That Which Survives Read online

  Ryan looked at the paper. Sure enough it didn’t look like regular paper. In fact, it looked more like fabric. The fibers that comprised the paper were obvious. He studied the symbols inscribed on it then glanced at the ME. “Do these symbols make any sense to you?”

  “Not my line,” Waring replied. “But if you look close you’ll see that the blood is hiding something. It looks like the scribbles cover something else. We’ll have the lab study it. One thing I can make an educated guess about is the type of writing instrument.”

  Ryan’s eyebrows rose and Waring pointed to the severed head. “Victim’s right index finger.”

  Ryan’s eyebrows rearranged into a tight frown. “Before or after death?”

  “Can’t say for sure at this point.”

  Ryan nodded and glanced around for Paige. She was busy scribbling notes and talking with the technicians. “Thanks,” Ryan said to Waring. “I’ll be in touch.” He crossed the room to Paige.

  She was listening to the officer who was first on the scene go over his steps one by one. As she listened she scribbled furiously. Ryan knew better than to disturb her. Some people thought she was too much of a stickler for details. He knew that it was her methodical nature that made her such a good detective. He had heard from more than one member of the DA’s office that her thoroughness had saved more than a few cases.

  Turning his attention back to his own duty, Ryan set about going over the scene, trying to freeze it in his mind. An hour later, he and Paige left.

  “What do you think?” he asked as they got on the elevator.

  “I don’t know.” She leaned back and looked up with a frown on her pretty face. “You get anything on who he’s seen or talked with?”

  “The manager will have a list of all calls he made from his room waiting for us.” He let her exit ahead of him as the doors opened. “We can pick that up on the way out, then I think we should take a run over to the university and speak with the head of the physics department.”

  “I hate physics,” Paige grumbled.

  “You mean you don’t understand it,” he teased, knowing she hated to admit she wasn’t good at something.

  She cut him a nasty look then checked the time on her wristwatch. “You think anyone’s going to be there now?”

  Ryan shrugged and pulled out his cell phone. “One way to find out.”

  Paige remained silent as he made the call. “So?” she asked when he finished.

  “Dr. Aldridge isn’t in but his secretary got in touch with him and he said he’d have someone meet us at his office at eight.”

  “Then we might as well get something to eat,” Paige said over her shoulder as she knocked on the hotel manager’s office door. As promised, he had the list of calls made from the victim’s room. They questioned him about any visitors the victim might have had and whether he had seen anyone around during the time of the murder.

  Once their questions were answered, they headed for the parking lot. Ryan scanned the list of phone numbers as Paige unlocked the car and got in behind the wheel.

  “Where do you want to eat?” she asked as she started the car and pulled out.

  “Doesn’t matter,” he answered absently. The note the ME had shown him was puzzling. Something about it nagged at him. He just didn’t know what.

  Paige jerked the car to change lanes and prepared to turn.

  “Guess I should call Senna.” Ryan pulled out his cell phone. “We had plans,” he explained at Paige’s arched eyebrows. “I don’t want her to wait for me.”

  “So considerate,” she said in a sarcastic tone.

  Ryan ignored her as he placed his call. “Hi, it’s Ryan. I’m sorry but I’ve got to cancel dinner. Something’s come up and it looks like I’m going to be working late. I’ll call you when I get home if it’s not too late. Sorry again. Bye.”

  Paige pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant and parked the car. “You know, Dalton, you’re starting to act like a married man.”

  Ryan rolled his eyes. “It wouldn’t hurt you to be a little more considerate. Aaron would probably appreciate you letting him know when you aren’t going to show up. Which reminds me. Didn’t you have plans to go to that dinner thing with him uptown? Maybe you should give him a call.”

  “He’ll figure it out when I don’t show up,” she said and got out of the car. “Have you ever had the roast beef here?” she asked over the hood of the car.

  Ryan made no comment on either her lack of manners or the food. He simply followed her inside, wondering why someone like Assistant District Attorney Aaron Vaughn would put up with someone as self-centered and inconsiderate as Paige Landers. But watching the reaction of the host who greeted them at the door provided the answer to that question. Paige was the kind of woman who could make you feel weak in the knees with one look.

  At thirty-four, she was shapely and carried her one hundred and thirty pounds well on her five-foot-eight frame. She was one of those women who had legs that seemed to go on forever, and liked drawing attention to them in short, tight skirts.

  When they first became partners Ryan wondered why she wore high-heels with her height and the type of work they did. Now he knew. Paige used her looks just like she used everything else at her disposal—as a tool, to her best advantage.

  Moving his eyes away from her swaying hips, he felt a momentary pang of guilt. Even though there was nothing between him and Paige, he had wondered, more than once, what it would be like to have those long legs wrapped around him.

  He knew she was interested. The way she looked at him left no question about that. But he was involved with Senna and really didn’t want to mess up what they had.

  Paige slid into the booth and immediately lit a cigarette. Ryan took a seat across from her and picked up the menu.

  “So…” She reached over and pushed the menu down, forcing him to look at her. She gave him the look. Despite his familiarity with her it still hit the mark. He felt his dick harden against his will and shifted uncomfortably.

