Chapter 3

Julian scoffed and started holding court. "Don't worry. I'll handle your daughter. I'm nothing like him. I'll make sure her privacy is fully respected!"

Seeing the family's cold stares, I was done. I was resigning anyway. The case was no longer my concern.

I turned to leave when Claire arrived with her squad and barked, "Evan, Julian's about to start the autopsy. Go assist him at the table. I didn't demote you so you could loaf on the department's dime!"

Hearing that, Julian stuck out his left leg and ordered, "Clean my shoes, Evan. And fetch two basins of water for handwashing. You know the rules about keeping the autopsy room sterile, right?"

I snorted. "Happy to."

I grabbed the floor rag, shoved it into his mouth, and punched him a couple of times until I heard his jaw pop.

"You lunatic! Evan Mercer! Stop!"

Claire leveled her gun at my head and said coldly, "Jules put you on as his assistant, and you attack him? You must have a death wish."

A chill shot down my back. I couldn't believe she'd go this far for Julian. She'd always kept her cool in the department. She wasn't the type to use her badge for personal favors.

Even a year ago, when I was taken, she simply told the abductor, "Go on, pull the trigger. A medical examiner is nothing to this department. But once you fire, there's no taking it back."

This was the first time I'd seen her draw a gun, and it was for Julian.

To save my skin, I dropped into a crouch and cleaned Julian's shoes. He let out a derisive snort and drove the heel of his dress shoe onto the back of my hand. The scrape split my skin.

But Claire didn't even blink. "You need to be taught a lesson. You think you can stack up to Jules? Keep dreaming."

It wasn't until the crack of bone was heard that Julian finally lifted his foot.

To prove his chops, he brazenly ran the autopsy in the hallway outside the medical examiner's office. Anyone with half a brain could tell those wounds came from a violent tear. Still, he wrote it up as a suicide.

Ruth asked, "Dr. Mercer, did you also notice the cases from the last few days are connected to the one from six months ago?"

"Yes, but it's no longer my concern," I answered calmly and headed for the chief's office.

…

The day the chief signed off on my resignation, Julian flashed a brand-new watch at me. "Evan, no offense, but it's been days, and you still can't crack a simple case. I walked in and finished it all.

"The body they brought in yesterday was the richest man's daughter. They asked for you by name for the autopsy, but Claire passed it to me instead. They've just wired a hefty sum over."

Claire looped her arm through his and gave me a mocking look. "If he'd done the autopsy, we might've gotten the whole department written up. Sanctimonious hypocrite!"

I went still for a second, remembering the family who begged me yesterday. So they were the richest family. Too bad.

Claire and Julian didn't steal my spot on the autopsy. I passed it on.

I carried my stuff and kept moving. "Well, congratulations to you."

Outside the station, I brushed past the task force from HQ. The lead official hurried over to Harry, who'd come out to greet him.

"This is the fourth rape case. And your department labeled it a suicide? Where's Evan, the one who did the autopsy on the first victim? Get him to work with us on this serial case. Now!"

I got in the car, calm as ever, and headed for the airport. I was done cleaning up that mess.