First Do No Evil: Blood Secrets, Book 1 (10 page)

“Promise me one thing, and then I’ll leave.”

“Pinky swear?” She managed a weak smile.

“I’m a man of science. I don’t pinky swear. That would be humiliating.”

“You did when we were kids. You owe me, Garth.”

He pulled her off the couch and gave her a bear hug. “Then I pinky swear I’ll leave just as soon as you promise me you’ll stay away from Benson. He’s got you so worked up you’ve picked your nails to bloody stubs. If you’re worried about the robbery, that you might still be in danger—”

“I’m worried
you
might still be in danger.”

“Let me finish, Sky. If you’re worried, I’ll look into things myself. I’ll weigh every fact, and I’ll even go to bat to have the police reopen the case if I think an objective assay of the facts warrants it. All I ask is that you get some rest, eat a few meals, and stay away from renegade detectives.”

Garth’s words were floating around in the air, and before she could catch them all and arrange them in her mind, she was startled by a knock on the door.

Her vision tunneled, and then went black. As her knees buckled, she reached her arm out blindly for support and Garth’s strong hands found her and steadied her.

“I’ve got you, Sis. Just take it easy. I only put one Valium in your cup, but you’re as loopy as if I’d put ten. Did you really eat when you were with Benson?”

Ill-advised to tell lies to Garth. He saw through them so easily. “Guess I just stood up too fast. I will eat something, though, before I go to bed.”

The knock sounded again. With Garth hovering beside her, she answered the door, and when she saw who it was, the hairs on the back of her neck lifted. Not since high school had this man stood waiting on her doorstep. And one thing was certain, Deputy Sheriff Scott Humphries hadn’t come here tonight to escort her to the homecoming dance.

Porch light sifted over Scotty’s face, illuminating his boyish features and respectful eyes. Removing his hat, he raked his fingers through sculpted mounds of curly caramel hair. “Sorry about the hat head.” He nodded a greeting. “Sky, Garth. And sorry to disturb you.”

While he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, Sky pictured him as the handsome young captain of the football team, suited up in a crushed velvet tux, shyly offering her a giant chrysanthemum corsage. Scotty’s eyes roamed the porch, looking everywhere but at Sky. She knew he wouldn’t have come here at this hour with good news, but at the same time, she didn’t see how things could possibly get worse than they already were. Her hand went to her throat, where a wash of nostalgia mingled with dread. “Come inside, Scotty. I’ll make a pot of coffee.”

Studying his boots, he shook his head. “Can’t. I’m past due at home as it is. Corrine’s gonna read me the riot act for sure.”

“This is official business, I presume,” Garth said.

“I’m afraid so. Like I said, I’m sorry about the late hour. I stopped by the clinic this afternoon, Sky, but when I saw that waiting room, I knew you were swamped. Thought maybe this whole thing might be easier on you if I caught you at home.” Rocking back on his heels, he finally met her eyes. “That’s real good work you do in that clinic, Sky. Real good.”

“Thanks.” Her cheeks had gone numb, but thankfully, the frigid air was clearing her fuzzy head. Trying not to catastrophize, she waited for Scotty to deliver his news. His mouth puckered, and she could see he was trying to work up his nerve. Her mind drifted to the first time he’d asked her for her phone number.

“My sister’s tired. I think you’d better get on with it.” Garth. Ever the protector.

“Sure. Sure.” Fumbling in his coat pocket, Scotty pulled out a legal sized envelope.

Garth threw a comforting arm around her shoulder.

Scotty cleared his throat and scuffed his boots together. “Sorry to do this to you, Sky, but I got my job to do.” He slapped the envelope into her hand. “I’ll be on my way now. You’ve been served.”

Chapter Six

Life is just a bunch of little things
. Sky couldn’t help recalling Edmond’s roll-with-it motto as her brain buzzed in time to the flicker of an overhead light whose repair could no longer be postponed. She yanked out her iPhone and started a list:
Replace fluorescent bulb above front desk. Change air filters. Paint patient bathrooms.
Concealing the screen with her hand, she added a wry twist that would’ve made Edmond proud:
Save clinic from malpractice suit. Find killer(s) and bring them to justice.
She swabbed a cotton tongue over her teeth.
Thank Garth for Valium hangover.

