Sin And Bone

“You brought in the female patient from the automobile accident?”

He nodded. “My partner and I. Yes, sir. It appeared to be a one-car accident on the Kennedy Expressway near Division. It was the strangest thing.”

Devon gestured to the pair of chairs in front of his desk and the young man took a seat. The badge clipped onto his pocket sported the name Warren Eckert. “Strange in what way, Mr. Eckert?”

Devon lowered into his own chair as Eckert spoke. “Nobody witnessed the accident. There was a sizable dent on the front driver’s-side fender, but nothing to suggest an accident capable of causing the kind of injuries the patient sustained.”

“What kind of vehicle was she driving?”

“A brand-new Lexus. Black. Fully loaded.” Eckert whistled, long and low. “Sharp car for sure.”

Cara had driven a Lexus. Devon had bought it for her on her last birthday before she died.

“Do you recall seeing anything in the vehicle besides your patient? Luggage perhaps, or a briefcase?”

Eckert shook his head. “I don’t remember. Sorry.”

“What about the officers investigating the scene?” Obviously the police had been there, probably before Eckert arrived.

“Joe Telly was the only cop on the scene. He called us before he called backup.”

“The woman was not conscious when you arrived?”

“No, sir.”

“Was she able to speak to the officer before your arrival?” Devon’s instincts were humming. How had a woman involved in such a seemingly minor accident been injured so severely?

“She was unconscious when Telly pulled over to check on her.”

“How would you describe the woman?” Devon thought about the photo on the driver’s license. “I’m sure you concluded an approximate age and such.”

The other man nodded. “Blond hair, blue eyes. Medium height. Kind of thin. Midthirties, I’d say.”

“Well dressed?” Her clothes had been removed before surgery and very little of her body had been visible on the operating table.

Eckert nodded slowly. “She was wearing a dress. A short black one. Like she might have been headed to a party or dinner out or something. Not the kind of outfit you’d wear to work unless you’re a hostess in an upscale restaurant or something like that.”

“Thank you, Mr. Eckert.” Devon stood. “I appreciate your time.”

“Do you know her?”

The rumor had already made the rounds. “No. I’m afraid I don’t.”

When the paramedic had exited the office, Devon pulled up the record on this Cara Pierce...this woman who could not be his wife.

Preliminary tox screen showed no drugs. And yet if there was no intracranial hemorrhaging, why had she still been unconscious when she arrived at the ER? Remaining unconscious for an extended period generally indicated a serious injury, illness or drug use.

Devon picked up his cell phone and made the call he should have made weeks ago. When she answered, he dived straight into what needed to be said without preamble. “Victoria, I was mistaken. I will require your services after all.”

His old friend Victoria Colby-Camp agreed to have her investigator meet him at his residence at eight tonight.

Devon ended the call and tossed his phone onto his desk. Last month, someone had left him an ominous message right here in his office. At first, he’d been determined to have the Colby Agency look into the issue. It wasn’t every day that someone who knew how to best his security system dropped by his office and left such a bold message.

I know what you did.

But then he’d decided to drop it. Why stir up his painful past? He knew what he had done. Why allow anyone else to delve into that unpleasant territory?

If the man who’d left him that message was trying to reach him again, he’d certainly prompted Devon’s attention this time.

What better way to send a message than to resurrect the dead?

Chapter Two (#uc3709756-4edf-5eb8-9762-0986f6436c88)

Arbor Drive, Lake Bluff, 8:00 p.m.

Isabella Lytle was surprised when the gate to the Pierce property opened without her having to buzz the enigmatic owner for admittance. Instead, the instant her car nosed up to the entrance, the towering iron gates parted and opened wide for her.

She rolled up the long drive, coming to a stop in front of the palatial home. Bella shook her head. She never liked to judge anyone, but Dr. Devon Pierce grated on her somehow. She’d never met the man in person but she had studied his background until she knew it by heart. Victoria had first assigned Bella his case one month ago, but then Dr. Pierce had decided he didn’t need the agency’s assistance after all.

That should have been the end of it.

But it wasn’t.

Even before this latest call for assistance, Bella had not been able to stop attempting to dissect the man. What made him who he was? What event or events in his childhood and then as an adult had narrowed his focus to a singular purpose—his work? What secrets did he keep? The man had secrets, Bella had no doubt.

The many photos she’d discovered of him on Google sucked her into his world. She knew the clothes he wore, the way he held himself. In recent years, he’d attended endless fund-raisers seeking support for his development of the emergency department of the future. Urbane and sophisticated was the best way to describe his style and the way he carried himself. Beautiful women with money flocked to him as if he were the most eligible bachelor in Chicago, which he probably was. On top of everything else, he was intensely handsome and mysterious.

That was the part that kept reeling her in.

She closed her eyes and gave her head a little shake. Her need to figure him out had become a bit of an obsession.

She forced the thoughts away as her gaze swept over the mansion that would be more suited for a royal estate in England. Who needed twenty-six thousand square feet of living space? A six-car garage? Not to mention an ostentatious fountain perched right in the middle of the parking courtyard. Her eyes rolled upward as she climbed out of her practical sedan. No one. Especially not a man who lived alone. Maybe he was attached to it since he’d lived here with his wife. The estate was an hour’s drive from his work in the city. Was this his way of escaping the twelve-to sixteen-hour days?

Was this his hiding place?

Five acres loaded with lots of trees and lush landscaping backed up to Lake Michigan. The main part of the house was large enough but then it winged off on both sides, extending along the manicured grounds, eventually connecting to triple-car garages on either side of the drive, creating a sort of fortress. The iron-and-brick fence was at least twelve feet high and stretched as far as the eye could see, disappearing into the dense woods.

“Lovely.” She made the assessment grudgingly with a heavy dose of reluctance. The house was undeniably, extravagantly attractive. Really, it was. She shouldered her bag and shoved her car door shut as she sent a final glance back at the massive gates that had already closed. Dusk had settled, awakening the discreet and well-placed landscape lighting. Did he have the interior lights on timers as well? Every light in the house appeared to be spilling through the windows to greet her.

“I’d hate to pay your electric bill, Dr. Pierce.”

She exhaled a big breath and decided she’d dawdled long enough. The cobblestone was damp beneath her shoes from the early-evening rain. Three steps up and she was at the front door.

Victoria, her employer, had sensed Bella’s strong reaction to this client. Bella had assured Victoria that she could handle Devon Pierce. The real question in Bella’s mind was whether or not Pierce could handle her. To do her job, she would need his cooperation. Not in a million years could she see him cooperating on the necessary level. He was accustomed to being in control...of keeping his secrets. Pierce was a man who preferred doing things his way.

As brilliant as he was, he couldn’t be the best at everything. If that was possible, he wouldn’t need the Colby Agency’s help now.

A part of her—one she intended no one to ever see—wanted him submissive on every level. Chasing away the notion and bracing for the icy glower for which he was known, she pressed the doorbell, listened as it chimed through the house. The door opened and she stared at the man from her numerous Google searches. To her dismay, he was even hotter in person than he was on the computer screen.