What Lies Behind Read Online Free PDF

“Hopefully the job is local?”
    He started to laugh. “Why, Dr. Owens. Do you miss me?”
    “Oh, hush. Thor is going nuts without you here.”
    “Uh-huh. I hear you. Give him a scratch for me. Clients’ flight leaves at 0930, then I’m headed your way. I’ll be in by let me see, 1300 hours. Maybe we can walk down to Clyde’s. I’m dying for a decent burger. These guys ate sushi all week.”
    “That sounds great. Can’t wait. Fly safe.”
    “Have a nice day off. Love you.” And he was gone before she had a chance to say it back.
    “I love you, too,” she whispered, and set the phone on the table. She fingered the simple diamond band he’d given her a few weeks earlier, opening the door to a more permanent future together.
    She wasn’t in a rush. They were together in all the ways that mattered. There was no real reason to make it legal. She wasn’t going anywhere, and neither was he.
    She hopped up from the couch, washed her hands thoroughly, ignoring the little voice counting
one Mississippi, two Mississippi
in the back of her head, then called Fletcher.
    He answered on the first ring, quite jovial considering the time. “Heya, sleeping beauty. What happened, the battery die on your phone again?”
    “Again? It was just the one time. I fell asleep, waiting for
you
to get back to me. What in the world happened last night?”
    “Stabbing. Probably domestic. One dead, one gravely injured. Couple of students found them. I’m waiting for a briefing on it in ten minutes. Want to meet me after for breakfast?”
    “Yeah, I can do that. I don’t have classes today.” But he’d know that. Fletcher always seemed to have radar for her schedule. “Besides, I’m banging my head against the wall on a case. I could use the fresh air, maybe a fresh perspective.”
    “Meet me at Le Pain, then, in thirty minutes.”
    * * *
    The short walk to Le Pain Quotidien was refreshing, just as she’d hoped. She was glad Fletcher had invited her to join him—with all the new work she was doing, the craziness of the past few months, she hadn’t made many friends in D.C. yet. It was nice to get asked out on a breakfast date.
    She got a table by the windows, and true to his word, twenty minutes later, Fletcher walked through the doors. Dressed in his usual gray suit and white shirt, unshaven and dark hair mussed, he looked more like he’d rolled out of bed instead of walking out of his office. He was frowning, scanning the restaurant in true cop form, before he joined her. She’d given him the chair that faced the door.
    He gave her a quick hug and sat down, signaling to the waiter for a cup of coffee.
    “To what do I owe the honor of your presence this morning?” she asked.
    “I have a meeting down the street at ten. I’m telling you, being the LT isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I spend more time in meetings than at crime scenes. It’s becoming oppressive.”
    “I know exactly what you mean. I’m amazed anything gets done in the world, considering how many meetings we have. I had a faculty meeting last week that’s sole purpose was to schedule another faculty meeting.”
    The waiter came, and they ordered—croissants for her, a ham and Gruyère tartine for him—and when he moved away, Fletcher leaned forward and spoke quietly. “You wanna go to a crime scene with me?”
    Sam had just picked up her coffee cup. It stopped midair. She clapped her right hand to her heart. “Oh, Fletcher. You say the sweetest things.”
    “Stow it, Owens. Is that a yes?”
    “Of course it is. Right now?”
    “We’ll eat first. Then we’ll go. Unless you’ve gotten squeamish in your old age and can’t handle a nasty scene on a full stomach.”
    She rolled her eyes. “
I
can handle anything.”
    “Good.”
    “Out of curiosity, what is it exactly you’d like me to see?”
    “All sorts of things. Tell me, have you ever heard of a kid at Georgetown Med named Thomas Cattafi?”
    “Is that who was attacked? No, I haven’t