of groceries, and run.
It might be the dry cleaner's next, or the bank where the teller knew you by name and always asked about your children. It might sneak up then, dropping rock after rock after rock on your chest until you were buried alive.
Your ears ringing, the sweat pouring.
You let it win all those little spaces, all those little movements, until it had them all. Until it owned everything outside the walls.
She could still go out on the terraces, into the courtyard, but that was getting harder and harder. If it wasn't for Carly, Essie didn't think she could push herself even that far. The day was coming, she could feel it sliding closer, when she wouldn't be able to sit on the veranda and read a book with her precious little girl.
And who was to say she was wrong? Essie thought as she put the pretty oval sticker with her initials on the folded tissue to close it in place.
Terrible things happened in the world outside the walls. Hard, frightening and terrible things happened every minute of every day, on the streets and the sidewalks, at the market and the dry cleaner's.
Part of her wanted to pull her family inside those walls, lock the doors, bar the windows. Inside, she wished she could keep them inside, where everyone would be safe, where nothing terrible could happen to any of them, ever.
And she knew that was her illness whispering, trying to sneak in a little closer.
She lay the card that detailed instructions for the care of the lovebird spread, then closed the bright silver box.
While she gift-wrapped the box as the customer had ordered, she was calmer. Her gaze strayed to the windows now and then, but that was just a check, just a peek at what might be out there. She was pleased it was raining. She loved rainy days when it seemed so cozy and snug and right to be inside the house, all tucked in like the lovebirds in the silver box.
By the time she had the gift cushioned in its shipping box, sealed and labeled, she was humming.
She carried it out, pausing to peek into Phoebe's room, and smiling when she saw her baby girl sleeping. Sleep and rest and quiet, that's what her baby needed to heal. When she woke from her nap, Essie decided she'd bring Phoebe up a tea tray, a nice little snack, and sit with her the way she had so many years ago when her daughter had been down with a cold or a touch of flu.
She was halfway down the steps with the big box when the doorbell rang. The jolt shot through her like a bullet, driving her right down, legs folding, heart slamming, to sit on the steps with her arms wrapped around the box as if it would shield her.
And she could have wept, could have dropped her head down on the box and wept at the instant and uncontrollable terror.
The door was locked, and could stay locked if she needed it to. No one in, no one out. All the pretty birds inside the silver box.
How could she explain to anyone, anyone, the grip of the sudden, strangling fear, the way it set the little white scar on her cheek throbbing like a fresh wound? But the bell would ring again if she didn't answer-hear that, it's ringing again. It would wake Phoebe, and she needed to sleep.
Who was going to protect her baby if she ran away and hid?
So she was not going to cower on the steps; she was not going to allow herself to fear opening the front door, even if she was unable to walk out of it.
She got up, made herself walk to the door, though she did continue to clutch the box in front of her. And the relief made her feel foolish, and a little ashamed, when she saw Duncan on the other side.
Such a nice boy, Essie thought as she took a moment, just one moment more, to get her breath back. A solid, well-mannered young man who'd carried her hurt baby girl up to bed.
There was nothing to be afraid of.
Shifting the box, Essie unlocked the door and beamed a smile.
"Duncan! How nice of you to come by. Look at you, all that rain and no umbrella! Come in the house."
"Let me take that for you."
"No, that's all right. I'm just going to set it down here." She turned as she did, hoped he couldn't see her hands still shaking. "I've got a pickup scheduled for it. How about some coffee?"
"Don't trouble. Hey." He took her hands, so she knew he had seen. "Are you all right?"
"I'm a little on edge, that's all. Foolish."
"Not foolish at all, not after what happened. I've been jumpy myself." No, Essie thought, no, he hadn't. He wasn't the type to jolt at sounds and shadows. But it was sweet of him to say otherwise. "Don't tell Phoebe I said so, but it calms my nerves having a big, strong man in the house."
"Someone else here?" he said and made her laugh. "Secret's safe. I just stopped by to see how the patient's doing."
