Obsession (Southern Comfort) by Lisa Clark O'Neill Page A

coffee or pour you a mug.”
    “James.”  He kept his tone as neutral as possible so that he didn’t sound like he was lecturing.  “If you had one of these conditions, some of the behaviors are automatic – completely unconscious – so you may not know if –”
    “ Justin.” James’ tone was as neutral as the one Justin had just used on him.  “I realize that you are a doctor and your first instinct is to rationalize a situation in terms of potential medical problems. But look at me.”  He met Justin’s gaze with a level stare.  “I did not make a pot of coffee.  Now, normal people who are not trauma surgeons might ask the question: if my brother, who is the only other resident of the house, did not make a pot of coffee, then who did?”
    “What are you talking about?  Who would randomly, what, break in and brew a pot of coffee?  And then leave?  And besides, the door was locked.”
    “Just like your truck was locked.”
    The coffee he’d drunk swished uncomfortably when Justin’s stomach gave a little lurch.  He stared at the mug in his hand as if it were a serpent about to strike.
    “Justin?”
    He looked up and met his brother’s gaze.  James looked far more serious than he’d ever seen him.  “You might not want to drink any more of that.” He nodded toward the mug.  “And Bro?  Change the house locks, too.  Because I think you have a problem.”
     
     
     
    CHAPTER TEN
    KATHLEEN reduced her speed as she drove over the Isle of Palms connector.  The tide was out, the last rays of daylight rippling like gold dust in the water.  At this time of the year the marsh was more mud flat than undulating sea of chartreuse cord grass. But with a lone great white egret standing atop the bones of a long-abandoned boat, the elder statesman of the lowland, it still made a picture.  Sometimes, even when you were used to the beauty that surrounded you, it could still catch you off guard and grab you by the throat.
    I miss you.
    Justin’s text ran through her mind like a ticker tape, as it had since she’d received it that morning.  Three simple words, seemingly straightforward.  Basically harmless.
    So why did she feel like she’d inadvertently opened a ticking time bomb instead of a text message?  That she had two wires to choose from: one of which would defuse the situation, while the other would cause it to blow up in her face.
    And even more troubling, why d id she have a niggling suspicion that she wanted it to blow up?
    She hadn’t known how to respond.  Blow it off with a smartass rejoinde r?  Suggest they meet for lunch later this week or a drink after work?  Either of those two options were what she would have done BC.
    Before Christmas.  Or more specifically, before that kiss.
    Of course, Justin had never said anything like I miss you prior to this.  Probably because they saw each other regularly, but even when they hadn’t seen each other for a while, one or the other of them would simply drop the other a quick message or call and ask when they were free.  They’d never gone so long without chatting.  And there’d been none of these… undertones, fraught with confusing emotional wires and explosive potential.
    B ecause she hadn’t known how to respond, Kathleen let almost the entire day go by without answering.  Not unheard of, given both of their careers.  There were often days that it took hours for either of them to check their personal messages.  And Kathleen had been in court today, offering testimony in a trial. Justin wouldn’t necessarily think that she was ignoring him.
    But Kathleen knew she’d been ignoring him.  Or not ignoring, rather, but p utting him off.  And she didn’t like the feeling.
    So, perhaps typical of her personality, she’d decided to deal with the situation face to face.
    Not that she knew what she was going to say, because she honestly had no idea.  But one thing she’d learned as a detective was that body language spoke