Had the man in the hoodie been aiming for Kieran Finnegan and accidentally pushed the wrong girl?
“Thanks, Wally,” Craig said, glancing at his watch. Mike should have arrived by now. He was going to head up and have a talk with his partner and then assistant director Eagan.
He was attracted to Kieran Finnegan, and if he had any sense, he would step out of the picture entirely. Of course, he couldn’t do that now without explaining himself.
Besides, he was still suspicious of her.
She was holding something back, and he needed to know what it was, needed to know if it impacted the case or not.
Had she been in on the thefts somehow? She’d known that there were two separate groups of thieves at work. That could indicate that she was connected to one of them. On the other hand, if she was connected, would she have shared what she knew, what she saw?
He was of two minds. The first possibility was that she knew something. And because she knew something, the killers saw her as dangerous.
Or she was innocent, but for some reason the killers were afraid of her anyway. In that case...why?
Either way, he was certain the woman was in danger.
And he had to keep her safe.
*
Doctors Fuller and Miro had joined Kieran in her office.
“We’re so proud of you,” Dr. Fuller said, brandishing his GQ smile. “So proud.”
“The thing is, you really should grant an interview,” Dr. Miro said. “Our phone lines have been ringing off the hook.”
Kieran winced. “People are bothering you here? At work?”
“Yes, but the real point is that you did a good thing,” Dr. Fuller said. “Of course people want to know about it.”
Kieran shook her head. “Please, please, I’m trying to keep a low profile and just lead my life. I can’t function like this.”
“Don’t be silly,” Dr. Fuller said. “This is New York. Celebrities walk down the street daily, and they function just fine.”
“You’re not at that level, so you have nothing to worry about,” Dr. Miro added. “A brief interview or two, everyone gets to feel good about their city and then the moment passes. There’s so much bad in the world. If you do an interview or two, you’ll make people feel good for a change. Trust me, it’s for the psychological good of the city.”
“May I think about it?” Kieran asked.
“There’s not really time for that, I’m afraid. Or not entirely. You don’t have to speak to anyone if you don’t want to, but the girl you saved—Shirley Martin—has been released from the hospital and is on her way here. We’ve arranged for limited media access, and the police are providing security,” Dr. Miro said.
Kieran wished she’d thought to call in sick and considered claiming illness now.
But a second later Jake rushed in. “They’re here. You really are a big deal, Kieran. Way cool.”
Despite every instinct inside her screaming that she should run, she wound up out in the crowded reception area, where Shirley Martin—adorable, but quite clearly determined to make this a step on her path to fame and fortune—thanked her, as did a very attractive young man who was an assistant to an assistant at the mayor’s office. To Shirley’s credit, Kieran thought she was sincerely grateful, but she also played up the fact that she had almost died and seemed to think she might as well make use of the terror she had endured.
Kieran reiterated yet again that any decent human being would have offered a hand.
Eventually they all left, but not before she was given a huge bouquet of flowers from the attractive assistant to the assistant and a repeat of the heartfelt thanks of her city.
Jake, Dr. Fuller and Dr. Miro beamed at her.
“Um, do we have any real work to do today?” Kieran asked.
“I have to be over at Rikers in an hour,” Dr. Fuller said.
“I have a deposition,” Dr. Miro said. Then she sighed. “Come on, Kieran. Just let us bask in the knowledge that we hired you, and that makes us good judges of character.”
“Thank you,” Kieran said. “And?”
“And what?” Dr. Fuller asked.
“What would you like me to do?”
“Oh, right. You’re going to be interviewing a young woman who’s out on bail,” Dr. Miro said. “She’s coming here under police escort.”
“What did she do?”
“She pulled a Lorena Bobbitt,” Dr. Fuller said. “Hacked it off in the middle of the night. Husband is alive, and it’s been sewn back on. We need to know if there was abuse, or if she was just pissed off because he was sticking it somewhere else.”
“Dr. Fuller! How professional,” Dr. Miro chastised.
“Hey. It is what it is,” Dr. Fuller said. Then he looked at his Rolex. “She’s not due for another few hours, and you are due an extended lunch.”
“Thank you,” she said. “I’ll just take it in my office.”
There was no way in hell she was going out on the street right now. She was going to text Kevin, since he would be bouncing around in his commercial shoot right now and wouldn’t have his phone on him. She was going to tell him that he was picking her up at the end of the day. She wasn’t leaving this office alone.