Page 41 of Perfect Order
“Leanne, what did the final report from NYU list as cause of death?” Sam asks.
My fingers fly as I access NYU Medical Center’s records, and both men become very quiet.
“Is that the same Dr. Ross, Caleb?” Sam worries.
“It is,” Caleb confirms.
“What? Is there a problem with the way she was treated?” I ask frantically. I never even thought of that angle.
“Jason notes broken bones and contusions. He also notes defensive wounds,” Caleb responds carefully. His fingers are clenched in a fist so tight, the knuckles are white with strain.
Sam leans over and studies the report. “Being as thorough as he always is, he still ran a tox screen. Though the final results are still pending, he was still able to rule it officially as a homicide the day of the attack because of the head trauma and suffocation. Open. Shut. Really, the tox results are superfluous. That’s why he didn’t flag it as a priority. I doubt it will find anything to affect the detective's report unless your sister was doing illegal substances, at which point, every tabloid on the planet will be reporting it.”
My hair flies back and forth as I shake my head. “Not recently. And even then, it was a few joints maybe in places it wasn’t legalized. Nothing more significant than that.”
“Like that isn’t half the known world,” Caleb scoffs.
“You speak of him like you know him—Dr. Ross, that is?” My voice is anxious, wondering if I’ve made an error coming to Hudson with Carys.
“He’s my brother-in-law,” Caleb explains.
I study the precise report carefully, noting all the different lifesaving techniques he used before he ever made the phone call to me. Concluding he did everything possible short of lie in my sister’s place to save her, I murmur, “He went far and above what was expected.”
Caleb says quietly, “He always does.”
For a moment, we’re all silent until Sam’s determined voice asks, “If your sister willingly left the Plaza, where’s their surveillance? The streets surrounding it?”
Jolted back to the business at hand, I draw out my words even as my fingers fly. “Well, Sam, wouldn’t you know there was a four-block outage—including internal Plaza security footage—for hours surrounding her death.” I pull up an eight-screen divided view and let the video play just before the cameras go out, and then I speed it up to when they come back on. Which is when you can see security approaching me.
Sam sits back in his chair and folds his arms behind his head. “Accidental death, my ass.”
“Both our asses,” Caleb chimes in grimly.
“I think we’re all in agreement about that.” Carys’s voice is laced with fury. “The question is, what do we do about it?”
I don’t know what makes me do it, but I begin to sing. What comes out is an old country song Mom used to play about being unable to live without someone. It touches on the person being their heart, their soul. She used to dance with Dad in the kitchen while we watched. He used to tease it was all of our song since we couldn’t live without each other.
I’m beginning to realize he was right.
Carys gapes at me. “Christ, you even sound like her. If it wasn’t for the tattoo, I’d never have known the difference.”
I don’t bother to acknowledge her words—it’s something I already know. Instead, I press my agenda with force. I’ll use these and any resources I have to. Screw country first—finding Kylie's killer has become my primary objective. Hotly, I list the facts. “After what happened in Silverthorn, then at Snowy-T’s, I don’t feel safe. They killed my sister, and now someone is trying to kill me. Maybe it’s a crazy who hates her, someone from our past who hates us both. Or maybe it’s someone not so insane. Either way, I feel like I’m next.”
Carys tries one final attempt at reason. “It was the police’s mistake in identifying her.”
“Something we’ll point out when we’re good and ready in the event they try to bring charges against Leanne for falsifying her sister’s identity. I don’t care if they had her license; they should have checked the fingerprints. It’s one of the few things not identical on twins. Their mistake. We’ll use it to our advantage to keep our client alive,” Caleb bites out.
“Leanne came to Hudson and was honest from the beginning. She doesn’t feel safe. She won’t go down for impersonating her twin so long as we keep records of her activities.” Sam’s penetrating glance bounces off mine as he outlines the plan.
He’s right. I won’t go down for this, but his reasoning is a bit off. It’s not often agents of covert agencies of the US government are punished for doing their jobs when they’re sanctioned. It happens, but it’s rare. I just can’t share that truth with them without authorization. But chances are if the person was trying to murder me, they’ll come after me again, and we’ll have them. I just don’t have enough eyes to cover every angle. I grit my teeth in silent supplication once again about his being right.“No, it won’t hurt to have someone with the reputation of Hudson checking out the unclassified side of things. In the meanwhile, focus on your perimeter, Q?za.”
He’s not wrong. I have no problem with staking myself out. Nothing’s more important to me than finding out who hurt my Lee. Even if it means my own death.
“Then I have one last concern,” Carys declares.
“What’s that?” I ask.
“We have to loop in Kris.” I’m about to protest at the idea ofanotherperson—especially another civilian—being brought in on this when she stops me by lifting her hand. “None of this can happen without his awareness. He has to know for her—your—career’s damage control.”
