“Dr. Argent was new to the job,” I said. “Any idea if she liked it?”
“She seemed to.”
“Did she talk about why she’d transferred from County General?”
“No. She didn’t talk much. Only work-related stuff, nothing personal.”
“Was she assigned to Ardis Peake, or did she choose to work with him?”
“I think she chose to-the doctors have a lot of freedom. We techs are pretty much bound by routine.”
“Did she say why she wanted to work with Peake?”
She stroked her ponytail, arched her back. “All I remember her saying about him was that he was a challenge. Because of how low-functioning he was. If we could increase his behavioral repertoire, we could do it for anyone. That appealed to me.”
“Learning from the extreme.”
“Exactly.”
“What about the Skills for Daily Living group?” I said. “What was her goal there?”
“She wanted to see if the men could learn to take better care of themselves-grooming, basic manners, paying attention when someone else spoke. Even with their psychosis.”
“How were men picked for the group?”
“Claire picked them. I was just there to assist.”
“See any progress?”
“Slow,” she said. “We only had seven sessions. Tomorrow would’ve been eight.” She swiped at her eyes.
“Any particular disciplinary problems in the group?”
“Nothing unusual. They have their moods; you have to be firm and consistent. If you’re asking if any of them resented her, not at all. They liked her. Everyone did.”
Tug. She chewed her cheek, arched her back again. “It really stinks. She was a good teacher, very patient. I can’t believe anyone would want to hurt her.”
“Even though she didn’t get personal,” said Milo, “did she tell you anything about her life outside work?”
“No. I’m sorry-I mean, you just didn’t sit down for coffee with her.”
Yet she referred to Claire by her first name. The instant familiarity of Gen X.
She said, “I really wish I could tell you more. The thing about Peake-it’s nothing, right?”
“Probably nothing,” said Milo. “But I will want to talk to him.”
She shook her head. “You don’t talk to him. Not in any normal way. Most of the time he’s totally spaced. It took Claire and me months just to get him to pay attention.”
“Well,” said Milo, “we’ll see what happens.”
She reached back, pulled a leaf from the tree, and ground it between her fingers. “I guess I expected that. Better brace myself for a lecture from Swig. I probably should’ve gone through him first.”
“Want me to run interference for you?”
“No, I can handle it. At least I know I did the right thing- time to move on, anyway. Maybe do some work with children.”
“How much more school do you have?” I said.
“One more year for a bachelor’s, then graduate work. I’m paying for it all, so it’ll take time. One thing about Starkweather, the pay’s good. But I’ll find something.”
Milo said, “So you’re definitely leaving?”
“Can’t see any reason not to.”
“Too bad. You might be able to help some more.”
“Help how?”
“By trying to draw Peake out again.”
Her laugh was skittish. “No thanks, Detective Sturgis. I don’t want to get any more involved. And he doesn’t really talk to me, either.”
“He did the day before Claire was killed.”
“That was-I don’t know what that was all about,” she said.
Milo smiled. “I can’t convince you, huh?”
She smiled back. “I don’t think so.”
“Think of it as learning more about extremes-a challenge.”
“If I want a challenge now, I rock-climb.”
“A climber,” said Milo. “I’m afraid of heights.”
“You get used to it. That’s the point. I like all sorts of challenges-physical things-climbing, parasaih’ng, skydiving.
Getting physical’s especially important when you work in a place like Starkweather.
Having to watch yourself all the time, but no exercise, no movement. Anyway…” She looked at her watch. “I’d really like to go now, okay?”
“Okay.”
She shook our hands, walked away with an easy athletic stride.
Milo said, “So what the hell is this thing with Peake all about?”
“Probably nothing,” I said. “He muttered something; normally Heidi wouldn’t have noticed. After Claire was murdered, she got scared.”