The Dying Room (5 page)

How utterly ridiculous was that? Sylvia Baron had always been perfectly content and fulfilled with herself.

Until now.

Now she was a jumble of uncertainty and urgent need.

She closed her eyes and thought of Buddy pulling her against him... touching her and kissing her until her body cried out for all of him. Somehow she couldn’t turn that need off more than three months later.

Maybe she had turned
him
off with her request. After all, what hot-blooded southern male wanted a woman who’d given her child away and never looked back?

“Maybe you are as cold-hearted as your ex and his friends think,” she accused the woman staring back at her.

Sylvia turned away from the mirror and climbed into the tub. She sank into the deliciously hot water, closed her eyes, and tried to relax. She banished the voices from the past and sought a calm, quiet place.

If only her mind hadn’t found Buddy there...

Dell Road, Mountain Brook, 11:15 p.m.

Jess tossed aside the forensic report on the Rutledge homicide scene. Bear, her yellow Lab who looked more like a small pony than a dog, lifted his head and gazed at her. “Sorry, boy.” She scratched him behind the ears.

She was frustrated, that was all. The killer in this case had taken great care in not leaving identifiable evidence. The prints of the victim, his housekeeper, as well as his son and late wife had all been eliminated. Though his wife had been deceased for two years, her prints remained on the perfume bottles still sitting on the dressing table in her bedroom and anything else in the house that had been important to her. The housekeeper was never allowed to touch his wife’s belongings and treasures with anything other than a feather duster. The judge insisted that those things remain exactly as his wife had left them. Jess believed the man had a bigger heart than most who knew him believed.

The son, Harvey, proved little help to the investigation. He and his father hadn’t seen eye to eye, according to the son, since he graduated high school and decided to go into architectural engineering rather than law. Since his mother passed away, the son only came home for Christmas. He and his father spoke by phone occasionally and briefly, but saw each other only on that one day each year. If the judge had any enemies, the son had no idea who they might be or why any animosity existed. His father never mentioned any problems. All judges received threats at one time or another in their careers. Rutledge had suffered with plenty, including the attempt on his life, but none of the documented incidents were recent.

So far, those who knew the judge the best felt convinced that whomever had done this terrible thing was related in some way to a ruling he’d made on a case. No one could point to a specific case that stood out in his or her mind. Nearly all his rulings had been controversial, making most of them memorable.

Jess scowled at the pile of reports spread around her on the floor. How could the victim have had an enemy who hated him enough to take such a risk without anyone noticing that trouble was brewing? Entering a man’s home and creating a scene like the one found in Rutledge’s library took time and focus. Holding the judge hostage and worse in that very room required comprehensive planning and an equally comprehensive knowledge of the comings and goings at the judge’s home. None of his neighbors had noticed anything out of the ordinary.

The killer not only knew the judge, he had watched him and his housekeeper for a good long while before executing his plan. The judge had apparently allowed his killer into his home without resistance.

For now, Jess would keep her team focused on the death penalty cases of the past decade. Since all death penalty cases from the judge’s career had been plastered on that library wall, each one would be studied. One by one, relatives of each of the defendants were being interviewed and alibis confirmed. Jess heaved a weary breath. The trouble with that theory was that everyone they’d interviewed so far had an alibi.

Dan sat down on the floor next to her. Bear immediately shifted closer and rested his head against him. “It’s time to call it a day, Jess.” He removed her eyeglasses, folded them, and placed them on the coffee table. “You need rest. The baby needs you to rest. Even Bear is exhausted just watching you work.”

He was right. She placed her hands on her enormous belly. “Sorry. I lost track of time.” She’d promised him no more crawling into bed at midnight.

He smiled and her heart reacted. From the first time she laid eyes on him back in high school, she’d fallen for that smile and those dimples. And the blue eyes. Even now, more than two decades later, she melted just a little simply looking at him. Daniel Burnett completed her. She couldn’t begin to count the number of times he had told her the same. He made her so very happy. She couldn’t wait for the baby to come. The idea was still a little scary, but she believed without doubt that Dan would be an amazing father. His parents would be wonderful grandparents and her sister Lily would be the perfect aunt.

Jess aspired to be even half as good a mother as Dan would be a father.

