Page 20 of Absent Feeling

Matthewlooked pained for a moment or two. Amber half expected him to jump up and makea run for it. Then he seemed to settle in place, nodding his head.

“Idid that. I can’t deny it. And I know what you’re suggesting: that because Dr.Werdly and Dr. Banks were the ones who declared me insane, I must have wantedrevenge on them.”

“Didyou?” Amber asked. It was the most obvious way that all of this could havegone. Of course, she didn’t expect Matthew to just come out and admit it.

“Youcan’t just ask my brother something like that,” Sara said.

“Weneed to,” Simon replied. “Matthew, did you have anything to do with the deathsof Raymond Werdly and Constance Banks?”

Matthewshook his head hurriedly. “No, of course not.”

Ambertried to watch his face for any sign that he might be lying. The problem wasthat, as her training had made clear, it was never as simple as that. Spottinga liar was anything but easy. The best liars almost made themselves believewhat they said, so that they wouldn’t show any kind of tell-tale signs thatthey weren’t telling the truth.

Amberheard Matthew sigh. “Dr. Werdly and Dr. Banks might have been the ones todeclare me insane and might have been in charge of some of my treatment, but Idon’t blame them for that. I needed help. I wasn’t well, and I hurt people. Idid that, not them.”

Hesounded as if he meant it, as if he accepted what he’d done and the impact thatit must have had on the people he’d attacked.

“Matthewwouldn’t hurt anyone now,” Sara said. “He takes his medication; he goes to seehis therapist. He’s stable.”

“Doyou take your medication?” Simon asked Matthew.

Matthewnodded. “I do all the things they say I need to. It keeps me … steady. I don’thear the voices telling me that they’re trying to kill me anymore. I know nowthat that was a delusion, my own fears, my own mind.”

Heput his head in his hands, and Sara stepped over to him, putting a hand on hisarm.

“It’sall right, Matthew.”

“It’snotall right. I hurt you. I stabbed you.”

Thatcaught Amber by surprise. She hadn’t known that one of the people Matthew hadstabbed was his sister. It obviously caught Simon by surprise too.

“Yourbrother stabbed you, but you’re letting him stay here with you?”

Ifanything, Sara’s hand tightened more possessively on her brother’s shoulder. “Thatwasn’t Matthew. At least, not the real him. He didn’t know what he was doing.”

“Andhe does now?” Amber asked.

Saranodded. “He wouldn’t hurt anyone. Hehasn’thurt anyone.”

Shesounded so certain about it that Amber wanted to believe it. Certainly, Matthewseemed calm and in control. But she knew that they couldn’t just take his andhis sister’s word for it.

“Weneed to know where you were yesterday, Matthew, at around six pm, and then thismorning between midnight and one.”

“Thismorning, Matthew was at home with me and a couple of our friends,” Sara said.

“Yesterday,I was talking to my therapist from six until seven.”

Itwasn’t a perfect alibi, but it was more than enough. Matthew Aymes probably couldn’thave committed the second murder, probably couldn’t have committed the first,and the same killer had undoubtedly murdered both victims. They would stillneed to check the alibi with Sara and Matthew’s friends and his therapist, butAmber had no doubt that it would stand up.

Thatwas a problem because Matthew Aymes had been their only suspect. They’d gonewrong somewhere, and Amber didn’t know where.

“Matthew,one last thing,” Amber said. She held up a picture of the inkblot that had beenfound at the scenes. “Does this mean anything to you? It’s similar to aRorschach test inkblot. Have you seen anything like it before? Did Dr. Werdlyor Dr. Banks administer that test to you?”

Matthewshook his head, though. “No, they didn’t use anything like that. After they’dtalked to me, that was enough. I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Itwas dark outside when Amber left the apartment building with Simon. She stoodthere on the sidewalk, trying to work out what they were going to do next, butthere didn’t seem to be an obvious answer.

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