  “What’s up with you and Ms. Braintrust?” She gave him a catty smile.

  “She has a name.” Ryan started to lift the menu again, but this time she pushed it down to the table and held it.

  “Okay…” She exhaled smoke in his direction and smiled. “So, what’s the scoop? You two still going strong or has little Ryan had enough ice pussy?”

  Ryan frowned at her choice of words. “Jesus, Paige!” It was easier to be upset with her than himself. Every time she talked dirty his dick went on alert.

  “Well?” She smiled coyly at him.

  “Everything’s fine, just fine. Now can we just drop the subject and concentrate on the case? What’s your gut reaction?”

  Paige’s face rearranged into a thoughtful expression. A moment later she started relating her impressions. By the time she’d finished they had eaten and were ready to leave.

  Ryan got into the passenger’s seat and called his home phone. He keyed in his pass code and listened to his messages.

  “Did lover-girl call?” Paige teased as she got in and started the car.

  Ryan frowned and ignored her. Sometimes Paige was a real pain in the ass.

  * * * * *

  University of North Carolina at Charlotte

  Dr. Laserian checked her watch as she entered the building. She still had a few minutes before her meeting. Maybe enough time to grab a cup of coffee. She went to her office and was unlocking the door when a male voice came from behind her.

  “Dr. Laserian?”

  “Oh, hello, Mr…” She searched a moment for the young man’s name. “Harper. What can I do for you?”

  “Call me Mike,” he said with a hopeful smile. “Well,” he continued when she made no response. “It’s about that trip you were talking about in class this morning. You know, the one to that lab in Illinois, during spring break?”

  “Yes.” She slipped her keys into the pocket of her jacket, not bothering to open the door.

  “Well, I w
as wondering if we could talk about it a little more.”

  “I’m sure the literature I passed out in class gave all the details, Mr. Harper.”

  “Oh, well, yeah, it did. But…well, I was kind of hoping we could…you know, talk about it.”

  She checked her watched then gave him a polite but distant smile. “Perhaps we can discuss it further during the next class. Right now, I have an appointment.”

  “Oh, well…maybe we could get together…you know, for a beer or something when you get finished.”

  “I don’t think so. But thank you for the offer, Mr. Harper. I’ll see you in class. Goodnight.”

  Before he could say another word she opened her office door and slipped inside. Senna smiled to herself as she crossed the room, taking off her jacket. This was her second semester teaching at the university and Mike Harper was not the first student who had tried to take his relationship with her beyond that of student-teacher.

  Senna understood. She once had a major crush on a psychology professor in undergraduate school, and had used every excuse she could think of to talk to him or stop by his office.

  Dismissing such matters, she picked up the phone on her desk and called her home number. There were three messages. One was from an old friend of her father’s who was in town for a few days, checking to make sure they were still going to dinner the next evening. The second was from her Aunt Minora and the last was from Ryan, saying he had to cancel their date.

  It was not until she listened to his message that she realized she had forgotten all about their dinner date. Dr. Aldridge, the head of the physics department, had called just as she was about to leave her office and asked her to meet him in the evening.

  Now her curiosity rose. She couldn’t imagine what Dr. Aldridge wanted to see her about. As crazy as it was, part of her hoped he was going to tell her that they would be letting her go after the current semester.

  Senna had not planned on being a teacher. Until the previous spring she had been working at the Fermi National Acceleratory Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois, where the highest energy accelerators in the world, the Teyatron, were housed, along with the world’s largest production and storage facility of antiprotons.

  She had taken the job with Fermilab right after receiving her doctorate in physics. She had worked there a little over three years. During that time she went back to college to study archaeology, her father’s passion.

  She would never have moved to Charlotte and taken a teaching position if it hadn’t been for Minora. Minora had been like a mother to Senna since she was eighteen. In fact, Minora was all the family she had left.

  When Minora was injured in an automobile accident and paralyzed from the waist down, the doctors were unsure if she would ever regain the use of her legs. Senna felt she had to come to Charlotte to be close to her and support her through the long rehabilitation process.

  She could not say that she regretted the decision. Even though she hadn’t planned on teaching, she wasn’t really unhappy with it. She had made new friends and had no major complaints about her life. At least no new ones, she thought, and then reminded herself that in the greater scheme of things, she had a pretty good life.

  Her phone rang and she snapped to attention. “Dr. Laserian,” she said as she answered. Her eyebrows drew together slightly then relaxed. “Thank you,” she said and hung up the phone. She grabbed her keys and left the office, making sure it was locked before she headed down the hall to Dr. Aldridge’s office.

  The door was open so she didn’t knock. His secretary’s office was empty but there was a light on in his private office. She walked to the door and tapped lightly.

  “Come in.”

  He was sitting at his desk with a pile of papers in front of him. He stood as he gestured to one of the chairs in front of the desk. “Please have a seat.”

  “Thank you.” She sat and waited as he came around the desk to take the seat next to her.

  “Scuttlebutt has it that thanks to you, enrollment in our department is up substantially.” His smile was warm and sincere.

  “I don’t think I can take credit for that, sir.”

