“Stop looking at me that way.”
Realizing he’d been staring, he frowned but held her gaze. “What way?”
“Like you can’t make eye contact because all you see when you look at me are the bruises.” She stared at him with those wide blue eyes. “I’m not a victim.”
“I didn’t mean to make you feel that way.”
Letting out a sigh, she leaned forward and put her face in her hands. “I didn’t mean to snap.”
“You’re entitled.”
She raised her head and looked at him over the tops of her fingers. “I hate that this happened.”
“Me, too.”
“I feel sick inside. I feel vulnerable and weak and I hate it.”
“Julia, you had no control over what happened.”
“I know. But that’s just it. I had no control. I was totally at his mercy.” Another sigh shuddered out of her. “It’s the most terrible feeling in the world.”
The need to reach out to her was strong, but something stopped him. “Mitch should be here in a few minutes.” He paused. “Do you feel up to answering some questions?”
“No, but I’ll do whatever it takes for them to catch this creep.”
“That’s the spirit.” He paused. “I should probably call someone from your family and let them know what happened.”
“Call Claudia.”
Before he could answer, a nurse wearing green scrubs and pushing a wheelchair approached them. “We got an exam room open, so I can take you back now.”
Julia winced when she rose, so John took her arm to steady her. “The police are on the way,” he said to the nurse.
The woman looked from John to Julia. “Ma’am, were you raped?”
Julia shook her head. “No.”
“Okay, honey, that’s good.” She usurped John’s position and offered the chair. “Go ahead and get in the wheelchair and I’ll cart you back to an exam room, okay?”
Julia nodded, her expression pained as she eased herself into the chair.
John wanted to stay with her, but wasn’t sure if that was what she wanted, so he opted to remain in the waiting area and use the time to make some very difficult calls.
TWENTY-FOUR
Julia lay on the gurney in a wrinkled cotton gown and
tried not to think about everything that had happened. Not an easy task considering she hurt all the way to the ends of her hair. She’d spent the last hour submitting to a battery of X-rays, needles and invasive prodding, and all she could think about now was going home.
“Yoo hoo.”
She raised her head to see Claudia peek her head around the curtain. She wasn’t sure why the sight of her sister brought tears to her eyes, but it did. “Hey,” she said.
“Oh, honey.” Shaking her head, Claudia approached the bed and took Julia’s hand. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“Okay being a relative term,” Julia said. “Do I look as bad as I feel?”
“Let’s just say you’re going to need some extra concealer for a while.”
“Just what I wanted to hear.” Tears averted, Julia lay back and sighed. “Did John tell you what happened?”
Claudia grimaced, jerked her head. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”
“Thanks.”
“How are you feeling?”
“I feel like I was run over by a truck on the way to the hospital. Twice.” Julia sighed.
“Twice, huh?”
“Don’t make me smile. It hurts.”
“Sorry.”
But she did smile, and she was vastly glad she had her younger sister to keep things in perspective.
“Did they give you something for pain?”
“Yeah, but I’m still waiting for it to kick in. No more jokes.”
Claudia smiled, but it was brief. “Are they going to admit you?”
Julia raised her hand, inordinately pleased that it wasn’t shaking. “Not if I have any say in the matter.”
“What did the doc say?”
“If my test results come back okay, I can go home.” Taking a deep breath, she asked the question she’d been avoiding. “Has anyone called Dad?”
“John called him after he called me. Dad and Parker are on the way.”
Julia closed her eyes. She wasn’t sure why, but for some reason she thought it was going to be hard to face her father. Maybe because for so many years she’d pushed so hard for her independence and now he could say “I told you so.”
“He was always dead set against my moving into the Quarter,” she said.
“He’s overprotective,” Claudia said.
“Maybe he was right.”
Claudia gripped her hand more tightly. “Don’t say that. You love the Quarter. You love your shop. Honey, this could have happened no matter where you were living.”
“I wish I hadn’t written that blasted book.”
“Julia, just because some nutcase has taken it upon himself to make your life a living hell doesn’t mean you should deprive yourself of something you feel passionately about.”
