by Chris Taylor
Her mother nodded and her expression relaxed. “Good. I’m glad he’s young. If you’d told me his was fifty, I’d have been concerned.”
Sam smiled and reassured her mother once again. “I’m okay about growing up without a father, Mom. I am. Some people would be bitter and twisted about the fact they never knew their dad, but I’m not one of them and I’m not looking for someone to replace him.” She shrugged and then continued. “Dad was a heavy smoker. He died of lung cancer years before his time. It happens. I’m a doctor. I understand these things.”
A sad smile tugged at Sam’s lips. “I’m not saying I haven’t wished that things were different or that I don’t hate that he died so young, but I’m not hung up about it and I’m not going around trolling for men who remind me of him. Okay?”
She looked up at her mom and her throat tightened when she saw the tears that filled her mother’s eyes.
“Okay,” Enid whispered in a choked voice.
Sam fished around inside her bra for a tissue and handed it over. “Don’t cry, Mom.”
Enid accepted the tissue gratefully and dabbed at the moisture in her eyes.
Sam grimaced. “I’m supposed to be here cheering you up and keeping your mind off things and here I am, making you cry. What kind of dialysis buddy am I?”
Her mom reached over and patted her hand. “You’re the best dialysis buddy anyone could hope for.”
Sam laughed. “Don’t let Ava or Jessie hear you say that, or even Alistair! They’ll never sit with you again!”
Her mom’s eyes twinkled with mischief. “How do you know I don’t tell them the very same thing when they sit in that chair?”
“Mom!” Sam gasped in mock outrage. “You’ve wounded me to the quick!” Despite her attempt to keep a stern expression on her face, her laughter spilled over.
Enid chuckled, unperturbed. “I’m sure you’ll get over it, Sammie. Maybe your detective can help.”
The sly look in her mother’s eyes sent heat once again rushing to Sam’s face, but she closed her mouth and refused to reply. A nurse appeared before them.
“All finished, Enid. Give me a moment and I’ll get you unhooked and then you’ll be free to go.”
“Finished already? Wow, the time went so quickly! How about that, Sammie? Maybe you really are the best dialysis buddy!” Her mom winked and Sam couldn’t help but grin. She was filled with gratitude that once again, her mother had been able to maintain her sense of humor. Until a donor kidney was found, the dialysis sessions would remain a regular part of her mother’s life.
The need to attend upon the clinic three times a week had severely curtailed her mother’s activities. Once upon a time, before the word dialysis was part of her everyday vocabulary, Enid Wolfe had been a very active woman. In her younger years, she’d raised four children on her own with only a nurse’s wage. In later years, she’d been involved in so many different charity projects, Sam used to wonder how her mom managed to spend any time at home.
Since she’d been told she could no longer survive without dialysis, Sam couldn’t help but wonder if sometimes it got her mother down. Pleased that she’d been able to take her mother’s mind off her troubles, even for a little while, Sam leaned over and pressed a kiss against her mother’s soft cheek.
“I love you, Mom.”
“I love you, too, Sammie. You’re a good daughter and I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy day to spend some time with me. I wasn’t lying when I said the time’s gone by more quickly today. I enjoyed our chat and I’m so pleased to hear you’ve found someone special. I can’t wait to meet him.”
“You will, Mom. I promise. Soon. I just don’t want to rush things.”
“I understand, honey and thank you again for sitting with me.”
“It’s fine, Mom. I love spending time with you. Besides, walking from work up to the hospital gets me out in the sunshine. Most days, it’s only during my commute that I even know what the weather’s like!” She grinned and her mom grinned back.
A rush of tenderness and gratitude flooded through her. Neither of them knew how many more hours they had left to spend together. Sam intended to make every one of them memorable.
“I have to get back to work, Mom, but I’ll make sure the nurse has arranged for the patient transport to take you back home,” she promised.
“All right, honey. I’ll see you soon.”
