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Back The Secrets We Bury Save as PDF
Chapters (49)
  1. Cover
  2. Love best-selling fiction?
  3. Also by Mary Bush
  4. Dedication
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. 8
  13. 9
  14. 10
  15. 11
  16. 12
  17. 13
  18. 14
  19. 15
  20. 16
  21. 17
  22. 18
  23. 19
  24. 20
  25. 21
  26. 22
  27. 23
  28. 24
  29. 25
  30. 26
  31. 27
  32. 28
  33. 29
  34. 30
  35. 31
  36. 32
  37. 33
  38. 34
  39. 35
  40. 36
  41. 37
  42. 38
  43. 39
  44. 40
  45. 41
  46. Acknowledgements
  47. A note from the publisher
  48. Love best-selling fiction?
  49. You will also enjoy:

Val stared at Gavin with a loss of words. Oh no, I’ve screwed up big time. Jack was not officially part of this case and giving him any information, particularly confidential information such as anything about the yew trees, allowing him to be part of the investigation, could possibly get Val in trouble and maybe even fired. Val held her breath, Gavin would yell at her, of course he would. That’s what he’s going to do now. But he wouldn’t tell Dr. Maddox. Val was confident of that… well, maybe not so much now, because Gavin looked really upset.

She scrambled with her excuse. “Jack’s in Buffalo. Visiting. I simply asked him a few English things—about yew trees,” Val said, trying to make it all sound innocent, but then she stopped, hesitating. She couldn’t say anything more, even about Jack in general. Gavin would blow a gasket. On top of the firing issue, these two men did not get along.

Judging by Gavin’s expression, Val knew she was right. The way Gavin was looking at her… no… the way Gavin was looking at her was all wrong, it wasn’t like he was going to reprimand her about Jack, about protocol. Professionalism. How a proper investigation is conducted. He was blank… well no, that wasn’t it either. Honestly if Val wasn’t still clouded a little from the alcohol she would have said disappointed.

“He’s visiting?” Gavin quickly looked at his watch. “It’s getting late. I think we should call it a night.”

9

Val set her phone down. No texts. Nothing from Gavin since their dinner Friday night. She finally relinquished. Why would there be?

As Val sat at her desk in the medical examiner’s office Monday morning, pen in hand, she jotted down a few notes about the Gabrielle Morgan case. She couldn’t keep her mind from wandering, circling back again, reliving dinner with Gavin, dissecting details. Had she misread Gavin all night? Of course she had. That night was not a date and everything that happened, the looks the signals, were no more than alcohol-influenced errors in judgment.

God, am I ever relieved I didn’t say or do anything I shouldn’t have, thought Val. Now, after having two days to collect her thoughts, she was happy she hadn’t made a fool of herself. What in the hell was I thinking? If Gavin was flirting with her, well then screw him. He was a married man. Val could rest assured that she did nothing wrong, other than maybe let her guard down. A little overly friendly? Yes. A slut? No. Thank God.

Gavin’s demeanor had changed suddenly after the text from Jack. It had snapped both of them to attention and led Gavin away from making a wine-fueled adulterous move and Val from just being, well… stupid.