“I don’t feel safe in my own home anymore, Claudia. I don’t feel safe in the shop. I don’t even know how he got in. My God, if I hadn’t gotten away, he would have—”
“Honey, you
did
get away. You’re safe now, and you’re going to be all right.”
But for the second time in five minutes Julia had to blink back tears. Feeling restless and annoyed, she shook her head. “Where’s John?”
“He and Mitch are in the hall waiting to talk to you.” Claudia gave her a small smile. “He’s been hovering like a worried mama.”
A ray of warmth cut through the cold that had taken up residence inside her, and Julia smiled back.
“Do you feel up to answering some questions?”
Reliving the most terrifying moments of her life was the last thing she wanted to do, but Julia knew she didn’t have a choice. She wanted them to find the man responsible, and then she wanted him to pay. “I’m ready.”
“That’s my big sis.” Giving her hand a final squeeze, Claudia leaned close and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “If you need anything, I’ll be right outside.”
Julia knew it was silly, but she didn’t want her sister to leave. “Thanks.”
John and Mitch walked into the curtained treatment room the instant Claudia left. Julia worked up a smile, but she could tell by the men’s collective expressions that they weren’t buying it.
Mitch looked downright grim as he stepped up to the gurney. “How you doing, kid?”
“Doc thinks I’m going to live.”
John held his ground at the foot of the bed. “Are they going to admit you?”
“They’ll know as soon as the X-rays are back from Radiology.”
“Do you feel up to answering a few questions?” Mitch asked.
“If it will help you catch him,” she said, letting some of the anger into her voice.
Mitch pulled a pad from his jacket pocket. “Take your time. Start at the beginning. Tell us everything you remember, even if you think it might not be important. Okay?”
She barely recognized her own voice when she started to speak. She began with her leaving the restaurant, walking the Quarter and arriving at the shop. She could feel her heart pounding as she took them through every horrifying moment of the assault. It was extremely difficult, but she spoke candidly, telling them about the stalker tearing her shirt, splashing her with some kind of burning liquid, about him trying to rape her with the crucifix. She relayed the Bible quotes as best she could remember, but she’d been so terrified she wasn’t sure she got all the words right.
When she finished, she was shaking so badly she could see the sheets quivering. Sweat slicked her forehead. She tried hard to look unaffected, but there was no way she was pulling it off.
“Did you notice anything about him that might help us identify him?” Mitch asked.
“I couldn’t see his face because of the mask.”
“Did anything about him look familiar in any way?” John put in. “The way he moved? Tattoos? Birthmarks? Teeth?”
Julia shook her head.
“What about height and weight?” Mitch asked.
“He was shorter than you,” Julia said. “Not large, but very strong. I’d guess his weight to be around one hundred seventy pounds.”
“Eyes? Hair color?”
A flash of memory jolted her. Murderous eyes staring at her though the slits in the mask. The memory made her shiver. “His eyes are blue. Light blue. I saw them through the mask.”
“That’s good. You’re doing great.” Mitch scribbled. “Voice?”
“Guttural. Deep. But I think he was disguising it.”
Mitch and John exchanged a look she didn’t understand, then Mitch continued. “Did he say anything else?”
Julia shook her head. Her mouth had gone dry. She was starting to feel sleepy.
“I think the painkiller the doc gave her is kicking in,” said John.
She risked a look at him to find him standing at the foot of the gurney. His arms were crossed at his chest. His expression was inscrutable, revealing nothing of what he felt. Julia wasn’t sure she wanted to know. She hadn’t been able to look at him while she’d recounted the details of the attack. She hated feeling so vulnerable. She couldn’t bear the thought of him seeing her as a victim.
“Yeah. Okay.” Mitch shoved the notepad into his jacket pocket and handed Julia his card. “I’m going to file the report. In the interim, if you remember anything, even if it doesn’t seem important, give me a call, okay?”
She nodded. “Sure.”
John looked at his brother. “What about the shop? There might be something there.”
“CSI is already processing it,” Mitch said. “We got the book and letter.”
