Page 62 of Seducing Hope (The Hope Legacy)

“Could you leave, please? I need a shower, and as you’re aware, I’m naked.”

After grabbing a quick shower, I pull my hair into a high ponytail and dress in a set of leathers and a soft, sky blue tank top before leaving the apartment.

Zee and I park next to the coroner’s office; a gentle breeze blows the saplings surrounding the freshly-painted, ivory, concrete building. We enter through the rotating glass doors to find Detective Patton sitting on a bench in reception, eyeing the strange water feature of Eros spouting water (from his mouth, thank goodness) onto a nude Aphrodite. I’ve always been confused about the choice of décor in the coroner’s building. He takes in my attire and arches an eyebrow.

“Expecting trouble?”

I shake my head. “Maybe later.”

“Did you figure out what the tattoo means?” he probes as we walk toward the autopsy rooms. I consider how much I should tell him. He’s never let me down with sensitive information before, but this is specific to me.

“How much do you want to know?”

“Will it help catch the killer?”

“No, it was a warning to stop looking for him.”

“I see. You’ll let me know if it’s important?”

I nod. “Of course.”

We spot Emi’s perfectly bobbed, satin black hair through the glass windows of the examination room and enter the cool chamber. The ventilation pulls the air out of the room, but the distinct smell of decomposing bodies lingers. Plucking a fabric mask from the box near the door, I go to stand near Emi. Zee and John exert their masculine tendencies and forego the masks to stand stoically near the body.

“Hi, Emi, it’s been ages. Which I guess is a good thing, considering we only meet over dead bodies,” I say.

Emi smiles, her Egyptian features and bronzed skin combining to make a classic image of Cleopatra. “We could fix that with a night out?”

“Great idea. We’ll arrange it soon.” I turn my attention to the body of Mary Conway and sigh. “So… down to business. What have you found?”

“The first notable thing is the tattoo on her wrist.” She turns to John. “I saw you wrote that in your report. Did you find out what it means?”

“It’s a warning,” I explain.

She arches an eyebrow, waits a beat and sighs beforepointing to Mary’s ribs, where a dark bruise has formed on her left side. “There’s bruising across the ribs; I think it’s associated with the cause of death.”

“Which is?”

“She died from a myocardial infarction.”

“Great,” Zee mutters, “she had a heart attack, and you don’t know why.”

Emi bristles. “It happens… particularly with the cases you bring in.”

Shooting Zee a look, I intervene. “He didn’t mean it like that, Emi. He’s frustrated it doesn’t help our case.”

She gives me a sly smile. “If he’d let me finish speaking, there’s more.” As one, we perk up. She collects a tray containing Mary’s heart and brings it to the table at the foot of the body. Collectively, we step closer, intrigued. She grabs a magnifying glass, angles it, and points to the right side of the heart.

“There are symbols branded into the tissue.” We take turns looking through the magnifying glass. Zee slowly looks up to stare at me—the symbols are similar to the warning on her wrist.

I take a step back and fold my arms. “There aren’t any wounds that would have given access to her heart, yet it wasbranded?”

Emi nods. “I’ve never seen anything like it. Have you?” John and Zee shake their heads.

I take out my phone. “Can I take pictures?”

“Sure, I’d be interested to know what they mean.”

“I’ll tell you what I can,” I say, as Emi covers Mary’s body with a white cotton sheet and rolls the cart to place her in a vault.

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