Read Blind Eye for Free Online Page B

it someone from here?”
    â€œNo,” he replied, occupied with finding another channel that might show the same clip.
    â€œWas it local or national news?” the young policeman wanted to know.
    â€œI don’t know. I walked in and it was there, on the screen…and then it was gone.”
    â€œMan or a woman?”
    â€œA woman,” Mark said under his breath. The other news stations were covering the fire on the offshore platform he’d seen that morning. A related news story reported that the same company that had been funding research at the site had also suffered another loss today. A separate group from their research and development department had been killed in a plane crash. There had been no survivors.
    â€œAnyone I know?” John persisted.
    â€œNo.”
    â€œIt’s really fun playing twenty questions.” John slapped him on the shoulder. “Who is she?”
    The news channel he’d turned to put a grid of nine faces on the screen.
    â€œChrist. It was her.” Mark pointed with the remote as he turned up the volume. “That’s her.”
    â€œAn unidentified source within the New Mexico Power Company has told the local Eyewitness News station that these nine scientists were members of a research team conducting studies in a subterranean facility beneath the converted monitoring station in the Gulf of Mexico. At this point, the company has yet to officially admit or deny the identity of the victims.” A split screen showed the burning platform and a photo of a man with the name Dr. Robert Eaton beneath the scientist’s smiling face.
    â€œHow could they put pictures of people up when there’s no official confirmation?” John muttered. “Who is she? Where did you meet her?”
    The picture split into four images, showing the photos of the team with the person’s name and university affiliation beneath each one.
    â€œMarion Kagan, UC Davis, California,” Mark said softly. “Last time I was on leave, I got stranded in the Boston airport because of bad weather. Her flight was canceled, too. We ended up talking.”
    â€œSorry, man,” John said, putting a hand on Mark’s shoulder. “You okay?”
    Mark leaned against the counter and stared at the dark shoulder-length hair, the large eyes, the beautiful face. And then the image switched back to an aerial shot of the fire.
    He barely knew her, really. But he remembered how something about her shone from the inside, especially when she smiled. How often had he thought about her over the past year? He ran a hand down his face.
    â€œMarion Kagan. I can’t believe she’s dead.”

10
    Waterbury Long-Term Care Facility
Connecticut
    â€œI still can’t believe how simple it was to get the conservator’s okay,” Sid Conway admitted as he read the papers the attorney had faxed to the office of the nursing home.
    â€œYou are doing clinical research, supported by the UCONN Health Center,” Ahmad Baer reminded him. “This patient’s care is provided by the State of Connecticut, and I am her attending physician. The testing is noninvasive and cannot harm the patient physically. I am on the advisory committee for this grant, so I am familiar with everything about the situation. Considering all these facts, this can only be a win-win situation, especially if the results help us find out who she is. Why wouldn’t the conservator go along?”
    â€œWe don’t know if we can find anything about her identity or not. We don’t have any control over what kind of information we can pick up on the readings.”
    â€œThat’s fine,” Ahmad replied. “The bottom line is that you have another subject.”
    â€œCan I see her today?” Sid asked.
    â€œOf course.” Baer looked at the schedule of patientshe had to see today. Jennifer Sullivan had put JD down as his first visit.
    â€œWhen can we move her