Hernandez shut her eyes for a moment and opened them slowly. Im sorry to have to tell you this, Dr. Stark. Lexa was pronounced dead at the scene.

Lexa dead? No. This couldnt be happening. This was a nightmare. White spots formed in front of Morgans eyes and the room started to whirl around him. He gripped the edge of the table, willing himself back from the edge. It was unthinkable and yet he didnt believe this no-nonsense woman in front of him would be making up lies. As he grounded himself, one thought and one thought only gripped him. Whoever did this had to be caught and punished. And you have no idea who did this?

Were working on developing leads.

Morgan knew what that meant. They had nothing.

He shoved back his chair and stood. He had to get out of here. He had to do something.

He had to see her. He had to see Lexa. Hed spent his entire professional life diagnosing illnesses based on things no one else seemed to notice. Maybe, if he saw her, he could find that one thing that no one else had seen that could crack this thing wide open.

Where is she? he asked.

Hernandez looked confused for a moment.

Where is Lexa? he demanded.

She stood. In heels she was nearly as tall as Morgan. She looked him directly in the eye and said, Shes at the Medical Examiners. Youll have to wait until theyve filed their report.

Wait for their report? Hed see about that.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Morgan stared up at the glass and concrete building before him. Hed never been to the District of Columbias Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, or OCME as people referred to it. Thered never been a need. If he needed an autopsy report, he didnt tramp downtown to physically pick it up. He requested it through regular channels.

No way was he waiting for that now. Thered been a time that OCME had been infamous for its backlog of cases, bodies stacked up and waiting for months before an autopsy could be performed. That was no longer true, but it still could be as much as a 90-day wait for results.

Yesterdays rain had washed away the fog. The sun was almost painfully bright to Morgans tired eyes as he walked into the lobby and looked around. He knew he looked like hell. By the time hed walked out of the police station, it had been morning already. Hed come straight here. He was still in scrubs and the borrowed sweatshirt. He should probably have gone home, showered, changed clothes. It had seemed impossible, though. How could he just go home? There had to be more that he could do.

He took a second to get oriented and then strode up to the security guard on duty at a desk.

I need to go to the morgue, he said without preamble.