Free The Witch's Ladder by Dana Donovan Page B

“Not at all, Ms. Adams, I’m sure it was just coincidence.”
    I knew it wasn’t a coincidence.
    “ It was no coincidence,” she said.
    I looked down at Valerie. She appeared to be coming around from her ordeal. “Does anyone want to explain to me what’s going on here?”
    “ It’s an experiment in psychometry,” said Doctor Lieberman. “Barbara saw a mysterious bundle of clothing in the back seat of her car. We suspect the killer hid there waiting for her.”
    I assisted Doctor Lieberman in helping Valerie back onto a chair. “Yes, we did find some torn fibers in Barbara’s car and under her fingernails, fibers that don’t match anything else at the crime scene.”
    “ That’s good, Detective. Does this mean you have a suspect now?”
    “ No, Doctor. It doesn’t.” I found myself twirling the witch’s ladder absentmindedly. “I’m afraid the lab hasn’t provided me with a link to the fibers—yet. But they will.”
    “ Yeah, right,” someone scoffed.
    I turned around to see who had mocked me, but too many misgiving eyes stared back for me to be sure. It could have been anyone, one of the twins I thought, but it didn’t matter. The one thing I knew for sure was that it was not Leona. I turned back to Doctor Lieberman. “Where’s Ms. Diaz? I still have questions for her.”
    “ Questions?”
    “ Yes. Like what was she doing at Suffolk’s Walk the night those men were killed.”
    “ You don’t know she was there, Detective. All you have is vague witness descriptions of a young woman that looked like Leona. I’m sure it wasn’t her.”
    “ No. It was her, Doctor. I’ve shown her surveillance pictures to my witnesses and they made a positive I.D.”
    “ Surveillance? You have us under surveillance now?”
    “ For your protection. That’s all.”
    “ Yes, well, I don’t appreciate you following us around and taking pictures when you should be out there looking for a serial killer.”
    “ I am, Doctor. I’m out there. I’m in here. I’m anywhere this investigation takes me, and right now it takes me looking for Leona Diaz. All I want to do is ask her what she saw at Suffolk’s Walk.”
    “ Detective, if Leona had any information for you, I believe she would have told you straight away. Besides, if she was at Suffolk’s Walk at all, she wasn’t there in person. She was bilocating.”
    I rolled my eyes and laughed. “Bilocating? That’s another thing. You know I’m very anxious to learn more about this bilocating stuff, and maybe gain a little insight into what happened here last night when Leona became so conveniently disengaged.”
    “ I’m afraid all that is going to have to wait,” said Doctor Lieberman. “Leona’s not coming to the meeting tonight. She called to say she’s not feeling well.”
    “ Not well—or is she trying to avoid me?”
    “ Excuse me?”
    “ You heard me.”
    “ Yes, and I don’t like the implications.”
    “ Implications? I’m more than implying. I’m beginning to believe Leona may have staged her sudden episode of spontaneous disengagement, along with the whole glossolalia thing for the sake of escaping interrogation.”
    “ Oh, so now it’s an interrogation. Since when did your interviews get so formal? You know, Detective, I think you should consider whom you’re dealing with.”
    “ I know whom I’m dealing with,” I said, but then realized the truth in Doctor Lieberman’s words. I knew whom I was dealing with, and I almost forgot I was dealing with psychics.
    Someone turned the remaining lights in the room back on and that’s when I turned my attention to Valerie. “So, Ms. Spencer, tell me what you saw while you were doing your psychometry thing. Anything interesting?”
    “ I don’t know, Detective. I don’t remember anything.”
    “ Is that so? Maybe a trip downtown will help you remember. Or need I remind you that holding back critical information in a homicide investigation is considered—”
    “ She said she