Shadow Play by Iris Johansen Read Free Book Online Page A

questions, you try to answer. You think your name is Jenny but you don’t know the last name?”
    â€œ Yes. ”
    â€œDo you remember your mother or father?”
    â€œ No. ”
    â€œBrothers? Sisters?”
    â€œ No. ”
    â€œA place, a house?”
    â€œ No. ”
    She hesitated. “You do know that you’re not … as you were? That you’re not the Jenny who was born in … You’re a spirit, Jenny.”
    â€œ Yes, what they call a ghost. I’ve known that for a long time. ” She paused. “ But it confused me. Because I couldn’t understand why. I was just there, in that place, and I was alone. All I understood was that I had to be patient. I had to wait. ”
    â€œTo find the person who took your life?”
    â€œ That was a part of it. ”
    â€œI would think it would be a big part.” She stopped, hesitating again. She didn’t want to go down this path. She was getting the impression that Jenny was being truthful but that the girl was lost and bewildered, and Eve didn’t want to add pain to the mix. “You don’t remember how you were killed?”
    â€œ No. ” A pause. “ Am I supposed to remember? ”
    â€œPerhaps not. My daughter Bonnie had no memory of the time she was killed. And I had no body to examine and tell her.” She added, “There’s a terrible wound in this skull. You said you didn’t remember its hurting. You don’t remember who did it? You don’t remember the pain when he did it?”
    Silence. “ I remember pain. ” Her voice was suddenly panicky. “ Not then. Not then. Before. Before. Not my head. Hands. Please don’t do it. It will take it away. Please don’t— ”
    â€œJenny.” Eve was frantic, too. She had to stop that agony she was sensing in the child. Dear God, why had she even gone down this avenue? “I’m sorry. It’s not here any longer. No pain. All the bad things are gone. You don’t have to remember him. We’ll find him for you.” She wanted to reach out and hold her in her arms, to comfort her, but how could she do that, dammit? “Forgive me.”
    â€œ Are you crying, Eve? Why? ” Jenny’s agony was gone, and there was only curiosity.
    She was crying, Eve realized. Two tears were running down her cheeks. “Because I screwed up.” She wiped her cheeks on her work hand towel. “And I didn’t mean to hurt you. I told you that talking to you is awkward for me.” She drew a deep breath. “I don’t know what’s going to hurt you and what’s not. It’s all experimental between us. So I’d better be quiet and just do what I’m best at.” She started to carefully remove the depth markers. “Because that sheriff who sent you to me gave me some very bad news, and I promised him I’d see if I could get him answers.”
    â€œ I know. ”
    Her hand hesitated midway in the act of taking out another marker. “And do you know why I promised him?”
    Sadness. “ His friend, Ron. I told you it was going to keep on, Eve. ”
    She took out another marker. “Yes, you did. Was it the same man who killed—” She wasn’t going down that road again. “Do you know because of some supernatural instinct or because I know?”
    â€œ Because of you. I know what you know. I feel what you feel. ” She added simply, “ I like that, Eve. I don’t feel as lonely. ”
    Eve was touched, but she could see problems on the horizon. “Let’s hope it’s only until I finish this reconstruction. Then maybe we can find your parents.” She took out another marker. “I’d like that, Jenny. To send you home is my main goal of doing this.”
    â€œ Home…” Jenny said. “ I don’t think that I— ”
    â€œHush, now.” Eve’s brow was wrinkled with