She didn’t address that at all. “You should go before your break-in is discovered.”
“What’s gonna happen if it is? Every cop on the force knows me. I’d say that I’d seen your light on in an otherwise dark building without either security cameras or an alarm system. By the way, why is that?”
“The expense of installing them in a building this old was too much for some of the tenants.”
“Huh. Then aren’t you glad I’m the only one who broke in?”
“Not really. By the way, that amounted to a confession.”
“All right. I broke in. I’d tell any investigating officer that I was here to check things out, see if you were all right, and that would be the end of it.”
“No, because I would tell him differently.”
“Yeah?” He cocked his head to one side. “What would you tell him?”
The challenging question was as good as a thrown gauntlet. The smug hike of his left eyebrow indicated that he knew she didn’t have a comeback, because she’d made clear to him this morning that she would never betray a patient’s confidence.
Completely out of context, he said, “Your hair looks better loose like that.”
She had freed it from the tight ponytail she wore during office hours. Now, she reflexively hooked it behind her ears, and then cursed herself for that self-conscious response to his compliment, which she didn’t acknowledge.
“In fact,” he said, “you look looser all over. Blazer gone. Shirttail out.” He looked down at her bare feet. “No high heels.”
From the moment he’d appeared, she’d been well aware of her “looser” appearance and had tried not to let her embarrassment over it show. But she’d be damned before she simpered over his comments. “I wasn’t expecting an intruder.”
“Ain’t life just full of surprises?”
“Some of them unpleasant.”
That bounced right off him. With a frown of concentration, he was still assessing her. “You know, you might get more out of your patients if you let them see you like this. A little messy and undone instead of all buttoned up.”
“That wouldn’t be very professional.”
His grin faded slowly and, like twin lasers, his blue eyes sharpened on hers. “That detached, professional demeanor is your security blanket, isn’t it?”
Taken off guard again by both his sudden shift of mood and his disturbing insightfulness, she gave a slight shake of her head. It dislodged a hank of hair from one ear, but she didn’t call attention to it by correcting it. Coolly, she said, “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Come on now, Dylan. Don’t pretend. You know damn well what I’m talking about.” He took a look around the room before coming back to her. “This morning, it struck me right off thatyour straitlaced appearance and poised manner were in direct contrast to the cozy atmosphere of this room.
“You came across as a role-playing actor who’d wandered onto the wrong set, but was still sure of her lines, and confident of her position. Don’t get me wrong. You play it well. A little too well. It makes one wonder if you’re a real person with a heartbeat.”
Every word of his monologue had stung, but she wasn’t about to let him know it. “If I were role-playing, my costume would have been baggy trousers and a food-stained vest.”
He gave a huff of amusement. “Good one, doc. But back to what we were saying.”
“Whatyouwere saying.”
“Okay, what I was saying, or was about to say, is that I freely admit that my defense mechanism is cracking jokes. I deflect by wisecracking. Yours is to assume a cool, calm, controlled professionalism. It’s like a… what do you call one of those things?”
“You called it a security blanket.”
“Yeah, but that’s too soft and cushy. Your composure is more like a…” He snapped his fingers several times. “A bell jar. That’s it. It encases you. It’s see-through, but impenetrable. What’s it there to protect you from, I wonder.”
Her arms went rigid at her sides. Her hands formed fists. And, of course, he noticed.
“Whoa. That observation struck a chord. Because I nailed it, didn’t I?”
Realizing that she was playing right into his hands by reacting to his prodding, she relaxed her hands and took a steadying breath. “Mitch, what’s see-through is your motivation for tonight’s surprise attack. You’re here because your attempted sabotage this morning failed.”
