9
Dark had fallen by the time Jack made it back to Gia's. No sign of the watcher—not that he'd expected any. But inside he found Gia sitting in the library with a familiar-looking woman—slight with fine pale features and glossy black hair.
Alicia Clayton, M.D., medical director of the St. Vincent's Center for Children with AIDS. The sight of her banished thoughts of men in homburgs and stroked-out professors.
Smiling, she rose and hugged him.
"Long time, Jack."
True. Well over a year since she'd hired him to retrieve some Christmas toys stolen from the center, then again for a more personal problem echoing from the horrors of her childhood.
"How're things at the center?"
She shrugged. "You know how it is: Never good, but not as bad as it could be."
Jack nodded. When dealing day after day with kids with AIDS… maybe that was the best you could hope for.
"What brings you uptown?"
"Me." Gia rose from her chair and stepped toward them. She looked tired. "She wants me to go back to volunteering at the center."
Gia used to be a regular down there, holding and rocking and feeding the AIDS infants. She'd stopped with the pregnancy. But now…
"How do you feel about that?"
Gia shrugged. "I don't know if I'm ready."
"Well, only you can decide that," Alicia said. "But your visits brightened many a little life."
Gia bit her lip. "Yes, well…"
Alicia slipped her arms around her. "When you're ready for us, we're ready for you."
Gia returned the hug without speaking. Alicia broke it off.
BLOODLINE 41
"Gotta go. I'm dragging Will to a fund-raiser ior the center."
"Will the cop?" Jack said. She was still going out with Detective Will Matthews?
Alicia laughed. "Don't worry. I've never mentioned you."
Gia was lifting the tea tray from the table.
"I'll put this away and get your coat."
As soon as she was out of sight Alicia grabbed his arm.
"She's changed, Jack."
"You should have seen her two months ago."
"I can imagine. But inside and out—she's not the same."
Jack didn't want to hear that.
"She will be. She's tough."
"I know she is. But get her back to the center if you can. I think it will be good therapy. Holding a newborn might be tough as hell for her at first, but once she gets past that, I think it will do her a world of good."
"I'll do what I can. Nice of you to visit."
"After all her trips to the center, it was the least I could do. I would have come sooner but I didn't want to intrude."
And then Gia was back. Jack helped Alicia into her coat and together he and Gia waved good-bye as she hurried up to the top of the block for a cab.
Jack hitched Gia closer. "What do you think of her idea?"
"Sounds good, but I don't think I'm ready. I might drop one of those babies." She kissed him on the cheek. "Got to get dinner ready."
As she moved away he searched the street, looking for a homburg-wearing man with a cane. But the street was empty.