Edge of Midnight. Leslie Tentler

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СКАЧАТЬ work of a single culprit. JSO deputies and federal agents were currently canvassing the city, looking for the missing woman’s Nissan.

       “Aren’t you terrified this psycho might come after you again?”

       “According to the FBI, it’s uncommon for this type of serial offender to go after the same person twice,” Mia said, recounting what Eric had told her. She hoped it would put Penney’s mind at ease about living nearby.

       “Still, you should be on your guard, Mia. I am. I’ve started carrying Mace.” Penney closed the hatchback. Holding the groceries on one hip, she used her free hand to shield her eyes from the sun. “Look, I feel bad about not checking on you earlier. I’ve been working double shifts at the restaurant all week. And to be honest, I think all this has me a little freaked out. I live alone…”

       “I understand.” The two women didn’t know one another all that well, anyway, mostly talking as they passed on the stairs to and from work, or attending the occasional party that Will and Justin threw. “I’m sure the restaurant keeps you busy.”

       “I’ll bring you some treats—maybe some brownies?”

       Vegetarian or not, Slice of Life was known for having some of the best pastries around. “Thanks.”

       The building had curving exterior staircases. Mia watched as Penney went up the stairs on the left and disappeared on the third-floor landing. A moment later, Eric’s rental sedan pulled in behind the Prius. Mia came forward as he exited the car. He appeared tired, and she imagined he hadn’t had much rest since another missing woman was reported.

       “Any updates?” she asked.

       He opened the passenger-side door for her. The car’s air conditioner was running hard, battling the Florida humidity. “We located Ms. Gomez’s Nissan an hour ago. It was in the parking lot of a Bargain-Mart off the Arlington Expressway.”

       The discovery eliminated any possibility that the young woman had just gotten a wild hair and gone off on her own free will. Mia felt a troubling disquiet.

       Eric squinted at her in the strong sunlight. “Why would a woman stop at a place like that, alone, at nearly midnight?”

       “Lots of reasons,” she answered honestly. “Tampons. Emergency wine.”

       He seemed to appreciate her candidness. Touching her shoulder, he said, “We should go.”

       Placing a framed photo out of the way, Dr. Wilhelm perched on the edge of his desk in his office at the Naval Air Station. His face appeared a little sunburned from his golf outing earlier that morning.

       “Did you experience any aftereffects from yesterday’s session?” he asked Mia.

       “I had a pretty vivid dream last night.” She pressed her hands into her lap, aware Eric’s eyes were on her, as well. “But it didn’t really make any sense.”

       “Can you describe it?”

       She released a breath. “I was a child, sitting on a street curb with a little red-haired girl. She and I were holding hands.”

       “And where were you exactly?”

       “Outside a foster care group home.” Mia felt exposed. She didn’t like discussing her past, but she wanted to be truthful for the sake of the therapy. “I was in the system as a child. I lived at the group home for several weeks before being moved to a foster family. The dream’s setting was real but I don’t remember the girl being there at all.”

       “Did you and the other child talk in your dream?”

       “She told me not to be scared. That things would get better.”

       Dr. Wilhelm nodded thoughtfully. “What else happened?”

       “A car drove past us. A blue hatchback of some kind. It slowed down and then it started to back up—I woke up then. The dream was very brief.”

       “Did you see who was driving the car?”

       Her chest tightened at the recollection. “It was a man but his face was in the shadows. I couldn’t see him but he gave me a bad feeling.”

       She glanced at Eric and saw the concern on his features before looking back to the psychiatrist. “Couldn’t this just be a run-of-the-mill, weird dream? Does it have to mean something?”

       Dr. Wilhelm shifted his weight on the desk. “I think at the least it means you have the potential to be very receptive to the therapy. As you slept, your mind opened up, Mia. What was your experience like at the group home?”

       “I hated it,” she confessed. Head bowed, she stared at her bandaged fingers. “I was afraid and I missed my mother.”

       “So your mind took you someplace you didn’t want to go. Which is exactly what we need to accomplish.”

       Mia looked up. “But the little girl wasn’t real and I don’t remember the event with the car, either.”

       “That’s all right,” Dr. Wilhelm said. He took a ballpoint pen from the pocket of his lab coat and absently clicked its top up and down as he spoke. “While the dream could be a repressed childhood memory, my opinion is that it’s actually emblematic. I think the man in the car is symbolic of your abductor. Your mind returned to a time when you were a child, when you felt most vulnerable, because it parallels the vulnerability you’re feeling now as a victim.”

       It made sense, Mia admitted to herself. “What about the little girl?”

       “Cissy Cox, one of the still-missing victims, is a redhead,” Eric noted.

       “So she was symbolic, too?”

       “Possibly.” Dr. Wilhelm rose from where he’d been seated. “What I want to do today is start by focusing on the moments leading up to your abduction again. I understand another woman was reported missing last night, so time is of the essence. As we’ve discussed, I’d like to give you a higher concentration of the catalyzing drug. That, combined with anything still in your system from yesterday, should help us tap into your memories.”

       Mia gave a small nod of consent. This time Dr. Wilhelm already had the syringe prepared and he walked to where she sat on the couch. She tried to distract herself from what he was doing by watching Eric as he paced the room.

       “Lie down, Mia,” Dr. Wilhelm instructed once he’d given her the injection. “This is a stronger dosage—you might feel some dizziness this time. I’ll let you relax for a bit and then I’ll rejoin you. Agent Macfarlane?”

       “Please stay,” she said softly to Eric. The psychiatrist nodded, closed the blinds and left the room.

       Overhead, Mia heard the intermittent roar of military planes as they took off from the Naval Air Station’s tarmac. Focusing on their sound, she reclined and closed her eyes, but opened them again when she sensed Eric sitting in the armchair next to the couch. He leaned forward so that he was closer to her, his elbows resting on his knees. A frown creased his forehead.

       “I appreciate what you’re doing,” he murmured. “I want you to know that.”

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