Page 16 of Not Quite Dead Yet

But someone had had a reason. You didn’t smack someone three times in the skull if you didn’t. Thewhywas almost as confusing as thewho.Would Jet ever know the answers? Not if she chose the surgery and the percentage played out as percentages tended to do.

The detective clicked his tongue and Jet wanted to rip it out.

‘Can you tell us where your ex-boyfriend is?’ He paused to read out the name from his notes, finding it with his finger. ‘JJ Lim. Know where he is?’

Jet clicked her tongue too. ‘I dunno if anyone’s told you, but I’ve kind of been unconscious in the hospital.’

Ecker raised his eyebrows.

‘No, I don’t know where he is, Detective. Why?’

‘We’ve been unable to reach him. He’s not answering his phone. We’ve spoken to his brother – Henry – who doesn’t know where he is either. Says he left town suddenly on Friday night, on Halloween. Didn’t say where he was going.’

Jet straightened up, peeling away from the pillows.

‘You don’t think he’s a suspect, do you?’

But by the looks on their faces, they clearly did.

‘How long were you together?’ the detective asked.

Why was that relevant?

‘Almost two years,’ she answered. ‘Look, JJ didn’t do this.’

‘But you didn’t see your attacker?’ the chief chimed in now.

‘No. I didn’t. But …’ Jet didn’t know where that was going, left it dangling in the stale room.

‘One last thing we need to ask you,’ Ecker said, turning another page. ‘Your cell phone is missing. Do you know what model it is?’

‘They took my phone?’

‘It wasn’t on you and it’s not at the scene.’

‘iPhone. A 14, I think.’

‘That’s what your father guessed.’ Ecker made a note. ‘And – finally – you were wearing an Apple Watch during the attack. We have it now. Can you tell us the passcode, so we can access the data? It would help speed the process along, so we’re not waiting on telephone records.’

Jet glanced at her bare wrist. ‘Yeah. It’s 0709.’

‘You sure?’ Ecker eyed her.

‘Yes, I’m sure. My passwords didn’t get knocked out of my head.’

The detective sniffed awkwardly, and that’s when Jet knew, realized why he was double-checking. If she chose to have the surgery – if she died on the table like chance said she would – then this was their final chance to speak to her. That’s why they had to be sure. Because they were talking to a dead woman.

‘0709,’ she said again.

He wrote it down, Jet’s eyes following the swish of his pen. He nodded, glancing over at Chief Lou and Jack, closing the file.

‘I think that’s everything we need from you now, Jet,’ he said.

‘No, wait.’ She sat up, brought her knees closer to her chest. They couldn’t be done, because if they were, that meant it was time for Jet to decide, to make her choice. And maybe, maybe she could put it off just a few minutes more. Not right now. Later. Later. Let her choose later.

‘It’s OK, Jet,’ Jack said, voice gruff and raw, like it had been overused since she last saw him. But his eyes were kind, glittering with the threat of tears. ‘I promise you, kiddo. We will get the person who did this to you. I promise. I will do that for you.’

Jet locked onto his eyes, blinked. Didn’t he know? She couldn’t let people do things for her, because what did that prove? That her mom was right; that Jet was born useless and would die that way too? Now she had no time to prove anything at all. This wasn’t fair, it couldn’t be happening.

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