Page 43 of Chasing a Kidnapper

Now, her son would never know his father.

TWELVE

West hugged Trish, concerned about how she would handle seeing her ex-husband’s dead body. He probably should have mentioned that the ME believed Little had been badly beaten, not just in his face but throughout his entire body.

Likely the masked perp had used brute force to get information from her ex-husband. Maybe Little had only been able to mention a key before being rendered unconscious.

Or taking his last breath. Hard to know for sure, since Dr. Owens found massive internal bleeding.

It reminded him of the way the masked man had struck Laurel in the kidney. Whoever this guy is, heknowshow to inflict pain on his victims.

Trisha stepped away, then climbed into the SUV. He quickly slid behind the wheel, looking at her with concern.

“I’m fine,” she said, answering his unspoken question. “I didn’t love Bryan. He wasn’t the man I thought he was when we got married. I don’t believe he deserved to die, but he made his decisions.” She frowned. “Really bad ones, apparently.”

“Yeah.” He honestly wasn’t sure what Little had been thinking to walk away from a woman as kind and beautiful as Trish, not to mention leaving his son.

The trip to the ME’s office didn’t take long. He drove around back where the lab was located. The sun was out, so he decided to leave Peanut in the SUV, knowing they wouldn’t be inside for long.

Trish’s apprehensive expression tugged at his heart. “Have you seen a dead body before?”

“Yes.” She shrugged. “I had to identify my parents’ bodies, too, after they died in a car crash.”

He caught her hand as they headed inside. No matter how strong she might be, he had a feeling this would hit her hard. “You need to know he was beaten pretty badly,” he said in a low tone.

“I figured as much.” She shook her head. “He was so stupid to steal something, then refuse to give it up. Material things aren’t worth risking your life over.”

He silently agreed. Dr. Cathy Owens was waiting for them inside. The no-nonsense ME eyed Trisha critically.

“Are you going to faint?” she asked.

“No.” Trisha lifted her chin. “This isn’t a first for me.”

Owens nodded, then gestured for her to come closer. “His face is swollen and bruised,” she warned. “I hope you can still make a positive ID.”

West stood behind Trisha to catch her if she did in fact pass out. Dr. Owens pulled back the sheet, revealing what he felt certain was Little’s bruised face.

“Yes, that’s my ex-husband, Bryan Little,” Trisha said in a remarkably strong voice. She reached back for his hand. “Where was he found?”

“In the back alley behind the Wild Wild West Restaurant.” Dr. Owens pulled the sheet back over his face. “Thank you for coming in to provide a positive ID. I am ruling his death a homicide. His cause of death is blunt force trauma resulting in internal bleeding.”

“Thanks, Dr. Owens.” West continued to hold Trish’s hand. “We’ll look forward to seeing your formal report.”

“I’ll submit my preliminary findings by the end of the day,” Owens said. “But I can’t do the final autopsy reports until the tox screens come back, in about thirty days.”

“I understand.” He was well aware of the length of time tox screens took. Almost as long as DNA testing. Patience with this kind of thing wasn’t his strong suit. He tugged Trish’s hand. “Let’s go.”

She allowed him to draw her back outside. She paused for a moment outside the SUV, a hint of tears in her eyes.

“Hey, it’s okay.” He looped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “You were married to the guy.”

“It’s not that.” She swiped at her face, then leaned her head on his shoulder. “My only regret is that Gabriel will never know his father. I had accepted the fact that Bryan wouldn’t be a part of Gabriel’s life, but I had hoped that maybe someday...” Her voice trailed off. “Foolish thought, I know,” she finally added.

Her tears were for her son’s loss, not hers. He admired Trisha more than ever, knowing that she would have supported a relationship between Gabriel and his father despite the way the jerk had walked out on her.

He drew her more fully into his arms, wishing he knew what to say.

Trisha slipped her arms around his waist and hugged him. Then she tipped her head back to look into his eyes. “You’re amazing, West.”

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