The Ideal Man Read Online Free PDF Page B

Unfortunately, that had been her perfume for the past several years. It could be worse, she thought. The pathology residents smelled like formaldehyde, even when they were off duty. The odor seemed to permeate their skin.
    Max walked her to her car. It was a gentlemanly thing to do, but not at all necessary since it was light outside and there were police cars all over the campus. The crime scene team was still there, combing the park for additional evidence. Ellie didn’t believe she could be any safer.
    “Do you walk out here in the middle of the night?” Max asked as he looked around.
    “Yes. Why?”
    “I count only six lights, and this is a big parking lot with countless places to hide. Not good.”
    “If I’m leaving during the night, a guard walks me to my car.”
    “What happens when you get called to come in?”
    I park my car, then run like lightning to the doors with pepper spray in my hand, she thought but didn’t say.
    “I try to park as close to the hospital doors as possible, and I’m vigilant,” she stated with a nod.
    “Vigilant, huh?”
    His smile could stop traffic. She couldn’t tell if he was teasing her or laughing at her.
    Max opened her car door. “I’ll see you later. It will probably be a couple of hours before we get to your place. Don’t go anywhere. Stay home.”
    “Of course.”
    It wasn’t until she had driven out of the lot and was on her way home that she glanced in the mirror. No makeup, hair a mess, and wearing scrubs that were two sizes too big for her—lovely. No wonder Max had escorted her to her car. He probably felt sorry for her. He wouldn’t have given her a second glance under normal circumstances.
    Oh well, what did it matter? After a brief interview, he would be history, and after next Tuesday, hopefully, she would be, too.

THREE
    T he Landrys had escaped once again, but Max knew it was only a matter of time before the notorious couple would run out of luck. Since Dr. Ellie Sullivan was a potential witness to the shooting, it was his job to find out all he could about her before he added her to the witness list for the federal prosecutor.
    He tried to be objective but found it impossible, for the more he learned about her, the less inclined he was to let anyone know she had witnessed anything, which was ludicrous considering the other agents in the park had watched her stabilize Sean Goodman, knew she had operated on him, and by now had heard that she had seen Calvin Landry shoot the agent.
    While he had waited for Ellie in the hospital, Max had quickly pulled up all the superficial information on her: her phone numbers; addresses both in St. Louis and in Winston Falls, South Carolina; and her position and schedule at St. Vincent’s Hospital. When he dug a little deeper, however, he uncovered something disturbing: court documents detailing five separate incidents involving Ellie and a teenager named Evan Patterson. The first document was filed when Ellie was only eleven years old. According to the records, Evan, who was seventeen at the time, had become infatuated with the young girl after the two attended a science camp sponsored by the Winston Falls School District. His obsession grew, and when he physically assaulted her, Ellie’s family brought charges against him. Since he was a juvenile with no previous record, he was given leniency.
    The second time, Patterson became more aggressive. He tried to force her into his car. His statement to the police said he couldn’t stop thinking about her, that they were kindred spirits, and once she was alone with him, he would be able to convince her that they belonged together. Patterson was given probation with court-ordered therapy.
    Despite the strict rulings of the court, Patterson did not keep his distance, terrorizing the girl on two more occasions. His anger over her rejection had grown to an alarming intensity. For these offenses, he was ordered to undergo yet another psychological evaluation and a thirty-day