Corey snapped off a series of photos starting at the top and working her way down. “I don’t see anything he could have struck on the way down. Maybe he landed on something but there’s nothing here now. Could they have moved it?”
“I don’t think so.” Cin moved out of the way and held the light down as Corey climbed out and took photos of the blood-soaked bottom. “We’d probably see a disruption in the blood pool if there had been an object underneath him that they moved when they found him.” She gestured to the unbroken bloodstain.
“Hey,” a gruff voice barked.
They both jumped and whirled around to see a large, red-faced man stalking toward them, a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. He looked unkempt, and as he got closer, he smelled of beer and body odor.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing here?” He snatched the cigarette from his mouth and flicked it to the ground. “You fucking vultures. What are you, press? Ambulance chasers?” He jabbed a finger at them to punctuate his words.
Corey and Cin shared a glance and both spoke at the same time.
“We’re from the hospital.”
“We’re with the police.”
His eyes narrowed and darted to the shaft. “Well, which is it?”
“The postmortem examination and subsequent investigation into Gordon Akers’s fatal fall showed some inconsistencies, and we are here to confirm some details about how he died,” Corey rambled vaguely
His eyes remained suspicious as he looked her over and then he turned to Cin, his face curling into a grotesque, predatory leer as his gaze lingered on her breasts. “What’s your name, girlie? You got some ID?”
Cin paled visibly and stepped back from him, trying to avoid his repulsive gaze.
“We’re done here,” Corey said.
Corey placed a protective hand on Cin’s back, putting herself between the man and her friend as she propelled Cin forward toward the truck. She didn’t spend half her week training in mixed martial arts because she ever expected to get into a fight, but she had every confidence that she could use what she had learned effectively to defend herself or anyone else.
“We’ll just get out of your way. Sorry for any inconvenience.” She hurried them back to the truck, tossing the hard hats on the ground.
They hopped in and locked the doors, but the man had not moved. He watched them for a moment before turning to peer into the airshaft, as if they had left some clue behind. Corey threw the truck in reverse and tore out of the lot in a cloud of dirt.
Chapter Eight
Corey glanced at Cin as she scrolled through the pictures. “Cin, are you all right?” Her own heart rate was just now returning to normal after their confrontation.
“Fine,” she said tightly. “I don’t see anything here at all that could have caused that fracture.”
“No, I know.” She considered her next move. “I should pitch it to Collier and Webster. See if they want to run with it.”
“Can you just drop me off on campus?” Cin stared out the windshield.
“Sure. Are you sure you’re all right?”
“Yeah, of course.” Her laugh sounded forced. “It’s not like creepy guys have never stared at my boobs before.”
“No doubt.” She smiled crookedly at her. “I stare at your boobs all the time.”
Cin laughed genuinely this time and punched her in the arm. “Thanks, Corey.”
“For what?”
“For being you.” She shrugged. “For being willing to get between him and me.”
She pulled in front of Cin’s building and stopped, looking at her seriously. “There was something off about that guy.”
“I know. I could feel it.” She gazed at Corey intently.
“What?”
“You make people feel safe.”
“What?”
“That’s it.” Cin grinned, nodding her head. “There’s this thing about you. I’ve never been able to put my finger on until just now. I feel safe with you.” She seemed pleased with her revelation. “I mean you’re still intimidating as hell in your own way, but yeah, you very much have this protective warrior energy about you.”
Corey laughed. “Um, okay, I guess.”
Cin leaned across the seat to give her a kiss on the cheek, something she had never done before. “Thanks for looking out for me.”
She felt her cheeks flush. “Yeah, no problem.”
Corey worked for hours on the preliminary autopsy report for Gordon Akers. It was all straight up just stating the facts, descriptions, weights, measurements, and photos. No speculation and no opinions. She left nothing out and it was thirteen pages long. She forwarded a copy to Dr. Webster and to Collier along with a message about the suspicious fracture and that there was nothing in the scene photos to suggest a cause. She left off the part about visiting the site to take her own scene photos. She hoped one of them would be interested in knowing more so she could pursue it.
