Page 94 of Power of the Mind

“Like what?” Aslan asked.

“I don’t know. That’s why we want to review them.”

He chuckled but tried to cover it. My reputation in the eyes of these two detectives plummeted. Another silent conversation passed between the couple.

“So you need me to request eleven files from pathology?” Aslan confirmed.

“Can you do that?”

“Yes. Easily. But I can’t hand them over to you. They can’t leave my care. If you want to view them, bring your partner in crime to the department tomorrow afternoon. I’ll give you guys an interview room for one hour.”

I was sure Doyle thought he was entertaining a child with a Fisher-Price detective kit, but I didn’t care. I agreed.

After finishing my coffee, I thanked Aslan again and took off, aiming for Diem’s office.

22

Diem

“Idon’t get it. What am I missing?”

A low growl resonated in my chest. “Look. Closer. Hilty singled out these twenty-six people for a reason. Why?”

I didn’t want to spell it out. Tallus was smart. If he used his brain, he’d see what I saw. It was right in front of him.

He’d raced to the office from Doyle’s, announcing that we could view the autopsy reports the following day. Although impressed at how quickly and efficiently he’d completed the task, I wasn’t keen on waltzing through headquarters—nor was I allowed. Instead of berating him for not talking Doyle into a better location, I bit my tongue and let it go.

Tallus leaned over the desk, hands braced on the surface as he scoured at various pages through his come-fuck-me glasses. His auburn hair was windblown and tousled, the delectable just-been-fucked style he wore daily. His wardrobe consisted of tancargo shorts, a collared Lacoste shirt in a soft mustard color, and no loafers. He wore bare feet in leather sandals instead.

Tallus’s trim body was on full display, and I struggled to focus. The scent of coffee and cologne crossed the expanse between us. Tallus belonged on a beach, not in a stuffy, rundown office. I had an image of him wearing Ray-Bans and boardshorts, his flat stomach and smooth chest beading water as he walked the shoreline of some lake, the hot August sun bronzing his skin.

Then, we were back in my bed, his hazel eyes taking me in as he rode my cock, pinning my hands above my head. Lush lips descended toward mine and…

“Diem!”

I snapped out of the daydream with a start and focused on Tallus, who had clearly said something I’d missed.

“What?”

“Help me out here.”

“No. Do you want to be a detective? You have to start thinking like one.” I motioned to the papers. “You have eleven dead bodies. Twenty-six potential targets. Ask yourself, what do they have in common?”

Tallus frowned. “They’re all easily manipulated. We already figured that out.”

“What else?”

He heaved a frustrated sigh and flipped through the stack again.

“Ask yourself how the victims came in contact with the perpetrator. At some point, their lives crossed paths, or they wouldn’t have become victims. Where is the connection?”

“They were all Hilty’s patients. We already assumed that.”

I rolled a hand. “And why were they Hilty’s patients?”

Confidence seemingly bolstered, Tallus’s examination became more focused. “Because they were all suffering from an ailment that seemed incurable by any other means.”

“Bingo.”

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