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Chapters (62)
  1. Cover
  2. Love best-selling fiction?
  3. Also by McGarvey Black
  4. Dedication
  5. Epigraph
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 18
  24. 19
  25. 20
  26. 21
  27. 22
  28. 23
  29. 24
  30. 25
  31. 26
  32. 27
  33. 28
  34. 29
  35. 30
  36. 31
  37. 32
  38. 33
  39. 34
  40. 35
  41. 36
  42. 37
  43. 38
  44. 39
  45. 40
  46. 41
  47. 42
  48. 43
  49. 44
  50. 45
  51. 46
  52. 47
  53. 48
  54. 49
  55. 50
  56. 51
  57. 52
  58. 53
  59. Acknowledgements
  60. A note from the publisher
  61. Love best-selling fiction?
  62. You will also enjoy:

She opened the new bottle of Ambien, popped a single pill in her mouth, and washed it down with her last sip of bourbon. Changing into her nightshirt, she put her new prescription bottle back into the bathroom medicine cabinet and climbed into bed. At least I’ll get some sleep tonight. I’ll worry about Conner and the masked woman tomorrow.

37

Before the effects of the Ambien totally kicked in that Wednesday night, Zoe’s mind remained busy. She reviewed the activities of her day and made a list of plans for the next morning as she waited for the sleeping pill to send her off to dreamland. Thoughts of Conner and the irritated tone he took with her on their calls that week crept into her mind. He says he’s over what happened with the embassy, but I don’t think he is. If he wants me to go back to Dr. Eisdorfer, it means he’s still upset. I don’t need therapy. I only went to make him happy.

“Why do you think you insert yourself into other people’s lives, Zoe?” Dr. Eisdorfer had asked in one of their early sessions.

“I don’t,” said Zoe. “I have extremely heightened senses. I notice things other people don’t.”

“Like what?” said Dr. Eisdorfer smiling warmly.

“Most people walk around caught up in their own thoughts, moving from one place to the next, one meeting to another. I move through the world with all my senses open and available. I look, listen, smell, touch, and really feel my environment,” said Zoe passionately. “That’s why I detect things—a blink of an eye, a whisper between strangers, a secret document passed from a Central European man to a South African woman on a bus.”

The therapist’s face remained still as she took a long deep breath in and exhaled. “It must be wonderful to have such an acute sense of the world, but it also has to be very distracting and exhausting,” said the therapist in earnest. “Don’t you get tired of always being so attuned to your environment?”

Zoe smiled and leaned forward. “It’s invigorating most of the time. Although, I sometimes find it difficult to focus with so many things happening around me.”

“I can imagine.”

“But you know what they say, if you see something, say something, right? If you see a potential crime, you have to let the authorities know, don’t you? You have to report it.”

“Alerting law enforcement to a crime is one’s civic duty. But, let me ask you, how has all of your investigating ended up? Have any of the perpetrators you reported actually been arrested?” asked Dr. Eisdorfer.

“Not exactly.”

“Do you think it’s possible your imagination exaggerates little things and makes them seem bigger or more nefarious than they actually are?”