He kissed her temple. “How about I organize all this for you? I’ll leave it on your desk while you go get ready for bed.”

Dan had insisted that all work was to be left at the office or kept in the home office. Jess had always created a case board at home. At her last place, she used the living room wall. With the baby coming, taping photos of victims and suspects on a common wall was not a good idea. She surveyed the wall of her office where Dan had installed an enormous white board. This worked just fine.

“You’ll have to help me up.” She turned to him and made a face. “Getting on all fours and crawling to the desk to help myself up isn’t exactly attractive.”

Dan laughed. “You might be surprised how attractive I would find you in any position.”

“Ha ha. Now help me up.”

Dan got to his feet and held out his hands. Jess put her hands in his and first moved up on her knees, then to her feet.

“Thank you. Oh!” She pressed her hand to her belly. “I guess the baby didn’t like it that I got up and disturbed her sleep.” Jess laughed as she placed Dan’s hand to her belly. “Do you feel that?” The baby moving still amazed her. At first, it had been nothing more than those little butterfly wing flutters. Eventually, she’d felt the kicks and then it was the baby moving around. There wasn’t a lot of room left these days so the baby’s movements were particularly startling at times.

Dan’s grin made her heart perform another of those happy little pitter-patters. “I can’t believe
he
will be here in a mere twenty days.”

“
She
will be here before we know it,” Jess teased. They had this ongoing banter about the gender of the baby.

“A little Jess will be fine by me.” Dan scooped up the reports.

Jess grabbed a pile and carried it to her desk. If she didn’t help, Dan would be in here all night. He had a desk on the other side of the room that sat in front of the windows overlooking the backyard. Jess had wanted hers close to her case board. Besides, the gardens could be too distracting. Under the meticulous direction of Katherine, she and Dan had planted hundreds of bulbs in early December. Now those gorgeous tulips provided a river of color around the yard. The landscape lighting showcased clumps of brilliant reds and soft pinks as well as rich purples. She’d never had a flower garden much less a vegetable garden but they’d already planned out a small vegetable plot.

Eating healthy was more important than ever now. They were going to be parents. Setting a good example in all things was important. No more M&M stashes—at least not at home.

When her work piles were organized on her desk, Dan turned out the lights. “Did Lily tell you she found a magician for Maddie’s birthday party?”

“That’s great.” Jess wrapped her arm around his as they headed for their bedroom. Bear followed close behind them. “Maddie seems so happy.”

Four-year-old—soon to be five—Maddie was the daughter of the half-sister Jess and Lil hadn’t known about until a few months ago. Amanda Brownfield, a serial killer herself, had ended up a victim of the infamous serial killer Eric Spears. Lily and her husband Blake had adopted Maddie. Between Maddie and Lil’s college kids, Blake Junior and Alice, the baby had three sweet cousins and a loving aunt and uncle awaiting her arrival.

Not to mention one exuberant great aunt. Jess had resisted accepting Wanda Newsom back into her life, but she’d come around eventually. Wanda was the only blood relative Jess and Lil had left other than their children. They had learned a great deal last year about the parents they’d lost when they were children. Eric Spears, the depraved serial killer who had been obsessed with Jess, had unearthed all the family secrets and used them to taunt her. She shivered at the vile memories. Obsession was just one of the many faces of evil she had discovered about Eric Spears.

“You cold?” Dan hugged a protective arm around her.

“I was just thinking about Mom and Dad.”

“And Spears?”

Jess hesitated and looked into Dan’s eyes. She nodded. “Sometimes he still haunts my dreams.”

“He can’t ever hurt you or anyone else again.”

He absolutely could not. Jess had put a bullet in his evil head. Since Spears had no family, the state had been responsible for his final arrangements. Jess had made sure he was cremated. She’d personally escorted his body and watched the entire cremation process. She had needed to see him burn. His ashes had been taken to the landfill and dumped like the garbage he had been.

She brushed her teeth while Dan drew back the covers. She’d taken her shower and pulled on her gown after dinner. She’d learned as the weeks of the third trimester passed that she ran out of steam early. It was best not to assume she could work late and then manage to go through the usual nightly rituals.

Dan helped her into bed, adjusting her pregnancy pillow, and tucking the covers around her. She watched as he rounded the big bed, pausing to give Bear a loving pat. Bear slept at the foot of the bed on a big, fluffy doggie pillow of his own.

