Need You Now (Love in Unknown) - By Taylor M. Lunsford Page 0,16
her hand, but he didn’t. Smart man. If she gave into weakness now, she’d hate herself for it later.
She shook her head. “I don’t know about the exam rooms, but it looks like my office was hit the hardest. All they did in Doc’s office was toss his files everywhere. My computer was trashed. Pictures broken. Books—“ Her voice caught in her throat. Damn it. “They tore up my books, Caine.”
His arms did go around her then. She didn’t protest, she just let him pull her into his strong chest and hold her close. They’d disagreed on a lot of things and changed in many ways, but he’d always understood how much her books meant to her. Even if it was only for a moment, she needed to be close to him. To smell the familiar, wonderfully masculine smell of clean, cotton shirt, fresh cut grass, and a slightly musky scent that was forever labeled in her mind as “Caine.” She’d deal with regrets later.
“Can you think of anyone who would do this? Any patients who have been pissed off?” Gage’s disembodied voice echoed through the old house, the wood floors creaking as he walked. Mel jumped away from Caine, remembering where she was and who he was.
“Not anyone in particular. Doc said that some of the older patients were upset that he was retiring and turning the clinic over to a woman who just finished residency. But I haven’t seen enough patients to get on anyone’s bad side and everyone loves Doc.”
Caine’s frown returned. “Anyone in town who’s said anything against you personally?”
Mel paused, trying to think. Briefly her mind flickered back to the strange call from the other day, but she dismissed it. “No. I mean, there’re people like Sandra who still think I’m a bit of a freak or an Ivy League snob. They don’t necessarily like me too much, but enough to do this? No. There’s no one.”
Gage returned to the entrance hall. “At first glance, it looks like some kids trying to score drugs, but I’ll get Stan down here with the county forensics truck and see what he can find. Once he gets through with everything, you and Anna and Sandra can get in here to clean up. I’ll have Stan take pictures and send them to your insurance company.”
“Have there been any burglaries like this?” Mel asked. A niggling doubt at the back of her mind told her that drugs weren’t the motive behind the break-in. The destruction of her office felt personal, not a random act of vandalism. The extent of the damaged bordered on vindictive. Maybe she was just overreacting. Gage would probably think so.
He shook his head. “Not recently. I’ll check in with the other clinics in the area and see if there’ve been any break-ins in the last year, but I haven’t heard anything.”
“So, I’ll stay here until the forensics guy gets here and have Anna help me get in touch with the few patients we had scheduled today. I need to get the files cleaned up and reorganized as soon as possible.” She took a slow, shuddery breath. “Thank God Doc is out of town. This would break his heart.”
“Sorry, Mel,” Gage said, “but until the tech’s gone over the place, I don’t want you touching anything. We’ll keep things locked up tight and I’ll have an officer stationed out front, but this is still a crime scene. Once we’ve gotten any evidence we can find, I’ll help you and Anna get the place straightened up. Anna will know who to call from home. And everyone in town probably knows about this by now, so you shouldn’t worry too much about your patients.”
Mel tightened her jaw, briefly considering putting up a fight, but her shoulders drooped in defeat when she saw the identical, immovable expressions on the Maddox brothers’ faces. “Okay. I guess I’ll head home then. Unless there’s anything you need me to fill out?”
“No. I’ll have some paperwork for Doc to fill out and we’ll need details about what’s missing, but that can wait until tomorrow. From the looks of things, it’ll take a little while for Stan to go over the place. He’s our only forensics tech and this place is bigger than our standard crime scene.”
After thanking Gage, Mel started to leave the clinic. A hand on her shoulder stopped her on the porch. “Where’s your car?” Caine asked.
Eyebrows arching, she stared at him for a second. She hadn’t expected him to follow her.