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 Yes, I know. We heard that. Tell us something we don t know.
 Don t get excited, Val, Lilith warned.  You re getting frustrated.
 I know I, but she s blocking the memory. It is in there. She knows who it is.
 Then what do we do?
Doctor Lieberman said,  Valerie, you re not likely to get her to remember something she does not want to
remember. Perhaps if we try a more conventional form of hypnosis we can 
 No, Doctor. She remembers. She is blocking it out for some reason. I want to proceed. She turned again to
Lilith, who continued maintaining pressure on Leona s temporal lobes.  You in this with me?
Lilith nodded. Valerie clinched her teeth and gestured a nod back.  A little more pressure then. She
refocused her attention on Leona s spinal accessory nerve and pinched it harder.  She just needs to remember,
that s all.
Throughout the procedure, Leona remained remarkably placid, and seemed even more at ease as Valerie and
Lilith increased pressure on the vital nerve points.
 All right, Leona. Valerie s voice grew noticeably impatient.  Concentrate. Officer Quinn is gone; there is
nothing more you could do. Tell me about Chris. What happened when you saw him last? He came out of the
building after Quinn was murdered, but he didn t realize it yet, did he?
She shook her head, as tears began pooling behind her closed eyelids.  He did not realize it. Her voice
quivered.  He thought he was safe because he saw the patrol car there. He stepped outside and headed toward
his van when he heard the horn.
 What horn?
 From the patrol car.
 But you said Quinn was dead.
 Yes, but the killer tricked. I tried to warn him, but he could not hear me. None of them can hear me.
 None of them?
 The damned and condemned.
 The people in your travels, you mean, when you bilocate.
 Yes. They can see, but they cannot hear me.
 Could Chris see you?
Leona smiled and sighed.  He was so beautiful. He always talked after workshop. Sometimes he would come
to my apartment and watch television with me. He always insisted on watching the Spanish stations to make me
feel at home, even though he did not speak Spanish. Is that not so sweet?
Valerie and Lilith exchanged glances, confused, until Shekina blurted out what seemed obvious to the others:
 Get this! I think Chris and the little twerp were in love!
 Shekina! said Doctor Lieberman.
 Well, she was.
 Enough!
This revelation surprised Valerie, who now felt a sense of guilt for trying to force Leona into remembering.
 Do you think we should stop? she asked.  We haven t gone too far yet.
 We can t stop now, Gordon argued.  She s there. She knows who he is. You have to let her continue. Make
her tell us who killed Chris.
 No, said Doctor Lieberman.  I think you should stop. You re getting into police matters now. Leave it for
Detective Marcella.
That is when I stepped in, calling out from across the room.  No. Keep going! All eyes turned, surprised
again to find me standing by the door.  Let s hear what she has to say. I m tired of finding dead bodies around
here, especially when they include my deputies. I pointed at Lilith and Valerie.  You two just keep on doing
whatever it is you re doing. Get some answers out of that girl or I will have her hauled downtown for
questioning. I mean it. I looked to Doctor Lieberman,  Do you have a problem with that, Doctor?
I thought he would call me on it, but he did not. He turned to Valerie and Lilith and gave them the nod.
Valerie shrugged and Lilith winked, and so the questioning continued.
 Leona, honey, I didn t know you were in love with Chris. Why didn t you tell anyone?
 Because, she answered, and then she blushed some.  Chris thought everyone would tease us if they found
out. He did not want the attention.
 Yes. I can imagine, but I think you two would have made a lovely couple. I wish you had said something.
Leona lowered her head, embarrassed but smiling, apparently agreeing with the comment.
 Leona, you know what happened to Chris. It is very important that you remember everything so that we can
catch the guy who did this to him. Won t you do that for us? Won t you try to remember? [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]