Page 60 of No Quarter

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Valerie noticed that Doctor Winters’s room was on the other side of the residential building as they walked through the corridors.

“I see you put us as far away from Doctor Winters as possible,” Valerie said.

“Not to deceive, I assure you,” the doctor replied. “I just don’t want anyone seeing her in the condition she’s in. It would mean the end of her career.”

“We understand,” Will said, giving Valerie a sideways glance, clearly encouraging her not to be too hard on Whitmore about it.

As they walked, Valerie kept saying the name to herself over and over in her mind.

Winters ... Winters ... Winters ...Why is that name so familiar?

When they reached the door of Winters’s room, Valerie smelled a faint whiff of wine coming from the other side.

“Rebecca,” Doctor Whitmore said, softly. “It’s Doctor Whitmore.”

“Hold on,” said a slurred woman’s voice from the other side of the door.

There was a pause, and then the door opened.

Valerie caught her breath at the sight of Doctor Winters. Her blonde hair was messy, and even in the dim light of the hallway, she could see dark circles under her bloodshot eyes.

But despite her obvious disheveled state, there was still something undeniably beautiful about her.

Valerie’s mother had once been beautiful too. She knew all too well how quickly beauty could fade, revealing something more malevolent beneath.

The smell of stale alcohol was now rife in the air, undoubtedly coming from Doctor Winters.

Doctor Winters flinched when she saw that Whitmore wasn’t alone.

“Who are you?” she said warily, glaring at both Valerie and Will with suspicious eyes.

“We’re just here to talk, Rebecca,” Whitmore said soothingly. “These are friends of mine. They just want to ask you a few questions.”

“What about?” Winters demanded.

“About the recent murders,” Valerie said, taking a step forward.

The other woman’s eyes widened in alarm, and she took a step back, clutching the door frame for support.

“What do you know about them?” she asked, her voice trembling.

“I’m Special Agent Valerie Law with the FBI,” Valerie said, holding up her badge. “This is my partner, Doctor Will Cooper. May we come in?”

Doctor Winters looked over her shoulders at the mess of her own room. She looked embarrassed.

“Can we talk in the hallway?”

Valerie looked around at the other room doors.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she said. “People might overhear us.”

“No one ever comes down this way,” Winters said pleadingly. “Please.”

Valerie relented and turned away from the door and stepped to the side into the hallway, Will following close behind her.

“Now, what do you know about the murders?” Valerie asked, keeping her voice low.

---