“No. Let’s get Jan, and then I’ll tell you all about it.”
They had to beep a few times; then Jan came running out to the car, apologizing, telling them that she’d been on the phone, pretending she was her own publicity agent, trying to get a promotion together for a concert. They all laughed when she treated them to her “publicity agent voice.” Then Karen told her that Ashley had already had her first assignment, and Ashley explained how she’d spent her afternoon.
“Ugh!” Jan announced from the back.
“What do you mean, ugh?” Karen demanded. “Yesterday she was a nobody. Today she’s a working forensic artist.”
“The artist part is great,” Jan said. “But will you get to sketch live people?”
“Sure. Witnesses will tell me about someone they saw at a crime scene and I’ll sketch them. This was…they couldn’t put a photo of the woman in the paper, not the way she looked.”
They talked about Ashley’s job for a few minutes more, then Jan said, “They won’t actually let us in to see Stu, will they?”
“I got in the other night. The Fresias told the hospital staff I was a relative.”
“Think, he can have another couple of cousins?” Karen asked.
“Maybe. Hey, you know what, though? I went to tell Nick I was headed down here, and Katie told me Nick and Sharon were already on their way.”
“To the hospital?” Jan said.
“Yes.”
“I’ll bet Sharon is bringing a truckload of food,” Karen said.
“Maybe.”
“She doesn’t even know the Fresias. Of course, Nick does. Remember all the school fairs he worked with Nathan Fresia? They were the only two fathers willing to go in the dunk tank. Okay, Nick was an uncle, but you know what I mean,” Jan said.
“Sharon tries really hard to be like…” Karen began.
“Like what?” Ashley glanced over to the passenger seat to meet Karen’s eyes.
“Like a stepmother, I guess. I mean, she goes out of her way to…to be around. Part of the family.”
Ashley shrugged. “She doesn’t need to impress me. I’m twenty-five, all grown up.”
“But you’re everything to Nick,” Jan put in.
“And,” Karen said, “she’s running for local office.”
Ashley laughed. “You think she makes us cookies and visits people in the hospital to get a political wedge in?”
“Who knows?” Karen said.
“Well, who cares?” Jan said. “They’re darn good cookies.”
“She wouldn’t need to butter up the Fresias,” Ashley said, still amused. “They’re not even in the same district.”
“True,” Karen agreed. “Okay, maybe she has no ulterior motive at all. Time will tell.”
“Hey, by the way, you two are invited out with me and a few fellow academy friends Friday night.”
“Ex-academy friends,” Karen reminded her. “What’s the occasion?”
“We’re celebrating my new job.”
“Great!”
“Oh, yeah,” Jan agreed dryly. “Now she gets to draw corpses. Ugh.”
“Jan, remember, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
“Yeah, and it’s too bad she isn’t sketching trash.”
“Who knows? She may get to sketch trash one day.”
Ashley groaned and pulled into the parking garage, frowning. “Hey, you know what happened the other night?” she said, then went on to tell them about the person who had stalked her.
“Great. Now she tells us,” Karen said.
“Ashley, they were scrubs? It was probably someone who worked at the hospital, just in a hurry to get their car,” Jan said.
“Jan, I went through that with the cops,” Ashley said.
Jan shrugged, and Ashley shook her head. Her own friend was thinking like all the others. “Jan, I know when I’m being chased.”
“Then Karen is right—great,” she said sarcastically. “We’re parking in the same garage, right?”
“I’m sure if someone was stalking people in the garage then, they’ve moved on by now. Especially since Ashley called the police. Hey, did you hear anything back?”
“Not yet, and I’m afraid I didn’t pursue it.”
She parked the car and they all got out. The three of them looked around uneasily.
“We’re close to the elevator,” Ashley said. “And there are three of us.”
“And she’s almost a cop,” Karen said.
“Not anymore,” Jan protested. “Ashley, did you bring your gun?”
“Actually…no. I’m supposed to turn my gun and badge in. I’m a civilian employee now.”
“It’s all right. It’s not like we’re alone,” Jan said, indicating a large party heading toward the elevator. They were equipped with flowers, packages and a large balloon that announced “It’s a Boy!”