Then she shrugged. Garth thought he knew what was in everyone’s best interests, but most especially hers. She ought to have been furious with him, but she wasn’t. A metallic taste buttoned the coat on her tongue. Her pulses raced. Her palms were damp. Sure signs that her body was on full alert. And yet she felt nothing. Not a scintilla of emotion. Last night Scotty had slapped her with papers accusing Edmond and this clinic of malpractice. Ever since, she’d been walking around numb. Scotty may as well have served her a Lidocaine cocktail. And that on top of Garth’s dose of Valium…

This disconnect between Sky’s body and her brain, at least her feeling brain, didn’t alarm her. On the contrary, she welcomed it, uncaring whether it was shock or denial or some other psychological disorder. She couldn’t afford to allow her emotions to disable her at a time like this. There was too much to be done.

A smile pasted firmly in place, she swung open the door to the waiting room and forged onward. Mr. Petersen looked up, and she pulled back her shoulders and waved, nodded to his granddaughter who sat at his side, as always, lovingly and dutifully helping him with his crossword.

The clinic was in dire financial straits. Had been for a long time. If this malpractice case made it into the courtroom, and she lost, if the jury awarded high damages to the families, she might be forced to close her doors. And if the clinic closed, most of her patients would be left without any health care at all.

She passed Mrs. Graziella cradling a newborn twin in either arm. Sky’s dry eyes stung, and she rubbed them with closed fists. The obvious solution was to settle the case out of court, that way she could keep the damages within the limits of her malpractice coverage. A settlement would mean she wouldn’t have to pay a penny out of her own purse…and yet…she simply couldn’t swallow the idea of conceding malpractice on Edmond’s part. Not until she knew for certain what had caused the deaths of the three unfortunate women named in the lawsuit.

Edmond had been as meticulous in his practice of medicine as in every other aspect of his life. He’d spent a lifetime earning his good name, and now that he wasn’t here to defend it, the duty fell to her. And Edmond’s reputation aside, the families of the patients deserved the truth. A quick settlement might provide them with cash, but money was a cold substitute for knowing what had really happened to their loved ones.

Torpedoing ahead, she passed the exam rooms and finally hit her target, the laboratory area where piles of paperwork awaited. With a sigh, she opened a folder containing the morning’s messages, but before she could pick up the phone to return Mrs. Salazar’s call a hand clapped her on the shoulder. Startled, she dropped the message and turned to find her brother frowning at her. Self-consciously, she made a neat stack of the files that had been slung across her work counter.

Garth rarely visited her here, and his presence triggered an awkward awareness of things she normally tuned out. The noisy layer of crying and complaining in the background. The pungent odor of sweat and dirty diapers mingling with jasmine scented AirWick. She pulled a tissue from her pocket, touched it to the tip of her nose before slam-dunking it into the trash. If the dollar store had a perfume counter, it would smell much like her clinic.

No. Garth wouldn’t have come here if it weren’t on a matter of importance, and she couldn’t blame him. Not everyone thrived on the rich sounds and smells of humanity. “Don’t look so worried. I’m fine…and I’m not mad about last night.” To prove the latter point, she gave him a quick hug and allowed him to steer her down the hall and into her office. “What’s up?” she asked, closing the door behind them for added privacy.

“Nothing. I just thought I’d stop by. Maybe take you to lunch.” Garth adjusted his silk tie.

She gave an involuntary snort.

“What was that for?”

“You don’t exactly drop by often. As I recall, the last time you visited me in the clinic was almost a year ago. I believe your office was being fumigated, and you had nowhere else to roost. So please don’t leave me to my imagination any longer. Why are you really here?”

“Can’t a guy come by to see his sister without an ulterior motive?”

“A guy can. But he usually doesn’t.”

