Before the Dawn(37)

"Dawn..."

"I couldn't see past him, when I looked at you." Her voice had become a whisper. "And I'm sorry for that. You were the person I needed most back then, and you were the one I pushed away the hardest."

He wanted to pull her into his arms. Hold her tight and never let go.

"I won't do it again." If possible, her words were even softer. He had to lean in close to hear her. "I swear, I won't."

* * *

"SO HOW DID an MD wind up working for the FBI?" Julia Bradford asked as Macey followed her into the morgue.

The victim hadn't arrived yet. A special crew would be bringing her inside any moment. Macey shivered a bit as she stood in the lab. She didn't have a whole lot of experience when it came to working with the dead. "A necessary career change."

Julia quirked one brow at her. "That sounds mysterious."

Macey had been a senior resident when the stalking had begun. Small things, at first. Simple things. She'd been so busy that she hadn't paid them much attention. She glanced down at her sleeve. "I wanted to be a doctor so that I could help people. My mother...she died of cancer when I was a kid. I thought being a doctor would let me make a difference. That I could change lives."

Julia stared back at her.

"Then I learned there were other ways to help people." Ways that called to her.

And she also hadn't been able to step back inside an operating room. Not after what he did.

"Your hands shake when you get close to the exam table." Julia's voice was quiet.

Surprise rushed through her. I know. I can't help it. "You're very observant."

Julia smiled. "My dad taught me that. Said you have to watch the world around you. See the things that others miss. That way, you have an advantage." 

"Sounds like some dad you've got there."

"He's incredible." She turned away.

Macey bit her lip, then asked, "Why do you work with the dead?" Because it was her turn to watch closely, Macey saw the slight stiffening of Julia's shoulders. "You're an MD," Macey pushed. "Why not work with the living?"

"I was going to focus on pediatrics..." Julia's voice had turned musing. "Make sure kids grew up strong and healthy. I even had plans to start up a clinic back in the parish where I grew up."

"And your plans changed."

Julia turned to face her. "My brother was shot and killed one night on Bourbon Street. In the middle of that crowded street, with a hundred people staring at the shooter. Those hundred people? They should have been able to identify his killer...but I swear every single damn one of them gave a different description of the perp."

Macey waited. Her heart ached for the pain she heard in Julia's voice.

"Some of those people were too drunk to remember shit. Some didn't look at the killer, they just looked at the vic-at my brother. But others...they stared straight at him, and they couldn't pick him out of a lineup."

"I'm sorry." She'd heard of it happening before. Eyewitness testimony was actually one of the weakest forms of evidence. Two people could describe the exact same attacker in wildly different ways.

Or a hundred people could fail to see the killer right in front of them.

"I was afraid my brother wasn't going to get justice. I went to the police. My dad stood in front of the station for days. And then you know what happened?"

She shook her head.

"My brother spoke."

Macey blinked.

"The coroner-Dr. Burns-he never gave up. He examined my brother again and again. He found trace evidence from where my brother had grabbed the bastard who came at him. Evidence that tied the piece of trash directly to the crime. He's locked away now and will be rotting for the next twenty years. All because the coroner did his job. He was thorough. He didn't give up." She sucked in a quick breath. "Sorry, I just... I get emotional about that."

"You don't have to apologize to me."

Julia's smile came again. "When my brother's killer was convicted, I realized I didn't have to be in my own clinic to make a difference. I realized the world needed more people like Dr. Burns."

"I'm glad you're on this case." She took a step closer to the exam table. Her hands started to shake and she balled them into fists. "And I'm sorry about your brother."

"And I'm sorry about the pain you carry." Julia's head cocked to the side. "Did they catch the man who hurt you so badly?"

Macey sucked in a sharp breath. There hadn't been a need to catch him. "I killed him."

"Good."

The door swung open behind them before Macey could say anything else. She looked back and saw Detective Deveraux standing there. "They're about to bring in the victim." His face was grim. His gaze darted to Julia, then back to her. "Where's your partner?" he asked Macey.