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

pieces matched, which indicated to Mark that the couple had bought each item one by one, getting what they needed when they could afford it.
    "I had no idea," he said, shaking his head and looking at her belly again.
    Her smile waned as she realized he wasn't joking. "You were the first person we told."
    He nodded, reading her expression. "The blow to my head has caused some amnesia. I don't remember anything that's happened for the last two years."
    Susan gasped, glanced at Emily, then looked back to Mark. "Not even your wife?"
    "We're working on that," Mark said.
    "I hope so," Susan said, waddling over to an easy chair and taking a seat.
    "So do I," Emily said.
    "In the meantime, I'm working on something more immediate," Mark said as he and Emily sat down on the couch opposite Susan. "I'm going to find Jesse's killer."
    Susan swallowed hard. "I'd prefer that Steve did that." 
    Mark furrowed his brow. "You know what I can do. If you've lost confidence in me because of my injury, I can assure you that although I've misplaced a few years, I'm still as sharp mentally as before and—"
    Susan held up her hand, stopping him. "I haven't lost any confidence in you, Mark. You're probably the best detective in the country."
    "Then I don't understand."
    "You don't carry a gun," Susan said.
    "I'll watch out for myself," he said.
    "No, I'll watch out for you," Emily said.
    "I want Steve to catch him," Susan said. "And I want the miserable sonofabitch to try to escape. Steve will kill him. You won't."
    "I know how you feel, Susan. But I don't believe in revenge and neither does Steve. We both want justice."
    "Call it what you want, revenge or justice, just as long as ends up with Jesse's killer planted in the ground."
    Mark wasn't going to argue with her. There was no point. Her anger and pain were justified. She was a pregnant widow whose husband had been murdered while saving the life of another man.
    "I didn't come here to upset you," Mark said. "I want to tell you how sorry I am about Jesse and that I won't rest until his killer is caught. You know how much he meant to me." 
    "I know what you meant to him," Susan said. "All he wanted was your love and respect, to be a part of your family." 
    "He had all of that. So do you. You are family, Susan. So is your baby. My home—" Mark glanced at Emily. "Our home is your home."
    "Then I need to ask you something." Susan took Mark's hand and put it on her swollen belly. "It's a boy. His name was going to be Mark. That's what Jesse and I both decided. But after—after what happened to his father, I'd like to name him Jesse. Do you think that's wrong?"
    Mark shook his head. "It's wonderful."
    "But it's not what Jesse wanted." Susan looked at Emily. "What do you think?"
    Emily smiled. "I think Jesse would understand. And I think Jesse Junior will, too."
    Susan nodded, her decision made. "Thank you."
    She struggled to her feet. "I suppose you want the boxes." 
    "The boxes?" Mark said, rising.
    "All the stuff you had Jesse working on," she said, hobbling over to the kitchen, shifting her weight from one foot to the other as she went. "You asked him to go through insurance company records and hospital admittance forms to see if all those people who died might have shared the same insurer, insurance agent, admittance clerk, nurse, doctor, whatever."
    Mark and Emily followed Susan. "That was a pretty tall order."
    "You were going to help him with it once he gathered it all together," Susan said, stopping beside the kitchen table, which was covered with papers. "I haven't touched the stuff."
    "Do you know if he found anything?"
    She shook her head. "He was waiting for some direction from you. He said you were real close to something."
    "How did Jesse know that?" Emily asked.
    "He always knew." Susan smiled and looked at Mark. "He said you get a sparkle in your eyes when things are about to fall into place. And they were."
    Jesse wasn't the only one who knew it. So did whoever was driving the car