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She smiled and said, “What do you mean by that?”
“I’m asking you, what did Monk mean when he said codes made him bloody?”
“That’s right, that’s what he said, codes made him bloody. Codes and blood, that’s what he said.”
Horatio sat back. “Did Monk get bloody the last time he saw you?”
“Yes,” she said happily.
“So he told you a secret?” She nodded again. “Can you tell us what it is?”
Her smile faded and she slowly shook her head.
“Why not? Was it a super-secret?”
Alicia said gently, “Viggie, if you know something it’s very important that you tell us.”
“I don’t think I like him,” Viggie answered, pointing to Horatio. “I have to go now.” She got up and walked out of the room.
Horatio glanced over at Alicia, who seemed to have been holding her breath. “I told you she’d be a hard nut to crack. Did you learn anything useful?”
He said, “I know her better than I did an hour ago. That’s something.”
“Well, the next time you meet her she could be someone else entirely.”
After Alicia left with Viggie, Horatio called Sean and filled him in on the session.
“So is Viggie autistic?” Sean asked.
“Autistic is a broad term,” Horatio replied. “But even so, I don’t think she is.”
“What then?”
“I think in certain ways she’s so much smarter than the rest of us, that she can’t relate. In other ways she’s not very intelligent, or mature, I should say. It might be a perception problem. Our perception problem. We expect her emotional abilities to match her intellect, but she’s still a little girl. And I got some strange vibes from her about her father.”
“Like what?”
“Monk apparently treated her like an adult, at least sometimes. But other times he treated her, well, like a… device.”
“A device?”
“I know I’m not making much sense. I wished I knew something about her mother. Viggie apparently doesn’t believe that she even had one.”
“So where does this all leave us?” Sean asked.
“Not much further, I’m afraid.”
“Well, at least our results are consistent. Meaning nil.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to swing at a pitch and see if I can get on base.”
CHAPTER
50
SINCE THE WOMAN HADN’T GIVEN SEAN her phone number he checked the phone book and the Internet with no luck. Sean finally decided to head back to Williamsburg that evening and the same bar where he had seen her the previous night. Michelle wanted to tag along but Sean vetoed that idea as they sat in his room at Alicia’s cottage.