A smile broadened her lips as Dan climbed in on his side, and then turned off the lamp on the side table. A nightlight in the bathroom allowed for those middle of the night trips—another third trimester perk.

“I’m thinking of putting Lieutenant Hayes in charge of SPU while I’m on maternity leave.” Jess snuggled closer to Dan and felt her whole body sigh in happiness.

Though Hayes outranked him, Harper had been in charge while Jess and Dan were on their honeymoon. Hayes initial inability to fit in with the team had been the primary reason. He’d repeatedly ignored Jess’s orders. While they were on their honeymoon, Dan had admitted that he’d instructed Hayes to keep an eye on Jess, going a long way to explain the lieutenant’s un-team like behavior. To her surprise, Jess had laughed when Dan made the heartfelt confession. Dan had been so worried that she would be angry. She was pretty sure that was the reason he’d waited until they were on their honeymoon before fessing up. The truth was, Dan had been right to worry about her. She’d so desperately needed to stop Spears that she had taken far too many risks with her safety.

“Hayes has certainly earned your respect.” Dan kissed her forehead. “He seems to work well with the team now. I think the surprise birthday party Harper and Wells planned for him says it all.”

“I agree. Cook really likes him.” Hayes had gone above and beyond to help Cook prepare for his detective’s exam.

“I think putting him in charge is the right decision.”

“This is nice.”

“Which part?” Dan kissed her again, his lips lingering at her temple. “The part where I offer to kiss every inch of you or the new shower gel scent that makes me think of those long, hot nights in Barbados on our honeymoon.”

Jess giggled. “The part where I can have the chief of police’s ear any time I want it, like now in the middle of the night.”

“Seriously?”

She turned her face up to his. “Actually, I really like that offer of you kissing every inch of me.”

He growled as he brushed kisses along her cheek. “My pleasure.”

He moved the body pillow aside and started a slow, lingering path down her throat. Jess closed her eyes and allowed the sweet sensations to chase away all thoughts of victims and suspects and murder.

Her time with Dan was far too precious to take for granted... even for work.

Jefferson County Coroner’s Office

Tuesday, March 31, 10:30 a.m.

“The external examination of Jane Doe is complete,” Sylvia announced for the audio recording of the autopsy. She sighed and surveyed the deceased once more before taking the next step. The elderly woman’s body was discovered in Railroad Park one week ago. Her autopsy had been delayed by the two recent homicides, which included Judge Rutledge’s.

Sylvia prepared to make the Y incision. Based on the external examination, she felt reasonably confident the woman had died of natural causes. However, the bump on the right side of her head as well as a bruise on her right forearm combined with her unattended death dictated the need for an autopsy.

The door behind Sylvia opened. “Dr. Baron?”

“Yes?” Sylvia snapped. The staff knew very well that she was not to be interrupted when performing an autopsy. She scowled at Tammy Lang, the receptionist, who dared to do so anyway.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but he says it’s an emergency.”

Sylvia placed the scalpel back on the table and removed the splatter guard and facemask. “He who?”

If her boss had called an emergency staff meeting, then he could fill her in later. Sylvia didn’t bow to his or anyone else’s demands in the middle of an autopsy. Or any other time for that matter. Dr. Martin Leeds was well aware of her rules.

“Mr. Corlew.” Tammy shrugged. “He’s waiting in your office. I told him you couldn’t be disturbed, but he said he wasn’t leaving until he spoke with you. Should I call security?”

Dear God. “No, that won’t be necessary.” Sylvia removed her gloves and squared her shoulders. “Thank you, Tammy.”

Tammy nodded, her expression reflecting her confusion and curiosity. Far too wise to ask questions, she hurried away, the door closing quietly behind her.

Sylvia removed her disposable lab coat and left the autopsy room. On the way to her office she considered the various options for putting Corlew in his place. Obviously, he intended to have answers to his intrusive questions and had decided to throw his weight around to get them.

Well, she hoped whatever he had to say was worth it because she felt like pinning him on a cold steel table in an autopsy room and ripping open his torso from shoulders to pelvis. She had taken a huge risk sharing her secret with him. If he made her regret that decision he would absolutely wish he’d chosen otherwise.

