Page 25 of Crossing Lines

A doctor came into the room. “Is he waking up?”

The nurse backed off from the head of the bed, and the doctor took over the examination.

“His foot twitched twice.” Jo pointed, trying to be helpful.

The doctor stood back, staring at the foot, which of course didn’t move at all.

“Is that a good sign?” Jo asked.

“I think it might be. We’ve been seeing a bit of changes with him lately.” He looked at Jo. “But I really can’t say for sure. Maybe whatever you were saying hit a nerve deep down in his subconscious.”

What had she been saying? Oh, right, she’d been talking about Thorne. Well, if anything would hit a nerve deep down, it would be Thorne.

“That would be good, right? It would mean he has some awareness.” Jo was glad she hadn’t blurted out anything she didn’t want Kevin to know.

The doctor nodded. His expression seemed pleased but stoic, as if he didn’t want to give too much hope. “Whatever you guys have been telling him, keep doing it.”

Chapter Seventeen

Sam stared at the pictures on the corkboard. He was trying to pick out patterns, notice something missing or something there that shouldn’t be there. Unlike the previous shallow graves, this one offered very little in the way of clues. This time, he’d have to solve the case by scrutinizing the suspects.

He glanced at the window, noticing the empty space below where Lucy usually lay. It felt weird without Lucy in the office, but he was glad she would visit Kevin, and he was looking forward to meeting Jo’s sister when he picked her up.

Movement in the town common caught his eye. Darn it! Mayor Henley Jamison was walking down the sidewalk, red silk tie flapping over his left shoulder. He was heading for the police station. Sam figured it was too good to be true that the mayor would let him do his job without the usual harassment. At least he might have good news about the warrant.

Reese, Wyatt, and Jo were already gone, so Sam met Henley in the lobby. The mayor looked stressed.

“What brings you here?” Sam asked.

“This case. Please tell me it’s not another serial killer.”

“I don’t know that for sure. Might not be. If I can get that warrant for the email, we’ll be able to find out more.”

Henley pulled a paper out of his inside jacket pocket. “I rushed it through.”

“Thanks.” Maybe Henley really was on the side of justice, unlike their former mayor, or maybe he had his own reasons for cooperating with Sam now that would turn problematic later.

Major leapt onto the desk with the stuffed octopus in his mouth. His fluffy black fur was puffed out, and he eyed them with suspicion as he dropped the stuffed toy onto the surface. Was he presenting them with the toy? The cat must be feeling overconfident about letting the toy lie around, because Lucy wasn’t there to snatch it away.

“I need this thing resolved quickly.” Jamison rubbed the top of Major’s head, and the cat slitted his eyes closed and purred. Sam didn’t understand why the cat liked Henley so much. Any time Sam had tried to pet the cat like that, he’d been rewarded with a loud hiss and a deep scratch on his hand.

“So does the victim’s family,” Sam said. “Not to mention the next potential victim, if there is one.”

Jamison jerked his attention back to Sam. “So you do think there will be more.”

“Not if I can help it.”

“Good. The election is a little over a year away, and I don’t need anything marring my record. Marnie Wilson will latch on to any little thing to try to discredit me.”

Would she? Sam didn’t know her well, but she didn’t seem like the type to stoop that low. Then again, he had a general mistrust of politicians, and he had never met one that wouldn’t do most anything to win.

“Mew.” Major batted softly at the toy, pushing it toward the edge of the desk, then looked up at them. Did he want to play? He’d never done that before.

“I don’t know Ms. Wilson well, but she seems like a straight shooter,” Sam said.

“Mew.” Major batted at the toy harder. Now it was dangling off the edge. The cat stood and went to the edge to look over, as if assessing what might happen if the toy fell.

Jamison snorted. “Those are the worst kind. Trust me, you don’t want her to win. It would be bad for the town.” He glanced outside. “And I’m getting a little attached to this town.”

---