The Sinner by Tess Gerritsen Read Free Book Online Page B

dry. Close enough, she thought, and
quickly
untied her waist drawstring and slipped out of the scrub pants she’d worn
all
afternoon.
    Sinking back into her chair, she just sat for a moment, eyeing one
of the floral prints on her wall. To counteract the grimness of her job, she had
decorated her office with reminders of life, not death. A potted ficus thrived
in
the corner of the room, the happy recipient of constant fussing and attention by
both Maura and Louise. On the wall were framed images of flowers: a bouquet of
white
peonies and blue irises. Another with a vase of centifolia roses, the blossoms
so
lush with petals that the stems drooped. When the stack of files grew too tall
on
her desk, when the weight of death seemed overwhelming, she would look up at
those
prints and think of her garden, and of the smell of rich soil and the bright
green
of spring grass. She would think of things growing, not dying. Not decaying.
    But on this December day, spring had never seemed so distant.
Freezing
rain was tapping against the window, and she dreaded the drive home. She
wondered
if the city had salted the roads yet, or if it would still be an ice rink out
there,
cars sliding like hockey pucks.
    “Dr. Isles?” said Louise over the intercom.
    “Yes?”
    “There’s a Dr. Banks on the phone for you. He’s on
line
one.”
    Maura went very still. “Is it . . . Dr. Victor Banks?”
she
asked softly.
    “Yes. He said he’s with the charity One Earth
International.”
    Maura said nothing, her gaze fixed on the phone, her hands frozen
on
the desk. She was scarcely aware of the sleet hitting the window. She heard only
the pounding of her own heart.
    “Dr. Isles?”
    “Is he calling long distance?”
    “No. He left a message earlier. He’s staying at the
Colonnade
Hotel.”
    Maura swallowed. “I can’t take his call right now.”
    “It’s the second time he’s called. He said he knows
you.”
    Yes. He certainly does.
    “When did he call before?” Maura asked.
    “This afternoon, while you were still at the scene. I did
leave
his message on your desk.”
    Maura found three pink while you were out memos, which were
hidden
beneath a stack of folders. There it was. Dr. Victor Banks. Called at 12:45 P . M . She stared at the name, her stomach churning. Why now? She
wondered. After all these months, why do you suddenly call me? What makes you
think
you can step back into my life?
    “What should I tell him?” asked Louise.
    Maura took a deep breath. “Tell him I’ll call
back.” When
I’m goddamn ready.
    She crumpled the slip and threw it into the rubbish can. Moments
later,
unable to focus on her paperwork, she rose and pulled on her coat.
    Louise looked surprised to see her emerge from her office, already
bundled up for the weather. Maura was usually the last to leave, and almost
never
out the door before five-thirty. It was barely five now, and Louise was just
shutting
down her computer for the night.
    “I’m going to get a head start on the traffic,”
said
Maura.
    “I think it’s too late for that. Have you seen the
weather?
They’ve already closed most city offices for the day.”
    “When was that?”
    “At four o’clock.”
    “Why are you still here? You should have gone home.”
    “My husband’s coming to get me. My car’s in the
shop,
remember?”
    Maura winced. Yes, Louise had told her about the car that morning,
but of course she’d forgotten. As usual, her mind had been so focused on
the
dead, she had not paid enough attention to the voices of the living. She watched
Louise wrap a scarf around her neck and pull on her coat and thought: I
don’t
spend enough time listening. I don’t take the time to acquaint myself with
people
while they’re alive. Even after a year of working in this office, she knew
little
about her secretary’s personal life. She’d never met Louise’s
husband,
and knew only that his name was Vernon. She could not recall where he worked, or
what he did for a living, partly