Page 46 of State of Retribution

Archie handed her the phone.

“Hello?Yes, it’s me, Harlowe.”

He listened to her tell her father that she was doing a little better and that her friend Archie had taken good care of her since she left the hospital.Then her mom got on the phone, and Harlowe seemed to shut down a bit at the sound of her voice.

“I don’t know what happened.I can’t remember much of anything.”After a long pause, she said, “Okay.I’ll see you then.”

She ended the call and looked at him with big eyes full of tears.“I recognized their voices, but why do I feel so hesitant about seeing them?”

A twinge of apprehension had Archie wondering if the people on the phone were really her parents or perhaps the ones who’d hurt her.“If there’s a reason to be afraid of them, you’ll have two cops in the room when you see them.”

“That makes me feel a little better.”

“We’ll take care of you.Don’t worry.”He helped her up and got her settled on the sofa with a blanket over her.“Do you want the TV?”

“No, thanks.”

“I’m going to clean up the kitchen.Let me know if you need anything.”

He returned to the kitchen and grabbed his phone to text Erica.She feels apprehensive about seeing her parents but can’t say why.I’m not letting anyone near her unless they can prove they’re related.

Understood.I’ll work on getting some proof.

Thanks, Erica.

He knew he didn’t have to tell Erica or Sam that Harlowe needed to be handled gently.They were the best at what they did, and he trusted them implicitly.But if he had his way, no one would be anywhere near her until he knew what the hell had happened to her.

Sam wentto find Dr.Trulo, who was eating lunch while listening to something in a foreign language.She knocked on the door.“Sorry to interrupt.”

He pressed pause on his computer, seeming a bit embarrassed.“I’m trying to learn Italian before our trip next year.”

“That’s cool.How’s it going?”

“I suck at it, but I’m soldiering on.”

“Why do some people pick up other languages easily, and others can’t for the life of them?”

“One of the great mysteries.”

“Spanish nearly killed me in high school and college.I really wanted to learn it, but it wasn’t happening.”

“That sounds like me with Italian.”He wiped his mouth with a napkin.“Anyway, I’m sure you didn’t come by to talk about things we suck at.”

Sam laughed.“Nope, but whatever you’re eating smells incredible.If you made that, you don’t suck at cooking.”

“I can’t take the credit.My lovely wife made eggplant parm over the weekend.To die for.”

“It’s making me hungry, and I don’t even like eggplant.”

“She’ll send some in for you to try.I bet you’ll like eggplant after you have hers.”

“I’ll take that challenge.When you’re done, can you come with me to see a potential witness who’s been through a rough ordeal?”Sam filled him in on the situation with Harlowe as well as Archie’s involvement.“There’s a slight possibility her case could be related to my three new homicides.”

“Sure, I can do that.Give me ten minutes?”

“You got it.I’ll meet you at the morgue exit.”

“See you there.”

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