Eva scoffed and followed Bridget to the elevator. “Okay. You sound bananapants.”
“I am offering you the truth,” he said, chasing after her. “If not for me, you would be dead. What reason do I have to lie? You saw me in a dream, did you not?”
“He’s got a point, Eva,” Bridget said, punching the button for the elevator.
“So you believe that he’s a warrior from Tartarus and is here so we can join forces and save the world?”
“Well, I’m not sure what Tartarus is, but I do know that you woke up able to heal like Wolverine, and this guy seems to be closer to having answers than anyone else. I would at least give him a chance and listen to him.” The elevator opened and Bridget and Alek stepped in. “You coming?”
Twenty-Six
James dropped his phone on his desk and collapsed in to his chair with a sigh. Dull pain pulsed behind his eyes, and he rummaged through his drawers for a bottle of aspirin.
“What’d you find out?” Schilling asked.
“Nothing conclusive.” He removed the cap and emptied three pills into his palm. “She says she doesn’t remember what happened, but then had a strange reaction when she looked through the pictures. I’m not sure what to make of it.” He threw the pills in his mouth and swallowed, ignoring their sour coating.
“You mind sharing a few of those?” Schilling held out his hand, and James tossed him the bottle. “What kind of reaction are you talking about?”
“She recognized Bill and said that he wasn’t the one who abducted her. But then she started laughing.”
“Laughing? Like something was funny laughing or like she’s deranged laughing?”
James shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Schilling shook out the pills and hammered them with a big gulp of water. “She laugh again when you showed her that picture you took of our suspect?”
“No, she stopped the interview after she saw Alek.”
“I can feel you lurking, Winslow,” Schilling said without turning to face him.
“You’ve got that scary Spidey sense, Detective,” Winslow said.
Schilling crossed his arms over his chest. “What do you want?”
“Just have some news for you fellas, but don’t shoot the messenger.” He held up his hands and chuckled.
“Speak, Winslow,” James said.
“Got a call from Lori Kostas. She said that Eva’s left the hospital, and she can’t get ahold of her. She thinks she’s with a, uh…” he glanced at the Post-it stuck to his hand. “Bridget Falling. I have her address right here.” He handed James the yellow square. “Wants to know if you two will swing by there and get her back to the doctors.”
“We’re not babysitters,” Schilling grunted.
“No, but they also barricaded a nurse in the bathroom before they ran out.”
“You’re kidding. What for?” James asked.
“Don’t know, but you’d think it’d be something pretty bad. I’ve never heard of someone waking up after being out of it for days to lock someone in a bathroom.”
“The nurse, she want to press charges?” Schilling asked.
“Nope. Well, not if you can get Eva back to the hospital. You willing to go give Miss Falling a visit?”
James tried unsuccessfully to stifle a groan.
“I’m taking that as a yes and a thank you.” Winslow flashed a thumbs-up before leaving.
“This may not be a complete fucking waste of time,” Schilling muttered, digging car keys out of his desk. “Eva’s in on it. I can feel it.”
“What, with your Spidey sense?”
Schilling grumbled and headed toward the hall.
“Wait, you really think she had something to do with murdering that TU student? Not to mention strapping herself to a table and having someone tattoo and choke her. She could have died. You think she wanted all of that?” James asked, following his partner to the exit.
“I’m thinking her injuries couldn’t have been too bad if she’s running away from the hospital.”
“No one said she’s running.”
“There a better reason for her to trap that nurse?”
“You’re the one who told me not to jump to conclusions. Something about bending the evidence to fit your assumptions? Rookie mistake number three hundred and eighty? Remember that?”
“I also don’t ignore the evidence.”
“Neither do I. What we know is that she’s confused, scared, and probably disoriented. I can think of several different reasons why she’d feel like she had to get out of the hospital no matter the cost. Fear can make a person do a lot of things.”
Schilling stopped in front of the exit doors. “Fine. Let’s pick a reason and say she just wanted to stretch her legs. She was almost strangled to death less than four days ago. How bad were they when you saw her?”
“How bad were what?” James asked.
“Her injuries. How bad were they?”