He kissed his fingertips and then used them to transfer the kiss to her cheek. “Okay, I do have something important on my mind, or rather someone.
You
. I wanted to see how you’re feeling today, make sure you’re not too overwhelmed, what with everything that’s been dropped on you in the last twenty-four hours. And it occurred to me that you might be missing Edmond even more than usual today.”

Of course—today was Valentine’s Day. She’d completely forgotten, and Garth considered the holiday absurd, yet he had enough care for her feelings to worry how she’d handle the day. Her chest tightened. His small act of kindness touched her in a big way.

She did miss Edmond today, like every day. No special occasion required for that. Swiping a bit of moisture from her cheeks, she became aware of the beats of her forgotten heart. “I appreciate your concern, but like I said, I’m perfectly fine.”

Garth pinned her with knowing eyes. “Is that so?”

She looked away and then back again. Game over. There was no fooling her brother, and unfortunately, that meant there was no fooling herself any longer either. Buried feelings surfaced and tightened around her throat. Best acknowledge them before they choked the life out of her. On a hard sigh, she said, “Okay, I’m not fine. I’m scared to death about the robbery, and I’m worried sick about the lawsuit.”

“That’s what I figured. Let’s get out of here and grab some lunch, and then we can strategize. You’re not in this alone.”

Knowing she could count on Garth took a weight off. She truly did want his advice, but lunch was out. “Thanks, how about later tonight? I can’t take a lunch.”

His face reddened. “You mean you won’t. There’s absolutely no reason you can’t schedule a lunch break like a normal person. If you don’t start taking care of yourself, you’re going to wind up needing a doctor yourself.”

“I hardly think I’m putting my health at risk by skipping lunch. And with Edmond gone, I’m the only one—”

He held up one palm. “Okay, I get it. You’re set in your ways. Nothing I can do about that. I didn’t come here to argue with a brick wall. I came here to offer my services to a brick wall.”

To ease his worry, she faked a laugh. “Thanks. Um. I think. What kind of services exactly?”

“I was thinking if I handle the lawsuit for you, you could focus on taking care of your patients…and if I’m lucky, maybe you might even focus a little on taking care of
you
. I could contact your lawyer, handle all the details, make sure the settlement is fair and has a gag clause. You won’t have to worry about a thing except signing the final documents.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’d read the papers of course, make sure everything was to your liking.”

“No, I meant…you’re assuming I want to settle.” Despite the fact that she’d been considering the same option, Garth’s certainty surprised her. A cold draught of apprehension slid down her esophagus. “Do you know something about these cases that I don’t? Did Edmond mention something to you about these women…before he died?”

“Now you’re being paranoid. Edmond hadn’t any reason to discuss his cases with me. I merely deduced that with three plaintiffs, you wouldn’t want to risk a jury award. If the amount exceeds your malpractice limits, you could wind up bankrupt. Sky, you could lose the clinic.”

“I won’t lose the clinic.”

“I certainly hope not. But don’t you see? That’s what you’re risking,
if
you go forward with this case.”

She rubbed slow circles into her temples with her index fingers. Garth was right. At least, he wasn’t wrong. But how could she offer a settlement without knowing the facts? Edmond was a good doctor. So careful. So meticulous in his attention to every detail of patient care. Certainly, Edmond was human, and he might’ve made a mistake, but malpractice… She doubted it. “I need to find out the facts before I decide whether or not to settle.”

“I realize this sounds cynical, but I don’t think the facts are important.”

Hard to believe a statement like that had just come out of her brother’s mouth. Opinions, feelings, those held little weight with Garth. Normally, he was all about the facts. “The facts are not important,” she repeated incredulously.

“Not really.”

“You’re right, that does sound cynical. Maybe you don’t care about finding out the truth, but the families of Edmond’s patients need to know what happened.
I
need to know what happened. The facts are
very
important.”

“Not as important as making sure your clinic stays open.”

Now he was wrong. Dead wrong. If mistakes were being made in the clinic, more lives could be in jeopardy. “The families deserve to know the truth. And whatever that is, I’m prepared to deal with it. But frankly, I believe the facts will exonerate Edmond and the clinic. Not damn us. So thank you kindly for your offer, but I think I’ll handle this myself.”