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Authors: Jordyn Redwood
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“No.”
A simple statement that said so much.
“Is that why you’re asking me? Because you think the wrong man is in jail?”
Eli stared straight ahead with the vigilance of a sniper zeroed in on a target. “I hope not. I don’t think so. The evidence against Mark Heller was substantial. Blood with his DNA was found at every crime scene. He had known affiliations with the first woman who died.”
Julia nodded. Maybe it was time she stopped hiding with her head buried in the sand. “Will there be a computer where we go?”
Jace said from the backseat, “We can work to get you something that will be secure if you’d like.”
“Why?” Eli asked.
“Did you know that I worked with Dr. Heller?”
“From investigating your case, I know the two of you both worked in the PICU. But were you more than that?”
“Not in any romantic sense, but I would have called us friends, which always made it hard for me to believe—” Julia’s throat closed, cinching her voice.
“I get it. It’s hard to imagine any friend would deceive you, let alone try to kill you.”
Julia inhaled deeply. “If you had worked with him or seen him care for children, you’d never believe he was capable of doing the things he was convicted of.”
“Tell me,” Eli prompted.
Was this Eli’s backdoor way of trying to unlock her memories? “There are physicians who have a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personality. They’re one way with patients, usually friendly and charming, and yet sickingly awful to the nursing staff. He was kind to everyone. Housekeeping. Unit coordinators. A very gentle personality.”
“Everyone has a dark side,” Eli said. “I’ve seen the mildest-mannered people do the most heinous acts. There’s rarely the neighbor who says on television after the bodies are discovered, ‘Oh yeah, I had that guy pegged to be a serial killer all along.’”
Jace laughed from the backseat. “That is so true, my friend.”
Heat rushed Julia’s face. “Dr. Heller wasn’t that way at all.” Why do I feel such a need to defend him? “There was this little boy with Down syndrome we were caring for who needed a blood transfusion prior to surgery and he had the most rare blood type—AB negative. We were having trouble getting enough on hand for the transfusion, plus enough for his heart operation, and Dr. Heller directly donated his own blood for this patient.”
Why was she trying so hard to convince Eli that Dr. Heller was a good person when all the evidence pointed otherwise?
“Yet he has confessed to having an affair with the first victim,” Eli said.
“What’s that supposed to suggest? That a man who steps outside his marriage is evil enough to kill? Everyone makes mistakes.”
“Could it not have put his blood donation at risk? Sleeping with multiple people?”
Julia shrugged. What could she argue against the point? The affair didn’t paint Heller in a positive light.
Their SUV swerved left over the double yellow line.
“Pay attention to the road,” Jace said. “We can discuss pertinent matters of the case when we’re all safe and sound.”
“It wasn’t me,” Eli said.
“Sure,” Jace replied.
“No, I’m serious.”
Julia looked at Eli and could see the puzzled expression on his face. He leaned forward, looking at the dashboard. “No emergency lights on.”
“Probably just a dip in the road,” Jace said.
Julia hadn’t realized how much time had passed. The road narrowed to two lanes. The river crisscrossed on either side of the road, its banks swelled with turbulent, frothy water. The young boy who had drowned popped into her mind.
“Setting aside how you feel about Dr. Heller, have you ever regained any part of your memory from those missing months?”
Was it time to confess the shadowy figure from her dreams? Julia felt the seat belt tighten against her chest, the car suddenly decelerating. She turned around and saw Jace grip her headrest. Ben’s car, with Will driving, narrowed
A simple statement that said so much.
“Is that why you’re asking me? Because you think the wrong man is in jail?”
Eli stared straight ahead with the vigilance of a sniper zeroed in on a target. “I hope not. I don’t think so. The evidence against Mark Heller was substantial. Blood with his DNA was found at every crime scene. He had known affiliations with the first woman who died.”
Julia nodded. Maybe it was time she stopped hiding with her head buried in the sand. “Will there be a computer where we go?”
Jace said from the backseat, “We can work to get you something that will be secure if you’d like.”
“Why?” Eli asked.
“Did you know that I worked with Dr. Heller?”
“From investigating your case, I know the two of you both worked in the PICU. But were you more than that?”
“Not in any romantic sense, but I would have called us friends, which always made it hard for me to believe—” Julia’s throat closed, cinching her voice.
“I get it. It’s hard to imagine any friend would deceive you, let alone try to kill you.”
Julia inhaled deeply. “If you had worked with him or seen him care for children, you’d never believe he was capable of doing the things he was convicted of.”
“Tell me,” Eli prompted.
Was this Eli’s backdoor way of trying to unlock her memories? “There are physicians who have a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personality. They’re one way with patients, usually friendly and charming, and yet sickingly awful to the nursing staff. He was kind to everyone. Housekeeping. Unit coordinators. A very gentle personality.”
“Everyone has a dark side,” Eli said. “I’ve seen the mildest-mannered people do the most heinous acts. There’s rarely the neighbor who says on television after the bodies are discovered, ‘Oh yeah, I had that guy pegged to be a serial killer all along.’”
Jace laughed from the backseat. “That is so true, my friend.”
Heat rushed Julia’s face. “Dr. Heller wasn’t that way at all.” Why do I feel such a need to defend him? “There was this little boy with Down syndrome we were caring for who needed a blood transfusion prior to surgery and he had the most rare blood type—AB negative. We were having trouble getting enough on hand for the transfusion, plus enough for his heart operation, and Dr. Heller directly donated his own blood for this patient.”
Why was she trying so hard to convince Eli that Dr. Heller was a good person when all the evidence pointed otherwise?
“Yet he has confessed to having an affair with the first victim,” Eli said.
“What’s that supposed to suggest? That a man who steps outside his marriage is evil enough to kill? Everyone makes mistakes.”
“Could it not have put his blood donation at risk? Sleeping with multiple people?”
Julia shrugged. What could she argue against the point? The affair didn’t paint Heller in a positive light.
Their SUV swerved left over the double yellow line.
“Pay attention to the road,” Jace said. “We can discuss pertinent matters of the case when we’re all safe and sound.”
“It wasn’t me,” Eli said.
“Sure,” Jace replied.
“No, I’m serious.”
Julia looked at Eli and could see the puzzled expression on his face. He leaned forward, looking at the dashboard. “No emergency lights on.”
“Probably just a dip in the road,” Jace said.
Julia hadn’t realized how much time had passed. The road narrowed to two lanes. The river crisscrossed on either side of the road, its banks swelled with turbulent, frothy water. The young boy who had drowned popped into her mind.
“Setting aside how you feel about Dr. Heller, have you ever regained any part of your memory from those missing months?”
Was it time to confess the shadowy figure from her dreams? Julia felt the seat belt tighten against her chest, the car suddenly decelerating. She turned around and saw Jace grip her headrest. Ben’s car, with Will driving, narrowed
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