Body Of Evidence

So ironic. He’d been the best all through high school. Best GPA. Best player on the football team. Best all-around student. Class president. College had been much the same. Even in medical school, he had been the golden boy among the professors and his peers. Never had to work very hard to achieve his class ranking.

Whether it all merely caught up with him in the end or he just couldn’t keep up the pace any longer, he plummeted. From all reports, once he went into practice he was a satisfactory doctor. There had never been any complaints from patients. Certainly no malpractice suits. It was his colleagues who couldn’t tolerate his bullying and bad behavior.

And his wife. For a while, Marissa had taken his mental abuse and, ultimately, his first and only departure into physical abuse. But that mistake would never be repeated. She refused to be a victim like that ever again. Granted, he had been drunk out of his mind at the time, but she would not allow him to use his drinking as an excuse. He had hurt her and that was that.

“I changed my number because I would like you to stop calling me.” She kept her gaze steady on his. It was important that he understand her decision was not up for discussion. She knew this man intimately. At the moment he appeared reasonably sober, and she wanted him to see and to hear that she meant business. The life they had once shared was over. They were not friends, and they never would be.

“You’ve finally found someone else, haven’t you?” Rage blazed in his dark eyes.

An alarm she knew better than to ignore triggered. There was something about his eyes, his tone that seemed different tonight—colder, harder. “This is not about anyone else, William. This is about you.” She kept her voice steady, her tone firm. A year of counseling had helped her to overcome feelings of guilt about the breakdown of their marriage and to stand up for herself, even against the man she had once loved and with whom she had expected to spend the rest of her life. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to my patients.”

“Is that another kick in the teeth?” he growled. “I don’t have a career anymore. No patients. No nothing.”

She braced herself and summoned her waning courage. “You don’t have a career anymore because you drink too much. You need help, William. I can’t help you. Until you commit to changing your life, this is how it will be.” She backed away a step. “You should go back to AA and seek private counseling.”

He grabbed her arm, his fingers clutching like a vise. A wave of panic flooded her.

“Don’t tell me what to do,” he warned. “If you had been a better wife, maybe I wouldn’t have needed to drink. You could have helped me, but you chose to throw me—our life—away.”

It was the same exchange every time. When he grew angry, he always blamed someone else for his mistakes. “Goodbye, William.” She yanked her arm from his grasp and turned away.

One day he would surely come to terms with the reality that he made his own choices, and he executed those choices.

“Issy.”

She hesitated. Shouldn’t have. Damn it.

“Look at me. Please.”

How was it that she could still feel sympathy for this man? He had made her life miserable for four years before the divorce. He’d done his damnedest to do the same thing the past six months since his release from prison, but she had managed to handle it better. It was always easier to deal with issues from a distance. And though he insinuated himself into her present every chance he got, they did not share a home...they did not share a bed. He was no longer her responsibility, legally or morally.

She took a deep breath. Turned to face him. “First,” she said, “if you ever touch me again, I will take out a restraining order, and then you’ll have yet another black mark on your record. Now, what is it you want to say?”

He stared at her for a long moment. Even from several feet away, she could feel the sheer hatred emanating from him. The bright exterior lighting allowed her to see the desperation in his eyes. She shook her head and started to turn away but his lips parted and, once more, she hesitated.

“I’m going to kill myself.”

Shock slammed into her gut. She sucked in a sharp breath. “You don’t mean that.”

He nodded. “I do.”

“Please, William, you need help. See someone before you destroy any chance of ever rebuilding your life and career. Everyone deserves a second chance. Give yourself one before it’s too late.”

He shook his head. “I’m going to kill myself. But first—” he stared at her so hard she could feel the cold, ruthless pressure of his fury “—I’m going to kill you.”

He walked away.

Marissa’s knees buckled, forcing her to grab for the sleek limestone wall to steady herself. She watched him settle behind the steering wheel of his car and drive away. As much as she wanted to believe that he was only attempting to frighten her, she knew better than to be that naive. As a physician, she was well aware that people could snap and do unspeakable things.

William had been teetering on the precipice of total self-destruction for years now. Her first obligation as a physician was to report the threat. Since he was no longer practicing medicine, that was one less concern. She would call the office of his former practice and let their mutual friend know about the threat he’d made. If William was so angry with her, it was highly probable that he felt a similar rage for his former colleagues.

