by Cynthia Eden
His gaze searched hers.
“When you dug yourself out of that grave…”
Joel didn’t flinch. His square jaw hardened.
“And you saw the man nearby…the guy still holding the shovel that had been used to toss the dirt over your body, did you feel cold-blooded when you launched your bleeding, broken body at him?”
He wasn’t speaking.
So she kept going. Her hand rose, and she slid her finger over the scar that cut across his upper lip. “He hit you in the face with the shovel. Left you with this mark. Broke your nose. So you took the shovel from him. You hit him. You stopped him. If you hadn’t, you wouldn’t be standing here right now.”
“The bastard buried me.” His lips moved against her finger. “He tortured me for hours, and when he thought I was dead, he dug a shallow grave and covered me with dirt.”
So much pain. So much rage. “Do you see yourself as a killer because of what you did?”
A muscle flexed in that hard jaw of his.
“Because the police didn’t,” Chloe continued as she caressed that scar one more time, then let her hand fall. “The DA didn’t. Everyone agreed it was self-defense.”
“I killed him.”
“But that doesn’t make you a killer. Self-defense isn’t murder.”
“You think you know so much about me.” He shook his head. “You got access to my files. Now you figure you’re in my head.”
“I am in your head.” She rose onto her tiptoes. Her gaze was on the scar. No, on his mouth. She could feel the darkness surging from him, but Joel was so much more than the monster he thought he’d become. He was—
“So, Chloe, are you going to make out with the new guy or were you planning to come inside to see the dead bodies? Because I’ve got a date, and I can’t wait on you forever.”
Ruben. “Watching from the window again?”
“I was waiting for you. Then I got a little worried because things seemed all intense down here…then I got curious…”
She eased off her tiptoes. “I was merely talking to my new partner.”
“Right. That’s exactly what you were doing. Talking closely. Very, very closely.”
She smoothed her hair back and waved her hand between the two men. “Dr. Ruben Minote, this is my partner—”
“Joel,” he inserted. “Just Joel.”
“Hello, Joel.” Ruben’s dark brows climbed. “Please, you must call me Ruben.” His gaze slid over Joel. Warmed. “Hmm. All right, Chloe. I can see why you were distracted.” He glanced back at her. “Probably are a little annoyed with me for interrupting, aren’t you? My bad. How about I promise to buy you a Hurricane the next time we go to the Square to make up for things?”
“You the coroner?” Joel wanted to know.
“I’m the chief medical examiner,” Ruben replied as he straightened. “The parish coroner is a whole political thing. I don’t get involved in politics.” He looked expectantly between them. Then sighed. “You should know, Agent Richardson called me a few minutes ago. He’ll be coming over soon, and he expressly said for me not to share any data with you two. So, you know what that means…” He began strolling back toward the thick, squat building that waited. He dramatically announced, “It means I will be sharing every single bit of data that I have with you.”
Chloe immediately fell into step behind him.
Joel curled his hand around her shoulder. “Is he breaking rules for you?”
She slanted a glance at Joel. “Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he likes me?” That could be the reason. Or maybe because she was usually the one who bribed him with Hurricanes. Hard to know for sure.
Joel’s lips thinned. The little scar tightened. “You’re involved with the ME?”
She looked heavenward. “We are going to work very, very hard on your observational skills. I promise, we will. By the time I’m done with you, you will notice everything.” Not wanting to delay any longer, she slipped from beneath his hold and hurried after Ruben. Once inside the building, the scent of antiseptic and bleach hit her, making her nose scrunch. As they made their way back to the exam rooms, the temperature took a distinct dive. Ruben’s white lab coat flapped around him as he pulled out the first body.
“Donnie Adams.” A body bag covered him. Ruben’s gloved fingers fluttered over the zipper. “Are you squeamish, Joel? If so, then you should—”
“Don’t worry about that,” Chloe assured him. “Joel’s a doctor, too. He’s not the least bit squeamish.”
