Merry Jones - Elle Harrison 02 - Elective Procedures by Merry Jones

Author:Merry Jones [Jones, Merry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery: Thriller - Paranormal - Mexico
ISBN: 1608091163
Publisher: Oceanview Publishing
Published: 2014-01-15T01:00:00+00:00

Alain made fish. Turbot with a sauce of mango and orange juice, onions, peppers, honey, and garlic. We had rice and beans. We had wine. We ate poolside at sunset at his white stucco villa-style home near a golf course. The house had a red tiled roof, arched rounded windows, and an inner courtyard with a fountain. It felt open and light, decorated in festive reds, blues, greens, and yellows. I assumed the tones would look brighter to a normal person; to me, they were softly muted.

I wondered if his wife had designed it, if she swam in the pool.

I wondered where she was.

Alain poured wine, asked about my leg, my lungs.

“I’m fine,” I told him, but my voice was raspy.

He frowned. “Can we be honest, Elle?”

Uh-oh. I stopped chewing. People asked that question only when they had something awful to say. It was their way of preparing you for something unspeakable. What would he say? Oh God, had another woman died? Or was his wife coming home?

“Of course,” I forced a smile, braced myself.

He paused, his eyes riveted on mine. “Elle, I think that what happened to you today wasn’t an accident.” Another pause. “I think you were attacked.”

Oh. Was that all? Relieved, I looked at my half-eaten fish, put down my fork, began to reassure him. “Alain, really, I’m—” I began, but he interrupted.

“I talked to the doctor who stitched you up. He has no doubt that the gash in your leg was made by a knife and deliberately inflicted.” Alain reached across the table, put his hand on mine. “In fact, he’s convinced that whoever cut you would have killed you if you hadn’t fought so hard. He thinks you probably diverted the knife, might even have kicked it out of the attacker’s hand.”

Again, I saw murky water swirling. Seaweed. And Charlie reaching for me.

Alain was still talking. “Especially, after what happened to Claudia and Greta. You were connected to both of their deaths. What happened to you can’t be a coincidence.”

He was still holding my hand.

“But if someone wanted to kill me, why didn’t they just drown me? Why use a knife?”

Alain’s voice was soft, patient. “You very nearly did drown. But you resisted your attacker harder than expected. Maybe the knife was a backup plan. Either way, you were nearly killed. And I believe you’re still in danger.”

He sounded exactly like Sergeant Perez.

I thanked him, promised I’d be careful. His grip on my hand tightened.

“This week has been a nightmare, Elle. Two women who were close to me are dead. You’ve been attacked. Honestly, I couldn’t stand it if—” He stopped in the middle. Cleared his throat. “We haven’t known each other long. But you’re already important to me. I care about you.” He released my hand, took a gulp of wine.

His skin glowed in the candlelight; his eyes reflected the flames. I remembered the urgent pressure of his lips.

“Sorry,” he picked up his fork. “I shouldn’t have said that last bit.”

“It’s all right, Alain. Really.

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