Eye of the Beholder

system. She's hallucinating, but she's alive and partially conscious. The medics said that was a good sign."
    "My God," Webster whispered. "She didn't. . . That is, they don't think it was deliberate, do they?"
    "I don't know," Trask said quietly.
    "I knew she was under stress, but I had no idea that she... Never mind. Foster? Are you still on the line? I've got to get to the hospital."
    Foster answered in soothing tones. "I'll drive you, Webster. We can be there in fifteen minutes."
    "Yes. All right. I'll meet you at the car."
    There was a click as Webster hung up his extension, but the phone did not go dead. Foster spoke once more.
    "Trask? Did you say Alexa found Joanna?"
    "Yes." Trask watched Alexa turn away from the open window. She looked at a stack of magazines on the end table. The sudden stiffening in her shoulders was visible from across the room.
    "Where is she?" Foster asked.
    "Alexa? She's here with me."
    "You're both at Joanna's place?"
    "That's right."
    On the other side of the room, Alexa finally moved. She walked toward the pile of magazines as if drawn by magnets. When she reached the table she leaned down and picked up the glossy journal on top of the heap.
    "I don't understand," Foster said. "How did Alexa happen to find her?"
    "Long story. Hadn't you better get moving? Bell said he'd meet you at the car."
    "Yes. Right. I've got to go. But if you're at Joanna's house ..."
    "Don't worry, the gas is shut off and the house has been aired out. Alexa and I will lock up before we leave."
    "Uh, well, thanks."
    Trask replaced the phone. Alexa did not look up from the magazine in her hand. She stared at the cover with an expression of fixed intensity.
    " Radstone is driving Bell to the hospital," Trask said. "I told him we'd lock up the house."
    Alexa finally raised her eyes from the magazine. There was an odd expression on her face. As if she'd just seen a ghost, Trask thought.
    "How did Bell react?" she asked quietly.
    Trask shrugged. "Like you'd expect any brother to react to the news that his sister may have tried to take her own life."
    "She was hallucinating," Alexa said slowly.
    "I heard. Sounded like she was really out of it."
    Alexa looked down at the cover of the magazine. "She kept talking about monsters. But once or twice she seemed to recognize me. She tried to apologize."
    "For what?"
    "I didn't understand. When I tried to find out why, she went back to raving about some monsters that were trying to kill her. She was terrified."
    Trask thought about the anxiety he had seen in Joanna's face the day she had met with him at the hotel. "She warned me to let the past stay buried."
    "I think Guthrie's death really unnerved her."
    "Maybe it's more than that," Trask said bluntly. "Maybe she knows something about what's going on. Or maybe she only has some suspicions. Either way, I doubt if she'll talk to us because of her brother."
    "Her first loyalty is to Webster," Alexa agreed. "If she thinks he's involved in something wrong she would be torn about what to do."
    "That might explain the stress that led to the overdose of tranquilizers."
    "It might also explain this." She held up the magazine in her hand.
    Trask studied the glossy cover. It featured a photo of a bronze nude. "What's that?"
    "TCA," she whispered.
    Trask frowned. "What?"
    "Twentieth-Century Artifact. A year-old edition. This is the issue that printed the first rumors of the McClelland Gallery forgeries. It was the article in this magazine that linked my name to the scandal."
    The implications hit him. He crossed the room, took the magazine out of her hands, and read the lead beneath the picture of the bronze. Fakes and Frauds at McClelland?
    "Are you sure?" he asked.
    "Trust me, I will never forget that cover as long as I live. I see it in my dreams." Alexa took back the magazine and flipped it open to a page that had been turned down at the corner. "Joanna is not into twentieth-century art. And this magazine is more than twelve months out of date. I can think of only one reason why she might have it here in her living room."
    Trask read the title centered above the article. Rumors of Fraud Strike McClelland. Assistant Implicated. He met Alexa's eyes. "You said Joanna tried to apologize for something?"
    "Yes. Do you think it's possible that she was the one who made those late-night calls?"
    "Sort of looks that way, doesn't it? But why?"
    "She must have realized that she couldn't stop you from digging into whatever she thinks is buried