"She had a restless night." Essie took his arm, steered him into the parlor. "But she's sleeping now. Sit down and keep me company, won't you? Ava's at the flower shop. She works there a couple, three days a week when they can use her. My daughter-in-law's going to come by later. Josie's a nurse, a private-duty nurse. She took a look at Phoebe yesterday, and she's going to stop in later, with Carter, after his classes. And you know why I'm talking so much?"
"Are you?"
"Duncan, I'm so embarrassed by the way I acted yesterday."
"You shouldn't be. You had a shock."
"And I didn't handle it well."
"Essie, you ought to give yourself a break." He saw surprise cross over her face, as if she'd never thought of any such thing. "What've you been up to today?"
"Keeping busy, pestering Phoebe with food on trays until I imagine she wants to knock me over the head with them. I finished a project and made half a dozen lists I don't need."
Little tickled his interest more than the word project. Duncan stretched out his legs, prepared for a cozy chat. "What's the project?"
"Oh, I do needlework." Essie waved a hand toward the foyer, where the shipping box waited for pickup. "Finished up a bedspread-wedding gift-last night."
"Who's getting married?"
"Oh, a sometime customer of mine's goddaughter. I sell some of my pieces locally and over the Internet here and there."
"No kidding?" Enterprising projects doubled the interest. "You've got a cottage industry?"
"More like a sitting-room interest," she said with a laugh. "It's just a way to pay for my hobby, earn a little pin money."
While he sat, at ease, his mind calculated: handmade. Customized. One of a kind. "What kind of needlework?"
"I crochet. My mother taught me, her mother taught her. It was a keen disappointment I could never get Phoebe to sit still long enough to teach her. But Carly's getting a hand at it."
He scanned the room, homed in on the deep blue throw with its pattern of showy pink cabbage roses. Rising, he moved over to pick up an edge, study it.
Oh yeah, add in intricate and unique. "Is this your work?"
"It is."
"It's nice. It's really nice. Looks like something maybe your grandma made over lots of quiet nights, then passed down to you."
Pleasure shone like sunshine on Essie's face. "Why, isn't that the best of compliments?"
"So, what, do you make specific pieces from, like, what, patterns, or tailor to clients?"
"Oh, it depends. Why don't I get you that coffee?"
"I've got to head out in a minute. Have you ever thought of... Hey." It was the way his face lit up that had Essie pursing her lips, even before she turned and saw Phoebe in the parlor doorway.
"Now, what are you doing up and coming downstairs by yourself?" In full scold, Essie hurried over to her daughter's side. "Didn't I put that bell right on your nightstand so you could ring if you wanted anything?"
"I needed to get out of that bed. I'm not going to lie there Cousin Bessing it all damn day."
Duncan saw the look, the quick flash of maternal disapproval before Essie turned back to him. "You'll have to excuse her, Duncan. Feeling poorly brings out the sass in her. I'll go make us that coffee."
"Mama." Phoebe brushed a hand over Essie's arm. "Sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you."
"You get a pass on that, due to being hurt. Talk to Duncan awhile. He's come out on this rainy day just to see how you're feeling." Phoebe only frowned at him as her mother left the room. "Yes, I know I look worse than I did yesterday."
"Then I don't have to mention it. Do you feel worse?"
"Some parts of me do. Including my temper." She glanced back toward the foyer, sighed. "Being fussed over makes me irritable."
"I'll try to restrain myself, then. And I should probably take these back." He picked up the shopping bag he'd brought in. "As it hits on two points-not wanting to lie around, and being fussed over. I assume bringing by a gift is fussing."
"Depends on the gift. Oh, sit down, Duncan. I'm irritating myself with my bad mood."
"I really have to go. I have a couple of things." He held up the bag, shook it lightly. "You want?"
"How do I know when I don't know what's in it?" She limped her way over, peered into the bag. "DVDs? God, there must be two dozen."
"I like to read or watch movies when I'm laid up. And I thought reading might be tough with the bum wing, so I went for movies.
Chick flicks. I lean toward the oeuvre of The Three Stooges, but figured it would be wasted around here."
"You figured correctly."
"I don't know if you go for that type or if you like slasher films or watching stuff blow up, but I figured in a household of four women, this was the best bet."
"I like chick flicks, and slasher films and watching things blow up." Intrigued, she poked in the bag. "Since when is The Blues Brothers a chick flick?"