  “I wouldn’t be too sure. It’s amazing what an attractive woman can do without even realizing it. But that’s not why I wanted to see you. I understand you are acquainted with Dr. Van Dorne?”

  “Walter? Yes, he was a close friend of my parents before they died. After their deaths he became almost a part of my family. He was one of my mentors.”

  “I see.” He looked away for a moment. “I don’t quite know how to say this, but Dr. Van Dorne has apparently been murdered.”

  “Murdered? Are you sure? Why would anyone want to kill Walter?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m afraid it’s true. I received a call from the authorities earlier. Obviously the lecture for tonight was canceled and the authorities have asked to speak with me about the matter.”

  Senna had ceased paying attention. She could not believe that Walter was dead. As long as she could remember he had been part of her life. There was a time, some years ago after his wife died, that she thought maybe he and Minora might get together. Nothing had happened, but they had remained close friends.

  He had been almost like a favorite uncle to Senna. In fact, it was Walter who had changed her mind about her major in college.

  Originally, Senna wanted to major in archaeology like her father and continue his work. Walter had persuaded her otherwise, by convincing her that it would be a waste not to put her mind to the area where her talents lay. He claimed she was a natural, and told her that her father would have wanted her to stake her claim in a field where her abilities would shine.

  She listened, and majored in physics. She could not say that she regretted it. While most people thought of physics as something mysterious and impossible to comprehend, drawing the interest of only intellectual giants and social misfits, she found a certain beauty in the concepts that allowed her mind to be set free.

  “Senna?”

  “Oh, forgive me. It’s just that it’s such a shock. I can’t imagine why anyone would want to hurt Walter.”

  “I can understand what a shock this must be,” he took her hand in a fatherly fashion, “and believe me, I hate being the one to tell you. I’m very sorry.”

  “So am I.” She gave his hand a grateful squeeze then extricated herself from his grasp and stood. “Kenneth, if you don’t have anything else we need to discuss, I think I should go. I really need to check on my aunt. She’s going to be devastated by the news. I should be with her.”

  “Of course. If there’s anything I can do, all you need do is ask.”

  “I appreciate that, Kenneth, but I don’t know anything anyone can do at this point. I suppose it’s something we’re all just going to have to try and accept.”

  “Yes, that’s true. But the offer stands, Senna. Now don’t let me hold you up. Go see about Minora. She’s been so generous to all of us here at the university. She’s a very lovely and gracious woman.”

  “Yes, she is. I’ll tell her you asked about her. Goodnight.”

  Senna ran down the hall to her office. She grabbed her purse, not even thinking about her jacket. She managed to hold it together until she was safely in her car, then the tears came. When she had cried herself out, she started the car and headed for Minora’s.

  Chapter Two

  Downtown Charlotte

  Ian Drake rose from his desk chair and paced around the room with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his expensive slacks. He had been thinking about his session with Senna Laserian ever since she left. To say that she was the most challenging case he’d ever had was an understatement.

  He had first seen her when she was eighteen. That was twelve years ago and in all that time he had been unable to make any real progress.

  Running his hands back through his hair, he returned to his seat and opened her file on his laptop. Maybe there was something he should have picked up on in the beginning that inexp
erience made him miss, some key he could use to unlock her memory.

  His phone rang and he punched the intercom button without taking his eyes off the screen. “Will you need me for anything else, Doctor?” his secretary Kendal asked.

  “No thanks, Kendal. I appreciate you staying late. Go on home. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Sure, good night, Dr. Drake.”

  Ian’s eyes moved over the words on the screen, but his mind was traveling back in time to the day he met Senna Laserian.

  It was warm and sunny that late May morning when Minora Laserian and her niece, Senna, walked into Ian’s reception room. He had been expecting them. In fact, he was eager to meet them. He had only been in practice for a little over a year and to be recommended to take over such a case was the most exciting thing that had happened to him.

  The week before he had received a call from a private clinic in Pennsylvania, run by a doctor Ian had interned with, Dr. Edward Michaels. Dr. Michaels was looking for a psychiatrist specializing in disassociative personalities and amnesia in the Charlotte area, and came across Ian’s name.

  Ian had gladly accepted the recommendation and Dr. Michaels had forwarded Senna’s files to him. Her history immediately intrigued him.

  According to the official reports, Senna’s parents died in March of 1992 while in Iraq doing research on Sumerian artifacts. They were among the victims of a terrorist attack. At the time of the Laserians’ deaths, Senna was assumed to have been killed as well, even though her body, like that of her father’s, was never recovered.

  Almost two years to the day, Senna showed up in the United States. An old colleague of the Laserians, a professor of ancient history, Dr. Harlan Pierce-Warner, found her, literally, on his doorstep. Her memory was intact up until the point she claimed her mother and she were attacked en route to the airport in Al Basrah, Iraq. She had no memory of the two years that followed.

  Dr. Pierce-Warner had her hospitalized and notified her only surviving relative, Minora Laserian. Having heard of Dr. Michaels, she requested he see her niece. After three weeks Dr. Michaels had made no progress in unlocking the memories. Minora decided it would be best for her to take Senna home with her to Charlotte, and she requested that Dr. Michaels recommend a competent psychiatrist to work with Senna.