Sam leaned over and kissed her mom again. Collecting her handbag from beneath her chair, she turned and quietly left the room.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“Are you at work? I need to see you.”
Sam heard the urgency in Rohan’s voice and her heart skipped a beat. The last time he’d turned up at her work they’d ended the night in his bed. The fact that they hadn’t found time to repeat the experience was at the forefront of her mind and she couldn’t help but think it was also in his.
“Yes, I’m here until six.”
“Good. I’ll be there in an hour.”
Sam ended the mid-afternoon call and tossed her cell phone back down on her desk. She was doing her best to catch up on the endless paperwork that crowded her desk. Autopsy findings, lab results, blood work and a whole host of other data had to be entered into their system and then forwarded to the relevant police commands around the state. It was a never-ending, but necessary aspect of her work and the part that she least enjoyed. She’d been at it almost an hour and still had a pile to go, but at the thought of Rohan’s imminent arrival, her spirits lifted.
If she stayed focused for the next hour, she’d come close to getting to the bottom of the most urgent of the paperwork. If she came in early in the morning, she could finish off the rest. Decision made, she bent to the task at hand.
“Sam, how are you doing?”
She looked up and spied Richard leaning on the doorframe to her office. She threw him a distracted wave. “Hi, Richard. I’m fine. Trying to get up to date on the paperwork. You know how it is.”
He nodded and moved further into the room. “Back in my day, we had to type it all up on manual typewriters. You guys have it easy! A couple of strokes on the keyboard and the computer does the rest.”
Sam chuckled. “Yeah, right!”
“True story!” Richard protested in mock distress.
“Next you’ll be telling me how hard it was to conduct a post mortem without electricity. Don’t worry, Richard, I’ve heard it all before.”
“Now, Sam. Be fair. How old do you think I am? I’ve never once said I worked in the days before electricity.”
He grinned and her lips tilted in response. “Is there something I can do for you, boss? I’m kind of busy here entering information into my computer,” she said cheekily.
“Anything in particular?”
“Just trying to catch up on last week’s cases. I have a ton of pathology reports that need to be entered, along with the notes I’ve made about the PM’s I did yesterday and today.”
Richard nodded. “I was speaking to the coroner the other day. He told me you mentioned a donor body that came through without a consent form.”
“Yes, I meant to tell you about it, but it happened on the weekend you were sick. I ran into the coroner first thing Monday morning. I wanted him to know so that he could speak to our transportation staff. We can’t pinpoint exactly where the form was mislaid, but we can make sure our guys had nothing to do with losing it and if they did, they need to smarten up their act. Lost paperwork can have serious implications. We can all do without the hassle.”
“Is that all there was to it?”
Sam frowned at the sharpness of Richard’s tone but nodded and continued to enter data into her computer. Her boss remained where he was. After a moment, she glanced up at him again. “Is there anything in particular you needed to speak with me about?”
“No, I just wanted to touch base and see how you were doing. You haven’t noticed anything else that’s strange, have you?”
“No. In fact, I
haven’t caught a single donor body for a while, other than when I filled in while you were sick that time. My brother might have been right. He assured me the extra numbers were probably the result of the higher toll winter has on people. Now that the weather’s warmed up, we certainly have fewer bodies coming through.”
“I think I said something to you along those lines when you first raised it with me ages ago.” Richard’s smile was followed by a friendly wink.
“Okay, okay. No need to rub it in,” she laughed good-naturedly. “It was strange, that’s all and when I did the PM on that woman who had no consent form in her paperwork, I kind of freaked out.”
“Nothing wrong with that. Our line of work freaks a lot of people out.”
She grimaced. “You know what I mean.”
“Of course. You were being thorough, Sam. It’s an admirable trait. Don’t be too harsh on yourself. There’s no harm done.”
“I guess not. Still, I feel a little silly that I mentioned it to the police.”
Richard frowned, as she expected him to. “The police? Why would you go to the police?”
