Free Secrets Amoung The Shadows by Sally Berneathy Page A

bed. While I was sleeping, that's the only time I can't account for."
    "What time was Kay murdered?"
    "The paper said between eight p.m. and midnight."
    "So it could have happened after you went to sleep. Except the network news is over at ten-thirty, and that seems a little late for a crab leg dinner."
    He flinched. "Not necessarily. According to her friend at the shop, after Kay asked her husband for a divorce, if he agreed, she was going to call me to come over and celebrate. That would put the dinner later than normal."
    His words hit Leanne in her mid-section. The possibility of Eliot's guilt was becoming more certain with every new fact. And still she didn't want to believe it. Still she wanted to find another explanation.
    "Her friend said she was going to call me on my private phone number."
    "A private number? An unlisted number, you mean?"
    "I guess. My home phone is unlisted." He scowled, a crease appearing between his eyebrows. "Her friend said it was the number I gave her just for her use. My home phone's unlisted, but a lot of people have the number."
    "A second cell phone?"
    "Not that I know of. Nothing I'm being billed for."
    "Surely you'd have noticed if you had an extra cell phone lying around." She realized she was helping Eliot build a favorable argument instead of trying to be neutral. Against everything she knew to be right, against everything she knew to be safe, she was letting her emotions lead her.
    "Okay," she continued briskly, "check with your cell provider about extra lines."
    "And Kay's husband. I need to talk to him."
    "The man who's supposed to have a terrible temper, who might have killed Kay? Do you think that's a good idea?"
    Eliot grinned wryly. "He'll be talking to the man who might have killed Kay, too. Who do you think is in the most danger? I'm the one who dreamed about doing it. How can you explain that dream if Wayne did it?"
    "I don't know," Leanne admitted. "Mental telepathy is a proven fact, and psychics sometimes have dreams or visions of a murder." Was she doing it again, trying to exculpate Eliot, or was she being fair? It was getting harder and harder to differentiate. "I'm not saying that's what happened to you. But we do have a lot of questions that we can't answer until we learn more facts."
    "Fine. When do we do that? When can you get me in during regular hours so somebody else will be here and we can do more hypnosis?"
    He'd just given her the opening she needed. "Eliot, I'd like your permission to bring in a colleague. The gentleman I'm thinking of is retired from private practice. In fact, I took over this practice from him. I used to work with him. He's a brilliant man and has a great deal of expertise in the field of multiple personality disorder. More than I do." Not to mention that the presence of another doctor—especially Thurman—should get her back on track as far as objectivity.
    "No." Eliot's answer was firm and immediate, and his features hardened to granite. "You told me anything I said to you would be confidential. I could have never told you so much if I'd known you planned to share that information with your colleagues."
    "Eliot, please. I don't plan to tell anyone except another doctor. You make it sound like some kind of a gossip fest. If you went to a doctor for a physical problem, you wouldn't be upset if he needed to consult with another doctor. If you don't want me to, I won't. The decision is yours. But if I have to wait to work you in during regular office hours, it's probably going to be a couple of weeks."
    Eliot seemed to be undergoing an inner struggle, a fact that didn't surprise her at all. From the beginning, he'd appeared reluctant to tell her everything. Naturally he would hesitate about her bringing in an unknown third party. After what he'd admitted about his teenage relationship with a girl who'd betrayed his confidence, such hesitation was to be expected. He probably found it difficult to trust anybody.
    "All right," he finally said,