Making her way back inside, she prepared a mental list of everyone she should call. Her brain raced with the idea that this wasn’t supposed to happen to her. She had been a good student all through school. She’d never gotten involved with drugs or alcohol. Even in college and then medical school, she was the consummate Goody Two-shoes. Focused, reliable—that was Marissa Frasier. As her marriage fell apart, she’d endeavored patiently and persistently to try to repair their relationship. But nothing worked. When she had done all within her power, she had extracted herself from the ever-increasing volatility of the situation. He’d already destroyed her ability to love him. She’d felt sympathy—as she did now—but that was no basis for a marriage.

The waiting room was nearly clear now. Maybe things would slow down, giving her a chance to pull herself together once more. A few more deep breaths to slow her racing heart, and she was getting there. Once she was through the double doors and headed toward the nurses’ station, she relaxed.

Eva caught her in the corridor before she reached the doctors’ lounge. “Are you okay, Dr. Frasier?”

Marissa produced a smile. Eva was one of those people whom everyone liked. With her white-blond hair and creamy porcelain skin, many of the older patients called her an angel. But it was her green eyes that Marissa first noticed. Their eyes were a very similar emerald green. Marissa, too, had the extrapale skin, but her fiery red curls set the two of them apart. Patients were always saying that if not for the difference in hair color, they could pass for sisters.

Marissa took her friend’s hand and pulled her into the lounge. With a quick glance around she said, “It’s William. He showed up again. Here.” She moistened her lips and wished her heart would not start that confounded pounding again. “It was different this time.”

“Are you serious?” Eva took both Marissa’s hands in hers. “Listen to me—this situation is not getting better. He’s escalating. If you continue to interact with him—”

Marissa shook her head. “I won’t. I can’t.” She inhaled a deep breath. “He said he’s going to kill himself, but first he’s going to kill me.”

“That’s it.” Eva released her and reached into the pocket of her scrubs for her cell phone. “I’m calling Todd. You need protection.”

Eva’s fiancé was an investigator at the Colby Agency. Eva had urged her repeatedly to go to the agency for help about William. Somehow Marissa had been certain she could do this herself, but now she wasn’t so sure.

His desperation and fury had been palpable. He was not playing.

He wanted her dead.

The bottom dropped out of Marissa’s stomach and she wrapped her arms around her middle. How on earth had they gotten to this place? How could a man who had once loved her—and she knew in her heart that he had—now want to kill her?

She had no answer. William was broken. He had allowed envy and whatever other hidden mental health issues that plagued him to take over. Add the alcohol on top of that, and he was a mess. A desperate mess who didn’t care anymore. He wanted the pain and misery to end, and he wanted the person he saw as responsible for that pain and misery to pay for ruining his life.

Eva was right. She couldn’t handle this situation any longer. Now she was the one who needed help.

Eva ended her call. She took Marissa’s hands once more and gave them a squeeze. “Victoria, the head of the agency I’ve been telling you about, will see you first thing in the morning—if that works for you.”

Marissa nodded, her entire being numb. “I’ll go. I can’t ignore this situation any longer.”

“You have to believe me when I say that Victoria will know what to do. Her agency helped me, and they helped Dr. Pierce. They can help you.”

The first spring of tears burned her eyes, and Marissa cursed herself for being so weak. “Thank you.”

“Listen,” Eva said gently, “Todd and I don’t want you to be alone tonight, so I’m taking you home with me.”

“No.” Marissa shook her head. “I can’t do that. The two of you are just finding your way in your relationship. I don’t want to intrude. I truly appreciate the offer, but really, I have a security system and I’d feel much better at home. I need to be able to think all this through and prepare for tomorrow’s meeting.”

“Okay, but if you need anything, all you have to do is call.” Eva hugged her hard. Marissa closed her eyes and fought the damned tears.

This was not the time for her to fall apart. Staying alive and safe required her to keep it together. It was well past time she focused on taking care of herself.

Tomorrow she would take the necessary steps to purge William from her life once and for all.

Chapter Two (#u506e0ae1-fa35-5be0-9c40-de6bdb0ba66a)