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Faith frowned. Why would he be asking about that case? They hadn’t talked about it in months, and the last thing she told him was that she was letting it go. She hadn’t seen him in over a week, so she hadn’t mentioned yet that Clark had asked her to consult on the case.
“No, not that case,” she said. “I’m still not officially working that case.”
“What do you mean not officially?” he asked.
“Well, Clark asked me to look over the file and offer some help to the agents assigned to the case, but it’s not an official consult. I guess the lead agent just asked for a fresh perspective. He knows that I was instrumental in catching the Donkey Killer, so he thought I might have something helpful to add.”
“I see,” Dr. West said, sounding dubious.
“Is everything all right, Doctor?” Faith asked.
“I just want to make sure that you take care of your health,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s advisable for you to involve yourself in the Copycat case right now.”
“I haven’t even thought about it, to be honest,” Faith said. “Not since Clark handed me the file.”
To her surprise, that was one hundred percent the truth. She hadn’t even brought the file with her. It was in her desk drawer at home.
“That’s good,” Dr. West said. “I’m glad to hear it.”
He asked her a few other questions, general things. Was she feeling okay? Any more nightmares? Any positive developments with David or Michael?
She gave him brief answers that were intentionally vague. She liked Dr. West, and talking to him had definitely helped her as she recovered from the trauma she experienced at Jethro Trammell’s hands, but she needed to keep her focus on the case, and she wasn’t looking to talk about her personal life right now.
When the pizza arrived, she took advantage of that and said, “Dinner’s here. Gotta go. Sorry again about missing our session. I’ll do a double the next time I see you if you want.”
“Oh, there’s no need for that,” he said, “unless you feel you need it. Just be careful with that case.”
Faith smiled. “Doc, I’ll be fine. I’m a big girl.”
“I know you are,” he said. “I just worry.”
Faith returned to the room and managed to put the conversation from her mind, but the uneasy feeling remained. She wasn’t sure what she had to be uneasy about. She wasn’t having nightmares anymore, and Dr. West might be a bit overzealous, but that was nothing to be upset about, was it?
Still, she couldn’t shake the unease she felt. She almost wished she could ask Michael to stay in the room with her so she wouldn’t be alone, but considering the issues between him and Ellie right now, she didn’t think it was a good idea.
Besides, she had Turk. He normally wasn’t allowed in the bed, but she was concerned that her unease and the sudden reminder of the Copycat Killer might lead to a recurrence of her nightmares, so when she got into bed, she patted the space next to her. “Come on, boy. I need a cuddle tonight.”
Turk immediately leapt into bed next to her, not waiting for Faith to change her mind. She laughed and put an arm around the big puppy and sat with him awhile watching old reruns before her eyelids drooped and she finally gave in to sleep.
***
She woke early and showered and dressed just as the sunrise filtered through the window to her room. She headed for breakfast, promising to bring some sausages back for Turk. To her surprise, Michael was already eating when she arrived at the hotel’s dining room.
“Hey,” she said, “you’re up early.”
“I wake early too,” he protested. “The only reason you’re up before me is you make everything a competition. You always check my alarm and set yours thirty minutes before mine.”
“That’s not a competition. I just want to make sure I get a chance to shower before you hog all the hot water. Seriously, how does Ellie stand that?”
Michael chuckled. “She showers first.”
“Smart woman,” Faith said. “How did you sleep?”
“Without you moaning and whining three feet away from me? Like a baby.”
“Glad to hear it,” Faith said. “Turk’s a much better roommate than you anyway.”
She got her breakfast and rejoined Michael.
