We went up one flight of stairs and into another wing. Dr. Lee pushed open a door, surprising Christy, who was sitting on one of the two mattresses on the floor of the small room. She had apparently just removed her T-shirt, and she quickly grabbed her leather jacket and pulled it on, zipping it up.
Dr. Lee ignored this. "Christy, we need to see Åsa's clothes, and her sheets."
Christy stood up. "The sheets are in the trash. I didn't think we could get the blood out. Her clothes are over there."
My employer went across the room to the pile of clothes in the corner, and I followed her. She squatted, steadying herself with her cane, and started to poke through the clothes.
"Christy," Dr. Lee said, "get the sheets from the trash and bring them here."
I heard the sound of Christy quickly removing her jacket and pulling her T-shirt back on, and my employer whispered, "Eyes front, mister."
I chuckled and she leaned forward to look at the jeans, the T-shirt, and the underwear, but her main attention was focused on the boots. She lifted them one at a time and examined them carefully. When she was done, I helped her back to her feet and she smiled. She had something in her hand, and she slipped it into her jacket pocket.
I wasn't going to ask what it was, and I knew she wasn't about to tell me.
A moment later, Christy came back in, her arms full of sheets. She put them on the other mattress, the one which presumably belonged to Åsa, and I went to pick them up one at time for my employer's examination. She looked at them, but I could tell she had already decided what we were going to do next.
I dropped the second pillowcase and she looked slowly around the room. "Christy," she said, "how well do you know Åsa?"
She shrugged. "Fairly well, I guess. We've been roommates since we got here, to U-town. But we're not close."
Jan turned to Dr. Lee. "Can we go somewhere to continue this? I have trouble standing for very long."
Dr. Lee nodded. "Of course. Christy, please put the sheets back in the trash and join us in my office."
previous || about || home || next
