Diagnosis Murder 7 - The Double LIfe by Lee Goldberg Read Free Book Online

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    Both of the patients were very sick and died naturally. There was nothing about the circumstances of their passing to suggest otherwise. If there had been, his suspicions certainly would have been raised at the time. And yet he felt that familiar tingle at the back of his neck, that shiver of uneasiness.
    He set the files down. From what he could gather so far, a week ago he'd been stumbling in the dark, driven by a vague discomfort and blindly trying to find the cause. Steve was right. There wasn't a case here. Not yet.
    Mark started picking at his pastry again. "This isn't going to be easy."
    "You know I'll help any way I can," Amanda said. "But can I give you some advice?"
    "Of course."
    "Don't forget about Emily."
    "That's the problem. I already have."
    "I know why you have to get back to your investigation. I respect that. But please don't use Jesse as an excuse to avoid dealing with Emily," Amanda said. "He didn't save your life just so you could throw it away. If you can't get back your memories of Emily, start working on some new ones. She's the best thing that's happened to you in a very long time."
    Mark nodded. "So I've been told."
    "You'll see," Amanda said. "She's a strong woman, and she won't let you push her around any more than I do."
    "I thought you just got done telling me how I shrewdly manipulated you with my avuncular charm."
    "She's immune to all that," Amanda said.
    "Not entirely," Mark said. "She married me, didn't she?" 
    "How do you know you weren't the one charmed into it?" 
    "Good point," Mark said.
    They were silent for a moment while he worked up the courage to ask her something that had been on his mind since last night.
    "What was Jesse's funeral like?"
    She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "It was very nice, an intimate little service held on the beach at sunrise." 
    "Which beach?"
    "The one in front of your house," she said.
    Mark was taken aback. "Why there?"
    "His parents split up when he was very young and he was never close to them. You, Steve, and I were his family. Your house was the family home. It was where we gathered to hash out cases, celebrate holidays, and where we went to find safety and comfort. Of course that was where he wanted the funeral to be."
    "Who was at the service?"
    "Susan, Steve, Emily, and I. That was all. No priest or rabbi. Those were his wishes. Steve gave a wonderful eulogy, full of humor and affection. He said he'd lost his little brother. I feel the same way. Susan was so grief-stricken that all she could do was whisper good-bye and cry."
    Amanda's eyes started to tear up. She wiped her eyes before the tears could fall.
    "I'll find whoever did this to him," Mark said. "That's a promise."
    "You're not doing this alone," Amanda said.
    "I know."
    Mark got up, gave her shoulder a squeeze, and walked out into the corridor, where he found Emily waiting for him, a wheelchair in front of her.
    "I knew I'd find you here, already on your feet and investigating Jesse's death."
    "It's what I have to do," Mark said, unapologetic.
    "I know that, but not until you've been checked out by your doctor first to make sure you're okay."
    "I've taken care of that."
    "The hell you have," Emily said. "Now sit down in this chair."
    "Don't be ridiculous, I need to go—"
    Emily interrupted him. "You're not going anywhere without your wallet and your keys. And if you want them back, you will do what I tell you. I have your durable power of attorney and I can have you committed, in case you've forgotten."
    "As a matter of fact, I have." Mark sighed and reluctantly dropped into the wheelchair, and let Emily wheel him down the corridor.

C HAPTER S IX
     
    Dr. Heidi Mack was technically the physician handling Mark's case and, as such, she gave her patient a thorough examination, though she'd previously ceded much of her authority and responsibility to Dr. Noble. Mark's injuries weren't serious and Dr. Mack pronounced him completely