You Belong to Me Read Free Page B

over if you find something.’
    ‘Will do.’
    Lucy Trask straightened when she saw him coming. Her eyes were dry, but her face was very pale. She fixed her gaze on the dead man in the chair, not glancing up.
    ‘Dr Trask? I’m Detective Fitzpatrick.’
    ‘I know,’ she said tonelessly. ‘You’re Mazzetti’s new partner. Where is Stevie?’
    ‘On her way. Can I ask you a few questions?’
    ‘Of course.’ She spoke, but her lips barely moved.
    ‘Why don’t we go sit in my car? You’ll be more comfortable there.’
    Her jaw tightened. ‘No. I’ll stay here. Please, just ask your questions, Detective.’
    There was a thread of desperate fury in her voice. She had the smallest trace of an accent. It wasn’t quite Southern, but she wasn’t from the city. At least not originally. ‘Okay. You knew the victim?’
    She jerked a nod, but said nothing.
    ‘I’m sorry, Dr Trask. I know this is beyond difficult. You found him?’ he asked and she nodded again. ‘When?’
    ‘At about five thirty. I was running. I saw Mr Pugh in his chair.’ She recited the words, as if giving a report. ‘I thought he’d wandered away from his apartment again.’
    ‘Because he had dementia,’ JD said and her glance swung up to his. Her eyes were a clear, piercing blue, not easily forgotten. At the moment they churned turbulently with grief and anger and shock, but he knew they were capable of great warmth and compassion. He’d remembered her eyes for a long time after the day he’d first seen her. The only time he’d seen her.
    And he’d only seen her eyes. The rest of her had been masked and gowned. He hadn’t seen her face, but he’d never forgotten her eyes.
    ‘Mr Pugh had Alzheimer’s disease,’ she confirmed.
    ‘How often did he wander away from home?’
    Her shoulders sagged wearily. ‘Recently, three or four times a week. Barb has to sleep sometime. When he wandered off at night, I was usually the one to find him.’
    ‘And you would take him home?’
    ‘Yes.’ She said it so quietly he barely heard the word.
    ‘He would go willingly with you?’
    ‘Yes. He wasn’t violent.’
    ‘Some Alzheimer’s patients are,’ JD noted.
    Her chin lifted a fraction. ‘Some are. He wasn’t. We were able to calm him.’
    She had more than known the victim, JD realized. They’d been close. ‘You were out early this morning.’
    ‘Yes. I always run before dawn.’
    ‘Did you see the victim sitting there when you started your run?’
    She looked angry. ‘No. If I had, I would have taken him home right then.’
    ‘So he wasn’t there when you started your run?’
    Her eyes flickered, as if now understanding his question. ‘Oh. No. He might have been, but I wouldn’t have seen him. I start from the other side of the building and run the perimeter of the neighborhood before cutting back through the park on my way back.’
    ‘Did you see anyone else?’
    ‘Only the other runners. I don’t know any of their names. Officer Hopper might.’ She looked toward her building. ‘Where is Officer Rico? He went to check on Barb.’
    ‘It looks like she’s gone.’
    Trask’s gaze shot up to him, wild panic in her eyes this time. One slender hand grabbed his arm in a vise-like grip. ‘Gone where? Gone dead?’ she demanded and he immediately regretted the words he’d chosen.
    ‘No, no,’ he soothed, covering her hand with his. Her skin was like ice. He pulled her fingers from his sleeve and sandwiched her hand between his palms, rubbing them to warm her. ‘It appears she left. The apartment is empty and her car isn’t in the lot.’
    Panic became disbelief and she stood there, her hand motionless between his. ‘No. Barb would never leave him alone like that.’
    ‘But she is gone.’
    Jerking her hand free, she took a step back, the remaining color draining from her face. ‘ No . Absolutely not. She would not leave him of her own free will. Somebody must have taken her. Oh my God.’
    ‘She unplugged all the