She's Not There Read Online Free PDF

would be if you were a client.”
    She reached into a hidden pocket in the small leather jacket, pulled out the tiniest wallet Lisa had ever seen and offered her a hundred dollar bill.
    “How ‘bout I put you on a retainer? This be enough to cover that?”
    “That’s not how it usually works. Do you plan on coming in for therapy?”
    “Can’t say I don’t need it. May take you up on that sometime, but right now I need to have a talk with you that has to be jus’ between us.”
    She accepted the bill. “I’ll take this as a ‘retainer’ with the understanding that you come to see me for therapy at some point in time. And, to make it official, I’ll give you a receipt, so I’ll need your name.”
    The woman reached into her wallet, this time pulling out a business card, which she offered to Lisa. Printed on it was, Teal J. Peacock, Security Consultant, and a phone number. A tiny peacock decorated the lower corner of the card.
    Apparently expecting a comment on her name, she quickly offered, “Mostly, I go by TJ.”
    “TJ, is there someone in particular you don’t want me to discuss our conversation with?”
    She grinned, nodding her head. “You figured that out! Guess that’s why you’re the shrink.”
    Lisa fumbled under the desk for the pumps she’d kicked off, then gave up and came out from behind her desk in stocking feet. She led TJ to a matched set of  green leather chairs, fronted with matching footstools. The chairs were positioned on either side of a round, beveled-glass topped coffee table in front of the bay window, the seating arrangement softly lit by a Tiffany-style floor lamp in shades of blue and green. TJ took a seat, slipping off her jacket to reveal a pair of well-toned arms, one of which boasted a hammered-gold snake bracelet wound around her bicep.
    Lisa began, “Can you tell me who you want this conversation kept from?”
    Her gaze met Lisa’s, her chin up, defiant. “Detective Richard Conlin.”
    “Conlin? Are you with the police department?”
    “Was once, but that’s a long story for another time.”
    “Then what is your connection to him and why can‘t he know about your being here?”
    “He and I kinda have a relationship.” She paused, and put her feet up on the footstool. “He told me about your visit to the department. That’s why I’m here. And he can’t know about it, cause I been telling him for years somethin’s goin’ on. You got to see firsthand how helpful it was to tell him about it. Better if he doesn‘t know I‘m still lookin’ for answers.”
    Lisa’s heart rate picked up. “Wouldn’t my conversation with him have been in confidence?”
    “Nothing confidential ‘bout it, if there’s no case.”
    “I suppose that’s true. You’re aware then of the statistics I brought to the police, and you probably also know they ran their own a while back. So why do you want to discuss this with me? ”

10
     
    TJ lifted her legs off the ottoman and leaned forward. “Have to go back in time a little to explain. Left the force ‘bout six years ago and tried working as a PI. Got a license and hung out my shingle, so to speak. Didn’t do real well, but things picked up when I finally got a few referrals from contacts in the department.
    “Few years back, a doctor from Waukesha was arrested and convicted of killing his wife. Attorney who took up his appeal recommended me as an investigator. Thought my ties with the force would give me an edge in finding somethin’ new to use for his appeal. The Doc got off on the appeal because I found out the search that turned up his wife’s blood in his car was illegal. Great thing for him but pissed off the department and about put an end to my PI career.
    “The Doc was real grateful and got me a part-time job doing security for a big bank near Brookfield Square shopping mall.”
    “How long were you part of the police force?”
    “’Bout eight years. Like I said, why I quit is the long story part.”
    Lisa