Sam shrugged, uncomfortable. “A friend of mine who works as an embalmer at the Max Grace Funeral Home suggested it. She’d also noticed a few weird things.”
Richard’s expression grew stern. “You should have come to me, Sam, before you went to the police. I could have spared you and the department a whole lot of embarrassment. I hope this doesn’t get out.”
Sam ducked her head, feeling his disapproval. It was true. She should have gone to Richard first, before jumping to such wild conclusions.
“What did they say?”
She looked up. “Who?”
“The police?”
“Oh, we met with a detective and he promised to look into it. I’m not sure what’s up with it now.” She opened her mouth to tell him that the detective in question was on his way to the morgue, but something held her back. Rohan hadn’t told her why he was paying her a visit. It might be purely personal and there was no way she was going to share that with her boss.
“From now on, I’d appreciate it if any requests made by the police come through me. Are we clear?”
Sam caught the hard edge in his gaze and was a little taken aback. She was a senior pathologist, well versed in dealing with the law enforcement. Still, she nodded in response. “No problem, boss. Will do.”
“Good. Now, I have to leave for an outside appointment. I won’t be back today. I’ll see you in the morning.” With that, he hurried from the room.
Pushing the visit from her mind, Sam returned her attention to the reports in front of her. It hardly seemed like any time at all before Angie buzzed to let her know Detective Coleridge had arrived.
Butterflies swarmed in Sam’s stomach and she did her best to slow her breathing down. Would she end this night like she had the last time he’d arrived at her place of work? Anticipation surged through her. She couldn’t wait to find out.
Assuring Angie she’d come out to the reception area in a few minutes, Sam took her handbag and hurried to the staff restrooms, pleased she’d already taken the time to shower and change out of her scrubs. Scrabbling inside her handbag for a lipstick, she quickly applied a couple of coats and then refreshed her eyeliner and mascara. Peering at her reflection critically, she at last deemed herself presentable. Dumping the makeup back into her handbag, she turned around and left.
* * *
Rohan heard the sharp click of heels on the tiled floor and turned in time to see Samantha open a door and stride into the waiting room. She wore a tailored dress in a smart purple-and-white checkerboard pattern that ended above her knee. It was made from some kind of stretchy fabric that clung to her in all the right places. A pair of four-inch, black heels complemented the outfit.
She smiled and he noticed her lips were freshly glossed in a bright red color. It looked good against her dark hair and olive skin. He found himself smiling back, wanting to take her in his arms and kiss her senseless. Aware of the receptionist seated behind the counter a few yards away, he played it safe.
“Doctor Wolfe, thank you for taking the time to see me.”
Surprise lit the corners of her eyes at his formal manner, but she responded in kind. “What can I do for you, Detective Coleridge?”
“I was wondering if there was somewhere we could talk in private?”
Her eyes flared with heat and his groin immediately reacted. He cursed under his breath but was relieved that behind his suit pants his erection would remain concealed to all but a very astute observer.
“Of course. I’ll take you through to my office.”
She turned and opened the door she’d just come through. He followed, enjoying the gentle sway of her hips as she led the way. Memories of holding her naked against him, loving her through the night, bombarded him and it was all he could do not to groan.
She pulled up outside a doorway that had a faux bronze nameplate with her name on it and he swallowed a sigh of relief. At least he wouldn’t be forced to keep up the pretense of being almost-strangers much longer. As soon as they were in the privacy of her office…
She opened the door and he closed it behind them. A second later, he grabbed her and pushed her back against the wooden panel. When his lips found her mouth, he kissed her like he’d wanted to from the moment she’d greeted him and was gratified when she melted against him. Her arms went around his neck and she clung to him as if her life depended upon it. He knew how she felt.
“Christ, it’s been so long since I tasted you.” He groaned and kissed her over and over again. Her lipstick was smudged all over her mouth, but he didn’t care. He was like a drug addict being offered a line of coke and he couldn’t inhale quickly enough. It scared him to think how important she’d become to him in such a short time, but there was nothing he could do, or wanted to do, to curb that.
