Body of Evidence (Marcus Douglas 2)

“You’ve walked our streets and admired our beautiful parks, squares and mansions, but underneath the appealing aesthetics of this centuries Old City are some historical accounts that helped to shape our nation,” the tour guide began. “Savannah's architecture and history are internationally known, as is its reputation for Southern charm and hospitality. The city prides itself as the ‘Hostess City of the South.’ Each year, Savannah attracts millions of visitors from across the country and around the world. Savannah is also noted for its St. Patrick's Day celebration, the second largest in the United States behind New York City.

“Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, the John Berendt novel about Savannah's secrets, socialites and murder spent more than five years on the New York Times best-seller list holding the record for the longest running best-seller in history,” the driver informed them. “The Pirates House, A famous Savannah restaurant, was actually a tavern frequented by pirates who sailed the Caribbean in 1794. Events at the Pirates House were the inspiration for Robert Lewis Stevenson’s novel, Treasure Island.”

After the tour was over, Marcus and Panthea returned to the beach at Tidy Island. Once they changed into their swimwear, they held hands as they walked across the beach talking. Once they picked a spot on the beach that they liked, Panthea prepared to go in the water. Marcus noticed her tattoo again and this time, he had to ask her about it. “That’s a very interesting tattoo you have there,” he said and pointed to her cheek.

Panthea turned around. “Thank you.”

“Does it have any meaning?”

Panthea sat down next to Marcus and looped her arm in his. “My father was the one who named me Panthea. It’s of Greek origin, and its meaning is of all gods. It’s also the name of an early Middle Eastern queen. The name is related to pantheon, which means a temple of all gods.”

“I didn’t know that,” Marcus said.

“No reason why you would, unless of course as soon as I left your office you were so taken with me that you googled my name in search of a meaning.” Panthea laughed and so did Marcus. “But you asked about the tattoo.”

“Yes, I did.”

“When I was a little girl, my father told me what my name meant and said I was his angel, his little gift from the gods. That’s where I got the idea for the woman with the angel wings.”

“It’s very pretty, Panthea. And so are you. I’m enjoying myself with you.”

“That’s good. I like making you happy,” Panthea said and stood up, pulling Marcus to his feet in the process. “Now, come on. I’ll race you to the water.”

“What do I get when I win?”

“Me. In the water,” Panthea said and took off running. Marcus followed quickly behind her, but she had too much of a lead for him to catch up. Once they were in the water and away from the shore, Panthea stopped and waited for Marcus. She jumped into his waiting arms and wrapped her arms and legs around him. And even though he didn’t win the race, Panthea gave herself to Marcus in the water.

14

The first day back at work after a long weekend, a long romantic weekend at that, had always been difficult for Marcus, and this particular day was no exception.

Marcus felt himself dragging from the moment he bolted upright in bed. The realization that he had overslept for the second day in a row hit him like a wrecking ball. The previous day he allowed Panthea to convince him to call in sick and spend the morning inside her. Although she tried again that morning as well, Marcus got out of the bed. He quickly showered and rushed to pull himself together so he could get to the office before people started looking for him.

“You have two messages,” Janise said the moment his foot hit the office.

Marcus glanced down at the slips of paper and continued into his office. Once seated behind his desk, he used the palm of his hands to rub his face. Marcus looked toward the phone and chastised himself for not being able to get thoughts of Panthea off his mind.

Images of them intertwined in the throes of passion haunted him like a lingering spirit that was sent to personally keep tabs on him. When he looked toward the window, he’d see her firm breasts. A glance toward paperwork was like being up close and personal with the lips between her thighs.

“Marcus!” Janise’s voice boomed through the intercom on his phone, snapping him back to his trying day ahead.

“Yeah,” he answered, wondering just how many times she had called out to him before he actually heard her.

“Olivia is on line one,” she said. “I asked if you wanted to speak with her?” Janise’s voice was laced with sarcasm, but Marcus didn’t have time to deal with that.

“Okay. I’ll talk with her. I was just a little preoccupied. Put her through,” he said.

And before he could do anything else, Olivia’s voice rang out at him.

“Marcus, when can we meet? You talk to Garrett yet?”

“No, no, I haven’t talked to him yet, but I got messages that you both called. I just walked in,” Marcus said as if he needed to defend why he hadn’t returned their calls.

“Well, what’s your schedule like for the rest of the day? I really think we need to meet and decide our next move,” she pressed.

On any other day, Marcus would’ve appreciated her go get them attitude, but considering the slow start he was off to, he really needed her to bring it down a notch.

Instead of saying so, he simply looked at his desk calendar, noticed he had no meetings or appointments scheduled for the morning and leaned toward the mic on his speaker phone. “Why don’t you come meet me here in about an hour or so,” he offered.