Oath of Honor

how she’d let that happen. Oh sure—extreme circumstances often

made people act out of character, but that was a convenient excuse

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Oath Of hOnOr

and she knew it. She’d wanted to be close to Evyn and she’d enjoyed

Evyn taking care of her. She’d wanted to kiss her—wanted more than

that, and she’d made the first move. Evyn had put it very clearly—brief

physical interludes on the job were common, and then it was back to

business as usual. Maybe for Evyn that was true.

Nothing wrong with two adults sharing a few hours of pleasure

and then moving on. Too bad that didn’t seem to be the case for her.

Even now, she couldn’t forget the pleasure that filled her from having

Evyn near, from knowing Evyn cared. She wanted to touch her again,

wanted to be touched. She wanted the peace and certainty that steadied

her when she thought of Evyn. She’d learned long ago not to want that

kind of comfort, and Evyn had made her forget those hard lessons.

Evyn scared her, and that was the real reason she was headed to her

office alone.

v

At the tap on her partially closed door, Wes expected to see one

of the WHMU staff. She half rose when she recognized Cameron

Roberts.

“Sorry to bother you, Captain,” Cam said.

“No—please come in.” Wes walked around her desk and extended

her hand. Roberts, dressed casually in gray trousers and a black sweater,

entered and shut the door behind her. Her dark eyes bore the same

intense focus Wes had seen in every photo of her. Remembering her

from the wedding, Wes suspected the only time her gaze ever softened

was when she looked at Blair Powell. A flare of envy caught her by

surprise and she quickly doused it. “Wes Masters.”

“Cam Roberts. Do you have a moment?”

“Of course. Have a seat.” Wes indicated the chairs in front of her

desk and sat down.

“What do you make of O’Shaughnessy’s autopsy report?” Cam

asked.Right to business. This was ground she understood, and after the

upheaval on the personal front, welcome ground. She needed to get

her head back where it belonged. “On the surface, there aren’t any red

flags.”

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RADCLYfFE

“He was fifty-one. His last physical exam four months ago included

a stress test. That was normal,” Cam said.

“Yes. That bothers me too.” Wes frowned. “On the surface

things look straightforward. An arrhythmia, on the other hand, could

account for sudden death, and there are often no precipitating signs or

symptoms.”

“And no way to tell on the postmortem?”

“Exactly.”

“Could an arrhythmia be drug induced?”

“Of course—although the most effective way would be by

injection, and he’d likely be aware of that. You suspect his death was

a homicide?”

Cam shrugged. “I don’t like coincidences. Len’s unexpected death

happening when we have a security breach is a little too convenient to

ignore.”

“What would be the goal? The WHMU has other capable medical

team members.”

“Could be something as simple as disrupting the flow so any move

against POTUS would be handled less than efficiently.”

Wes had used much the same reasoning when she’d agreed with

Evyn they shouldn’t mix business with pleasure. Considered rationally,

the argument was weak. “Seems like a big risk for small gain.”

“Agreed. The more likely scenario is that Len noticed something,

or suspected something. Assuming he wasn’t our leak and his contacts

decided to eliminate him.”

“Do you suspect him?”

“I suspect everyone,” Cam said flatly. “Except you. But Len—not

really. I’ve been running extended checks on every member of PPD, the

WHMO, and the WHMU. Nothing turns up for Len other than a quiet

affair with one of the nurses.”

Wes straightened. “Who?”

“Jennifer Pattee.”

“Really.”

“What?”

Wes laughed wryly. So much for gaydar. “Never mind.”

“Do you trust your instincts, Wes?”

“Professionally, yes.” Wes thought of Evyn—she trusted her

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instincts about Evyn too. Evyn was totally worthy of trust and

confidence, in all ways.

“So tell me what you think about Lieutenant Pattee.”

Wes hesitated, then decided her personal embarrassment was

unimportant. “I had the feeling the lieutenant was more interested in

female partners. I could be totally wrong in that—or maybe she’s bi.”

“Has she expressed a personal interest in you?”

“I thought so. As I said—”

“I’m just gathering information, Wes. As a newcomer, you’re

more likely to make an unbiased observation. Anything that seems off

to you might be important.”

“I understand.”

Cam sat forward. “A puncture site is pretty easy to miss in an

autopsy, isn’t it?”

“Yes—very. And we won’t have the tox screens back for another

week or so. Without some evidence of drug administration, we don’t

have any reason to exhume his body. I’d hate to put his family through

that.”“I don’t want to do that either if it isn’t necessary. I’ll see about

expediting the tox results,” Cam said.

“Excellent.”

“Could the injection go unnoticed by the recipient—say if he was

distracted?”

“Possibly. Airjet injection is nearly painless.”