Practicing Murder

by Unger, Erin;

  His hands itched to touch her again even though they had kind of an understanding. It wouldn’t do to get her on the wrong side so soon. “Please let it be something that’ll help us.” He took a hard look. “I don’t know what it is, do you?”

  She ran to the kitchen and came back with a piece of paper. “I’ll copy it down. I bet there’s some way to do a logo search.”

  Joze waited for her to finish, the whole time bouncing his knee up and down. He was dying to see what else was on the drive. “What’s in the other two folders?”

  They scanned through them. Maddie stopped on one of them. “Look. A list of times.”

  “Hmm. But no reference as to what they refer to.”

  They moved on to the next document. Several addresses and pictures of the places filled a few pages. “Your aunt did some real surveillance. And these aren’t the same places she printed in the journal. One’s even in Massachusetts.”

  Maddie scratched her cheek. “She threw herself into whatever she believed in.”

  He took over the computer on the last folder. When he clicked it, he waited for it to load. A photo of RoRo and some doctor in a white coat jumped out at them. RoRo’s head covered most of the guy’s face, but he had the same brown hair as the first photo. Joze did a fist pump in the air. Oh yeah. They were so close to finding this guy he could almost taste it. “There’s your proof. She got a picture of them together. And I bet that’s why he trashed the place. He knows it exists.”

  He couldn’t help himself. Joze got up and did a little dance. “And a doctor of all people. I wonder if he was selling illegal prescriptions to RoRo’s gang. That’s why I didn’t want you to deal with him. See? If he knew what you were really after, who knows what he’d have done to you.” He took a closer look. “I think I see a slip of paper passing between them.”

  Maddie blew out her cheeks. “The police should be brought into this. I’m calling Tuttle.”

  His gaze moved from her to the computer. “But…they won’t see the significance. There are no drugs or anything shown in the picture. What can they do?”

  She stopped. “Right. But what about at least telling them someone stole the journal?”

  “We should.” When he sat back down, Joze leaned against her. “We can check out those addresses.”

  Maddie didn’t jerk away as he’d anticipated. Good. Things might swing in his favor. She wrote them down, took out the drive, and then hopped up. “I’m already gone.”

  They used the GPS on her phone to find the first one. True to the picture, the building was in a little better neighborhood. Joze clamped a hand on her arm. “Don’t even think about getting out here. I’ll go knock on the door and ask the questions.”

  For once she didn’t fight him. He took cautious steps to the door and knocked. After another attempt and no one answering, he returned to the car.

  She made as if to get out. “You could’ve knocked again.”

  “They aren’t answering either way. They probably think I’m a cop.”

  Maddie sat back down. “Fine. But we’ll have to come back later.”

  They headed to the second address. The photo had shown a brick building. When he pulled in, Joze read the sign. “The Reinhold Group. Looks like another doctor’s office, don’t you think?”

  She agreed and got out. “Why in the world wouldn’t Aunt Lonna give us some names?”

  He leaned against the car beside her. “I guess she might not have known his real name.” He scoped the building again. “It’s worth seeing if any of the doctors’ names start with a ‘K’.”

  They entered the building, not quite as posh as the first one and not quite as clean. They stopped at the receptionist’s desk in the hall. Joze tried not to breathe in the odor of human waste. Was a pipe broken somewhere? Formica counters instead of stone ones encircled her. A woman in her mid-fifties, her roots showing gray, greeted them. He took the lead. “Ma’am, do you have a list of the doctors in this office?”

  She smiled up at him and drew out a pamphlet. “Here you go.” Spitting out a bunch of names, she pointed as she talked. “But skip this one. He’s no longer with us.” She glanced down at the paper again. “Oh, and neither is this one or this one.”

  She said the names so fast he missed half of them.

  Maddie leaned into his arm to see the pamphlet. Oh, how he craved her closeness. “Thank you.”

  The receptionist returned to typing something on her computer after giving them another dazzling smile. He sent a praise to the heavens. Pictures accompanied all the doctor’s names and fields of expertise.

  Maddie tittered. “I can’t believe our luck.”

  “Not luck.”

  “Whatever.”

  How could she not see the divine intervention in all the things that’d happened? They moved out of earshot of the secretary.

  Joze’s finger traced down the page. First page, no ‘K’. The same for the second and third. He flipped it to the back and stopped. “Look. Dr. Kilanti Bobritti.”

  They both looked hard at it. Maddie shook her head. “No. He’s Indian. The guy in our photo has medium-brown hair.”

  “And he’s older,” Joze interjected. He dropped his hand to his side in frustration. What now? “You think there could be a doctor or two who are new or who were here too brief a time to get added to the list?”

  She shrugged. “Very possible.”

  “Back to the receptionist.” They returned to the counter. “Ma’am, could you tell us if there are any new doctors here?”

