Page 132 of The Dollmaker

Even now as Tessa and Dr.Kincaid did their morning rounds, Veronica’s words were never far.

“I said, are you ready to discuss this patient?” Dr.Kincaid asked.

Tessa looked up. “Yes. Yes, of course.”

Dr.Kincaid opened a refrigerated door and glanced at the face of an attractive man who had been in the prime of his life until last night, when he’d gripped his chest after a meal of organic vegetables and free-range meat and dropped to the floor. He’d been an avid runner and had no history of smoking. “What about his family history?”

Tessa glanced at her notes. “He did have an uncle who had a heart attack at forty-five. The uncle survived. His wife said he’s never complained of heart trouble.”

“What kind of medicines was he taking?”

“His wife brought in a bottle of antacids. It was nearly empty.”

“Why was he taking the antacids?”

“He was complaining of mild heartburn.”

Dr.Kincaid shook her head. “That’s the last of our cases. The detectives will be here in about twenty minutes. Jerry is getting their case prepped and on the table. Have you notified Douglas Knox’s family about his death?”

“I was able to get the number of his oldest daughter, and I’ve put a call into her. I didn’t leave a specific message other than to call me.”

“Good. We need to know how to proceed with the body.”

“Okay.”

Dr.Kincaid studied her closely. “Are you okay, Dr.McGowan?”

The question caught her off guard. “Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because Sharp called me last night and told me that you also knew this victim. He’s worried about you.”

She rubbed the back of her neck. “He’s assigned a cop to me twenty-four/seven.”

“Why?”

“He thinks there’s a pattern to these deaths, and I might be next.”

Dr.Kincaid’s gaze darkened. “Sharp doesn’t scare easily. I agree with his caution.”

Tessa smiled, hoping it hid her worry. Last night she’d barely slept. If she wasn’t trying to draw connections between the two murdered women and herself, she was thinking about Dakota.

All this time she’d thought he’d been using the past to avoid the future, but God, it looked like he had been right to worry. On an instinctual level he’d known Kara had been murdered.

When she stepped into her office, Dakota was standing there, staring at a picture taken of her and a group of forensic doctors identifying bones in the jungle.

“You look happy in this picture,” he said without turning. “You didn’t smile much like that toward the end of us.”

“I was happy at that moment. We found the soldier we’d been searching for. But I wasn’t really happy, mostly because I knew you weren’t happy and I didn’t know how to fix it.”

“It’s selfish of me to withdraw,” he said as he replaced the picture.

Tessa didn’t speak as he turned and crossed to her.

“I was angry and frustrated, and the better it got between us the worse I felt. It was as if I didn’t have the right to be happy because my sister was dead.”

This was the first time she’d ever had a sense of what he felt. “If it had been reversed and you’d died, would you have wanted Kara to suffer alone?”

“No. Of course not.”

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