Blood Money

“No, no,” Jack said nervously. “I wasn’t implying. . Actually, this was another woman I dated who used to like to-”

Jack stopped, frozen by a glare from his fiancee that said, Way too much information.

An awkward silence hung between them. Finally, the doctor bailed Jack out.

“Mr. Swyteck raises a good point,” said Dr. Cohen. “The notion that oxygen deprivation is something you can manipulate with precision is a myth. Even when the participants know each other intimately, and the strangulation is intended only to enhance sexual gratification, mistakes happen. So you can only imagine what a guessing game it is when the victim is a stranger. There’s absolutely no way to know how far you can push it without fatal results. Too many different variables come into play. One person’s fainting episode is another person’s cardiac arrest.”

Jack was reluctant to say more on the subject, but it was worth pursuing. “There’s always someone who thinks he’s smart enough, who thinks he can play God and get whatever result he wants.”

Andie picked up on Jack’s point, apparently having forgiven his faux pas. “I see this in my criminal profiling. Predators with enough experience to fancy themselves experts on such matters.”

The doctor considered it. “That would be one very sick human being.”

Andie took Jack’s hand, her eyes clouding with concern. “I’ve known a few of them.”

Jack would have nodded, if not for the neck brace. “You and me both,” he said.

Chapter Twelve

Jack left the ER just after midnight. He could have walked out on his own power, but the nurse insisted that “hospital policy” required him to remain in a wheelchair until they were through the doors and were completely outside the building. It was standard procedure for patients who have experienced any loss of consciousness.

“And for lawyers,” the nurse told him.

Jack did a double take.

“Kidding,” she said, only half smiling.

Andie held his hand a little tighter than usual as they started toward the stairs, making sure he was stable. From the top step Jack could see all the way across the parking lot to the bay. Not many hospitals shared a breathtaking stretch of shoreline with some of the most expensive waterfront homes in Miami, and the sparkle of the moon on Biscayne Bay reminded him why, year after year, the New Times survey of south Florida attractions rated Mercy Hospital as “best view from a death bed.” Jack stopped at the base of the stairs. A certain aspect of their conversation in the ER was weighing on his mind.

“Andie, when Dr. Cohen and I started talking about erotic asphyxiation-”

“Jack, let’s not go there.”

“Please. I want you to know-”

“I don’t need to know anything about it. Really.”

“But I don’t want you to think that-”

“Jack, just stop.”

“It’s not that we were into strangling each other. She would just hang her head off the edge of the mattress when we-”

“La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la,” she said with her hands over her ears. “I can’t hear you.”

A camera flashed. Jack turned so quickly that not even the neck brace could stop him from hurting himself. Another flash blinded him. His vision returned in time for him to see the photographer leap over a small hedge and jump into the passenger side of a car that was waiting at the curb with the motor running. The tires squealed as it sped away.

The color had drained from Andie’s face. “Did we just get paparazzied?

“Is that a word?”

“I don’t care if it’s a word or not,” she said, then quickly lowered her voice so only Jack could hear. “Jack, I work undercover. The absolute last thing I need is for a magazine photograph of me to go viral over the Internet.”

She’d just flagged the proverbial white elephant in their relationship. “Andie, it’s not like I started working on this case yesterday. You knew how much media coverage it’s gotten.”

“I knew that my fiance was attacked and ended up in the emergency room. I came to help you.”

“And I love you for that. But this is why I didn’t want to involve the police. No police report, no news coverage.”

“Oh, so you’re saying it’s my fault because I called Detective Rivera?”

“No, that’s not what I’m saying at all. Just, let’s not overreact.”

“Don’t tell me I’m overreacting,” she said, again realizing that she was too loud. She took it down a few decibels. “I’m not even allowed to have a Facebook page. How do you think the bureau is going to react when they see this?”

“See what? Some random guy snapped a picture. You’re acting like he works for Associated Press.”

“Sydney Bennett’s lawyer is walking out of the emergency room at midnight wearing a neck brace. It doesn’t take Pulitzer Prize credentials to sell that shot to Faith Corso. The woman will have an orgasm-with or without erotic asphyxiation.”

Jack had no rebuttal, but he needed to do something about the negative energy between them. He took a feeble stab at humor. “Don’t worry. Knowing BNN, they’ll Photoshop you out of the picture and insert Sydney Bennett.”

“That’s not funny.”

“You’re right. It’s not.”

Andie breathed in and out, saying nothing.

Jack moved closer. “I’m sorry.”

“I know you are.”

“This will work out,” he said. “We’ll be fine.”

Andie didn’t answer.

“Let’s go home,” he said, taking her hand.

She didn’t move.

“Andie?”

Her gaze was fixed on the sidewalk, no eye contact with Jack.

“Andie, say something.”

Finally, their eyes met.

“I think I should stay at my place tonight,” she said.

That put Jack back on his heels. They hadn’t officially moved in together, but only because Andie’s lease had yet to expire. Even Max had come to expect her on a daily basis and whimpered when she was away.

“That’s not necessary,” he said.

“It’s the smart thing. You were exactly right: It’s not like you started working on this case yesterday. I should have taken this precaution a long time ago. As it stands now it’s just for a few days, until Sydney Bennett is completely behind you and the media coverage goes away.”

“And what happens the next time I handle a high-profile trial?”

“I don’t know.”

“Really? You don’t know? I thought we had talked about this.”

“We did, but on a whole different level. A little bit of local media coverage is one thing. This case is in the news nationwide, twenty-four/seven. The problems are on a different scale for me. I need to step back and think.”

“Step back? You mean from us?”