Page 58 of Nightwatching

Fabric covered her naked body, went over her face. She opened her eye to see a pink blanket, to see the white tiles.

“Hey. Can you give us some privacy? You can see she’s scared. Let me help her?”

“We’re helping her. We need to talk to her.”

“Of course, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything. Just, maybe she’ll be more…comfortable? With a woman helping her? Just for a minute?”

“Fine. A minute.”

The woman sat by her, blood soaking into the pink silk of her robe.

“Hey,” the woman said. “They’re gone for now. Some privacy, right? Let’s get you dressed, huh?”

“Your—your robe. The blood.”

“Oh, it’s all right.”

The woman looked away.

“Men,” she said. “They don’t think. Helping!” she scoffed. “I’d be just as scared as you, they undressed me like that. Wish you’d let me take that coat off you in the first place. I’ve got a sweater, sweatpants, socks. It’ll help. You won’t win any beauty contests, but should warm you up.”

She let the woman help her sit and button on a huge sweater. The woman gently pulled drawstring sweatpants up her legs, put big chenille socks over her swollen feet. She couldn’t feel any of it, skin at last numbed to deadness.

“Are you sick?” the woman said, face tense with concern.

“No.”

“You’re just…honey, you’re so thin. And your skin! Is there—is there anything you want to tell me? Do you feel safe at home?”

She strangled on a laugh, tasted blood again.

“You done in there?”

“Why were you naked?” the woman whispered.

“To stay warm,” she said.

The woman’s eyes swept over her pityingly.

The policemen reappeared, took her elbows to help move her onto a chair that hadn’t been there before. There was gauze around her hand, a hot-water bottle in her lap. A blanket draped her shoulders. She swallowed the last of the warm drink and remembered that they were wasting time.

“We have to go,” she wheezed.

The radio chirped. “We’re at the house, Sarge. No vehicles. No tire tracks. No footprints except for some going across the driveway at the back of the house. Likely your girl’s, ’cause they head your direction. House is dark. We clear to go in?”

“One minute,” said the boyish policeman into his radio.

“Okay,” said the sergeant. “Little better now, yeah? You look a little better. Sorry if we scared you. We were just trying to help warm you up, all right? You were kind of fading there. You okay? You think you can help us out?”

She nodded.

“Now, is there a key hidden somewhere?”

“In the rock, under the snow.”

“Ma’am, you said that before, and it doesn’t make sense, understand?”

“You know, I bet she’s talking about one of those hide-a-key things!” the woman chimed in. “Looks like a rock but it’s plastic? They’ve got a little compartment thingy? That you hide a key in?”

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