Page 42 of Her Only Hero

“It’ll be a long one without you,” he said softly.

I smiled at him before I entered the lab but sobered when I saw all the new sample bags piled on the bench top. Vinny satat a computer with his back to me, Edward pipetted solution into rows of gel wells, and Lara was speaking to someone on the phone. The room hummed with the sounds of the overhead exhaust, the high-capacity centrifuges, and the DNA sequencing machines. No one seemed to notice me until Lara turned and hung up the phone.

“Hi, June,” she said as I buttoned up my lab coat. “It’s great to see you.”

“You, too. What do you want me to do first?”

“Good morning, June,” Edward said.

Vinny looked back and waved.

“Hi, guys,” I said.

Lara shut off the centrifuge. “June, if you don’t mind, you can add fluorescent label to that run.”

“Sure,” I said and retrieved the reagent bottles from the refrigerator.

Vinny stood from his computer and came over. “Good news, June. The DNA results from your case will be ready today. They’re on the analyzer now.”

“That is great,” I said. “Thanks for rushing them.” My stomach fluttered. The sooner they found the killer, the better and safer for everyone.

“No problem,” Edward said as he came over and reached for some papers on the counter. “A perk of the job. Besides, working with a dream team.”

Lara snickered and rolled her eyes. “June, did you hear we’ve hired another lab tech? Our so-called dream team is increasing by one.”

“That’s fantastic,” I said.

“Yeah,” Lara said. “And you may know her. She used to work at St. Eugene’s.”

I dropped onto a stool beside me. They had hired someone I used to work with?

Oh, God, please don’t let it be Victoria.

Chapter Twenty-One

In the lunchroom I sat at the round veneer table, alone with my thoughts and an oat bar. I was relieved to hear my ex-colleague Victoria hadn’t been hired to work here in forensics, but Ursula, another “difficult” ex-workmate, was. In this moment, it didn’t matter. I had more important things to worry about, and I tossed the half-eaten bar into the trash and headed back to the lab.

The DNA results from my case were almost ready. I paced the aisle. Would we finally have the name of a potential murderer?

Lara looked over the top rims of her glasses. “How much longer?”

“Twenty-two minutes.” I tapped my fingers on my crossed arm. “Oh, twenty-one,” I said when the number changed on the screen.

Vinny wiped the counter with a disinfectant cloth. “Soon, June. Hopefully, the suspect is in the police database.”

“I’ll cross my fingers,” I said. “But what if he’s not? Then what?”

“Then the police keep investigating,” Lara said.

Of course, they would. But it’d be so much easier if the police had a name.

Vinny cleared his throat. “Would you two mind if I head out a bit early?” He raised his brows and reminded me of a sheepish schoolboy asking a teacher for permission to go to the bathroom.

“Fine with me,” I said, as I watched the instrument timer count down another minute.

“Sure, Vin,” Lara said. “Hot date?”

“Kinda,” he said. “It’s my fifth wedding anniversary. I’ve gotta pick up a card.”

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