Double The Risk Read Online Free Page B

thin. The way her breasts filled out the top of her scrubs made his palms itch. He reflexively curled his fingers, as if grabbing a handful. A small exhalation of air beside him confirmed Diego had a similar reaction. The fucker.
    Ignoring his partner, Ronan poured on the charm, greeting Cassidy back with a wide smile. “Hey, Doc, what do you have for us?”
    Turning back toward the body, Cassidy started her report. “I can definitely confirm he was killed by a single slash to his throat that cut through his trachea. Given the one-shot precision of the swipe, I’d say the killer knew what they were doing.”
    “They?” Diego asked as he and Ronan walked to the other side of the table.
    “Sorry, I’m being gender neutral in my assumptions in a grammatically incorrect way. I have no reason to believe there was more than one person involved. There were no signs of a struggle, no bruising or abrasions.”
    “He knew his killer,” Ronan surmised.
    “Or they caught him by surprise,” Diego amended.
    Cassidy nodded. “One or the other. The contents of his stomach indicate he had a nice last meal, fish and vegetables. There appears to be alcohol in his system, but I won’t know how much or whether he ingested any drugs until the tox screen results come back. You know that takes a while.” She wrinkled her nose in an adorable fashion. “My gut’s telling me he wasn’t drinking for long, and his body shows no signs of alcoholism.”
    “You mean he was in good health?” Diego asked.
    “Fairly, yes, given his age. There’re no signs of cirrhosis or other liver disease. He has some plaque in his heart, but no more than a lot of guys his age. His muscle tone was good, although he could have stood to lose about twenty pounds.”
    “What was the condition of his feet?” Diego prodded some more.
    Cassidy shrugged. “He could have used a pedicure, I suppose. Again, nothing out of the ordinary for a man his age.”
    “So, it didn’t look as if he’d been wearing shoes that didn’t fit for a long time?”
    “No, and I did notice the shoes and his clothes in general didn’t fit him well.”
    Leaning into the body more, Ronan peered at the guy’s face. “I haven’t seen too many homeless men that are well fed.” He cocked his head to get a better look. “This guy looks familiar to me.”
    Diego moved closer to Ronan and scrutinized the guy, too. “You mean you busted him once or maybe just rousted him from someplace when you were in uniform?”
    “Maybe.” There was this weird niggling in the back of his head that said this man was important in some way. The memory of when, where, and how he might have seen him slipped away as soon as he tried to take hold of it. It was maddening.
    Finally, Ronan gave up and straightened. “It’s not coming to me. Hopefully, we’ll get a hit on his fingerprints on the Fed’s IAFIS.” He flashed a smile at Cassidy. “Anything else you can tell us?”
    Cassidy blinked back at Ronan stupidly for a second or two, the force of the guy’s smile killing a few brain cells.
    Well, yes . When you smile at me like that, my heartbeat speeds up and my knees go weak. Classic signs of arousal.
    Despite the cool temperature of the autopsy room, her cheeks felt flushed and she was damp between the legs. This was so not good. She’d told herself her reaction to these men had been some bizarre aberration brought on by the gruesomeness of the corpse and the ungodly weather of the day. That excuse wasn’t going to cut it now. She was well acquainted with Mr. John Doe at this point, and there was no heat and humidity inside to blame. It was libido, pure and simple.
    Except nothing was simple about finding herself simultaneously attracted to two men. Perhaps her reaction was a rebound effect from dumping her fiancé of five years. She had studiously ignored the attractiveness of men who were not Thomas, being the good girl as always. She’d especially given overtly masculine men a wide