Ruben flashed a smile at Joel. “Another doctor. We will have to talk shop and—”
“I’m not a doctor any longer.” Joel’s voice was flat.
Ruben’s smile lost a little wattage. His gaze sharpened on Joel.
Time for her to get things moving. “Even though he’s not a practicing doctor right now, Joel is going to use his expertise to help me out a little. In other words, Joel would love to see the body. So if you could just pull that zipper down for us…” Chloe prompted.
Ruben frowned at her. “Are you going to faint on me again?”
That was insulting. “You had your hands on the woman’s heart. What did you expect me to do? Clap for you? My response was normal.”
He didn’t appear convinced. “Perhaps you should let Joel and I handle things in here? Isn’t that why you have a doctor as your partner?”
Ah, sneaky man. One of the reasons I enjoy Ruben.
Ruben’s gaze was knowing as he said, “Because we both know that you have many, many wonderful strengths, my lovely Chloe…”
Joel stiffened.
“But when it comes to examining actual human bodies, when it comes to slicing into the skin and muscle, you tend to…You know…” Ruben rolled his gloved hand.
She knew exactly what she did. The fact that Joel was a doctor had been one of the reasons for her excitement over their partnership. Getting up close and personal with dead bodies wasn’t her favorite thing in the entire world. They did make her…squeamish.
She knew why. Didn’t feel like discussing it with anyone.
“I need to see his hands.” She sniffed. The antiseptic smell seemed extra strong today. “Then the two of you can go over everything else.”
Ruben didn’t appear reassured by her response. “Okay. Joel, get close in case you have to catch Chloe. I wasn’t quick enough last time, and she slammed straight into the tile.”
Joel shuffled closer.
Ruben appeared to be enjoying this situation entirely too much. “I’m not going to faint. If you don’t shove your hands into his chest, we’ll all be fine.”
The zipper slid down with a hiss.
Donnie’s face seemed stained with bruises. Purple and dark blue spots stood out in stark contrast on his chalky skin.
Ruben rooted around in the body bag and pulled up… “Here you go. Right hand.”
She leaned closer. Tried not to inhale. “Show me the left.”
He shoved the right hand back into the bag. Pulled up the left.
Her gaze darted to Donnie’s face once more. Nope, nope. Stop it. She dragged her gaze off his face and—
“That’s a tan line,” Chloe said.
Ruben pulled Donnie’s rather pudgy fingers toward his eyes. “Sure is. Guy must’ve had a ring here. A pretty big one.”
“A championship ring.” She nodded. “Glory days. You keep what matters close.”
Ruben lowered the hand. “Did you just solve something again?”
“No, I just confirmed something. Solving will take time.” Her stomach was knotting. She’d noticed the Y incision on Donnie’s exposed chest. Oh, God. “I’ll be waiting at your desk. I have some phone calls to make so…” She spun. Almost slammed into Joel. “Oh, you are close.”
“He told me to move close enough to catch you, remember?”
“I don’t need catching.” The knots were worse. A glass of water might be good. Deep breathing would be good. Getting out of that exa
m room would be good. “Come find me when you’re done.” Then she practically ran away.
The door swung shut behind her.
In the hallway, her eyes squeezed closed. The past tried to shove its way through her mind. The bodies…
No. She dug her nails into her palms. I’m not losing control. Chloe tried Cedric’s technique of counting to ten. He swore that method always calmed him down. And then…
“Chloe, are you okay?”
Joel’s voice. Joel had followed her out and she hadn’t even heard him. Her eyes immediately opened. “I’m fine.”
“You don’t sound fine. And you turned very pale before you walked out.” Now she could hear his steps shuffling toward her. She should have heard them before. She’d been too distracted. That couldn’t happen again.
He paused behind her. She could feel him.
“Want to talk about it?” Joel asked.