"It's not, I just happen to like it. It's the only one I picked out, actually. Marcie at the video store handled the rest. She assured me that they're all appropriate for a kid Carly's age, unless her mother's a real tight-ass. She didn't say tight-ass," he added, when Phoebe narrowed her eyes at him. "I inferred."
"It's very thoughtful of you. And Marcie. And when these help stave off screaming boredom, I'll think of you."
"That's the plan. I have to go. Tell your mother I said goodbye." He touched his lips to her forehead beside the bandages. "Take a dose of Jake and Elwood and call me in the morning."
"If I don't walk you to the door, I'll have to lie to my mother and say I did." She set the bag down to lead him out. "I appreciate the movies, and everything else you did-and didn't do. Such as comment on my bed hair and foul disposition."
"Good. Then when you're feeling up to it, you can pay me back and have dinner with me again."
"Are you bribing me with DVDs?"
"Sure. But I think my discretion over hair and mood earns even more points." Since it pleased him to see her lips curve up in a quick smile, he lowered his for a little taste. "I'll see you later."
He opened the door just as a woman jogged up the steps. "Hey," he said.
"Hey back. Lieutenant."
"Detective. Detective Liz Alberta, Duncan Swift."
"Oh yeah, we spoke on the phone." He held out a hand. "Nice to meet you, and I'll get out of your way. Talk to you later, Phoebe." Liz turned, studied Duncan as he dashed out and through the rain.
As she lowered her umbrella she raised her eyebrows at Phoebe. "Nice." The tone, the look, told Phoebe that Liz referred to the exit view. "Oh yeah, it certainly is. Come in out of the wet."
"Thanks. I didn't think I'd find you up and around today."
"If I don't get back to work soon, I'm going to go straight out of my mind." She took Liz's umbrella, slid it into the porcelain umbrella stand.
"Bad patient?"
"The worst. Are you here for a follow-up?"
"If you can handle it."
"I can." Phoebe gestured toward the parlor. "Anything I should know?"
"Your weapon hasn't been recovered, but I did bring you this." She pulled an evidence bag out of her satchel. Inside was Phoebe's badge. "It was found at the base of the stairs, where we assume your attacker tossed it. No prints but yours."
"He wore gloves," Phoebe murmured. "Yes, so you said."
Her badge would have been hooked to the waistband of her skirt, Phoebe thought. He'd cut her skirt to pieces, shoved his hand up under what he'd left of it to... She shook her head. No point, none, in putting herself back there. "Sorry. Please, sit down."
"How's the shoulder?"
"I tell myself it could be worse. It could. It could all be worse." "Lieutenant-"
"Just make it Phoebe. This may be an official follow-up, but we're not in the house."
"Okay, Phoebe. You and I both know that sometimes the emotional injuries take a lot longer to heal than the physical ones."
Knowing and experiencing were two different things. "I'm working on that."
"All right."
"He set me up. Arnie Meeks set me up and he took me down." Before Liz could respond, Essie wheeled in a cart. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you had other company. Duncan?"
"He had to go. Mama, this is Detective Alberta. My mother, Essie MacNamara."
"You took care of my daughter when she was hurt yesterday. Thank you."
"You're welcome. It's good to meet you, Mrs. MacNamara."
"I hope you'll have coffee, and some of this cake." Essie set cups, saucers, plates on the coffee table as she spoke. "I just have a few things to see to in the kitchen." She lifted the tray holding the pot, the creamer, the sugar. "Y'all just let me know if you need anything else."
"Thank you, Mama."
"Detective Alberta, you don't mind pouring, do you?"
"No, ma'am." Falling in, Liz picked up the coffeepot, poured out the cups. She shot a glance over as Essie slipped out of the room. "I thought carts like that were just for movies and fancy hotels."
"Sometimes this house feels like a little of both. You're going to tell me that you're actively investigating, but don't have any solid evidence implicating Officer Arnold Meeks at this time."
"I am, and I don't. I spoke with him. He was in the building and was smart enough not to deny it. He claims he was getting a few items out of his locker at the time of the attack."
"This was payback, Liz."
