Page 77 of Her Only Hero

“No, June, he couldn’t talk.”

“No? Was he still sleepy from the morphine? Or did he refuse?”

Patrick’s jaw tightened. “June,” he said quietly. “He’s dead.”

Blood drained out of my face. “Dead? How? Earlier today he was alive and stable.” I tried to let the news register. “I killed him.”

“June, listen to me. You didn’t kill anyone. Ballistics will prove that. Please try to take a step back and wait for the loose ends of the case to be tied up.”

“Ends are being tied up? As in, case closed?”

“It would appear that way. With David’s DNA at the crime scene, we can conclude he’s implicated in murder, or manslaughter. But, with David gone, and no other suspect, there can be no trial. Leads have run cold. So, it’s case closed, as you put it.”

“Except…” I said.

“Except what?”

“I don’t know. I guess I should be relieved, but I can’t believe this is all over.”

“Believe it. Protocol dictates an autopsy must be performed on David Moreno because he passed away within twenty-four hours of hospital admission. But after that, we should officially wrap things up.”

I took a deep breath. “It’ll be such a relief,” I said. “But something is so weird, though.”

“What is?”

“When David appeared in my basement, I was scared. Terrified, stiff. Beyond anything I’d ever felt. Thinking back, he didn’t seem like a threat. I don’t think he wanted to hurt me.”

“Actions show how people truly are. Some people don’t seem to be threatening until they reveal their claws and fangs.”

“Like wolves in sheep’s clothing.”

“Exactly.”

The server delivered a tray with our drinks and plates of fries and grilled burgers. The best smells I’d had all day. I picked up my iced tea in a toast. Though it was the most disparaging occasion I’d ever toasted to.

“Cheers, Patrick. To a case that seemed to solve itself.”

Chapter Thirty-Four

The next morning, a couple of uniformed officers and electronic experts searched Patrick’s house for bugs and hidden cameras. The threat against him from that other case was very real. I sidestepped the men several times as they scanned everything from the floorboards, furniture, lamps, to the ceilings and even the attic. At the front door, I gave Patrick a quick kiss before heading out to work.

Patrick kept hold of my hand. “I can’t wait to get you back upstairs,” he said.

An officer walked by us and scratched his shaved head. “Well, you’ll have to wait a little longer. There’s a crew in the bedroom.”

Patrick chuckled, and my cheeks blew up in flames as I rushed out of the house.

In the lab, I stayed clear of the fume hood area, where there was tension between Ursula and Vinny. Ursula had contaminated some samples, and Vinny watched her pipetting technique as if she was a new grad. Her face glowed red, and her lips flattened as she pressed them together. I empathized. We’d all been humbled by the job at one time or another.

On the other side of the lab, I sat at a computer, evaluating results and writing reports. My mind wandered to my case. It wasn’t over until it was over. The death of David Moreno became a coroner’s case, and Aram was performing the autopsy at this very moment. He had asked if I wanted to assist, but I declined. My attempt at assisting last time hadn’t worked out so well, and attending the postmortem on David Moreno would certainly be more daunting.

The phone rang, and Edward answered. He waved me over.

“For me?”

“Yeah,” Edward said and put the receiver on the bench top.

Who could be calling? Another prank? But David Moreno was dead. I stood and hesitated before walking over to pick up the telephone.

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