Page 12 of Private Exhibit (Gentleman Hackers #4)

ANDY CHECKED the time as he stepped out of the elevator.

Damn it . He was too early again. After staying up so late, he'd thought for sure he'd wind up sleeping in. Instead, Andy had woken up even before his coffee machine had kicked on, and then he'd found himself dressed and ready and strolling out the door in record time.

Andy sighed. Gods . He had it bad. And he didn't even have Junior to distract him.

Andy had waited up for the boy, hoping Junior would make an appearance and want to play video games.

They often played late into the night, which was the reason Andy was frequently late to work.

That time with his son was too precious to pass up.

But last night, Andy had also wanted Junior present so he wouldn't keep dwelling on Devon.

He knew, the moment he went to bed, all he'd be able to think about was having Devon there beside him.

Being in the shower was hard enough with his imagination running wild. His bedroom was a whole different story.

But Junior had never showed. Andy frowned. Come to think of it, the boy had been absent ever since he'd taken off with Jess two days ago. It was officially the longest period of time Andy had gone without seeing his son.

Andy lurched to a stop, all thoughts of Junior vanishing when he spotted Devon up ahead.

Oh gods . Andy froze, tempted to duck straight into the morgue so he could avoid temptation.

He'd have to spend the day hiding out in there again.

Maybe Junior would finally show up and keep him company.

If not, maybe one of his regular visitors would stop by.

Regardless, he was going to have to avoid an encounter with Devon at all costs.

Except, when Andy noticed the anxious look on the boy's face, all his protective instincts kicked in at once. Temptation won.

“Devon?”

The boy gasped and looked up. “Doctor Gerard!” He juggled his phone in one hand and his lunch bag in the other, trying and failing to put the former away. “Sorry, I just wanted to make a quick phone call because I forgot to make it last night. I'm not clocked in yet, I promise–”

“Easy,” Andy murmured, holding out a hand only to snatch it back before he did something stupid. Like touch the boy. Or haul that little body into his arms. Fuck . “You're fine.”

Devon blew out a heavy breath, but still looked unsettled.

“Something wrong?”

“Huh? Oh, no,” Devon said, but the frown on his face belied him.

“I missed a call yesterday, and I tried calling them back just now, but it went straight to voicemail.

And my roommate is acting weird. I have this strange feeling he's keeping secrets from me, more so than usual–” Devon broke off, his cheeks coloring.

“And you don't want to know all this. Sorry.”

Andy inwardly cursed, just stopping himself from saying anything.

Because he did want to know all that. All that and more. He wanted to know everything about the boy.

But that was dangerous.

“It's fine,” he said, forcing himself to keep it at that.

Devon nodded. “I'll get right to work,” he blurted out, then turned and let himself into the office.

Andy watched him go, pausing there a moment to take a deep breath before he followed.

“Holy–” Andy stared at the desk, wondering for a moment if he was even in the right room.

Almost all of the clutter was gone. There were no tablets crowding the desk surface, and all the paper files were now in two precise stacks.

Each stack had a sticky note placed on top.

One read DONE and the other read TO DO .

The rest of the glass desk was entirely clear.

There weren't even any fingerprints. Devon must have taken the initiative to clean the glass before he'd left the night before. “My gods.”

Devon looked up. “Did I do something wrong?”

Andy slowly shook his head. He hadn't been able to bring himself to check the office before he'd gone home last night.

He'd even stayed later than normal, hoping Devon would already be gone for the day.

Even once he was sure the office would be empty, Andy had avoided it, heading straight out of the morgue and onto the elevator, never so much as glancing back at the office door.

It was a good thing, too, because if he'd seen this level of diligence last night, he wouldn't have gotten any sleep whatsoever. Gods . It was sexy as hell. It shouldn't have been, but it was.

Andy quickly turned away, hiding the sudden bulge that tented his pants. For lack of any other options, he headed straight for the coffee machine. Not that he really needed any more to drink, but he couldn't seem to make himself leave the room quite yet.

“Do you want me to make that for you?” Devon asked. “I can come in earlier to do that if you want.”

“No, that's fine,” Andy muttered, forcing himself to focus on what he was doing instead of looking over at the boy. He paused, risking a glance in the direction of the desk. “Unless you like to make it a certain way…”

Devon shook his head. “I'll take coffee however I can get it,” he said with a chuckle.

Andy felt his mouth twitch with the urge to smile. Damn it . He turned away resolutely and concentrated on filling the machine, adding enough water and grounds for a full pot before he started it brewing and stepped away.

Devon was already hard at work. The boy had a file open, all the pages laid out neatly across the desk surface. Andy saw a glowing light track down each page from below.

“What's that?” Andy couldn't help asking.

“I'm scanning your handwritten files into the computer and importing the data to the patient's digital file.”

Andy gaped at him. “You can do that?”

“Yeah.”

“Just put down a page and scan it? Just like that?”

“Yeah.”

“Holy shit.” Andy slowly shook his head, watching as Devon gathered up the pages in a neat stack and set them to one side as several digital pages appeared across the desk surface. Devon went through them all one by one, comparing the originals to the scanned data, making corrections as needed.

