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“I know. I thought the bag was well hidden, but the case wasn’t where I thought I’d put it.”

“Get this done so we can leave.”

“Okay.”

As soon as I climbed onto the sidewalk, a strange series of creepy-crawlies drifted down my spine. There was no real reason. Alejandro had ensured we hadn’t been followed. However, there was so much at stake.

As soon as I walked inside, I felt a little heartsick. Thoughts of my neglected clinic were stronger than ever. Marsha had been a good friend, a southern gal with a penchant for life. She’d learned about my father early on, but had acted as if down south, mafia families meant nothing. She’d also told me from the get-go that southerners performed their own brand of justice.

We’d become fast friends after that.

Our dreams had been similar. Open clinics where we could help those in need, underprivileged families who couldn’t typically afford health care. I’d been shocked when she’d come to New York instead of opening a clinic in her home state of South Carolina.

That’s what falling in love with a sexy professor could do. She would have followed him anywhere.

The world the two of us had envisioned seemed far removed from today.

“Hi, can I help you?” the receptionist asked.

“I’m here to see Dr. Thorn. I have an appointment.”

“My God. How long has it been?” Marsha suddenly appeared. “I’ve got this, Jenny.” She walked closer, dragging me into an embrace. When she pulled away, I could tell by her expression she knew something wasn’t right.

“Too long. I can’t believe you settled in New York. How’s Mr. Hottie?”

She blushed and immediately ushered me into the back. “He’s great, still a flirt, but I have him under control. What about you? You’re a married woman now.”

“Yeah, I guess I am.” I twisted the rings on my finger, even glancing toward the front window of the clinic before following her into a room in the back.

Alejandro’s truck was right there parked in front, the man determined not to let anything happen to me.

“You sound thrilled to death.”

“It’s just… family politics.”

She turned and faced me, folding her arms. “Which is the reason for this visit.”

“Sadly, yes.” I reached into my purse, pulling the three blood samples I’d taken. “I hate to burden you with this, but my clinic is unavailable.”

Her frown was followed by a nod. “Are you in some kind of trouble?”

“Nothing like that.” That wasn’t necessarily a true statement.

“Then why not take it to a typical lab?” When she saw my frown, she sighed. “I get it. Don’t ask too many questions.” She took the vials from me, immediately moving toward her equipment. Marsha had always been the researcher, checking and double-checking results for every experiment. While I’d been educated like every other doctor in the use of drugs for prescriptions, she’d taken great interest and additional classes in the subject. Her fascination with the workings of drugs, including illegal substances, had never appealed to me until now.

“It’s best if you don’t have but so many questions. What I suspect is that a poison was used to induce a heart attack.”

“Why do you think that?”

I couldn’t tell her the truth. At this point, I wasn’t certain I could trust my intuition any longer. “Call it a gut feeling even though the victim did have a history of heart disease.”

“Okay. I’ll buy that. You were never wrong. Let’s see what we have.”

While we waited for the results, we chatted about our respective accomplishments over a cup of coffee. It felt good to catch up even though after twenty minutes, I felt guilty as well as unnerved.

Marsha sensed my anxiousness and rose from the table. “I should be able to check the results. What if you’re right? What then?”

“Honestly, I don’t know.” Even if I was wrong and nothing had been taken from my bag, the seed I’d planted would ferment and grow in Alejandro’s mind, preventing him from forming another conclusion.

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