She tried not to be disappointed that she hadn’t crossed paths with Thayer Reynolds all day. She had even strolled through the cafeteria late in the day, a place she avoided at all costs, in the hopes of running into her. She couldn’t come up with another reason to go to the ED and doubted Thayer would have any reason to be in the morgue.
With effort she pushed all thoughts of Thayer out of her head and focused on her evening grudge match with Rachel as she changed into her black compression shorts and black tank in the bathroom adjacent to the morgue. She exited out the back to the loading dock where her truck was parked.
She stopped short when she saw Thayer Reynolds sitting on her tailgate. She must have changed at some point because Corey sincerely doubted she wore ass-hugging, faded jeans and a coral-colored tank top to work. She sure knew how to make a statement. Corey imagined she looked amazing in whatever she wore, or if she wore nothing at all. As fast as she had the thought, her belly clenched. She immediately chastised herself for her impure thoughts and wiped the smile from her face. Thayer hadn’t appeared to have heard her come out and she intended to take advantage.
“What are you doing on Dan’s truck?” Corey asked as she faced her.
“What?” Thayer jumped up, startled. “Oh, shit.” She gently closed the tailgate and looked around nervously.
It was adorable and Corey’s face split into an enormous grin.
Thayer eyed her, lips pursed. “Very funny.”
“I thought so.” She slung her kit bag into the back and turned to lean against the truck, still grinning.
Thayer returned her smile. “Who’s Dan?”
Corey shrugged, pleased to find Thayer did not take herself too seriously and could laugh easily at herself. “I have no idea, but you’ve had me on my heels since we met, and I thought I’d get some payback.”
Thayer nodded, a hand raised in agreement. “Fair enough.” Her expression sobered and she took a breath. “About that. I’m afraid I owe you an apology for yesterday. I’m not usually so forward and that was not very professional of me.”
“No apology necessary. I don’t imagine you got where you are by being shy.” She let her gaze roam Thayer’s body, slowly, letting her know the interest was reciprocal.
“That’s true, I suppose.” Thayer returned the appraisal. “You’re looking particularly sporty.”
Corey made a concerted effort not to squirm as her eyes lingered. “I have a class. Well, a fight really.”
“Fight?”
“I go to a women’s MMA gym.”
Thayer’s brows raised in surprise. “No kidding.” She let her gaze slide over her again coming back to her face. “Guess that solves the black eye mystery.”
“Yeah.” She huffed a breath. “I can hold my own or beat everyone else, but Rachel just seems to have my number.”
“And you’re fighting her again?”
“Until I beat her.” Corey grinned. “Or until she kills me, I guess.”
“That sounds serious.” Thayer pressed her lips together. “Maybe you shoul
d have a doctor on site.”
“Oh, there’s always a trainer at the gym…” She trailed off at Thayer’s widening smile. “You meant you.”
Thayer nodded. “I was going to ask if I could take you out for a drink, but now that you have other plans I’m adapting.”
“You mean you want to come and watch?”
“Is that okay? We can get a drink after.”
She barked a laugh. “Probably going to need more than one. And lots of ice.”
“That can be arranged.”
Corey studied her for a moment, trying like hell not to overthink it, before walking around to the passenger side and opening the door. “Right this way.”
The silence was anything but comfortable and Corey wondered if Thayer could feel the air crackle between them or if she was the only one affected by their closeness. Her heart skipped when Thayer spoke. Her voice was like foreplay.
“How did you end up in Jackson City, New York?”
“Oh, um, I came to JCU for undergrad to work with Audrey Marsh. She’s the forensic anthropologist and does all the skeletal consults for the city. I have an undergrad degree in biological anthropology with a specialization in forensics and paleopathology.”
“Wanted to be the next Temperance Brennan?” Thayer smiled at her surprised expression at the question. “I watch TV.”
“I prefer the books to the show,” she corrected with faux disdain.
“What?” Thayer laughed. “Not into the whole adorkable Zoey whatever her name is?”
“Wrong Deschanel sister.” Corey grinned at her. “And, no. I feel about the show Bones how you probably feel about Grey’s Anatomy.”
