Page 34 of Her Devoted HERO

“Did she ever talk to you about him again?”

Kenna thought back and finally answered, “no.”

“How about other men from the dating site?”

“No.”

“Other men in general?”

“The last time we talked was about this attorney.” Then it hit her. That was the last time that she was ever going to talk to Jean. She pushed away her coffee and covered her mouth.

Oh God.

Jean was dead.

“Ms. Wright, are you okay?” Detective Warren asked.

She nodded. Then she shook her head. “No,” Kenna answered. She closed her eyes and tried breathing through her mouth until she could focus, then she opened her eyes and looked at the men sitting across from her.

They were patient as they waited for her to get control. She grabbed a napkin out of the dispenser and blew her nose.

“Is there anything else you can tell us about Jean. Not just the e-mail, but any men she has seen recently?” Detective Sanchez asked. “Where else does she meet men?”

Kenna thought about it. “She didn’t want to date guys here at the hospital, so she joined Fresh Fitness gym. She’s been going for the last four months. She told me about two guys from there.”

The detective made notes as she told him everything she could remember about the two men.

“Any bars or clubs? How about volunteer agencies?” Detective Warren asked.

“The only other thing besides the dating site and the gym she mentioned was that she was going to go sailing. But I didn’t follow up on that. She was single, but she didn’t want to be. Ever since she finished her residency, she wanted to find a man to settle down with. If I’d been a better friend, I would have kept up with her better.”

She was dead. Kenna couldn’t stop thinking about that.

Jean was dead.

“We’ve been interviewing the people in her life, you sound like a good friend to her, Ms. Wright,” Detective Sanchez said.

Detective Warren pulled out a card and slid it across the table to her. “If you think of anything else, please give us a call.”

Kenna nodded.

***

When she took a break, she found five messages on her cell phone. Three from her mother and two from Rosalie. They all concerned Jean. Apparently, it had made the news that a doctor from Sharp Memorial had been murdered.

She called her mother first.

“Kenna, are you all right?”

“I’m fine.”

“This was your friend Jean, wasn’t it? The one who came to our house two years ago for Halloween?”

Kenna swallowed. She remembered how Jean had wanted to hand out candy. She’d met Austin. “Yes Mom, that’s her.”

“I’m so sorry. When are the services?”

“I’ll let you know.” She thought her dad would want them in Philadelphia, but she couldn’t think about it right now.