Dirty Little Secrets (Romantic Mystery) Book 1 in the J.J. Graves Series by Liliana Hart Page A
Authors: Liliana Hart
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Looking at Janette did wonders for my self esteem after our short visit with Marie Petit.
“What do you want?” she asked, hiding her face in a tissue and sneezing. “I’m not buying anything. It’s too fricking cold.” She started to shut the door when Jack flashed his badge.
“Are you Janette Taylor?” he asked.
I got the impression Jack was expecting someone a little more refined to come to the door. I couldn’t see Janette Taylor and Dr. Hides meshing on a daily basis.
“Yeah, I’m Janette. Listen, if this is about Robby I want nothing to do with it. We broke up over a month ago, and I’m not bailing him out again.”
“Good for you,” Jack said. “This is about one of Dr. Hides’ patients. Can we come in for a few minutes? Like you said, it’s fricking cold out here.”
“Yeah, sure, I guess. Sorry about the mess. I haven’t exactly felt like cleaning up.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said as I found my way through the maze of cat toys and empty Kleenex boxes to the sofa. I was going to have to boil my body in rubbing alcohol to get rid of all the germs. “How long have you worked for Dr. Hides?”
“A little more than two years. I was sent over from a temp agency when his old secretary left on maternity. She decided not to come back, so I got the job. It pays okay, and I never have to work weekends. What’s all this about? Is Dr. Hides in trouble?”
“Can you tell us about Fiona Murphy? Describe her to us. Give us your impressions.” Jack said.
“Sure I can. Bitch from hell,” she said. “She was so hoity-toity I figured she was giving the Doc lessons. He has that same blue blood attitude that she does.”
I don’t think I concealed the surprise on my face fast enough. Fiona sure did wear a lot of hats.
“Are you sure?” Jack asked. “Fiona was a small woman, slender, with shoulder-length blonde hair and blue eyes. About thirty years old?”
“Yeah, that’s her. Dressed real fancy, and never bothered to say two words to me, other than to ask for hot tea with lemon and one lump of sugar like I was the damned maid. I wasn’t the one who had need of a therapist, now, was I?”
“Did you ever notice any bruises on Mrs. Murphy?” I asked.
Janette didn’t answer right away, but her eyes got big and she kept licking her lips. “No, I never saw any,” she finally stammered out. “Are you going to tell me what this is about?”
“Mrs. Murphy was murdered sometime Thursday evening,” Jack said. “You say you didn’t see the bruises, Janette, but you knew about them didn’t you?”
She averted her eyes and didn’t keep eye contact. “I could lose my job if he found out,” she whispered.
“We’ll keep it to ourselves for right now,” he said. “Did you look at Fiona’s case files?”
“It’s like I couldn’t help it,” she said as she started to cry. “She was such a hateful woman. I wanted to know something about her just so I could feel like I had the upper hand, even when she was snubbing her nose at me.”
“Where’d she get the bruises, Janette?” I asked.
“I don’t know who, not exactly,” she said. “I only was able to read one of the yearly summary pages the doctor keeps at the front of the file. I didn’t want to get caught. But he wrote in his notes that she had a sexual addiction. You know,” Janette pleaded with her eyes, hoping we could read her mind so she wouldn’t have to say the word out loud. “She was a sadist,” she whispered and then promptly turned bright red to match the color of her nose. “And I don’t think Dr. Hides really cared about curing her of the addiction if you know what I mean. Their sessions consistently ran over the hour mark, and I was given explicit instructions to never interrupt, even if there was another patient waiting. Sometimes she’d even pick him up for lunch after his eleven o’clock appointment was finished.”
“What kind of car was she driving?” I asked.
“A white Lexus. It
“What do you want?” she asked, hiding her face in a tissue and sneezing. “I’m not buying anything. It’s too fricking cold.” She started to shut the door when Jack flashed his badge.
“Are you Janette Taylor?” he asked.
I got the impression Jack was expecting someone a little more refined to come to the door. I couldn’t see Janette Taylor and Dr. Hides meshing on a daily basis.
“Yeah, I’m Janette. Listen, if this is about Robby I want nothing to do with it. We broke up over a month ago, and I’m not bailing him out again.”
“Good for you,” Jack said. “This is about one of Dr. Hides’ patients. Can we come in for a few minutes? Like you said, it’s fricking cold out here.”
“Yeah, sure, I guess. Sorry about the mess. I haven’t exactly felt like cleaning up.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said as I found my way through the maze of cat toys and empty Kleenex boxes to the sofa. I was going to have to boil my body in rubbing alcohol to get rid of all the germs. “How long have you worked for Dr. Hides?”
“A little more than two years. I was sent over from a temp agency when his old secretary left on maternity. She decided not to come back, so I got the job. It pays okay, and I never have to work weekends. What’s all this about? Is Dr. Hides in trouble?”
“Can you tell us about Fiona Murphy? Describe her to us. Give us your impressions.” Jack said.
“Sure I can. Bitch from hell,” she said. “She was so hoity-toity I figured she was giving the Doc lessons. He has that same blue blood attitude that she does.”
I don’t think I concealed the surprise on my face fast enough. Fiona sure did wear a lot of hats.
“Are you sure?” Jack asked. “Fiona was a small woman, slender, with shoulder-length blonde hair and blue eyes. About thirty years old?”
“Yeah, that’s her. Dressed real fancy, and never bothered to say two words to me, other than to ask for hot tea with lemon and one lump of sugar like I was the damned maid. I wasn’t the one who had need of a therapist, now, was I?”
“Did you ever notice any bruises on Mrs. Murphy?” I asked.
Janette didn’t answer right away, but her eyes got big and she kept licking her lips. “No, I never saw any,” she finally stammered out. “Are you going to tell me what this is about?”
“Mrs. Murphy was murdered sometime Thursday evening,” Jack said. “You say you didn’t see the bruises, Janette, but you knew about them didn’t you?”
She averted her eyes and didn’t keep eye contact. “I could lose my job if he found out,” she whispered.
“We’ll keep it to ourselves for right now,” he said. “Did you look at Fiona’s case files?”
“It’s like I couldn’t help it,” she said as she started to cry. “She was such a hateful woman. I wanted to know something about her just so I could feel like I had the upper hand, even when she was snubbing her nose at me.”
“Where’d she get the bruises, Janette?” I asked.
“I don’t know who, not exactly,” she said. “I only was able to read one of the yearly summary pages the doctor keeps at the front of the file. I didn’t want to get caught. But he wrote in his notes that she had a sexual addiction. You know,” Janette pleaded with her eyes, hoping we could read her mind so she wouldn’t have to say the word out loud. “She was a sadist,” she whispered and then promptly turned bright red to match the color of her nose. “And I don’t think Dr. Hides really cared about curing her of the addiction if you know what I mean. Their sessions consistently ran over the hour mark, and I was given explicit instructions to never interrupt, even if there was another patient waiting. Sometimes she’d even pick him up for lunch after his eleven o’clock appointment was finished.”
“What kind of car was she driving?” I asked.
“A white Lexus. It
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