“Let’s hope we get some latents.” John looked at Julia. “The CSI you talked to said you had tissue beneath your nails. DNA will take a couple of days, but if he’s in the system we will identify him.”
Julia nodded. The CSI who’d “processed” her was a woman not much older than Claudia. She’d made small talk and done her best to put Julia at ease as she’d swabbed beneath her nails and taken photos of the bruises and burns.
“Let’s hope he’s in the system,” Julia said.
“I’ll keep you posted. Take care.” Nodding at Julia, Mitch turned and left.
Even through the haze of the painkiller, Julia felt the rise of tension between her and John. She couldn’t pinpoint its source. Before either of them could speak, the curtain swished and a young man donning blue scrubs entered the exam area.
“I’m Dr. Rahimi. How are you feeling?”
“Better now that the painkiller has kicked in.”
“Excellent.” He turned and jammed three films onto the X-ray light on the wall. “You’re a very lucky young woman.”
Lying there with her body aching, all Julia could think was that she didn’t feel very lucky.
He glanced at the chart in his hand. “You have no broken bones. No internal injuries. Lacerations and burns are minor. You do, however, have a mild concussion.”
John stepped forward, his expression concerned. “A concussion?”
“Mild,” the doctor repeated. “It doesn’t warrant my admitting you.”
Relief swirled through her. She’d been praying her X-rays would come back all right, because she did not want to spend the night in the hospital.
“Any idea what caused the burns on her throat and abdomen?” John asked.
The doctor nodded solemnly, his eyes going to Julia. “Tissue samples are being analyzed at the lab, but my best guess is that they were caused by acid.”
The word struck her like a fist. “Acid?” she repeated dumbly. “My God.”
John scrubbed a hand over his face and muttered an obscenity. “Are you sure?”
“We can’t be certain without having some residue to test. But I’ve seen burns caused by skin exposure to hydrochloric acid.” The doctor shook his head. “Your burns are very similar.”
Julia closed her eyes, wishing her head would stop spinning so she could digest this latest information. Why in the name of God would someone douse her with acid?
“Do you have someone to stay with you tonight?” Dr. Rahimi asked.
“My sister,” she said quickly.
“Me,” John said simultaneously.
Dr. Rahimi’s mouth twitched, then he addressed Julia. “In that case I’ll sign your release papers.” He looked at John. “Just make sure she goes straight to bed. I want her to drink plenty of fluids. I’ll write a prescription for some painkillers. You will need to wake her at least twice during the night.”
“No problem,” John said.
The doctor scribbled on the clipboard. “She’s been sedated, so you’ll need to use the wheelchair. I’ll leave her prescription at the window.”
“Thank you,” Julia said and worked up a smile.
Smiling back, the doctor touched her arm briefly, then ducked past the curtain.
John walked to the bed and looked down at her, his expression taut. “I’m glad you’re all right.”
“Me, too.” A sigh shuddered out of her.
“I’m sorry this happened.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“I was wrong about Vester.”
“All of us were wrong about Vester.”
“I shouldn’t have let you out of my sight.”
The curtain surrounding the gurney swished. Julia glanced up to see her father barrel into the examination area. Parker trailed behind him, looking frazzled, his expression telling them he’d have had better luck stopping a train.
“Julia.” Benjamin Wainwright’s face went sheet white at the sight of his daughter. “Oh, darlin’.”
“It looks worse than what it really is,” she said quickly.
He rushed to her side, stopped and bent to kiss her gently on the forehead. “Oh, darlin’. You’re hurt.”
“Dad, I’m okay.”
His hand shook when he reached for her. “You’re obviously not okay, honey. You’re covered with bruises. What on earth happened? John didn’t tell me much over the phone. Just that you were attacked in your shop.”
Leaving out most of the horrid details, Julia explained how she’d been ambushed.
“Thank God you’re all right.” Wainwright shook his head. “Honey, how many times have I told you the Quarter is no place for you to have set up shop? The crime rate there is off the scale. It’s no place for a lone woman to run a business.”