Critical Condition. Sandra Orchard

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СКАЧАТЬ her contradictory response, he didn’t know whether to apologize or say “you’re welcome.” So he led the way to the back exit. A mirror hung by the door. Zach tapped Suzie’s reflection. “Who’s that?”

      She splayed her palm on her chest and gave herself a huge smile. “Me!”

      “You,” Zach agreed with a chuckle, mesmerized by the chocolate gaze so like her mother’s.

      Suzie lunged for the glass, almost toppling out of his arms. He caught her just as her chubby fingers smacked against his startled reflection. “Dak!”

      His heart suddenly felt too big for his chest. “That’s right. My name’s Zach.” He glanced at Tara’s reflection, but she seemed intent on avoiding his gaze. He half expected her to make an excuse, take back her daughter and leave.

      But she opened the door and led the way to a picnic table at the edge of the daycare’s playground. Clearly, she was desperate for a compatriot to her cause. She dug a notepad and crayons from her oversized handbag and then patted the seat beside her. “Come and draw, honey, while the grown-ups talk.”

      Suzie bounced in Zach’s arms, apparently a three-year-old’s signal for put me down.

      He swooped her onto the seat, airplane-style, and earned himself another giant smile.

      “You’re very good with children.” Tara’s timid smile came slower than her daughter’s. “Suzie usually doesn’t take to men.”

      Zach shrugged off the compliment and snagged the seat opposite them.

      Now that Tara had her daughter at her side, the panic in her eyes had waned. Of course, if it waned too much, she might shoot off her mouth again, and he couldn’t afford to take that risk. A killer wasn’t likely to let her live if he figured she could identify him. “What I’m about to tell you is for your ears alone. Understand?”

      A flicker of confusion crossed her face, but she nodded.

      “You can’t discuss it with your colleagues, your friends, not even your husband.” Oh, man, what was he thinking?

      “My ex-husband walked out on us a long time ago.” She ducked her head, as if embarrassed at admitting something so personal to a practical stranger. Oddly, she didn’t feel like a stranger to him.

      “I’m sorry.” Zach looked at Suzie, his heart cracking at the thought of the fun daddy things she was missing out on in her young life. He stopped himself before considering what Tara was missing, too.

      She was a witness. A contact. Nothing more.

      Exhaling sharply, he glanced around to make sure no one was listening in. “My name is Zach Davis.”

      Her gaze dropped to the name on his hospital badge—Zach Reynolds—and she scooted closer to her daughter.

      “I’m a cop, working undercover to investigate the deaths you reported.”

      Her face lit up. “You are? Why didn’t Detective Gray tell me?”

      “The fewer people who know, the less likely my cover will be compromised.” He leaned across the table and lowered his voice. “You are the only one at the hospital who knows why I’m really here, and we need to keep it that way.”

      “I won’t tell anyone.... I promise. In fact, I can help you.”

      “I’d appreciate that.” Zach breathed his first full breath since considering whether to tell her. Tara’s inside knowledge could prove invaluable to closing this case quickly.

      “Cop,” Suzie parroted. With the purple crayon clutched in her chubby fist, she drew a circle on her paper, jabbed dots in the middle and scratched two lines from the bottom. “Dak, cop,” she repeated gleefully.

      Zach’s heart sank. He sent a prayer heavenward. This assignment had just gotten a whole lot more complicated.

      * * *

      No, this couldn’t be happening. If they were going to stop the killer from striking again, she had to make her daughter understand. Tara cupped Suzie’s face between her hands. “Look at me, sweetie. Zach’s a computer consultant. Not a cop. Okay?”

      “Not a cop.”

      “That’s right. So you mustn’t say he is.”

      “Not a cop,” Suzie repeated.

      Zach looked even paler than he had after Suzie drew his picture.

      Tara turned over the paper. “Don’t worry,” she said, with more confidence than she felt. “Suzie won’t blow your cover.”

      Zach didn’t look so sure. “Maybe you could take some time off until I’ve finished the investigation. After your outburst in the lounge, we’d probably be safer all around.”

      She thought of how panicked she’d felt only a few minutes ago. Now that she knew the police were on the case, she didn’t feel nearly so worried. She hadn’t said anything in that room that her colleagues hadn’t already heard. And sure, she might’ve momentarily suspected McCrae and Whittaker the night of the murder when they’d run into the room wearing the same kind of lab coats as the guy who’d shoved her, but if one of them was worried about her identifying them, he would’ve done something by now. “It’s okay. I’ll keep my mouth shut and my eyes open. I’m a single mom with bills to pay. I can’t afford to take time off.”

      “I understand. But you must have vacation time available. Or, given your wrist injury, we could probably arrange a paid medical leave.”

      “Absolutely not. My promotion to head nurse last month earned me flack from more than one nurse with seniority over me. I will not give them the ammunition to take me out.”

      A muscle in Zach’s jaw twitched. “It’s okay,” he said in a comforting tone that sounded as though he meant it. He tousled Suzie’s hair. “Once this little munchkin sees me around the hospital, she’ll probably start calling me Doc.”

      Suzie patted his arm. “Dak.”

      Zach winked at Tara. “What did I tell you?”

      Her stomach did a tiny flip. Zach didn’t act the way she’d expect a detective to act at all. With his bronzed skin and sandy-blond hair, he looked as though he spent more time on a surfboard than at a computer. She didn’t want to try to decipher the twinge of admiration she’d felt when Suzie had taken so readily to him. Her little girl wouldn’t even go to Grandma as willingly as she’d belly flopped into Zach’s strong arms.

      Tara shook her head. How would she know if his arms were strong?

      It’s not that Suzie weighed very much. Any guy’s muscles would bulge when he flexed his arms to lift a child. Oh, brother, get off what his arms look like already. She cleared her throat. “Um, do you really think the...” Glancing at her daughter, she mouthed the word killer. “...would come after me?”

      “What can you tell me about the patients who died?”

      Tara blinked. Assuming his answer might hinge on hers, she said, “They were all Dr. Whittaker’s СКАЧАТЬ