“It can't always read your handwriting,” Devon explained as he worked. “But this system is great. It brings up all possible words it thinks something could be, and then I can figure out, in context of everything around it, which is the right word.”

“Gods,” Andy breathed. “That's amazing.”

Devon smiled shyly. “Actually…” He blew out a breath.

“Gods, I may be talking myself out of a job here, but if you want, I can show you how to use the dictation function.

Then then computer system can take down everything you say while you narrate an autopsy, so you won't have to write it all down after the fact.”

Andy almost said yes . Almost. He'd known about the dictation function for years—nearly everyone around him used it on a regular basis—but he'd never bothered other than testing it out one time.

The technology was impressively accurate, but even though it would have saved lots of time, the experience didn't work for him.

“I have to write things down,” he said, shaking his head.

“It helps me really connect with the case, I guess. Helps me remember the details better in the long run.”

“Oh!” Devon nodded. “I get that.”

“I'm sorry to make more work for you–” Andy began, waving at the desk.

“No, it's totally fine,” Devon insisted. “I don't mind.”

“Alright.” Andy paused, clearing his throat, then heard the coffee machine stop gurgling. He went back to the machine and grabbed two mugs. “How do you like it?”

“Um, two sugars and lots of creamer, if that's alright.”

Anything you want , Andy almost said, but stopped himself just in time. He fixed a cup for Devon and set it on the desk, then went back and made one for himself. Andy hesitated there, taking a sip, trying to come up with an excuse to stay there in the room even though he had nothing to do.

A knock sounded on the door.

Andy grumbled under his breath. What now? “Come in.”

The door swung open, and a nurse peeked into the office. “Doctor Gerard? Nina Sampson is here.”

Andy's stomach turned. Shit . He eyed his coffee, knowing he'd have to reheat it later because there was no way he'd be able to finish it now. Gods . Parents were always the hardest. He gave the nurse a nod. “I'll be right there.”

The nurse quietly left, pulling the door shut behind her.

“Who?” Devon asked.

Andy carefully set down his coffee. “She's here to claim her daughter's body.”

Devon was silent for a long moment. “Oh,” he finally whispered. He looked down, idly shifting pages around on the desk.

Andy fled the room before he could think about someday having to tell Devon's next-of-kin that the boy was dead.

Because it was going to happen. And sooner rather than later.

But Andy couldn't think about that now. Didn't want to think about that ever.

He strode down the hallway, then stopped when the sitting area came into view. A woman sat hunched in a cozy chair, her expression hollow, her eyes red and swollen from crying.

Andy's stomach twisted again. Gods . These cases really were the worst. Moving slowly and keeping his voice to a soft murmur, Andy approached the woman and said, “Nina Sampson?

I'm Doctor Anderson Gerard.” He crouched down, knowing from experience that it helped to not have him looming over people in their grief.

“I know you've probably heard this too many times already, but I am very sorry for your loss.”

Ms. Sampson sniffed and wiped her nose with a handkerchief clutched tightly in her first. “I don't know what to do. Jess is–” She winced. “ Was ,” she corrected herself, then let out a cry before she went on: “Jess was my only child. How do I–” She broke off with a sob.

Andy winced. “I lost my only child, too,” he murmured. “Trust me, you're not alone. I understand what you're going through.”

The woman looked up at him. “Does it ever get any easier?”

Andy considered that. “Yes and no,” he admitted.

Ms. Sampson covered her face and cried quietly for several minutes.

Andy waited. There was nothing else he could do. Nothing he could say that could fix this situation. Just like himself, Nina Sampson would never be the same.

“I'm sorry,” the woman choked out.

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Andy told her. “Take as much time as you need. When you're ready, we can go see her. Alright?”

Ms. Sampson gave a shaky nod.

Andy waited in silence, fully prepared to sit there all day if he had to.

After only a few minutes, Ms. Sampson said she wanted to get it over with, so Andy helped her up and led her into the viewing room.

Andy nodded at the nurse who had alerted him to Ms. Sampson's arrival.

The nurse had already brought out Jess's body, staged on a table and covered with a sheet.

Andy reached out and slowly drew the sheet back, uncovering Jess's face.

Ms. Sampson wailed, her hands fluttering all over her daughter's remains.

Andy had to turn away and pinch the bridge of his nose, remembering all too well what this moment had been like for himself and Lydia.

Seeing their only child lying there, unmoving, cold to the touch.

The body had looked almost fake, stripped of life and motion and personality, leaving something hollow.

Leaving a gaping void inside Andy's chest.

Until Junior's ghost had finally appeared to him almost two days later.

But even still having Junior in his life could never erase the pain of that moment.

Could never erase the wrongness of it all.

His greatest joy, turned to ash. The guilt and regret, the utter failure as both a parent and a doctor.

Even knowing he could be with Junior for all eternity, Andy would never forget the memory of seeing his son's lifeless body.

He glanced to his left, picturing the boy just down the hallway, almost swearing he could feel him through all the walls that separated them.

Andy turned back to the scene of grief, wishing he could stop time so he'd never have to experience a moment like this ever again.