Field of Graves(35)

“Hi. Sam Owens. I’m the ME.” She stuck out her hand. Taylor could have sworn she saw Sam’s eyelashes bat. She glowered at her. Sam returned the look with an innocent smile.

“Do you care to join us, or are you going to drown your sorrows at the bar while we watch and make bets on when you’ll fall down?”

Baldwin’s eyes went wide in shock, and he barked out a laugh of surprise.

Taylor stifled a giggle. Baldwin certainly wasn’t aware of Sam’s inability to use the smallest measure of tact.

“Sure, what the hell. I’ve got nothing better to do.” He signaled for another whisky, but Sam shook her head at the bartender and said loudly, “Water.”

Taylor watched the exchange with interest. Baldwin was meekly following Sam to the table, looking distinctly uncomfortable and nursing his chilled glass. It looked like Sam may have tamed the beast.

Once settled with drinks and food ordered, Fitz sat back in his chair, rubbing his tummy. A hint of malice gleamed in his crooked smile. “So, Baldwin. You spent all day with the files. Got any answers yet?”

“I’m not really ready to talk about any of this. I mean, I haven’t had enough time to formulate an opinion, and it would be best—”

Taylor cut him off. “Why don’t we share some of our thoughts with Dr. Baldwin first, instead of putting him on the spot right out of the gate.” She stared pointedly at her second. Fitz choked back his smile and assumed a more serious face.

“Oh, of course. Sounds good. Okay, Dr. Baldwin. Here’s what we know. Got us a couple of dead lookers who happen to go to the same school. One’s dumped in the Cumberland, one ceremoniously placed at the Parthenon. Both were raped and scattered with herbs. You following, Doctor, or do I need to use smaller words?”

Taylor leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms over her chest, and cleared her throat. “Fitz,” she grumbled, the name coming out as a distinct word of warning, but Baldwin rose to the bait alarmingly fast.

“Sounds like you’ve got it all figured out, Detective. You really don’t need me for this. I’ll just head on home now. Here you go.” He reached under the table for his backpack and pulled out the files, tossed them on the table. The contents spilled everywhere. Baldwin stalked out the door.

Taylor didn’t try to follow him. She raised a hand to Sam, who was rising from her chair, and shook her head. Sam sat back down, puzzled.

“Why’d you let him run out of here like that?”

“Don’t look at me. Fitz is the one who chased him off.”

“Didn’t take much, did it?”

Sam shook her head. “I can’t believe you two. What is this, some sort of club initiation, and he failed?”

“No,” Taylor said. “Dr. Baldwin has some demons. He’ll have to put them to bed if he wants in on this case. I told the captain I’d play ball but I wasn’t going to babysit. If Baldwin wants to, he’ll be back.”

Sam was still glaring at Taylor.

“All right, all right. Fitz, that wasn’t very nice of you. Behave next time you see him. If we ever see him again. In the meantime, Sam, can I have a bite of your stew?” Taylor had already speared a piece of beef.

“Yes, you can have my dinner. What demons does Baldwin have?”

Fitz eyed Taylor, who nodded imperceptibly. “News reports say the doc got a few of his men killed on an operation up in Virginia. Nasty case, child murderer. They went in with a warrant, and the guy came out shooting. Caught three feebies before Baldwin took him out.”

Sam had stopped eating and glanced sideways at Taylor, who hadn’t moved. “Well, we all know it can happen. If he’s really messed up about it, who are we to judge? Right, T?”

Taylor sighed deeply and ignored the jab. “No one’s judging. And that’s not the end of the story. After they cleaned up the mess, another girl was taken and killed. He’d pegged the wrong guy, and they lost three men needlessly. So yeah, I can understand. Probably not enough, though.” She resumed eating Sam’s stew.

They were all quiet while they finished their meals. Fitz gallantly asked for and paid the check. He bid them a good-night and left the two women to their conversation.

Taylor leaned her chair back on two legs and put her arms behind her head. She knew what was coming.

“I expect better of you two. The man was clearly hurting, and you pushed him away. Now what are you going to do?”

“Sam. That man is well beyond any help I could give. And what do you mean, what am I going to do? I’m not doing anything. He’s not my responsibility.”

“Not your responsibility? Price asked you to bring him on the team, didn’t he? You’re the team’s leader, aren’t you? You sound pretty responsible to me. And you’ve both been through similar incidents.”

“It’s not the same thing.”

“Oh, bullshit, Taylor. You’ve been dragging around enough guilt for ten men. You have more in common with Baldwin than you think.”

“Sam, knock it off, okay? I don’t have time to get into someone else’s nightmares right now. We’ve got a nasty killer out there that I’d like to catch. By the way, did you get any more info on the girls’ tox screens?”

“Not yet, but you’ll be the first to know. Simon said they’ll be back to me tonight. I’ll call you as soon as I have them. And no, I won’t knock it off. It’s time you got back to your life. It wasn’t your fault you had to shoot Martin. He attacked you, for Christ’s sake. It’s not like you were in love with the guy—”