Page 18 of Close Quarters

Heat licked his eyes, and she shivered. Katie bit her lip.

“Not just about that.”

He nodded. “We’ll be done soon. I’m not staying much longer, and it’s my lab, so she’s leaving, too, whether she wants to or not. The bones will still be here tomorrow. The bad guys are in custody, so it’s not like we’re racing against a clock to find them.” He touched her shoulder. “Give me a few minutes and we’ll close things up for the day.”

“Okay.”

He walked back over to the autopsy table and pulled on fresh gloves. He turned the victim’s head to reveal the mandible joint. Using a swab, he teased out the compacted earth into a dish.

Katie came over and took the sample from him and put a lid on it. “I’ll run it first thing in the morning.”

Amanda frowned. “Why not now?”

“Because it’s time to go home,” Alex replied.

“What? We’re not done.”

Alex removed his gloves. “We are for tonight. It’s late, Mandy. We all need to get some rest.”

She spun the magnifying glass in her hand as she regarded him. “It’s not that late. We can still put another couple hours in.”

Katie’s eyes bulged, and she glanced at Alex. His brows rose and he crossed his arms.

“I’m not staying until nearly eleven o’clock. We’ve put in a full day—more than that, actually. Why are you so obsessed with this case?”

Amanda huffed and laid the magnifying glass down with a careful control but kept hold of the tweezers in her other hand. “I’m not. I just don’t see the point in wasting time that could be used working.”

“How about dinner? Or letting your mind rest by reading a book or watching TV?”

She waved a hand. “My mind is fine. And I’ll grab a protein bar when I get back to the B&B.”

He shook his head. “Katie’s right. Something’s up with you. Granted, I’ve never worked with you other than a brief consultation here and there, but this isn’t like you. If you can’t come clean, I’m afraid I’m going to have to call in another forensic anthropologist to assist us.”

Her eyes widened, and Katie noted a hint of fear cross her face before she masked her expression.

“You can’t do that, Alex. I have to be on this case.”

“Why?”

“I just do. Can we leave it at that?”

“No.” He sighed and put his hands on his hips. “Look, we’re all tired. Take the night and think about things. We’ll talk in the morning.”

She stared at him for a moment, gauging how serious he was. Katie knew he meant what he said. He had that same look he gave her when she changed things in the lab, and he demanded she change them back. She’d learned the hard way she had to compromise, or he would fix it for her, and she wouldn’t like it. Her large sample storage was now three floors above them in an empty office. Any time she wanted to run tests on one of those items, she either had to tote her equipment up there or find a cart and get the evidence back to the lab long enough to do what she needed. He still refused to let her bring the storage area back down to the lab.

Amanda’s mouth flattened, and she tossed the tweezers onto a tray. They clanked against the other instruments. “Fine.” She ripped off her gloves and gown, thrusting them into the trash can on her way out the door.

“You think she’ll tell us what’s going on?” Katie asked as the door swished shut.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing. “If she really wants to stay on the case, she will.” He dropped his hand. “Help me put our victim away, would you?”

Together, they made quick work of putting the Jane Doe back in her slot and disposing of the instruments used in her examination. Once they had everything squared away, they bade the night shift staff goodnight—with a warning to keep an eye out for Dr. Pressley should she decide to return—and headed for the parking lot.

Her stomach growled as they walked outside, reminding her she hadn’t eaten. She thought about the leftover pizza in her fridge and cast a look at Alex from the corner of her eye. Would it be wise to ask him to come over after what happened yesterday?

Lost in thought, she tripped over the curb. As she lurched to the side, the car window in front of her shattered with the crack of a gun, the bullet missing her by a hair. She shrieked and dropped to the ground.

“Katie!”

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