Fully Committed

A little warm, she pushed up her sleeves. At least talking to him had taken care of most of the chill. “That’s right, I’m on vacation.”

Let the jerk think what he wanted. She brushed past him on her way indoors. She was actually relieved to feel the air-conditioning.

“We need anything that Ms. Houze can give us,” Jon told her as they walked down the hall. She noticed he already knew most of the nurses. They waved to him and immediately began whispering to each other. No doubt about the tall, dark-haired, gorgeous agent hallowing their hallways.

Let them have him.

“Anything,” he repeated. “A full description of the perp’s face would, of course, be optimal. But anything at all would be helpful.”

Sherry nodded. “You probably shouldn’t hope for too much.” From me or her.

Jon grimaced. “I know you don’t want to know anything about the case. But we have nothing, Sherry. This guy is really smart. So when I say anything Ms. Houze remembers, I mean anything. No matter how small.”

“I’ll do my best.” As they arrived at Jasmine’s door, Sherry explained how she worked. “I’m going to leave the door open, but I need you not to come inside. With a case like this, and especially after what happened yesterday with Spangler, it’s important for you to stay out. Allow me to build a rapport with her.”

“That’s fine.”

“Even if you feel like it’s going too slowly or I’m asking questions that don’t pertain to the case, you still don’t get to butt in.”

He looked a little affronted at that. Good. That was how she felt every time he muttered the word vacation.

“What I do takes time, so I hope you brought a People magazine or something,” she continued.

He rolled his eyes. “How about if I just listen out here and take notes? I don’t think a gossip magazine will be necessary.”

“Fine. Just don’t interrupt unless it’s an emergency. No matter if you think I’m off target or missing something.”

“I got it. No interruptions. Take as long as you need.”

“She knows I’m coming, right? And that’s okay with her?” After what had happened yesterday, Sherry wouldn’t be surprised if the woman didn’t want to see anyone from law enforcement again.

“Yes, we cleared it with her, although I think she is planning to have a family member in, just in case. I okayed it with the doctor, also, just before you got here.”

“Fine.” She looked at him again. “Just don’t expect too much.”

“Trust me.” Jon’s eyes were tight, frustrated. “Anything you can give us is better than where we are now.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“That’s all I can ask.”

Sherry was afraid her best wasn’t going to be anywhere near enough. She straightened her shoulders and walked into the room. This wasn’t going to be pretty. But at least she wasn’t cold.

* * *

THREE HOURS LATER Jon sat in the hallway outside Jasmine Houze’s door. Sherry was wrapping it up, he could tell. She and Jasmine were talking about insignificant things: shoes, sales at different stores, favorite place to grab a margarita.

Really more than half of the time Sherry had spent with the woman had been used talking about seemingly insignificant things. Jon understood now why she had warned him not to interrupt. Obviously in the past she had been interrupted by people who thought she should be getting to the root of the issue—the actual drawing—more quickly.

While Jon could see why someone might jump to that conclusion, he wouldn’t have interrupted today even if Sherry had never asked any questions about the attack. She very masterfully built a rapport with Jasmine. There had been nothing fake about it. Every question she had asked seemed sincere.

Jon didn’t really know how well the woman could draw, but she could question a victim as well as, if not better than, many seasoned law-enforcement officers. Not just ones like Spangler who had no business being around victims. Sherry was excellent at what she did.

No wonder her supervisor held her in such high regard. She had patience, sincerity and an easygoing manner. Jon could tell just from hearing her talk. She knew when to press and when to back off. She’d let Ms. Houze tell her story in pieces, as she was ready, not ever forcing it, but gently bringing her back around to the questioning when they got too far off track.