“Talking about it is the last thing I want to do.” Her spine was as stiff as she could make it. She took a determined step forward—
He caught her shoulder. Swung her around to face him. “So it’s okay for you to know every single secret I possess. For you to poke and prod at all my dark places, but I don’t get to know anything about you?” He bent close to her. “You share nothing with me?”
Her breath froze in her lungs. “I don’t share with anyone.”
His gaze searched hers. “You do now.”
“Joel—”
“So…yes…” Ruben cleared his throat. Of course, he’d come to the hallway, too. “Perhaps you both missed it before when I said Richardson was coming over. I’m sure Cedric is being his usual amazing self and trying to stall the guy, but Cedric has other things to do, too. You know, detective work and all. It would be very beneficial if you and your partner focused on the matter at hand and saved the hot, intense times for later, yes?”
“This isn’t a hot, intense time,” Chloe responded even though she couldn’t break eye contact with Joel.
“Sure appears like it is to me,” Ruben threw right back.
She kept staring at Joel. “You need to go look at the body.”
“Because you can’t?” Joel asked. “Because that’s your one weakness and something you need me for?”
“Because you’re the one with the medical degree. Because I know killers. I don’t know human anatomy nearly as well as you should. But if you insist on me doing this part…” She retreated a little from him and the warmth that seemed to surround him. “I’ll go back in there and I’ll take care of things.”
“For the love of God,” Ruben gasped from his position near the door, “don’t let her take care of things!”
Joel shook his head. “I have this.”
“Wonderful.” She nodded, as if everything had been settled. “As I said before, I’ll wait for you—”
“No.”
“No?” Her voice rose.
“It’s not wonderful. It’s not even a fair exchange. Consider this a warning, Chloe. I will find out your secrets.”
Laughter slipped from her. Her hand rose and lightly patted his cheek. “That is adorable.” Now she pushed up close to him and brought her mouth near his ear. “Lots of people have tried. No one ever really does.” She started to ease back—
His fingers circled her wrist. “I’m not other people.”
True.
His finger slid along her racing pulse. “And I will find out your secrets.”
She tugged her wrist free. Kept her spine straight and walked away. With every step, Chloe tried to ignore the fact that his words had sounded like a threat.
Chapter Nine
Ruben fanned his hand near Joel’s face.
Why the hell was the man doing that?
“Hot, isn’t it?” Ruben nodded. “Lots of tension there. Lots and lots.”
“Screw off.” He shoved open the exam room door.
“That seems like the response you’d give. You do have that whole I’m-intense-and-dangerous vibe going on. It also does seem to mesh with the type of man that Chloe usually attracts.”
“You do not know me well enough for this conversation.”
“True.” Ruben did an about-face and headed for the exam table. “Opened up the bag a bit more while you were trying not to kiss Chloe.”
“I wasn’t—”
“You can see the body a lot better now. Is there something in particular that you’re looking for?”
He had no freaking clue what he was looking for. “I’ll know it when I see it.”
Ruben laughed.
Joel frowned at him.
“Oh.” Ruben pursed his lips. “You were serious. That’s…um, not funny. Not a joke. I see.”
“Shouldn’t you have an assistant? Other staff members?”
“There are other staff members. They’ve gone for the day. It’s Friday, you know. Some people like to head out early and enjoy the weekend.” Voice lower, he said, “Some people…people like me, but, no, instead of being out there living my best life, here I am, being a good friend to Chloe. And hanging with the dead.”
Joel reached for the file that rested near the exam table. He thumbed through the notes.
“So…what kind of doctor are you?”
Joel glanced up.
“Were you,” Ruben corrected. “What kind of doctor were you?”
“A surgeon.”
“Ohhh…Someone must be good with his hands.” Ruben smirked.
Joel’s gaze flickered to his own hands. He was gripping the file, but for just a moment he could almost see—
The handle of a shovel. His hands tight around it—
“Shit,” he snapped and slammed down the file. This was not good.