She looked out the window as her mother had earlier, but instead of being comforted by the rain, felt trapped by it. Trapped inside when there were things to do.
"I've bumped up against a few other cops, that's just the way it is.
But no one recently, and never anyone to the extent Meeks and I rammed heads. I slapped him back, I suspended him, I recommended a psych eval. He wanted to kick my ass then and there, and in fact considered drawing on me. I saw it in his eyes, in his body language. As did
Sykes, who interrupted for that reason."
"Yeah, I spoke with Detective Sykes, and he concurs that he sensed trouble from Meeks that day in your office. 'Sensed' isn't going to be enough. I've got nothing that places him in that stairway. In the building, yes, with a grudge against you, yes. He's called in his delegate, and he's got his father's considerable weight behind him. If you can give me more, if you remember anything, any detail."
"I gave you everything."
"Let's go over it again. Not just from the attack, but from when you left the house that morning."
Phoebe knew how it worked. Every repetition of the story could add another detail, and another detail might turn the investigation.
She went through it. Heading out to catch the bus as her car was in for repairs. She'd borrowed the MP3 player Ava liked to use when she gardened, and had tried to convince herself the bus was more relaxing, maybe more efficient than driving herself.
She detoured for coffee before taking the to-go cup into work.
"Did you notice anything? Anyone? Get the sense you were followed?"
"No. I can't say I wasn't. I wasn't tuned for that, but I didn't have any sense of it either. I went straight up to my office, started paperwork." She went through it, the officers and detectives she'd spoken with, the movements. Routine, routine, routine, she thought. Just another Monday morning.
"After my conversation with the captain, I started down."
"You always take the stairs."
"Yes. It's habitual."
"Did you stop, talk to anyone?"
"No... Yes. I stopped by my PAA's desk to tell her I was going down to the session. Wait." Phoebe set down her coffee, sat back, closed her eyes. She pulled it back into her head, the running image of herself striding out of her office, across the squad room.
"She held me up there for a minute, asked me some questions, nothing necessary-especially since she'd know I was running close to the clock. I didn't think anything about it at the time, except for being a little annoyed because I was cutting it close, and because she already knew-or should have-that I had the session waiting on me."
"Who's your PAA?" Liz asked as she pulled out her notebook.
"Annie Utz. I've only had her a few months. She stalled me." As she thought back, tried to bring it into focus, Phoebe closed her eyes. "I think she was stalling me, just a minute or two. Then she said something about how I'd be taking the stairs down, like always."
Phoebe opened her eyes, and now they were fierce with fury. "She was signaling him, by radio or phone. Son of a bitch, she was letting him know I was on my way."
"Do you know if Arnie Meeks and your PAA have a personal relationship?"
"No. She's new, like I said, only a couple of months on the desk. Sharp-looking, single, friendly. Maybe a little on the flirty side, but nothing over the line. She was nervous, a little nervous yesterday. I was in a hurry so I didn't pay attention. I didn't think of her, of that quick conversation again until now."
"I'll talk to her."
"No. No, we will. I'm going in with you."
"Lieutenant. Phoebe-"
"Put yourself in my place."
Liz drew a deep breath. "Do you need any help getting dressed?" Phoebe was struggling, sweating and cursing her way into a shirt when Essie steamed into the room. "Just what do you think you're doing?"
"Trying to get into this goddamn shirt. I have to go with Detective Alberta."
"You're not to go anywhere but back to bed, Phoebe Katherine MacNamara."
"I should be back within an hour."
"Don't make me drag your stubborn self into that bed, Phoebe."
"Mama, for God's sake." Frustrated and starting to ache again, Phoebe dropped her arm. "Will you help me button this stupid shirt?"
"No. I said you're not going anywhere."
"And I said I am. There's a lead on my case, and I-"
"You are not a case. You're my child."
Out of breath, Phoebe cradled her bad arm. And through her own anger and annoyance saw the warning glints of panic in her mother's eyes. "Mama... All right, let's both calm down."
"I'll calm down when you get your beat-up self back into bed where you belong." Marching over, Essie flung back the bedclothes. "Right this minute! I'm not-"
"Mama, listen to me. My arm will heal, the rest of me will heal on the outside. We know how it is on the inside though, you and me. We know. So you understand when I tell you I'm not going to heal until the person who did this to me is held accountable."
