Page 84 of The Quiet Witness

Emilio had also given him the medical records, a yellow file covering the emergency visits, and antibiotics she’d been given. His friend had told him to flip to the last page, pointing to a small doctor’s note.

Patient is of the firm belief that she is still suffering from chronic Lyme disease. After the heavy dose of antibiotics she received, plus the blood work showing a negative result, it is my thought that she is either making it up to receive more attention. Something we often see in children with her traumatic background. Or she is suffering from a sort of phantom pain.

Something else Kate had faced, alone. At least she wouldn’t be alone tonight. Even if she were to yell, scream, push him away, slap him. He would stay with her, hold her hand during…

He pushed off the counter, rounding it to grab a dishcloth, holding it beneath the stream before sinking down to his haunches. Violently scrubbing at the spot where the drop had fallen. Knowing full well what had happened last time he got… stuck in cleaning.

An idea hit. Flipping out his phone, he dialed Georgia’s number.

“Lucien, my dear! Is everything alright? Shall I pass you on to Kate?”

“All is well, and no, no. Tell me… is she doing good?”

A laugh cackled out of the phone. Lucien winced, distancing the phone from his sensitive hearing. “Good? You should have seen her. A bit uptight at the beginning, stage fright obviously, but she recovered. And how she did it, oh. You should be proud of her, Lucien.”

Lucien smiled, affection clear in his voice. “I am, I really am.”

“As you should, but,” Georgia hesitated. “You sound off? Are you sure you’re alright, dear?”

She knew, she always knew. Might as well have become a fellow colleague in the field. Almost had, with her history.

“I’m sure, I have a favor to ask you, though.” He coughed once, scraping his throat. “Can you take Kate out tonight? With Isabel, maybe?”

“Well, yes, I can! It will be good to be out with the girls, talk about all their achievements, and toast to Kate. Great idea, Lucien. Mind if we stay out late?”

This time, he laughed, shaking his head. “No, Georgia, take all the time you girls need.”

One last act.

He could wait.

Chapter 35

To Fight a Killer

“See?” When you step forward with the punch, you win precious centimeters.” Kate stood on the ball of her right foot, sinking the slightest bit through her knees.

The girl, Elise, her head bobbed in confirmation, a frown heavy on her face as she mirrored Kate as best she could. “Yep, that’s in the right direction.” She was still a little unbalanced, which Kate demonstrated by leaning against the girl’s shoulder with a light hand, tipping her over.

She sent Elise a reassuring smile. “You’ll get there! Took me a while to find my balance, too. The trick is bending through your knees and—” She pointed to the mats. “—don’t put your feet too close together.”

Georgia called her name, gesturing with a loose hand at her throat, head tilted with a phone clenched between cheek and shoulder.

“Alright, ladies.” Kate clapped her hands together. “That’s it for today.” She helped them clean up their boxing gear, taking the thank you’s and comments in stride.

Not too bad for an introverted book reading hermit, eh?

Even so, relief flooded her system that it was over, leaving her a little dazed.

A hand clasped around her shoulder, turning her around. Georgia.

“Well, hello there, Miss teacher. Lucien just called.”

Kate’s cheeks burned red. “Yeah, yeah, whatever.” She put her hands on her sides. “What did he need?”

“Actually…” Georgia waved the phone around triumphantly. “He told me to take you and a couple of girls out for some drinks!”

Wait, he said what? Lucien asked her to take them out without him… present. What in the ever-loving… That means that I could… slip out the back and escape.