“You think my work is shit?” Now Ruben’s voice was tight. All signs of amusement were gone from his face. “You’re wrong. I am the best medical examiner in the parish. If I wasn’t, do you think for one moment that Chloe would trust me? She sizes people up within five minutes of meeting them. She knows if you’ve got a drug addiction. A sex addiction. She knows if you cheat on your significant other or on taxes. She knows—”
Joel held up one hand. “You like to talk a lot, don’t you, Ruben?”
“I work with the dead. When new living people come by to visit, I get chatty. Sue me.”
Joel went back to scanning the file. “He suffered severe spinal cord injuries.”
“What kind of surgeon were you?” Ruben pushed.
He kept scanning. “Blunt trauma.”
“You were a blunt trauma surgeon? Can’t say I even knew one of those existed. Seems like a new specialty—” He broke off when Joel glanced up at him. “Right. Not funny. You’re not the joking type. Got it.” He coughed. “The blunt trauma the vic suffered was probably from a baseball bat. I’ll turn the body over, and you can take a look at the marks yourself. Though there are plenty of pictures in the files.”
He was looking at the pictures right then. “The injuries were centered in the upper spine, near the high cervical nerves?”
“Right. C1 to C8 took a battering. The worst of it was C1 to C4.”
Jesus. Based on what he was reading… “Paralysis.”
“Yes. If Mr. Adams had somehow survived the attack, he would have been paralyzed. Arms, hands, trunk, and legs. Based on the severity of his injuries, he would not have been able to control his own bowel or bladder movements.”
“He wouldn’t have even been able to breathe on his own,” Joel said, voice roughening. He slapped the file back down on the tray. Quickly pulled on gloves before he reached for Donnie’s left hand.
“What do you think happened to the ring?” Ruben leaned over the body. “Think the killer took it? I bet that’s what Chloe suspects. A souvenir.”
“You didn’t recover any tissue beneath the nails.”
“There was only dirt and grime beneath the victim’s nails. No DNA.”
Joel looked at the left arm. Then the right. “There are no defensive signs here. A gu
y this big, and he didn’t fight back? No. No, I don’t buy that.” He studied the bruises on the body. Scanned the notes again. “You note a skull fracture.”
“I am thorough.” Ruben stiffened. “I don’t tend to miss much. Again, there’s a reason Chloe works with me and not with one of the other medical examiners.”
“He was hit in the head first. A hard swipe to the back of the skull. It made him fall down, face first. His hands probably scraped across the dirty alley, and that’s the stuff you found under his nails. He didn’t get a chance to get up because the attacker then drove the bat into his back, over and over again.” The bruises certainly appeared to have been caused by a baseball bat—or something like it. “The damage to his spine would have been severe and fast.” He put down the file. Studied the bruises on the guy’s face. “He flipped you over,” Joel said, finding himself now talking to the dead man. “You couldn’t roll yourself. You were helpless, and he hit you and hit you until you were dead.”
Silence.
Uncomfortable. Long silence. Joel swallowed. He could feel Ruben’s gaze on him.
“Chloe is the only other person I’ve seen who talks to the dead that way.”
His stare flew to Ruben.
“She teach you that?” Ruben wanted to know.
“I want to see another body.”
“Well, that’s too bad because I don’t have the other bodies here. They’ve already been buried. But I can certainly show you my files.” He pointed at Joel. “Though if we are going to be working together in the future, you should know that courtesy goes a very long way with me.”
“What in the hell does that mean?”
“Please. Thank you. I’m sorry. They are magic words.”
“Are you shitting me?”
“Do I look like I’m shitting you?”
No. It didn’t. And Joel even felt like he’d been an extra asshole. Apologize. “I’m sorry.”
“Beautiful, magic words. Don’t they feel good when you say them?”
No, they felt rusty and weird. “I don’t…have good people skills.”
“Yes. I noticed. Chloe shares that fault with you. Again, you and Chloe are just seeming like the perfect pair.” Humming a little, Ruben strolled toward a large filing cabinet. “I have records over here. Give me a second.” He’d ditched his gloves.