“Don’t mention it.”

“How did you know I wasn’t?”

Jack smiled, then said, “Trade secret.”

“What CD?” Danny asked.

“The one she put on as we were walking down the hall,” said Jack. He caught her blush and added, “We want to ask you about a young girl who just left here.”

“Her name is Marcie,” said Danny.

“I told you gentlemen before, I don’t talk about my patients. I extended that courtesy to you. The same goes for my other patients.”

“But we’re police officers…,” protested Danny.

“Most of my patients are not on very good terms with the police. If I talk, especially to the police, some of them would risk dying rather than come in for treatment.”

“I’m sorry,” said Danny, letting out a sigh. “I guess you’re right. Besides, she saw you, so I’m sure she’s okay now.”

Okay? That damned kid is far from okay! She watched Danny get to his feet. Jack remained seated, staring at her.

“She’s not okay, is she, doctor?” he finally said.

She stared back. She didn’t need to speak. The tears that flooded her eyes said it all.

“I deal with victims in my work,” Jack said. “You and I, our objectives are not all that different. You treat the victims. I try to eliminate those who turn people into victims. We just go about it from different angles. You have my word. Nobody outside of this office will ever know that we have talked to you. I really would like to know what happened to her. Maybe I can do something to help or to prevent someone else from getting hurt.”

Danny looked at Jack. What did he really mean when he said eliminate?

The doctor stared at Jack for a moment, then quietly said to Danny, “You better sit down. This will take a few minutes.

She waited until Danny sat down and then looked at Jack. “Marcie has recently become a street kid. Except for a grandmother in a nursing home, the only relative she has is her father. Although she wouldn’t come right out and say it, I strongly suspect that her father carried on an incestuous relationship with her. Tonight she told me that she went to sleep under someone’s porch when she was attacked by a dog and repeatedly bitten. She said that the dog’s chain got wrapped around her neck and she almost strangled. She said she got her hands on her first fix of heroin tonight, to ease the pain.”

“So that’s what happened,” said Danny. “And someone dropped her off in an alley after she fixed.”

Her reply was laced with anger. “That is not what happened! There was a woman with her. Long dyed red hair and tattoos. I wanted to speak to Marcie alone, but she insisted that her friend had to be with her.”

“I’m acquainted with her … companion,” said Jack.

“Marcie was coached. She looked at her so-called friend for every response.”

“Did you treat her for animal bites?” asked Jack.

“It was evident from the eye teeth that they were animal bites. I treated her for bite marks on her fingers, breast, and thigh, but her clothes weren’t punctured or torn.”

“Sexual perversion with a dog,” said Jack quietly.

“That’s my guess. And you can bet she didn’t inject herself, either. The injection site was on her right arm. She’s right-handed, so the likely location should have been on her left arm.”

Danny felt nauseous. He thought of Tiffany. If someone did that to her… He waited until they left the clinic before turning to Jack and asking, “What can we do about this?”

“There is nothing we can do right now.”

“She’s just a kid, for Christ’s sake. We’ve got —”

“There’s lots of kids like Marcie. Social workers are always on the street trying to convince them to accept help. It’s not easy. Even if we take Red out of the picture, there will always be someone else to take her place. All we can do is wait for an opportunity.”

“What kind of opportunity?”

“I don’t know yet, but as far as Red goes, she told me that she can deal with Leonard’s connection if he isn’t around. Providing the quantity is a quarter-pound or more.”

“So?”

“So for now it would be better if we dispose of Leonard.”

“Dispose of Leonard? What do you…?”

Danny was interrupted when Dr. Trovinski caught up to them and said, “Excuse me, gentlemen, but I’m off shift now. Would you mind walking me to my car?”

They walked in silence to her car. She unlocked her door and then looked at Jack and blurted, “Would you like to have dinner with me? I’m off on Sunday. I know it’s short notice, but that’s the only day off I have for a while.”

“I’m sorry,” said Jack. “I already have a commitment for Sunday.”

“Bring her along!” said Danny. “Make it a foursome.”

“I was taking Danny and his wife, Susan, to a little Italian restaurant. A family-run place. The food is excellent. If you would like to join us…”

“You don’t mind?” she asked.

“Doctor, I don’t mind at all!”

“My name is Natasha. Please, no more ‘doctor’ bullshit.”

Danny noticed that their eyes came more alive as they looked at each other. Jack is right. If you pay attention, you can tell a lot from people’s eyes. Wished I paid more attention to Jack’s eyes when he talked about disposing of Leonard….

chapter twelve

Marcie locked the bathroom door and eased herself into the bathtub. Steam rose from the water. She closed her eyes for a moment and gritted her teeth. In the other room, Red turned on the stereo, and it blasted out heavy metal. Marcie could feel the vibrations of the music when she laid her head back on the ceramic tiles.

She sat up and with a facecloth gently scrubbed her body with soap and rinsed in the hot water. Then she scrubbed herself again, rubbing harder.

Then she felt it. Slowly at first. Like lice, crawling over her body. She examined her skin. There was nothing there.

She started over, using a hand brush, feverishly washing herself. Her skin became raw and red. The bandages on her fingers became soggy and fell off. Blood seeped through the dressing on her chest. She stopped washing. She didn’t feel any cleaner. She sat for a moment with her arms at her side, and then she cried.

She stayed in the bathtub until the coldness of the water brought her back to reality. Then she wrapped the damp bandages back over her fingers and went to her room and put on jeans and a loose-fitting shirt. She eased herself down on a mattress on the floor. There were no sheets and the mattress was dirty and badly stained. She started to shake and curled up in the fetal position.

Moments later, Red walked into the room. She sat down on the edge of the mattress and gently brushed the hair back from Marcie’s eyes.

“I’m so, so sorry, baby. I had no idea this guy would hurt you. You’ve got to believe me.”

Marcie didn’t respond.

“I’ll tell you what, you won’t have to do this kinda stuff ever again. You just stay here and rest for as long as ya want. I’ll take good care of ya! You’ll see!”

She closed her eyes and drifted in and out of sleep. Suddenly, he was back! Wearing the same mask and holding the leash in one hand. He was naked, except for his shoes. He walked toward her, rattling the silver chain on the end of the leash. “Okay, Cutesy…” His dog was at his side.

She tried to yell, but no sound would come out. The dog’s lips pulled back over its gums as it snarled, its hot breath on her face. Then it shook its head, flinging saliva across her cheek and mouth. Claws scratched her skin. She screamed and sat up.

“It’s okay, baby, it’s okay,” said Red, sitting on the edge of the mattress, hugging her tight. “You’re just havin’ a bad dream. It’s okay.”

She opened her eyes. There was daylight in the room. She looked at the bandages around her fingers. “It’s not a dream!” she cried.