Eye Sleuth Read Online Free Page B

endless wondering. Just then, someone tapped on the door, even though it was open, and I sighed again when I saw Matt Wahr, the college’s business manager. The man positively enjoyed sharing news about budget cuts. Tonight I was definitely not in the mood for a chat about his financial skill. It was a relief when I realized that he, like everyone else, was only interested in the details of Mary Sakamoto’s shooting.
    I kept my answers short and wound up with the disclaimer I’d perfected earlier.
    “That’s all I know. I don’t have a clue who the poor woman was.”
    “You lived in Brooklyn with your parents till they moved to Arizona. Perhaps she was someone your family knew? A neighbor?”
    I shook my head, amazed at the man’s memory for minutiae.
    “The police said she lived on the Upper West side, not in Brooklyn. I don’t know her. I called Brooklyn when I got back to the college. Mary Sakamoto wasn’t someone from the neighborhood. End of story.” I didn’t explain I’d spoken to my aunt, who was all the family I had since the death of my parents a year ago.
    Wahr lingered.
    “Matt, I’m getting ready to leave, it’s been a long day.”
    “I understand,” and he disappeared quietly.
    Determined to try to put something in writing about the shooting, I opened the notebook and scribbled out a list of obvious questions. They were just as troubling when I saw them written down as when they were circling in my brain.
 
    1. Why did the stranger say there was danger?
    2. Who shot her?
    3. Was it random violence or was the shooter aiming for me?
     
    One why, one who and a number 3 that was downright disturbing. I stared at the list. Up to this moment, I’d avoided trying to think clearly about what the danger might be. Perhaps the warning was meaningless. It certainly didn’t mean anything to the police. The phone rang. What now, damn it? I don’t give evening classes, those are taught by senior faculty, though sometimes I’m asked to fill in if a lecturer is sick. Reluctantly I picked up. It was my boss, Dr. Forrest.
    “Yoko, the police called. They want to come to the college as soon as it can be arranged to interview Mike and the security staff and anyone who may have seen something. They’d like to talk to you again.”
    Irritation and anxiety flared in equal amounts. Was I really a suspect?
    “I’m sure this is not unusual,” Dr. Forrest said. “We’re in capable hands, I know Detective Riley, the young man who telephoned. He grew up next door to me and his family’s still there, though Dan moved into the city some years back.”
    So that’s how Riley knew about behavioral optometry. My boss was famous for his papers and lectures. He had the unique ability to explain behavioral optometry in ways non-optometrists could understand. I knew Dr. Forrest had a private practice out on Long Island, where he lived. Did that mean Detective Riley ever had vision therapy? Not everyone needs it but for sure he would have known what Dr. Forrest did.
    “It’s getting late, you’re not still working?” my boss asked.
    I stared at the sheet of paper with the three questions but didn’t mention it. “I’m about to leave,” I told him.
    I tore up the list and threw it in the trash. No need to keep the paper, the questions were neon in my mind. Right then I made a major decision. I’d take the warning at face value and not wait for the danger Mary Sakamoto warned was headed my way. Detective Riley might not think I was in danger but I had seen Mary Sakamoto’s eyes right before she died. She’d looked sincere. I’d try to do some detecting of my own. I wasn’t guilty of anything. Science is based on curiosity and I was damn curious––confused, true, but very curious. I’d handle this horrendous situation the way I worked on optometric research, with scientific detachment, one step at a time.
    First step, why didn’t I contact Mary Sakamoto’s daughter? Maybe I’d get some answers. I looked