He rolled his eyes at that. “That’s weird, unless she’s in a motel or something.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t know what that’s about either. Let me read his message again.” And then she corrected herself. “Oh, wait. He just saidtwelve. I’m not sure that it’sroomtwelve.” Frowning, she studied his texts and shrugged. And then sent him a quick text.What’s the number for?
That, my dear, is your department.
She snorted at that. “He has no idea about the number.”
“He really just gets raw information, doesn’t he? He can’t put it together in any logical sequence, so it’s hardly even helpful.”
“Yeah, you’re preaching to the choir here.” She shook her head. “Remember? I don’t really believe in half this stuff, and then he gives me something that seems random and stupid, but then it fits. So, yeah,twelve. I don’t know what to do with it, but, hey, I’m trying to be open-minded.”
“I think you’re doing really well, considering.” Rodney glanced at her. “This is pretty crazy stuff for anybody.”
“This whole case is a mess. I hate to say it, but I’m wishing for a nice little open-and-shut murder of an old rich guy by his young gold-digging wife or some BS like that.” She laughed at her words. “It makes a whole lot more sense when it’s flat-out murder, crisp and clear, instead of these kinds of cases.”
“These are hard but more fun in the end, and they’re also the ones that you remember.”
“Maybe, but it’s hardly something that you want to remember.”
“No, but these are the ones that stick with you. Look at how many people we’ve got involved now.”
“Too many,” she whispered.
He looked over at her, then smiled. “It’s okay, you know.”
“Maybe it is. Maybe it isn’t. I don’t know. It just feels like it’s all about to break wide open, and I don’t know which way it’ll go.”
*
Simon urgently contactedPamela. “Help is coming. You need to do something so they can find you.”
“No. I told you. I can’t be saved.”
“And that’s crap. I don’t even know if you’ve done anything terrible or not, but you can’t keep existing like this.”
“I have to suffer the consequences,” she whispered.
“Or do you want to do something that your daughter would be proud of?”
There was a hesitation and then almost a hiccup in her voice. “What do you mean?”
“You don’t have to spend your life in there, being this prisoner. Help is on the way.”
“Nobody will find me,” she said.
“Why not?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Look. I know that you’re blind and that you can’t see. But that doesn’t mean other people can’t see you.”
“Yes, but I’m also injured from the accident. It’s not a pretty sight.”
“Nobody gives a crap about pretty on the outside. It’s more about pretty on the inside,” he snapped. “Either you’ll do something to help this woman find you, or you’ll be stuck in this position for the rest of your life.”
“I could probably leave if I tried. I do go out sometimes. but you don’t understand.”
“There is no way I can understand unless you tell me something so I can,” he said in frustration, “and, so far, you’re not doing that.”