The Surgeon: A Rizzoli & Isles Novel: With Bonus Content

ill-fated step toward intimacy.
    But oh, how she missed the days when she could enjoy a night out! When an evening was something to look forward to, not dread.
    The room was still silent. Waiting.
    At last she looked up at him.”Pick me up at eight.”
     
    Catherine poured a glass of merlot and stood by the window, sipping wine as she gazed out at the night. She could hear laughter and could see people strolling below on Commonwealth Avenue. Fashionable Newbury Street was only one block away, and on a Friday night in summer this Back Bay neighborhood was a magnet for tourists. Catherine had chosen to live in the Back Bay for just that reason; she took comfort in knowing that other people were around, even if they were strangers. The sound of music and laughter meant she was not alone, not isolated.
    Yet here she was, behind her sealed window, drinking her solitary glass of wine, trying to convince herself that she was ready to join that world out there.
    A world Andrew Capra stole from me.
    She pressed her hand to the window, fingers arched against the glass, as though to shatter her way out of this sterile prison.
    Recklessly she drained her wine and set the glass down on the windowsill. I will not stay a victim, she thought. I won’t let him win.
    She went into her bedroom and surveyed the clothes in her closet. She pulled a green silk dress from her closet and zipped herself into it. How long had it been since she’d worn this dress? She couldn’t remember.
    From the other room came a cheery: “You’ve got mail!” announcement over her computer. She ignored the message and went into the bathroom to put on makeup. War paint, she thought as she brushed on mascara, dabbed on lipstick. A mask of courage, to help her face the world. With every stroke of the makeup brush, she was painting on confidence. In the mirror she saw a woman she scarcely recognized. A woman she had not seen in two years.
    “Welcome back,” she murmured, and smiled.
    She turned off the bathroom light and walked out to the living room, her feet reacquainting themselves with the torment of high heels. Peter was late; it was already eight-fifteen. She remembered the “You’ve got mail” announcement she’d heard from the bedroom and went to her computer to click on the mailbox icon.
    There was one message from a sender named SavvyDoc, with the subject heading: “Lab Report.” She opened the e-mail.
     
    Dr. Cordell,
    Attached are pathology photos which will interest you.
     
    It was unsigned.
    She moved the arrow to the “download file” icon, then hesitated, her finger poised on the mouse. She did not recognize the sender, SavvyDoc, and normally she would not download a file from a stranger. But this message was clearly related to her work, and it had addressed her by name.
    She clicked “download.”
    A color photograph materialized on the screen.
    With a gasp, she jerked from her seat as though scalded, and the chair toppled to the floor. She stumbled backward, hand clasped over her mouth.
    Then she ran for the phone.
     
    Thomas Moore stood in her doorway, his gaze tight on her face. “Is the photo still on the screen?”
    “I haven’t touched it.”
    She stepped aside and he walked in, all business, always the policeman. He focused at once on the man who was standing beside the computer.
    “This is Dr. Peter Falco,” said Catherine. “My partner in the practice.”
    “Dr. Falco,” said Moore, as the two men shook hands.
    “Catherine and I were planning to go out for dinner tonight,” said Peter. “I was held up at the hospital. Got here just before you did, and . . .” He paused and looked at Catherine. “I take it dinner’s off?”
    She answered with a sickly nod.
    Moore sat down at the computer. The screen saver had activated and bright tropical fish swam across the monitor. He nudged the mouse.
    The downloaded photograph appeared.
    At once Catherine turned away and went to the window, where she stood hugging herself, trying to block out the image she’d just seen on the monitor. She could hear Moore tapping on the keyboard behind her. Heard him make a phone call and say, “I’ve just forwarded the file. Got it?” The darkness below her window had fallen strangely silent. Is it already so late? she wondered. Looking down at the deserted street, she could scarcely believe that only an hour ago she’d been ready to step out into that night and rejoin the world.
    Now she wanted only to bolt the doors and