He pressed himself against her, leaving her in no doubt about the state he was in. She groaned softly and he caught the sound of it in his mouth. With his body pinning her to the door, he reached out and cupped her breast… Squeezed it. His thumb skimmed over her nipple. She gasped and angled her head so that she could access his mouth more easily and continued to kiss him.
A lifetime later, he pulled back his head and tried hard to slow his breathing down. His heart pounded and his cock throbbed, but he was also aware they were in her office. Though the walls were solid and the door was closed, it wasn’t like he could take her spread-eagled across her desk. Or could he…?
As if reading his mind, Sam shook her head. “No.”
He grinned. “No? Are you sure?” He captured her mouth again and kissed her until they were both gasping for breath once again. This time, Sam pulled away.
“Yes, I’m… I’m sure.”
He winked. “In that case, how have you been? It feels like forever since I last saw you.”
She blushed a little—which he found endearing—but nodded. “Yes, for me, too.”
“As much as I’d like to collect you and drive hell for leather to my place, I’m actually here on official business.”
“Oh?” she asked, moving away from him and straightening her dress. She took a seat behind her desk and pulled a tissue from her bra and daubed around her mouth.
“Yes, it’s about that information I asked for—the autopsy findings of each of the bodies that donated organs over the winter months.”
“Yes, of course. Sorry, I’ve been so busy I haven’t had time to gather all that. When do you need it?”
“As soon as possible. The more I delve into this investigation, the more I suspect the terms of the consent won’t gel with what’s been found during the autopsy.”
Sam frowned. “You mean, you think there might have been tissue harvested illegally?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean.”
She stared at him. “That’s a big call. Do you have any proof?”
“Not yet. Call it gut instinct.” He grimaced. “I might b
e wrong. Hell, I’d be more than happy to be proven wrong. The thought that a doctor could be on the loose, doing something like that is appalling. Unfortunately, there’s only one way to find out.”
Sam chewed on her lip and Rohan could see the worry and indecision on her face. In all likelihood, she was thinking about her brother. He could understand her concern. If something were amiss, there was a very strong possibility her brother was involved.
“What is it, Samantha?” he asked gently.
“My boss—Richard Davis. He was in here just before you arrived. He gave me a not-too-subtle dressing down about going to the police before coming to see him. He instructed me to send any future police requests through him. I should tell him you’re here.”
Rohan nodded. “By all means, let him know. I don’t want to get you into trouble. I’m happy to speak with him about it. It’s not like he’s going to refuse.”
Sam looked relieved and then another frown marred the smooth skin of her brow. “The only thing is—Richard’s already left for the day.”
“Damn. I really need them as soon as possible. The sooner I can compare the paperwork, the sooner I’ll know what we’re dealing with—if anything.”
Samantha sighed. “Perhaps I could call him and let him know you’re here. He should be happy to give permission over the phone.”
She reached for the phone and dialed a number. From where he stood, Rohan could hear the sound of a voicemail message and then Sam spoke.
“Hi, Richard, it’s Sam. Sorry to annoy you, but I have a detective here right now requesting copies of paperwork associated with the donor bodies we spoke about earlier. Can you please give me a call?”
She hung up the phone and waited. A few moments later, she began to tap her nails on the desk. Rohan reached out and covered her hand with his.
“Relax, I’m sure he’ll call back. In the meantime, I can think of any number of ways we can keep ourselves occupied.”
“What did you have in mind?” she murmured suggestively and his cock once again sprang to life.
He reached down and cupped her cheek and then stroked her bottom lip with the pad of his thumb. Heat flared in her eyes and his body tightened almost painfully. If they didn’t get out of there soon he’d bend her over the desk, work be damned. From the expression on her face, he could tell she was equally affected.
