Free Lawman Lover - Lisa Childs by Intrigue Romance

intimidated into backing down or confessing all. It was easier to believe the warden was a cold-blooded killer than Rowe Cusack.
    Warden James shook his head in disgust. “For your sake—and your brother’s—I hope you’re telling the truth.”
    “Her brother,” Dr. Bernard said with disgust, “he will be brought up on charges for Doc’s murder, won’t he?”
    The warden shrugged. “The sheriff has to finish his investigation. He’s young and inexperienced and overly cautious. He’s not convinced that there’s enough evidence to bring to our new district attorney. We all know that damn lawyer’s more concerned about his career than justice.”
    If the warden contributed to his reelection campaign, the D.A. might get interested in carrying out the man’s idea of justice. Murder.
    “Doc deserves better,” his friend said, his eyes wet with grief.
    “I’ll take care of it,” Warden James promised.
    Macy shivered, chilled by his not-so-subtle threat against Jed. But giving up Rowe, if he was even still around to give up, wouldn’t protect Jed. It would only put him in more danger.
    “I’ll do the sheriff’s job for him since he seems unwilling to do it himself,” the warden continued. He squeezed the coroner’s shoulder then glared at Macy before leaving the office.
    Jed was definitely in trouble. Even if Rowe kept his promise to help him, it would probably be too late to save her brother. Pain and fear clutched her heart, so that it ached. Soon she might be grieving like her boss was grieving for his friend, Doc.
    “Macy, I can’t express how disappointed I am in you.” Dr. Bernard leaned back in his chair and ran his hands over his weary face. “I knew there was more to your story of giving up med school and moving here. I even thought it was because of a guy, because some boyfriend had broken your heart.”
    “That was part of it,” she admitted. Her fiancé had thought she was an idiot for believing and defending Jed. And she had been heartbroken that she’d been stupid enough to actually fall for a guy who hadn’t really respected her, let alone loved her.
    “Your brother was the biggest part of it,” the coroner assumed, “and you didn’t tell me anything about him. It makes me wonder what else you’re keeping from me, Macy.”
    She couldn’t deny that she had other secrets. But to tell him would only put him in danger, too. Unless he was part of it....
    He had been close to the prison doctor. How close was he to the prison warden? Was that why he hadn’t requested any authorities to look into all the deaths at Blackwoods?
    “I thought you were so smart,” he said, shaking his head now in disappointment.
    “I’m no fool, Dr. Bernard,” she defended herself as she had had to too many times before.
    “Then how could you have made the mistake of sending the wrong body to the crematorium?” He shook his head in denial of her claim. “You wouldn’t have made a mistake like that.”
    “I was tired and upset. So were you last night,” she reminded him.
    He nodded. “So tired that it didn’t immediately dawn on me what I saw in the morgue last night.”
    Too scared to ask, she just waited.
    “I saw a bloody bandage.”
    “It must have fallen off the body when I unzipped the bag,” she explained even as she mentally kicked herself for not cleaning up. But there hadn’t been time with Dr. Bernard coming back, and Bob, and then the warden and his henchmen....
    “Why the needle and sutures, Macy?” he persisted. “Why would you be stitching up the wound on a dead man?”
    Coming up with a quick lie, she replied, “Practice. I don’t want to lose the skills I learned in my premed labs.”
    “I didn’t hire you so that you could practice on the bodies in my morgue.”
    “Maybe that’s why I made that mistake with the crematorium,” she said, as if admitting to one of the secrets he’d accused her of keeping, “because I wanted to cover up my handiwork.”
    “I’m