When Shadows Fall
“The best yet in the series… a standout in the romantic thriller subgenre." Publishers WeeklyDear Dr. Owens,If you are reading this letter, I am dead and I would be most grateful if you could solve my murder…Forensic pathologist Dr. Samantha Owens thought life was finally returning to normal after she suffered a terrible personal loss. Settling into her new job at Georgetown University, the illusion is shattered when she receives a disturbing letter from a dead man imploring her to solve his murder. There’s only one catch. Timothy Savage’s death was so obviously the suicide of a demented individual that the case has been closed.When Sam learns Savage left a will requesting she autopsy his body, she feels compelled to look into the case. Sam’s own postmortem discovers clear signs that Savage was indeed murdered. And she finds DNA from a kidnapped child whose remains were recovered years earlier.The investigation takes Sam into the shadows of a twenty-year-old mystery that must be solved to determine what really happened to Timothy Savage. Nothing about the case makes sense, but it is clear someone is unwilling to let anyone, especially Samantha Owens, discover the truth.“Ellison excels at imaginative and terrifying plots, and this thriller is a fine example that sucks readers in and spits them out at the end, emotionally drained.”RT Book Reviews
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Dear Dr. Owens,
If you are reading this letter, I am dead and I would be most grateful if you could solve my murderâ¦
Forensic pathologist Dr. Samantha Owens thought life was finally returning to normal after she suffered a terrible personal loss. Settling into her new job at Georgetown University, the illusion is shattered when she receives a disturbing letter from a dead man imploring her to solve his murder. Thereâs only one catch. Timothy Savageâs death was so obviously the suicide of a demented individual that the case has been closed.
When Sam learns Savage left a will requesting she autopsy his body, she feels compelled to look into the case. Samâs own postmortem discovers clear signs that Savage was indeed murdered. And she finds DNA from a kidnapped child whose remains were recovered years earlier.
The investigation takes Sam into the shadows of a twenty-year-old mystery that must be solved to determine what really happened to Timothy Savage. Nothing about the case makes sense but it is clear someone is unwilling to let anyone, especially Samantha Owens, discover the truth.
Also by New York Times bestselling author J.T. Ellison
EDGE OF BLACK
A DEEPER DARKNESS WHERE ALL THE DEAD LIE SO CLOSE THE HAND OF DEATH THE IMMORTALS THE COLD ROOM JUDAS KISS 14 ALL THE PRETTY GIRLS
Look for J.T. Ellisonâs next novel
available soon from Harlequin MIRA
For my mom, who asked every day if the words were any good.
And for my dad, who assured me they were. And, as always, for Randy
Contents
Prologue
SOMEONE IS FOLLOWING ME.
I hear the footsteps coming closer, quiet on the thick, wet leaves of the forest floor. I duck behind a white pine tree, then realize itâs big enough to hold my weight and scramble upward, hands pulling me into the branches, where I cling to the trunk like a monkey, praying they havenât seen me. The steps stop, but the forest isnât tricked; the birds are silent as the grave, the squirrels frozen in their perches. They know evil has come to their world.
My breath is too loud; sweat is prickling on my brow. I see the blood then, on my handsâhis bloodâand swallow hard against the sudden spike of nausea.
He is gone. He is gone, and now I am alone.
Tears drip down my face, fall off my chin. I swipe my jaw against my shoulder so they donât splatter onto the leaves below and draw attention to my hiding place.
A starling bursts from the brush fifteen feet to my left, and startles me. I nearly fall out of the tree but hang on. Even my fingers know the danger of letting go.
This dance, inextricably tying us together, is entering its final moments.
They have come for me. I will not let them take me alive.
FRIDAY
âA human being is only breath and shadow.â
âSophocles
âYou are a human being, and so you must honor thy mother; she is the life of all things, the soul of your breath, your stars, your moon, the bringer of air, the guide of the tides. I am your mother, your breath, your sight and your feelings. Honor not me, but what I can be for you.â
âCurtis Lott
Chapter
1
Georgetown University School of Medicine
Washington, D.C.
DR. SAMANTHA OWENS stared out the window of her office, admiring the view sheâd be enjoying for the next several years. Trees. Lots and lots of trees. The Georgetown University campus was landscaped to perfection, bringing the joys of wildlife and green space to their urban oasis. Maples and willow oaks, zelkovas and ginkgo, viburnum and holly, and more she had no names for. In truth, this deep into the warm, wet D.C. summer, everything was so green it made her eyes hurt. It was all so bloody alive.
And so different from her anonymous, stainless-steel office in Nashville. A welcome change. A change sheâd openly pursued, sure to the core she no longer wanted to work in law enforcement. The idea of keeping herself separate from the hurt and fear and messiness of the real world appealed to her.
Her new reality: she was the head of the burgeoning forensic pathology department at Georgetown University Medical School. Her first classes would start the following week, though students were already on campus doing their orientations. And now that she was here, the sense of adventure and excitement were gone.
Looking out at the tree-lined campus, she couldnât help wondering, yet again, if sheâd made a mistake. The freedom sheâd hoped for, planned on, felt like a noose around her neck. Even though she was calling the shots, she was increasingly feeling trapped. So many people were counting on her. Sheâd developed the forensic program, made a commitment to the university, even signed a contract. She was stuck.
