For now. Why dont you take a day off?

A day off. What was he supposed to do with a day off? He started to argue, but thought better of it.

They hung up and Morgan headed to the shower. A day off probably wasnt a bad idea. Looking back at his behavior the day before hadnt made him feel very good about himself. He was so used to being an expert on everything around him that he hadnt considered that Danielle would have her reasons for doing things her way.

Perhaps it would be good to get some perspective.

So his hunch about the murderer being a colleague hadnt paid off. There had to be something else, something that he wasnt seeing.

He stripped off his sweaty running clothes and tossed them in the hamper. He switched on the shower and stepped in, letting the hot water run over his head and shoulders.

Brianna was the piece that was throwing him off. When hed been searching for the link between Lexa and Michelle, Briannas name had never come up. She hadnt worked with Lexa on any of her cases.

Yet, shed looked familiar to Morgan. He might not have been able to cough up her name or what case theyd worked on together, but he knew they had.

It hit him as he toweled off. He had worked with Brianna. He had worked with Lexa. He had worked with Michelle. Maybe he was the link between them. Lexa had been working with him for a few months. It was standard operating procedure for attendings to pass off patients to their residents to finish up final paperwork and tests and discharge orders. What if they were still looking for a disgruntled patient or a family member of a patient, but it had really been his patient? Lexa might have only been a name on a piece of paper that the murderer had seen.

Maybe Morgan should have been the target. Not Lexa.

The tsunami of guilt crashed over him and nearly brought him to his knees. What if it was his mistake that had sent a killer seeking vengeance after Lexa? What if it was his fault that she was dead?

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

Morgan settled himself behind his computer. Hed managed to get to his office without running into too many people who might question why he was there and what he was doing or, worse yet, anyone who might mention his presence to Ashley. He was pretty sure hed pushed her as far as he could. He watched the breeze toss the tree tops around as he waited for his computer to boot up.