Thayer nodded. “So, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you I’ve actually held a live bomb inside a man’s chest cavity to keep if from detonating while someone defused it?”
“Not a chance.” She smiled. “I drove around the city once with a human skull in a brown paper bag on the passenger seat and almost hoped I got pulled over so I could say out loud, ‘I’m not a sociopath, I’m an anthropologist.’”
“Oh, that would have been amazing. I probably shouldn’t tell you about all my trysts in hospital storerooms either,” Thayer added, straight-faced.
“Really?” Corey’s head whipped sideways and they veered out of their lane.
“Watch the road!” Thayer shouted. “No, of course, not really. I hope you don’t think I’m that easy.”
She sucked in a breath and clutched the wheel, correcting her driving and glancing at Thayer who looked on the verge of cracking up. Corey figured she should redirect back to the original question before the conversation really got away from her and she made some totally ridiculous comment about wanting to meet her in a storeroom. She inhaled deeply. “Anyway, I was working as the autopsy tech at the hospital part-time, assisting Dr. Webster while I was in school. We worked well together and he was thrilled to have someone to do the wet work. When I was waffling about getting my PhD, he suggested an MS in pathology and certification as a pathologists’ assistant. He arranged it so the hospital would subsidize my master’s degree if I would come back and oversee autopsy for them in a more advanced capacity.”
“So, you gave up the dream?” Thayer asked seriously.
She sighed. “Yes and no, I guess. I read this comment online, I don’t even remember where. What kind of world would we live in where there was a high demand for people to identify skeletal remains? Pretty bleak, I guess. The world is bleak enough so it’s not a bad thing that there isn’t a call for more people to recover bodies full time. So my future would have been academia and consulting, and I couldn’t really see myself in school for another six years while writing a dissertation.”
“And a real live paycheck probably looked pretty good.” Thayer tucked a wild curl off her face.
Corey swerved again to keep the truck on the road. Even in her peripheral vision, Thayer’s gesture was the sexiest thing she’d ever seen. She blushed furiously when Thayer shot her a knowing glance.
“Exactly.” Her gaze flicked to see Thayer’s open, slightly amused expression, her eyes bright with interest.
“And your family? Are they supportive of what you do?”
“Well, it’s not table talk at Thanksgiving, but I think while I floundered with indecision it kept my parents in limbo. As soon as I settled here they sold the house and retired to the Florida Keys.”
“Oh, well, that’s too bad.”
“Yeah, I try to visit couple of times a year and do some diving.”
“Ah, so that solves another mystery.”
Thayer slid over in the seat and brushed her fingers down Corey’s inked arm as she drove. The full sleeve extended over her shoulder and covered part of her chest with a full, vibrant underwater scene that included an elegant mermaid—head thrown back and neck arched—as the focal point surrounded by a collage of dynamic sea life.
Corey’s skin sizzled at Thayer’s touch and she fought a full-body shudder. “Um, yeah, it’s a thing I like. Diving, I mean.” She cringed inwardly at her inarticulate comment.
“And it gave you the perfect excuse to tattoo a topless woman on your arm without seeming trashy.” Thayer’s eyes flashed merrily.
Corey jerked the wheel again. “Uh, that’s not, um, well okay, maybe.” She felt Thayer’s laughing eyes on her and wondered how this woman had the power to unbalance her so completely. Thayer Reynolds had her absolutely spinning, butterflies erupting in her belly every time she teased her, and Corey was both terrified and desperate for more.
She finally pulled into the lot of what looked like an old warehouse, which is exactly what it was before it was converted. “And here we are.”
Chapter Nine
Thayer followed her in and tried unsuccessfully not to stare at her ass in her workout gear. Corey Curtis had a positively spectacular body. Well-defined shoulders and arms, perfectly sized breasts for a woman’s hands, and abs, ass, and legs made of iron. Thayer’s thoughts were trending toward obscene as she imagined that body underneath her and what she would do with it. Her fantasy was made all the more enticing by Corey’s seeming obliviousness to how she looked to other people.