"There are other people who can see that he's held accountable."
"I know you feel that way. I know you have to. Understand that I feel this way. That I have to. I can't live afraid, Mama, I just can't."
"That's not what I want, that's not what I'm asking you."
"But I am afraid. And I close my eyes and I'm back in that stairwell."
"Oh, baby." Tears swam as Essie hurried over to stroke her daughter's face.
"Part of me's going to stay afraid, and I'm going to keep finding myself trapped in that stairwell, until I do this. Help me with this shirt. Please."
Though her eyes were damp, Essie studied Phoebe's face and saw clearly enough. "I don't want you to live the way I do. I don't want you to be afraid."
"I know that."
Slowly, her eyes on Phoebe's, Essie buttoned the shirt. "Do you have to go so far the other way?"
"I guess I do. I'm sorry."
"Phoebe." Gently, Essie eased Phoebe's arm back into the sling. Then she brushed at Phoebe's hair with her fingertips. "When you get back, you're going straight to bed."
"Yes, ma'am."
"And you're going to eat all the dinner I bring up to you."
"Every bite." Phoebe kissed Essie's cheek where the little white scar rode under carefully applied makeup. "Thank you."
When Phoebe came back into the parlor with Essie at her side, Liz looked from one to the other. "Ah... your PAA called in sick this morning. I have her home address."
"We'll try her there."
"Detective? I don't care if she does outrank you, you take good care of my baby girl-and see she gets home."
"I'll do that, Mrs. MacNamara. Thank you for the coffee." Liz waited until they were outside to open her umbrella, and to speak again. "I don't care if you do outrank me, I take the lead on this."
"No argument. Friendly, flirty and efficient, that's how I'd describe her. Mid-twenties. I think she likes being around cops-likes the buzz. Thanks," she added when Liz opened the car door for her. "How bad do I look?" Phoebe asked when Liz got behind the wheel.
"Not quite bad enough to scare small children."
"Let her see me first. My gut says he didn't tell her he was going to hurt me. Scare me, maybe, or just plead his case." Despite the rainy day, Phoebe slipped on her sunglasses. "But I don't think she'd have gone along if she knew he intended to hurt me. She calls in sick the day after. She's probably scared, guilty, wondering what happened. The way cop shops work, she's heard a few variations. She sees me first, she's already going to start cracking."
Annie looked sick when she opened the door to her apartment. Against the cotton-candy pink of her pajamas, her face was white and drawn. Her eyes popped wide when she saw Phoebe. Stumbling back, she stuttered out Phoebe's name.
"Annie Utz? I'm Detective Alberta. Can we come in?"
"I-I-"
"Thanks." Liz pushed the door all the way open so Phoebe could walk in ahead of her. In the background a couple of soap opera actors argued bitterly over someone named Jasmine.
"Lieutenant MacNamara needs to sit down. She's hurt pretty bad."
" I... I have a head cold. I'm probably contagious."
"We'll risk it. You heard about what happened to Lieutenant MacNamara, didn't you?"
"Yes. I mean, I guess I did. I'm so sorry, Lieutenant. You should be home, resting."
"Annie... Mind if we turn this off?" Without waiting for permission, Liz picked up the remote and ended the threatening tirade of a shirtless blond hunk. "I'm looking into what happened to the lieutenant. You were the last one to speak to her before she was attacked."
" I... I don't know."
"You don't know that she stopped by your desk on her way out, on her way downstairs?"
"I mean, yes, sure. You said you were going downstairs for the training session." When she addressed Phoebe, Annie's gaze trained several inches over Phoebe's good shoulder.
"What time was that?"
"Just before ten. Just a few minutes before ten."
"You were aware the lieutenant intended to take the stairs down?"
"Everyone knows Lieutenant MacNamara uses the stairs." Annie tugged on a heart-shaped button on her pajamas. "I really don't feel well. I'm sorry."
"Lieutenant MacNamara doesn't feel very well either. Do you, Lieutenant?"