Buddy stood behind her desk studying the diplomas and awards on the wall. She walked in and closed the door, the sound drawing his attention to her. For four of five seconds she only stared at him. Not once in her life had she been so enamored by a man so... rough around the edges.

He wore his usual fare. An unbuttoned shirt, he hadn’t bothered to tuck into those well-worn, body-hugging jeans, exposed a skintight gray tee. Then there were those battered and somehow immensely sexy cowboy boots. But it was the long hair—longer than hers—that set him so far apart from any other man she’d ever had dinner with much less mind-blowing sex.

“I don’t know what you pay your secretary,” he said as he stepped away from her desk, “but you should give her a raise. She’s a bulldog.”

To regain some physical as well as emotional distance, Sylvia moved past him to stand behind her chair. Even putting both the chair and the desk between them failed to provide an effective buffer. “I was in the middle of an autopsy. Why are you here?”

He picked up the framed photograph from her desk. The picture of her with her sister was more than a decade old.
Happier times
.

“I thought of a few more questions I needed to ask you.” He placed the photo back on her desk. “I called you last night and then again this morning, but you didn’t call me back.”

Her fingers squeezed into the leather of her executive desk chair. “I think I made myself clear about answering any other questions.”

“Okay. So you’re not going to tell me the father’s name.” His gaze zeroed in on hers, his smoky gray eyes making her instantly uncomfortable in her clothes. “Did you inform him before proceeding with the adoption?”

Tension trickled through her. “I did not. No. He made it clear he wasn’t interested in me, marriage, or in children. There was no reason to tell him. The adoption was a private one that didn’t include unnecessary questions or stipulations.”

“Before I go any further,” he warned, somehow seeming closer, “you need to think about the legal ramifications of what you did back then.”

Anger ignited inside her. “Of what I did back then?” She jammed the chair against her desk and stalked around to the other side to confront him face-to-face. “Do you have any idea how difficult it was for me to come to you with this?”

He held her furious gaze without flinching. “I have a pretty damned good idea.”

“Then why are you determined to make me regret my decision?” For years she had pretended
it
never happened. She had blocked the memories of her rounded belly and of the fierce pains of childbirth. And the cries... the sound of her daughter’s first cries still echoed through her from time to time. She had blocked those memories just as she had any happy moments from her ten-year, ill-fated marriage. Sylvia Baron was an expert at burying feelings... at hiding the hurt.

His hands were on her arms and pulling her close before she could bat them away. “I never want you to regret anything you share with me.”

If he hadn’t murmured the words so tenderly... so honestly she might have been able to stay angry and push him away but he had and she could do nothing except lean into him.

“You did what you had to do,” he whispered against her hair, those strong arms holding her so tight. “No one can fault you for that. I’m just not sure you’re seeing past your emotions.”

Sylvia grappled for her composure. She drew back from him, his touch falling away, leaving her feeling cold and empty. “This was not a snap decision. I’ve struggled with it for months.”

“Everything about your life will change. The father could cause trouble for you personally and to your professional reputation. Before I go beyond the point of no return, I need to be certain this is what you really want.”

Drawing in a deep breath, Sylvia steeled herself. “This is what I want. I’m prepared for meeting any legal challenges that may arise. If you choose not to take my case I would appreciate a recommendation for another investigator you feel is trustworthy and reliable.” There. She’d said it. There was no turning back. This was the right thing to do. This was what she wanted to do. No question.

“Have you talked to your parents?” He stood firm with his questioning. “This affects them as well.”

Sylvia folded her arms over her chest. He was not changing her mind. “I have not told another living soul except you.” She searched his face. If she didn’t know better she would think he was the one having trouble with moving forward. “Are you not up to the challenge of getting the job done?”

He hesitated and another burst of fury flamed through her. “Are you operating under the delusion that our one-night stand somehow gives you some stake in my wellbeing? Don’t flatter yourself, Mr. Corlew. We had sex. Granted it was good sex—”

“Great,” he corrected. “We had
great
sex.”

 She rolled her eyes. “I’ve had great sex with my vibrator. That doesn’t mean I plan to start consulting it regarding difficult decisions.”

He propped his hands on his hips. “Your vibrator? Really? Can your vibrator make you scream its name? Or beg for more?”