Thayer tore her eyes from Corey, ashamed her thoughts had turned so lascivious, and looked around the large open warehouse. There were several heavy bags and assorted training dummies in one corner. There was a space for fitness equipment and free weights, a large mat facing a wall of mirrors, presumably for group classes. The center of the room held a boxing ring with canvas mat and side ropes.
Thayer watched the woman in the ring, decked out in gloves and headgear as she battled an opponent wearing training pads on her hands, aiming her kicks and punches at the pads as they moved around the ring. The woman was fit and young, though smaller than Corey, with short tufts of dark hair sticking up through the headgear.
She stopped dancing around the ring when she caught sight of them. “Thought you were bailing on me, Cor.”
“Yeah, sorry, Rach.” She dropped her bag at the side of the ring. “I got a little held up.”
Rachel’s eyes trained on Thayer, widening in surprise and curiosity as she came over and leaned against the ropes. “I guess.” She smiled and held out a gloved hand in Thayer’s direction. “Rachel Wiley.”
Thayer returned her smile and extended her arm up to grasp her hand. “Thayer Reynolds. It’s very nice to meet you.”
“You too.” Rachel continued to stare, unashamedly. “I’m sorry, did Corey actually bring you along to watch her get her ass handed to her again?”
“Hey,” Corey barked. “Be nice.”
“I invited myself, actually.” Thayer grinned. “I’m hoping to take her for a drink after.” Her eyes flicked between Rachel and Corey. “As long as you don’t hurt her too badly.”
Rachel cracked up and a chorus of laughter erupted from the groups of women clustering around the ring.
“Come on, now.” Corey feigned hurt and shook her head as she slipped on her
gloves and climbed into the ring.
“You hoping Wiley won’t give you a beatdown in front of your pretty new friend, Curtis?” someone shouted from the peanut gallery.
Corey’s face flamed red and she busied herself adjusting her headgear and popping in her mouth guard.
Thayer slid onto one of the benches around the ring and tried to act like she belonged there. She was aware of the stares, some furtive and others blatant, from the other women. Usually unshakably confident, she suddenly felt very out of place. While she was no stranger to the gym, it was for Pilates, yoga, and the occasional cardio boot camp. She knew very little about mixed martial arts except that it was violent. This didn’t seem like a group that usually brought a cheering section along, and she hoped she hadn’t embarrassed Corey.
As easy as it would be to sit there and appreciate her body for the next half hour, Thayer took the time to examine the other things about Corey she found attractive—just about everything. She was funny, down-to-earth, and unassumingly accomplished. She seemed honest without a hint of self-righteousness. She had a powerful allure and she was drawn to her in a way she had never before experienced with another woman.
She had no idea what she was seeing as she watched the two women go at each other in a flurry of brutal kicks and punches, one of which snapped Corey’s head back, viciously, sending her stumbling to one knee and bringing Thayer to her feet. She winced as Rachel stopped for a minute. She couldn’t hear what they said to each other, but Rachel laughed and Corey seemed to be fine as she stood and waved at Rachel to continue.
Before they clashed again Corey’s eyes flicked to her and gave her a quick smile and wave, presumably, to let her know she was all right. Thayer’s heart filled at the gesture. The warmth in her chest was quickly replaced with shock and awe as they both charged the other in a tangle of limbs, battling for position. Rachel’s leg swept in behind Corey and took them both down to the mat, hard. The women watching whooped and cheered as they grappled fiercely.
Thayer moved to the edge of the bench, almost unable to tell where one of them ended and the other began when Rachel locked her arms around Corey’s head. She blinked and almost missed it as Corey used her longer reach to get an arm between them, locking Rachel out while she swung her hips around and hooked Rachel’s neck behind her knee, breaking her hold and smoothly reversing their positions. She flipped Rachel around by the arm and locked her legs across Rachel’s chest while gripping tight to her wrist and leaning back, hips thrust forward. Thayer grinned. She knew that one—an arm bar. Rachel quickly tapped out and Corey leapt to her feet, raising her arms in victory, a wide grin on her face as she roared and flexed at the women watching.
Gallows Humor Page 5