"No." Her sunglasses were back in her bag, where she'd tucked them on entering the building. Phoebe knew the bruised eyes, the scrapes, the bandages were a shocking and painful sight. Just as she knew how to wait, how to use the silence as a lever to pry Annie's eyes to hers. "He pushed me down, after he'd cuffed my hands behind me so I couldn't break my own fall."
Her gaze steady on Annie's tearful one, Phoebe lifted her hands to show her bandaged wrists. "After he'd taped my mouth, put a hood over my head." She brushed the hair back from her forehead so the livid bruises showed more clearly. "After he'd smashed my face into the wall." Tears spilled, plump drops on pale cheeks. "I... I heard it was really just a bad accident. I heard that you fell. That you fell down the stairs."
"Was it an accident his fist rammed into her face?" Liz demanded. "That the cuffs snapped over her wrists?" She pulled up Phoebe's arm, gestured to the wrists. "Did her clothes accidentally rip off her body so she had to crawl, half naked, for help?"
"Things get exaggerated. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I don't feel well. Can you go? Can you just go?"
"Did he tell you he just wanted to talk to me, Annie?" Phoebe kept her voice low, the tone even. "Just talk to me in private? Maybe scare me just a little, or push his point just a little, since I was being so unfair? I was being unfair to him, wasn't I? Did he tell you that when he asked you to signal him I was heading down?"
"I don't know what you mean. I didn't do anything. If you fell-"
"I didn't fall. Look at me, Annie!" Phoebe snapped the words out so that Annie jumped, then hunched her shoulders. "You know I didn't fall. That's why you're sitting here, sick, scared, trying to convince yourself it was an accident. He told you that. He told you it was an accident and I-what?-lied to save face? I made up the attack so I wouldn't be embarrassed about falling?"
"How long have you been sleeping with Officer Arnold Meeks, Annie?" Liz demanded.
"I didn't! We didn't. Not really. I didn't mean anything. I didn't do anything." As the dam broke, Annie snatched up tissues from a flow ered box of Kleenex and buried her face in them. "He said it was an accident, that you were going to make things up, maybe to try to get him in trouble. He told me how you came on to him, and then-"
"Officer Meeks told you Lieutenant MacNamara approached him sexually?"
"He turned her down, and she's been trying to ruin his reputation ever since." Lowering the tissues, Annie turned a pleading face toward Liz. "He'd file sexual harassment charges, but he's embarrassed to, and his wife's not giving him any support at home. Plus she's sleeping with Captain McVee, so what good would it do?"
"He told you all this, and you swallowed it?" Liz shook her head from side to side. "Maybe that's excusable, maybe not. Maybe you thought, really thought, you were just doing Arnie a favor. Maybe you didn't want to believe he was lying to you, again and again and again, leading you on. But you know he lied to you now, don't you, Annie? You can't look at Lieutenant MacNamara and believe what he told you."
"I don't know. I don't know."
"How about some pictures?" Liz pulled some out of her satchel.
"There's the lieutenant's blood in the stairwell. Oh, here, here's her clothes that accidentally tore off her body. How about the laundry bag he pulled over her head? Here's a good one, of her blood on the cuffs he snapped on her. That's some accident."
"Oh God." The tissue shield went up again. "Oh God."
"What kind of person does this, Annie? Maybe the kind of person who's thinking about doing it to you, or doing worse. Because you're the one who can tie him to it."
"I didn't know. I didn't know." Annie sobbed, yanked more tissues from the box. "I didn't do anything wrong. He just needed a few minutes to talk to her, to show he wasn't going to be intimidated. That's all. I only called his number, let the phone ring twice. That was the signal. It's all I did. I didn't know."
"But you know now. You're going to have to get dressed and come with me."
"Are you arresting me? Oh God, am I under arrest?"
"Not yet. If you get dressed and come in now, give a true statement tell the truth, Annie-I'll talk to the DA for you. He lied to you. I believe you when you said he lied."
"So do I." Phoebe kept her fury banked and spoke soothingly. "I believe you, Annie."
"I'm so sorry, Lieutenant. I'm really sorry."
"Yes, I'm sure you are."
Liz looked over at Phoebe. "I'll drop you back home and take it from here."
