Page 25 of Conflicted
“Okay, skip ahead a little. Who was your last client of the day?”
“Samantha Stevenson. She just had a cut and blow-dry. She wears her hair natural most of the time.”
Will leaned in and rested his elbows on his knees. “Okay. You’ve finished with Samantha. What do you do next?”
“There’s only Geneva left. She’s cleaning her station and getting ready to leave. She offers to walk to the bank with me, but I turned her down. She had a hot date, and I didn’t want her to be late. I wish I’d taken her up on it now.”
“Remember, you’re completely safe here. It’s all over. Now tell me about the walk. What did you see? What did you hear? What did you smell?” Will steepled his hands and sat more forward.
“It is the normal walk.” Jewel hardly seemed aware were she was. She cocked her head. “There is music coming from the convenience store on the corner and a bunch of kids hanging around in front.” She wrapped her arms around her upper body. “I keep the bank bag inside my coat so that it won’t be so noticeable, but I think some of them suspect what I have when they see me coming. But no one says anything.”
“What else? Did you hear footsteps behind you?”
“Not then, but wait. When I cross the alley, I hear footsteps. I speed up a little. They might be following me.” Jewel’s breathing became choppy. “Just half a block. It’s just half a block.” Her feet twitched like she was about to break into a run.
Will leaned forward eagerly. “Can you tell me anything about the footsteps? Is it one set, or are there more? How close are they?”
“Two.” Jewel cocked her head again, intently listening to sounds only she could hear. Ruby held her breath. “No. One. One of them must have turned off or something. He’s getting closer, I can smell cigarette smoke, and I think marijuana, too.”
“That’s very good, Jewel. Anything else?”
“I turn to look back because I could tell the person is getting closer. Too close.”
“Can you tell if it’s a man or a woman?”
“I’m pretty sure it’s a man.”
“Okay. Now think hard and see what facts you can remember. The smallest detail could be helpful.”
“The man is taller than me, but not nearly as tall as you. His shoes. He wears running shoes, but they aren’t tied. I don’t know how he doesn’t trip on the laces.”
“Do you know what kind of shoes?”
“Sorry. I don’t pay much attention to brands.” She opened her eyes and gave Will an apologetic smile.
“No problem. You are doing wonderful. Keep going. What else can you tell me about the man?”
“I didn’t look at his face. I remember thinking it would be safer not to see his face. He reached over and ripped open my coat and grabbed my bank bag from under my arm, and he ran away.”
“Okay. Back up. He hasn’t run away yet. He’s grabbing at your bag. Did you see his hands? You mentioned you were looking down.”
“His hands. There was something about his hands.” Jewel stared down at her lap and chewed the corner of her mouth. “What was it?” Her brow crinkled in concentration.
Ruby opened her mouth to ask Will to end the interview, when Jewel whispered, “There was some kind of mark on one of his wrists.”
Jewel sat entirely still and turned a pasty white. Moving with the pace and precision of a chameleon, she touched her left arm about two fingers below the pulse point in her wrist and murmured, “Not a birthmark,” she made eye contact with Ruby, “a tattoo!”
What? Ruby shot upright. “A tattoo. What kind of tattoo?”
Jewel stroked her index finger in a small circle. “Um, black, small – about the size of a quarter.”
Deep lines marred her forehead, and Ruby glanced over at Will. The tall detective was leaning forward with rapt attention written all over his face.
Suddenly, Jewel looked up and the first genuine smile in weeks brightened her features. “A bird! It was a bird in flight.”
Ruby scrambled for her sketch pad and pencil in her tote bag. “Describe it to me. What kind of bird? Did it have its wings spread wide?”
Guided by Jewel’s directions, Ruby started to sketch.