Heat rushed up her cheeks, but it was the heat that roared to life between her legs that truly infuriated her. “Are you taking my case or not?”

He stepped closer, nose-to-nose. “I’m on it, Doc. I will find her, and then I’ll do whatever you want me to do. Just remember when the shit hits the fan that I warned you to think carefully before you started down this path.”

All she had to do was tilt her head just a little and then lean in the slightest bit and their lips would touch. The thought of having his mouth on hers had her burning up... had her melting faster than sugar in hot tea.

“Got it. Now get out of my office.”

He stared at her lips, licked his own. “Whatever you want.”

He turned and walked away. Sylvia inhaled a ragged breath. Her whole body trembled with need as she watched him swagger to the door. If he’d held out one more second—

The door lock clicked.

She snapped to attention. He’d...
locked
the door!

Slowly, he turned to face her once more. Before she could find her voice he’d closed the distance between them and pulled her against his hard body.

“You might fool everyone else, but you don’t fool me.” He kissed her hard. The fingers of one hand dove into her hair, while the other found her breast and squeezed.

Her knees buckled. She whimpered. One skilled hand slid down over her hip. He squeezed her bottom while his mouth continued to plunder hers.

He backed her against her desk and she gasped, the sound lost to his hot, punishing kisses. Before she could summon the wherewithal to do more than whimper, he dragged the hem of her dress to her hips and spread her legs apart. A finger slid inside her, then another. She whimpered.

“God, you are so damned wet.”

“You should leave,” she said, the words panting out of her... her thighs trembling.

“Tell me you don’t want me.” He unbuttoned his fly, lowered the zipper. “Tell me that fire isn’t for me.” He stroked her possessively.

Speech was impossible... she could scarcely breathe...

He shoved his briefs out of the way and nudged her intimately. The battle was lost. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he dove into her. The sound of papers sliding across her desk and slipping to the floor only made her more desperate. His fingers lowered the zipper of her dress, following the curve of her spine. He dragged the fabric down her chest, exposing her satin encased breasts.

“You are so damned gorgeous.” He ground his pelvis into hers, letting her feel how deep inside her he was. He slid his tongue between one lacy satin cup and her breast, then toyed with her nipple with his teeth.

She bit her lips together to hold back the scream. Her fingers buried in all that long hair as she lifted her hips to meet his slow, deep thrusts. Everything that was wrong in her life slipped away, leaving her feeling nothing but a desperate need for his touch... for all of him.

She came twice before he finished. Even then, she wanted more.

If only he’d simply zipped his fly and walked out when he’d finished, maybe she could have hated him for making her so weak. Maybe she could have cursed him for being a bastard.

He didn’t.

Like everything else about Buddy Corlew, his tenderness after lovemaking was unexpected. As soon as he’d righted his jeans, he grabbed tissues from the box on her desk and cleaned her. Slipped her panties back into place and adjusted her bra and dress, lastly tugging her zipper back into place. Then he smoothed her hair and smiled down at her before dropping one last kiss on her lips.

“I’ll call you.”

“No.” How she summoned the ability to utter the one word, she wasn’t sure.

He hesitated at the door and stared expectantly at her.

She lifted her chin and met his gaze with the defiance for which she was known. “I don’t want to hear from you again until you have what I’m paying you to find.”

For three seconds that lapsed into five he merely stared at her. “Whatever you want.”

And then he was gone. Sylvia passed a shaky hand over her face. Okay.
Pull yourself together
. She gathered the scattered papers and tidied her desk. When her respiration had evened out, she smoothed her palms over the skirt of her dress and headed to the ladies room.

This wasn’t the first time she’d had sex in her office. There had been a couple of other incidents. This was, however, the first time she wasn’t in control. Buddy Corlew made her lose control. No other man had ever been able to make that happen.

Ten minutes later, she was back in the autopsy room wearing gloves, splatter shield, facemask, and lab coat ready to continue. She stared at the elderly woman who had died alone in that park.

She didn’t want to die alone. She didn’t want to continue proving what people said about her behind her back. She wasn’t entirely self-sufficient or completely heartless as they accused. She had feelings and needs. She wanted things...

She wanted to spend more time with the living than with the dead.