cynic.”
“Young but smart. You know that everything I just said is right.”
“Yes, I do.” Casey took out her file and opened it to review her own notes and take new ones. “Let’s go over each of our lists. I’m curious to see how many matches we have.” She glanced up. “Oh, and by the way, I’m scheduling a lunch with Janet Moss. She’s been the hospital administrator’s assistant for years. She’s the go-to person, in my opinion—the information hub of the hospital.”
“Yeah, she wields a fair amount of power.” Ryan was scanning his notes again. “She moved up the ranks quickly, and kept in close contact with everyone she worked with along the way. They’re all still chummy with her, if you read her personal emails. Which, of course, I did. I’ll know more after I gain access to the hospital computer system. As a side note, Ronald Lexington relied heavily upon her.”
“Any sign of a romantic link?”
“None that I’ve seen yet. Then again, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack, especially if they were discreet. My male radar says that Lexington slept with a quarter of the female hospital staff and hit on the rest.” Ryan saw Casey’s expression and modified his statement. “Okay, I’m exaggerating. But when people call him a player, they’re not lying. I can’t wait to read his email exchanges.”
“Till then, let’s get started compiling our lists.” Casey looked up. “Yoda, I need a whiteboard, with half a dozen headings and lots of space underneath each of them.”
“Done, Casey.” The virtual whiteboard appeared on the long wall behind Casey.
It suddenly occurred to her that Patrick had been unusually quiet during this meeting.
“Patrick?” A questioning look. “Anything to share before we start our analysis?”
Patrick was tapping his pen on the table. “I’m working on a different lead. Hero and I took a walk around Madeline’s apartment building while you were at the ceremony. I brought the scent pads you made from Madeline’s scarf.”
He was referring to the special gauze pads Casey used, along with what Ryan called “her canine vacuum,” to make scent pads from the personal belongings of their clients. Sniffing out people or items those people had been in contact with was Hero’s specialty.
“Hero went straight to the obvious places,” Patrick continued. “The walkway to Madeline’s building. The front door. But he also came to a dead halt and started barking near a low window in back of the building. I let him do his thing. He unearthed a file folder, an empty one, unfortunately. But it was labeled Conrad, Personal.
“Really.” Claire leaned forward. “I’d like to hold that folder, if it’s okay with you. I might pick up on something.”
“After I dust it for prints,” Patrick replied. “I used gloves to retrieve it, and I put it in a Ziploc.” A corner of his mouth lifted. “Old habits die hard. I guess I’ll always be a dinosaur FBI agent.”
“You’re no dinosaur,” Marc assured him. “You’re just damned thorough. That’s an asset.” A pensive pause. “What did the intruder hope to find in that file folder?”
“And did he get what he was looking for?” Ryan asked. “The file folder was empty. So the perp obviously took the contents. Did those contents contain something that would make getting rid of Madeline necessary? Did he think she’d read something that made her a threat?”
“Or were the contents a waste of time, and he thinks there’s something more Madeline has or knows?” Marc frowned. “Why do I feel as if we’re going around in circles?”
“Maybe because we are.” Casey tapped her pen in irritation. “Let’s make our whiteboard lists—suspects’ names, jobs and possible motives. We’ll move on from there.”
* * *
Casey couldn’t sleep.
She tossed and turned until two in the morning and then finally gave up, reaching over to turn on her lamp.
Hero, who had been snoozing
“Young but smart. You know that everything I just said is right.”
“Yes, I do.” Casey took out her file and opened it to review her own notes and take new ones. “Let’s go over each of our lists. I’m curious to see how many matches we have.” She glanced up. “Oh, and by the way, I’m scheduling a lunch with Janet Moss. She’s been the hospital administrator’s assistant for years. She’s the go-to person, in my opinion—the information hub of the hospital.”
“Yeah, she wields a fair amount of power.” Ryan was scanning his notes again. “She moved up the ranks quickly, and kept in close contact with everyone she worked with along the way. They’re all still chummy with her, if you read her personal emails. Which, of course, I did. I’ll know more after I gain access to the hospital computer system. As a side note, Ronald Lexington relied heavily upon her.”
“Any sign of a romantic link?”
“None that I’ve seen yet. Then again, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack, especially if they were discreet. My male radar says that Lexington slept with a quarter of the female hospital staff and hit on the rest.” Ryan saw Casey’s expression and modified his statement. “Okay, I’m exaggerating. But when people call him a player, they’re not lying. I can’t wait to read his email exchanges.”
“Till then, let’s get started compiling our lists.” Casey looked up. “Yoda, I need a whiteboard, with half a dozen headings and lots of space underneath each of them.”
“Done, Casey.” The virtual whiteboard appeared on the long wall behind Casey.
It suddenly occurred to her that Patrick had been unusually quiet during this meeting.
“Patrick?” A questioning look. “Anything to share before we start our analysis?”
Patrick was tapping his pen on the table. “I’m working on a different lead. Hero and I took a walk around Madeline’s apartment building while you were at the ceremony. I brought the scent pads you made from Madeline’s scarf.”
He was referring to the special gauze pads Casey used, along with what Ryan called “her canine vacuum,” to make scent pads from the personal belongings of their clients. Sniffing out people or items those people had been in contact with was Hero’s specialty.
“Hero went straight to the obvious places,” Patrick continued. “The walkway to Madeline’s building. The front door. But he also came to a dead halt and started barking near a low window in back of the building. I let him do his thing. He unearthed a file folder, an empty one, unfortunately. But it was labeled Conrad, Personal.
“Really.” Claire leaned forward. “I’d like to hold that folder, if it’s okay with you. I might pick up on something.”
“After I dust it for prints,” Patrick replied. “I used gloves to retrieve it, and I put it in a Ziploc.” A corner of his mouth lifted. “Old habits die hard. I guess I’ll always be a dinosaur FBI agent.”
“You’re no dinosaur,” Marc assured him. “You’re just damned thorough. That’s an asset.” A pensive pause. “What did the intruder hope to find in that file folder?”
“And did he get what he was looking for?” Ryan asked. “The file folder was empty. So the perp obviously took the contents. Did those contents contain something that would make getting rid of Madeline necessary? Did he think she’d read something that made her a threat?”
“Or were the contents a waste of time, and he thinks there’s something more Madeline has or knows?” Marc frowned. “Why do I feel as if we’re going around in circles?”
“Maybe because we are.” Casey tapped her pen in irritation. “Let’s make our whiteboard lists—suspects’ names, jobs and possible motives. We’ll move on from there.”
* * *
Casey couldn’t sleep.
She tossed and turned until two in the morning and then finally gave up, reaching over to turn on her lamp.
Hero, who had been snoozing
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