Read Online Perfect Trust: A Rowan Gant Investigation by M. R. Sellars - Free Book Online Page A

the
antiseptic funk of a hospital emergency room. An odor that was the
filtered medicinal smell of alcohol, gauze, and used tongue
depressors dancing in an olfactory ballet with the stench of sweat,
fear, and blood. Of course, all of that was underscored by the
“can’t quite put your finger on it” smell of death, just to drive
the point home. As a whole, it carried with it an easily
recognizable signature that told you exactly where you were without
even opening your eyes or hearing a thing.
    Then on the other hand, there was the terse
exchange going on between my wife and my best friend. A pair of
hedged voices, both straining not to outwardly display the
overabundance of the anger they were quite obviously holding back.
From the sound of it, they were bickering somewhere just beyond the
door of the treatment room where I was presently lying flat on my
back.
    Whichever of the two was responsible, the job
was done. I was jarred back from the semi-conscious ledge of
introspection I’d been tiptoeing along since the doctor had
finished poking, prodding, and interrogating me.
    “I asked you not to get him involved any
more, Ben,” Felicity was stating in a flat tone. “At least not for
a while. He still hasn’t recovered from what he went through the
last time, and you know it.”
    “That’s what I’ve been tryin’ to tell
ya’, Felicity,” he appealed. “He just showed up outta the clear
freakin’ blue. I didn’t get
‘im involved this time.”
    Their tones were hushed and muted by the
hinged obstruction, but if I listened closely I could still make
out what they were saying.
    My mind had continued to replay the memories
of recent events ever since I had come to in the back of an
ambulance. I had quickly pieced everything together, but I was
still at a loss to explain why I had suddenly “awakened” from what
I could only explain as a trance, while at a crime scene in
progress to boot. Two things I knew for certain were that my
midnight wanderings were no longer going to be a secret and that I
was now starting down a road toward an explanation for why they
were happening in the first place. I only hoped that I would
survive the trip.
    The earlier fog that had been ruthlessly
shrouding my brain had apparently lifted, though a dull ache still
persisted in the back of my head. I knew from past experience that
this wasn’t a good sign at all.
    It was obvious to me that I was somehow
connected to this crime. Ben had already verified for me that the
victim was in fact a woman and that her name was Paige Lawson. This
information at least seemed to explain the rogue thoughts I’d
experienced. However, I hadn’t recognized her name at all, so to my
knowledge I didn’t know her, and therefore, I seriously doubted
that she knew me.
    I remembered feeling a sharp stinging
sensation on the side of my neck just before I blacked out. An
active tingle still occupied the swath of flesh behind and below my
left ear, so I slowly reached up and gingerly probed the area with
my fingertips. There were no obvious welts or abrasions that I
could feel, but the burning sensation continued. No big surprise
there.
    “Well what was he doing there then?” I heard
Felicity almost hiss.
    “I don’t know,” Ben answered as
forcefully as he could without raising his voice. “Hell, when I
asked him, he didn’t even
know.”
    I had been trying to ignore them while I
concentrated, but I was failing miserably at blocking out their
banter. Also, I was getting the impression that they were going to
escalate if something didn’t alter their current course. I
concluded that I had best intervene.
    “He’s right,” I spoke loudly, casting my
words in the direction of the door. “It’s not his fault, so will
you two please quit arguing about it.”
    Silence instantly replaced the tempered
squabble. After a moment Ben and Felicity came sheepishly through
the door and positioned themselves next to the bed.
    “Row…” my wife sighed as