A Necessary Evil

CHAPTER 18

Washington, D.C.

Gwen Patterson made the last of her notes. She needed to head home. Maybe she'd stop at Mr. Lee's World Market, pick up fresh mozzarella, some garlic and Italian sausage to make her stuffed manicotti with Bolognese sauce. Cooking had a way of relaxing her, soothing and calming her nerves. It worked twice as well if she cooked for company. She thought about Maggie, but they had just had dinner last night. The last thing she wanted was to look too needy, especially with Maggie, especially now. She thought about R. J. Tully, Maggie's partner, but he wouldn't be back for another week. Gwen wished she didn't miss him. Two weeks of vacation with his daughter, Emma, somewhere in Florida, and already… damn, she hated to admit it, but she did miss him. Not a good sign since the two of them had decided to take it slow, to get to know each other outside the stressful confines of the FBI files that had thrown them together in the past.

Funny. She was always telling Maggie to take some chances, to throw caution to the wind and have some fun when it came to love and romance, and yet, she couldn't take her own advice. Couldn't? Or wouldn't?

A soft tap at her office door startled her.

"Come in."

Her assistant, Dena, peeked around the door. "I just finished. I'm taking off. Anything else I can do or get you?"

"No, I'm fine. Thanks for coming in today, especially on a holiday weekend."

"No problem. I needed to catch up on some things."

Gwen refrained from following up with a comment about less time spent on the phone and looking for misplaced things and perhaps she wouldn't need to come in on the weekends. But that wasn't quite fair. The girl was doing a good job. And patients liked her, felt comfortable with her. That was more important than her misplacing a file or spending an hour extracting a bracelet caught in the copy machine.

"Any plans for tomorrow?" she asked instead.

"Actually, a friend called this morning and we're thinking about trying out that new nightclub. How about you?"

"I'm hoping to catch up on some rest."

"That's probably a good idea. You've been looking kind of… well, not quite yourself. Are you okay?"

"Yes, of course. Just a bit tired. I need a day off."

"Okay. Well, I hope you have a restful day off."

"Thanks, Dena."

"I'll see you on Monday. Oh, wait, I almost forgot." She left the door open and Gwen could hear her scurry back into the reception area, probably to her desk. Seconds later she came in with a manila envelope.

"This was left for you."

Gwen watched her place the envelope on the corner of her desk. She could see there was no return address, no indication who it was from, but already she knew, and immediately she felt as if the air had been knocked out of her.

"Did you see who left it?"

"No. It must have been when I was fixing coffee or maybe when I stepped out to make copies."

"What time?"

"Excuse me?"

"What time did you notice it?"

Gwen tried to get rid of the alarm from her voice, but she may not have been as successful as she'd like to be, because Dena was looking at her with concern.

"Gosh, I'm not sure exactly. It was between Mr. Rubin's and Mr. Campion's appointments."

Gwen tried not to stare at the envelope. Of course, he must have brought it with him. But wasn't that a bit risky, or perhaps ballsy was a better term? Would he actually bring it with him and simply place it on her receptionist's desk? Could he have slipped this time and left his fingerprints on it? Surely he wouldn't have worn gloves in the July heat.

"Is it something important?"

Gwen had briefly forgotten about Dena and did her best not to let it show on her face. She shrugged as if it were no big deal. "I doubt it. If it was important, the person who left it wouldn't have just placed it on your desk without an explanation, right?"

"I suppose. And I really wasn't gone that long to make the coffee, although that new contraption you bought takes a little more time." She smiled as if to make sure Gwen knew she was only joking, giving her a hard time about the fancy gourmet coffeemaker Gwen had made a fuss over. "So I'll see you on Monday."

But Dena stayed in the doorway and when Gwen didn't respond, she added, "Maybe you should take off and get started on that relaxing time."

Gwen glanced up at the girl and returned her smile. She was the first one she had hired in years who seemed to have a genuine concern for her. Others had been wonderfully precise _ not one of Dena's top skills __ but they lacked what Gwen could only describe as warmth, something she believed essential for the person outside her office door who greeted and cared for the mentally fragile patients who sometimes came through those doors.

"I'll take that under serious consideration. Now, go get out of here and enjoy what's left of your weekend."

"Yes, ma'am."

And she left, gently closing the door behind her. For a moment Dena had almost made her forget about the envelope.

She picked it up by a corner with only her forefinger and thumb, careful in case there were fingerprints. She hadn't noticed the slight bulge at the bottom. With her other hand she reached for a letter opener and tucked it under one of the flaps, holding firm as she slit the envelope open. Then she took a deep breath and turned the envelope over, letting the contents slide to the top of her desk. This time there was no note and she even peeked inside to make sure it didn't get stuck to one of the sides. The only thing in front of her was the bulge, a plastic bag, zipped shut, the contents of which looked like a single gold earring.