Page 1 of Close Quarters

Chapter 1

“Oh, come on!” Dr. Alex Randall looked around his pathology lab, his anger growing as he took in the mess that bloomed overnight.

Katie Mitchum, the county’s chief forensic scientist, poked her head up from behind a large boxy machine, her pink-framed glasses sliding down her nose and tendrils of her colorful hair fluttering around her pretty face.

“Seriously, Katie? Where the hell did all this shit come from? I have to work down here, too, you know.” He tossed his briefcase down onto the autopsy table and put his hands on his hips, glaring at her.

She rolled her hazel eyes. “Take a chill pill, Doc. Once I get it organized, it won’t look as bad.”

He looked around the room, which was already stuffed to the gills. “Where are you going to put it that will make it look better?”

Her eyes followed the track his took, and she shrugged. “Somewhere. I just need to shift a couple things. What are you complaining about, anyway? You don’t even use all the space down here.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose, a headache already forming. “I did before you showed up.”

The look she leveled on him said she thought he’d grown another head. “Sure you did. That’s why it was so easy for me to move in.”

Alex scrubbed his hands over his face. He couldn’t wait for the county to rebuild the criminology lab, so he could get her out of his space. She was driving him crazy. “Okay. Sure. I don’t want to argue. Can you please just—” he motioned around the room with his hands, “move things so we have more space to work? I feel like I’m tripping over everything.”

She scrunched her nose and frowned, but nodded.

“Thank you.” Picking up his briefcase, he walked past her toward his office on the far side of the large room. At least she hadn’t invaded it too. He put his key in the lock and opened the door. Flipping on the light, he groaned. Three more filing cabinets lined the walls.

“How the hell did she even get in here?” he muttered.

“Oh, I meant to text you about those last night, and I forgot,” Katie said from behind him. He turned to look at her. “They delivered the new evidence dryer and gas chromatograph. I needed space, so I asked security to unlock your office.”

His jaw worked as he looked down at her. “I thought we agreed my office was off-limits?”

She shrugged. “I needed the space.”

“Find space somewhere else.”

“It’s just a couple filing cabinets, Alex.”

“Don’t care. Stay out of my office. You have until the end of the day, or they’re going out in the hallway.”

She sighed and adjusted her glasses. “Fine, sourpuss.” Rolling her eyes once more, she turned and sauntered away.

Alex grabbed the edge of the door and flung it closed. That woman was going to be the death of him. If he thought he could find a better forensic scientist, he’d fire her ass for insubordination. Her skill was the only thing keeping her employed.

He blew out a breath and shrugged out of his coat. Truthfully, she wasn’t that bad. She irritated him, yes, but she was kind and funny and the best damn forensic tech he’d ever worked with. There were just some days where her tendency to take charge ground on his last nerve. Which had been much more frequent since she moved into his lab.

Hanging his jacket on the back of his chair, he sat down to filter through his email. The phone rang, and he reached for it while he continued to skim through his inbox. “Dr. Randall.”

“Hey, Alex, it’s Seb.”

Alex focused on the conversation at the sound of the sheriff’s voice coming over the line. “Hey, Seb. What’s up?”

“How fast can you put together a team to scour the Paulsons’ mountain property?”

He frowned. “The place where they held all those kids captive?”

“That’s the one. After I got a full statement from Mason and from the kids we rescued, not to mention all the information Anne readily gave up on her husband and Judge Brandt, I have reason to believe there are several bodies buried up there. Judge Kovac signed off on my warrant first thing this morning.”

“We can probably get out there tomorrow morning if we prep today. Do you have a cadaver dog? I’m not sure if Katie has a radar unit. If she doesn’t, we might have to contact Denver or Colorado Springs for assistance.”

“I haven’t looked into K-9 assistance yet, but I will. I might be able to get a dog from the state. Why don’t you find out about the radar unit, and we’ll go from there?”

---