The sniper_s wife jg-13 Page 28

  In books written a hundred years earlier, Gail was what might have been called Joe's "particular friend." She was all of that, certainly-his sounding board, the echo of his conscience, his love of many years-but she was not his wife. Perhaps because they'd met later in life, or were in many ways too independent, or simply were loners drawn together by instinct, they'd formed an eccentric partnership as solid as that found in a good marriage, but in which they sometimes didn't see each other for weeks at a time. In fact, for half of each year, Gail lived and worked as a lobbyist in the state capital of Montpelier, which under normal conditions was a two-hour drive away.

  Not that these conditions applied. Gail had driven down at warp speed following Joe's phone call to her, and had been monitoring Laurie Davis's progress from just outside the operating room ever since.

  Laurie Davis was ner niece-her sister Rachel's daughter.

  Gunther kissed the top of her head. "She might get lucky. Sometimes, the brain just needs a little nap before waking up, good as new."

  They began walking down the empty, bland hallway toward the elevators at the far end.

  "You're talking about a previously healthy body," Gail responded. "Not someone already half dead from drugs."

  He thought about saying something comforting, as he would have with anyone else, but that wasn't their way. Plus, they'd both seen the girl, or what was left of her. There was little point pretending she wasn't a train wreck before Arnie Weller's bullet had torn into her skinny chest.

  Gail shook her head, her voice hardening as she stared at the floor. "What the hell was she thinking?"

  Joe felt uncomfortable. Laurie wasn't his relation. He'd only met her a couple of times. But she'd lived in Brattleboro, having moved up from suburban Connecticut at Gail's urging, and he was wondering now if he shouldn't have known that she'd fallen on hard times. He wasn't on the PD any longer, but he stayed connected. It would have been easy to keep tabs on her. Cops did that for one another's families, even extended ones.

  "Thinking probably isn't a huge prerequisite," he suggested vaguely instead. "Seems like it's usually more about dulling the pain."

  She looked up at him sharply, and he realized he'd unintentionally turned the tables on her, causing her to question her own responsibilities here.

  "Sorry," he added quickly. "I didn't mean it to come out that way."

  But Gail wasn't looking for a way out. "You're right," she admitted. "If she had been feeling any pain, I wouldn't have known about it. I didn't keep in touch- barely paid attention to her."

  She paused to sigh. "My sister's going to flip out."

  "You haven't reached her yet?" he asked.

  She shook her head. "Got the answering machine. They're probably on the town. They do that a lot. It was one of the issues between them and Laurie." She paused and then added, "Everyone thought coming to Vermont would give them all a break."

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