Page 18 of Smoky Lake

“Murder?” He shot her a quick smile, and she realized, with amazement, that he had a dimple. “I’ve been out of the loop, are there any murder rumors floating around town?”

“Just the usual. That old murder spree from the eighties, and a few frozen corpses surfacing in the spring.”

“As far as I know, nothing like that happened this spring. This would be a very cryptic way to tell people about it.” He smoothed the paper out, then squinted at something on it. “Hang on, let me get a magnifying glass.”

He disappeared into a utility room filled with scientific equipment, then came back with both a magnifying glass and a microscope.

“I guess I came to the right place,” she said lightly.

“Never go anywhere without your magnifying glass.” Gil’s expression was so deadpan that she didn’t know if he was serious or joking. Then that unexpected dimple appeared again and she laughed. Every time she thought she had a handle on what Gil McGowan was like, he threw her for a loop.

Gil took his time analyzing the note. She watched, not feeling bored at all by the wait. It gave her a chance to look around the light-filled space, to let the peace and quiet soak into her bones.

After all the angst of recent months, it was pure balm.

It didn’t hurt to watch Gil’s extremely fit body hunch over the counter either. She noticed the dark hairs peeking under the cuffs of his olive-green thermal shirt, and the way it hugged the muscles of his back and shoulders. Every line of his body exuded strength and power.

Finally he lifted his head. “There’s a smudge of something on the paper. I think it’s a mix of blood and plant matter.”

She sucked in a breath. “Blood? Let me see.”

He handed her the magnifying glass and she examined the smudge. “It’s definitely blood, but it’s such a tiny amount. I wish we could identify the plant.”

“I have some contacts, I could try.”

“Everything red, everything dead,” she murmured. Chills swept up and down her spine. “Do you think someone tried to murder Victor?”

Maybe he had been murdered. Maybe he was already dead. She could have been one of the last people to see him alive.

“No, no, no.” He reached for her forearm and gave it a comforting squeeze. “We can’t make that leap. We need to be scientific about this. Right now all we have is some nonsensical words and a bit of blood. A tiny bit, as you said. Are you okay?”

She swallowed hard and gave him a nod. “Yes, sorry. I’m a doctor, but as a pediatrician I mostly deal with ear infections and stomach aches. Death, murder, that’s outside of my usual daily drill.”

“I’ve had two brushes with death. I was mountain climbing when I got swept downstream on an ice floe a few years ago in Iceland. I barely managed to grab onto a tree branch.” He rolled up his sleeve to show her a jagged scar on the inside of his forearm. “It did some damage while it was saving my life.”

She peered at the scar, which was long but shallow. “That must have hurt, but I’m surprised it left such a mark behind.”

“I was a two-day hike from any kind of help. My first-aid kit got washed away along with all my gear. By the time I got to the nearest village it was badly infected.”

He detailed the injury so casually, as if a life-threatening infection was really no big deal.

“My God,” she said softly, tracing her fingertip along the scar. He sat still while she touched him, but he didn’t pull away.

She drew her hand away, and he rolled his sleeve down. “What was the other brush with death?”

“I work for the Diplomatic Security Service, which is like the Secret Service for our diplomatic corps. I got shot at during the ambush of our ambassador to Qatar.” He lifted his thermal shirt to show off the puckered scar on his chest. Her heart nearly stopped at the sight of his muscled chest.

“That’s a dangerous line of work. Why did you choose it?”

“After defending my brilliant brother from bullies my whole childhood, it was a natural fit. I was good at it, but after I got shot, I took some time off. So here I am. And we should get moving.”

“But why?” With dismay, she looked around the delightful space, this aerie tucked into the treetops. “I just got here.”

“Someone searched it before I arrived. It’s on their radar. They may be back.”

She gave a long sigh, recognizing the necessity but deeply regretting it. “You know, maybe it’s not such a bad thing to talk to members of military? The two I saw at The Fang were fairly cute.”

A glint of amusement flashed in his eyes. “Man in uniform syndrome? I can dig up my suit and earpiece, does that do anything for you?”

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