Shield of Justice Read Online Free PDF Page B

joining me in the cafeteria?”
    “Fine.”
    “It’s on the second floor.”
    “I’ll find it,” Rebecca replied.
    Catherine picked up a chef’s salad and seltzer and glanced around the cafeteria. She saw Rebecca Frye at once, looking slightly out of place in her gray jacket and black trousers amidst a sea of white coats. She made her way across the room to join her at a small table near the windows.
    Rebecca watched the doctor approach, appreciating the fact that she did not wear a clinical lab coat but was dressed instead in a simple navy suit. Only the beeper clipped to the waistband of her trousers indicated she was a doctor. Rebecca tried not to notice her trim figure or the curve of her breasts under the softly tailored jacket. It wasn’t easy, because Catherine Rawlings was stunning. Finally, she looked away, studying her coffee cup and waiting until the other woman was seated before speaking. “I have a few more questions, Dr. Rawlings.”
    “I gathered that, Detective Sergeant Frye,” Catherine commented dryly, studying the other woman’s face. She was glad to see that the circles under those clear blue eyes had faded slightly and that some of the tension had disappeared. She was also simply glad to see her.
    “Is it true that you specialize in rape and incest cases?” Rebecca asked abruptly.
    Catherine was a little taken aback, not with the directness of Rebecca’s approach—she expected that of the forthright detective—but with the rapidity with which she gathered information. Catherine had known that this, among other things, might come up. She just hadn’t expected it so soon. She answered steadily, “Not exactly
specialize
, but it is a particular interest of mine.”
    “Don’t give me double talk, Doctor. I’m not the enemy,” Rebecca said quietly.
    Catherine sighed and pushed aside her unwanted salad. She met Rebecca’s penetrating gaze. “Yes, it’s true that the majority of my private practice involves treating sexual abuse survivors.”
    “Why didn’t you tell me this last night?”
    Catherine looked genuinely surprised. “I didn’t think it was relevant.”
    “You didn’t think it was
relevant
?” Rebecca asked incredulously. “We finally have a witness, we
hope
, to a brutal rape—a
series
of rapes we can’t get a single lead on—and our only witness suddenly has amnesia. You happen to be an expert in such crimes, and you didn’t think it was
relevant
.” Rebecca didn’t raise her voice, but her anger was evident.
God, save me from dealing with civilians!
    “Detective Frye,” Catherine began in a reasonable tone, “I am not an expert on the
crimes
. I am an expert, if you will, on the
effects
of the crimes. That’s a very big difference.”
    “And what about Janet Ryan? Is she a victim of the crime?”
    “Don’t ask me questions you know I can’t answer,” Catherine said quietly, her eyes holding Rebecca’s. “Don’t make this a contest.”
    Rebecca sighed slightly. “I have to try.”
    Catherine leaned forward, her face intent. “Rebecca, I will do anything I possibly can to assist in this case, but I cannot, and I
will
not, disclose patient confidences. Please try to understand.”
    “I do understand.” The use of her first name did not escape Rebecca Frye. She tried to ignore the quickening of her heartbeat, reminding herself she was in the middle of a hospital cafeteria and in the middle of an investigation. “I appreciate your desire to protect your patients, and I respect you for it. I’m just grasping at straws here. I can’t get a handle on this guy, and it’s driving me nuts.” That last was an uncharacteristic outburst. If she had personal feelings about a case, she rarely displayed them, not even to Jeff, and most certainly not to a subject she was in the process of interviewing.
    As Catherine watched the torment play across Rebecca’s fine features, she felt every shred of the detective’s frustration and helplessness. “I’m