“Stop catastrophizing, Felix. Jesus! Soph’s as interested in uprooting her life as I am, and Ellie’s growing a baby. Their moral code sits firmly where mine does. Do the right thing, and the city is yours.” I trade my scowl for a smile, then I tip my head back and search Archer’s eyes. “I’m starving. Wanna eat on the patio?”
“Mmm.” He folds closer and drops a kiss on my lips. “I’ll cook. We’ll eat. Then we’re heading home.”
Ugh. Home… soon.
He senses my change in mood, pulling back and studying me through narrowed eyes. “What?”
“Manhattan first,” I groan. “I don’t get a choice.”
ARCHER
“Hi.” Minka strides determinedly ahead of me and stops in front of a tall reception desk inside a clinic in the city. “My name is Minka Mayet. I’m here to see Doctor Kurbonov.”
“Of course.” The receptionist is young and bubbly. Barely out of high school, I’m certain, and seemingly happy to iron salon-style curls into her shoulder-length hair even on a Monday morning.
While Minka crowds the girl, I study the floor-to-ceiling glass walls. The expensive tile flooring and the flawless finish of a water fountain that probably cost someone their entire inheritance.
“Oh… oh dear.” The girl’s cheerful voice dims. “I’m so sorry, Ms. Mayet, but it doesn’t appear you have an appointment.”
“Doctor Mayet. Chief Medical Examiner, actually. And I don’t need an appointment.” She reaches over the desk and points at something I’m too far away to see. “Doctor Kurbonov is expecting me, so all you need to do is tell her I’m here.”
“I-I’m sorry, but I can’t-”
“You’re new.” Minka straightens her posture and exhales a barely tolerant sigh. “You’re young, and it’s clearwehave not had dealings in the past. But Doctor Kurbonov and I have an extensive history, and I assure you, she asked me to come.”
“But she’s with a-a patient right now. I can’t just?—”
“My husband and I are leaving the city in an hour, and Ididn’tadminister my Factor last night because I know Doctor Kurbonov prefers to seeme toward the end of my last cycle. I’ll wait for her current appointment to finish, but then I?—”
“Doctor Mayet?” A woman in her fifties, maybe even her sixties, stops in the doorway wearing a knee-length skirt, an ivory-colored blouse, a crisp white coat, and dark brown hair pulled back in a severe low bun that makes sharp cheekbones stand out in contrast. She has the potential to appear scary. Formidable. But she smiles for Minka kinda how Steve smiles for her. How Justin does it. It’s a parental gleam of tolerance that extends only so far.
They entertain Minka’s bullshit… until they don’t.
Then the hammer comes down.
Kurbonov steps out of the doorway as, behind her, her last patient crosses the glistening lobby and leaves, then she nods for her receptionist. “I’ll squeeze this one in. My twelve o’clock called me directly to say they’re running late, so I’ll slip Doctor Mayet in while I have a window, then I’ll shuffle the rest.”
“O-of course, Doctor Kurbonov.” The poor girl’s cheeks flame bright red, but she drops her gaze andtap-tap-tapsat her computer keyboard. “I’m so sorry to be a bother, Chief Medical Examiner Mayet.”
“You needn’t apologize,” Kurbonov cuts in, drawing her steely gray gaze across to Minka. “We don’t typically entertain walk-ins, do we?”
Untroubled, Minka snags my hand and starts across the gleaming tile, a too-smug grin playing across her face, and an immature ‘ha! I win’ glitter in her eyes.
“I told you to call my office,” Kurbonov grumbles, striding ahead of us and moving through a long, narrow hall. Passing door after door, the clip-clip-clip of her heels echoes from wall to wall until, finally, she opens a door, stands back, and gestures us in.
Her eyes flicker to mine. Her chin comes down in greeting. Then we’re moving again, into a room at least two hundred square feet across, made all the more opulent when, unobstructed and just half a block away, Central Park spreads out, providing a jungle-like view inside a city made of concrete.
“It’s comforting to see nothing has changed for you, Chief. You still lack social skills.” Kurbonov comes around her desk and lowers elegantly into a tall-backed leather chair. “I’ve seen you both on the news, which makes introductions redundant. You’re Detective Malone.” She offers her hand and a smile. “Minka Mayet’s husband.”
“I am. And to ensure it stuck, I made her marry me twice.” I release her hand and pull out a chair for Minka to sit in. Then I take the other. “Had Iknown prior to about an hour ago that she intended to come here, I would’ve called ahead and found a slot in your schedule.”
“Aw, well…” Kurbonov brushes the tails of her coat down and settles into her seat. “You insist on smoothing the way, Detective, but perhaps you’re not aware I’ve known your lovely wife since she was brand new.” Casting not-so-friendly eyes across to Minka, she flattens her lips. “You leave an impression everywhere you go, Chief, whether you’re three years old, or…” She checks the dainty watch on her left wrist, like that could somehow help her count the years. “Turning thirty in a few months.”
Minka’s nose twists with unhappiness. “Thirty sounds really serious.”
“Yes, well, it turns out sixty is even more shocking, especially when I could swear the last three decades have flown by like,” she snaps her fingers. “That. Now, how can I help you?”
“You told me to come see you.” Minka latches onto my hand, pulling it into her lap like it helps her hide the gentle vibration of her nerves. “On the phone last week, you literally said?—”
