Page 35 of Protected By Her Mate

As she’s tossing things into her purse, I say, “Have dinner with me?”

“Sure,” she says, slinging her purse over her shoulder. “When?”

I’m taken aback by her nonchalance. “Uh, tonight. You know I mean it like a date, right?”

She looks at me. “Yeah, I know.”

“I just thought…”

“That I’d be more surprised?”

Yes, that’s what I thought.

“My sister’s voice carries and the walls here are paper thin. I heard most of what she said.” She snickers. “It was funny listening to a woman a third your size threatening to disappear you.”

“Glad one of us was amused.”

“She’s harmless,” Charlie says. “Her mob connection consists of knowing an extra who was on three episodes of the Sopranos. Let’s go. I want my truck back and I want to know if our body’s been ID’ed yet.”

The frightened Charlie of yesterday is gone, replaced by Charlie-in-charge. I can’t help but admire the pep in her step as we make our way down to the cab.

My pleasant mood disappears though as we hit two dead ends in a row. At the police precinct we’re told Charlie’s truck is still being processed by the CSI unit and won’t be done for another 24 hours.

We’re given similarly bad news at the morgue by a familiar face.

“She was cremated an hour ago,” Edie confirms after I storm into her office, having been told she was in charge of the body.

“How is that possible?” Charlie asks incredulously. “She hadn’t even been identified yet.”

“She was identified by prints shortly after arrival yesterday as a Catherine Grant.”

“You knew I was looking for a Catherine Grant connected to my case.” I’m incredulous that the usually impeccable pathologist could make such a mistake.

Charlie inhales sharply at the news while Edie continues, “Her father made the formal identification last night. I confirmed cause of death was a self-inflicted drug overdose, removing any suspicion of murder. Her family asked that she be cremated and we followed through on their request.” Her eyes pin me. “I can’t be expected to remember every case you’re working on, Lennox. Protocol was followed. I’ve done nothing wrong.”

“What about the marks on her throat?” I demand, tamping down in my fury.

Edie frowns, her gaze turning glacial. “Now you’re trying to do my job? The mottling at her neck occurred post-mortem as the blood settled in her body.”

I step closer to her desk, my fists clenching. “What are you playing at? Catherine Grant was part of an investigation. Her body shouldn’t have been cremated.”

Her eyebrows lift. “I was given no formal order to keep her body in my lab.”

It’s happened before. A file mix-up or a careless paramedic forgetting to pass along necessary information, but this feels different. Even if there had been a mistake, bodies simply aren’t processed through the system as quickly as Catherine’s was.

“I’m sorry for the mix-up,” Edie says, her tone hard. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

I try to look past the brittleness of her stare, allowing my wolf to see into her soul. Perhaps it really was a mix-up and she has nothing to do with it, but I don’t think so.

“We don’t need anything else.” I turn away, my hand going to Charlie’s elbow. “Let’s go.”

As we walk out of the building, Charlie says, “I know you guys are friends, but – .”

“She’s hiding something,” I finish for her.

Charlie stops me, her hand on my arm. “What haven’t you told me about your relationship with Edie?”

I urge her to keep moving, instinctively wanting to get her further away from Edie. “I’ll tell you over dinner.”

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