All the Pretty Girls - J. T. Ellison [130]
Baldwin looked at her, helpless. “What do you want me to do? She fainted dead away.”
“Well, wake her up. You’re a doctor, do what doctors do. We need to get her to tell us where Reese is. Surely she knows, he’s her brother after all.”
“I’m a psychiatrist, Taylor, not an internist.” He knelt down, but Quinn’s eyes were already fluttering, and her hand raised up limply, looking for support. Baldwin grabbed it, feeling her pulse at the same time. It was just a good old southern belle faint. He helped her back up, onto the sofa.
Taylor went in search of something cool to drink. She came back with a bottle of Evian water she’d found in the cavernous refrigerator. Quinn was looking better but she gave her the water anyway, eyeing her like she was a bomb about to go off. Taylor hated that kind of weakness, the notion of it made her nervous.
Quinn took a few sips of water and leaned back into the cushions of the sofa, looking utterly forlorn. She was mumbling to herself, saying the name over and over. Reese, Reese, Reese.
Taylor stared at Baldwin and he sat down next to Quinn. “Quinn, I need you to tell me where Reese is. Where does he live?”
Quinn rattled off an address. Taylor grabbed her phone and walked to the other side of the room. She dialed in to her office. Fitz picked up the phone.
“Fitz, I’ve got an address on the Strangler. Name’s Reese Connolly…That’s right, their little brother. Listen, you need to get over there right now. With any luck…Yes, I’ll meet you there. Okay then. Suit up, too, this guy’s dangerous.” She hung up and walked back to Quinn and Baldwin. She raised her eyebrows at him, saying, okay, let’s go, we got an address, it’s time to roll. But he shook her off. Quinn was talking to him, the words coming out in a torrent.
“It makes sense to me now. Reese would know about the poems. Jake, when we first started dating, used to send me little notes. He’d put them in the mailbox, leave them in the refrigerator. He was hopelessly romantic back then. Reese would know all about them, he lived with us until he started college. We married right after he moved into the dorms. You know he was an exceptional child. Brilliant, started college when he was only fifteen. He’s only twenty-one now and into his residency at Vanderbilt. I’m so proud of him. There’s no way he could be killing these girls. Sending the poems, that I can see, not understand, but he’d know. And he could do that with his laptop. But the killings, he’s been in Guatemala. There’s no way.” She was babbling, and Baldwin tried to guide her through it.
“Is there any way to confirm that?”
“Well, certainly. I can just call one of the doctors he was with. Hold on a moment, let me get the number. I couldn’t reach them while they were in the field, that’s why Reese didn’t know about Whitney, but they returned yesterday…You’ll see, Reese wasn’t involved.” She opened the drawer of a writing desk and pulled out a brown leather dayrunner. She flipped to a page, ran her finger down to an entry, then with her other hand dialed the number into the phone. It took a moment to get the connection, then she began speaking.
“Jim Ogelsby, how are you?” The gracious greeting was accompanied by a smile. “Did you have a wonderful mission trip? You did? That’s amazing. I want to hear all about it. No, I just have a quick question for you. How did Reese do? What? He didn’t? He…are you sure? Okay then, thanks, Jim. No, we’ll have to catch up later. See you soon.”
She hung up the phone, eyes wide. “Jim says Reese didn’t accompany them on the trip. He told them he couldn’t get the required shots, that he was allergic to something in them. He lied.” The wonder in her voice was painful. “He lied to me, about everything. How could he do that? Oh dear God, he was here all the time.”
Taylor nodded. “Would Reese know about Jake’s travel? Where he is at any given time?”
“Of course. I always send a copy of Jake’s itinerary to both Whitney and Reese. Jake’s secretary compiles it once a month and I just get in the habit of sending it out to them.” A look of horror dawned on