  The woman narrowed her eyes.

  Quick, come up with a reason. Without lying. “We heard about someone in this office, and I’d recognize the name if I heard it.”

  It took a minute to respond. “Could it be Dr. Laura Brick?” He shook his head. “OK, Dr. Paul Sherburg? Those are the only two new ones.”

  “No. Not that one either. It’s a male. Medium brown hair. How about any doctors no longer with the practice? Maybe they weren’t here long enough to get the photo done.”

  She returned to her computer and scanned it.

  Maddie elbowed him and smiled.

  “There was a Dr. Keith Adcock, but he’s been gone for months.”

  Joze wanted to spike a pretend football. Outstanding. They had a name...perhaps. He spelled out the name to make sure they had it right. She agreed. “No others?”

  “Not that come to mind.”

  They thanked her and hurried to the car. Maddie hurdled into him. “I’m leaning toward trusting God after all this. Wow.”

  He almost fell over. Miracle number three today. God was good. But the doctor could be a false lead. He didn’t want to break the news that it might not be the man they were looking for.

  Joze had an idea. “Put Keith Adcock into a search engine.”

  Maddie typed in the name and the buffer signaled the phone was working to retrieve the information. A different address came up for yet another office. Joze started the engine. “This guy knows how to move. Let’s try that one too.”

  32

  The fragrance of hot asphalt and exhaust filtered through Maddie’s window as Joze zoomed to West Hartford, and her stomach dropped with every mile that went by. This next doctors’ office had to be the one. Dr. Keith Adcock was the best lead they had so far. But if it was him, they were stepping into his territory. “I don’t know about this, Joze. I’ve got a bad feeling.”

  He sped through a yellow light. “We’ll be careful.”

  She balled her fists together and tried to push away the tension growing in her shoulders. The mall came into view. Shoppers came and went with bags in their hands. Traffic picked up. They took a left and then another left. The New Britain Hospital towered to her right until they passed it. Two blocks later, they drove into a full parking lot.

  Joze had trouble finding a space. It must be prime time when all the kids got out of school. Moms and tots strolled to the buildings. Maddie didn’t get out as fast this time. She waited until Joze
finally came around and opened her door. “Which building is it?”

  He held out a warm hand and helped her out. Scanning the numbers, he checked each building and then pointed to one on the left.

  She was being ridiculous. Maddie shook off the apprehension and linked her arm in Joze’s. He gave her a funny look, but she ignored it and moved forward.

  Keith Adcock. Stalker a la carte. And she was headed straight for him.

  The sun cut into her vision, and she raised a hand to block it. As they entered, a couple of senior citizens held the door for them. Maddie took in the floor-to-ceiling glass walls that separated offices on each side from the hallway.

  Joze pulled her to a directory on the wall. There he was. Dr. Adcock. Second floor. In an office with a bunch of other doctors.

  She looked a minute too long. “What do we do if he sees us?” Her throat was so dry her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth. “I mean—”

  Joze guided her to the corner and put both hands on her arms. She tried to keep her focus on him and not what could happen. “Stay right at my side. I’ll come up with something if he shows, OK?”

  Why had she responded that way? Since when did she allow him to be so close? And to like it so much? She squirmed. They were moving too fast and she wasn’t ready for it. First, they needed to rebuild trust if she was even going to think about letting him remain in her life. Maddie put a few more inches between them.

  He didn’t seem to notice her pull away as he focused on the steps in front of them. They took the stairs up to the second landing. “Wait.”

  Joze looked through the glass window in the door. “Just a long hallway. Come on.”

  Where was the tough woman in her now? Maddie managed to bolster herself some. She tilted her chin high and blew out a slow breath. “I’m fine.”

  He raised an eyebrow and guided her into the hall. People milled around from one door to another as Joze led her around the corner and entered the main hall. Once again floor-to-ceiling glass announced the entrances to each office. And then they were standing in front of the General Surgeon’s doorway. Her eyes darted around.

  Joze went straight to the receptionist inside. “Hello, is Dr. Adcock here today?”

  The woman looked over the top of bright red reading glasses. “Do you have an appointment?”

  “No.”

  She tapped the papers in her hand to straighten them. “He doesn’t see walk-ins. You have to have an appointment.”

  Maddie checked the small counter that separated them from the reception desk. A few business cards sat in a clear holder. Must be all the associates. She pulled out Dr. Adcock’s card.

  Joze leaned toward the prim, middle-aged woman. “I’m looking for some information on him.”

  She pursed her lips. “What kind?”

  “How long he’s been here, how many years he’s been a doctor. That sort of thing.”

  Her cold gaze never left him as she reached for a pamphlet. “Here’s all you need to know about him.”

  He took it, and waved a thank you to her, and then guided Maddie over to the waiting area. At the furthest chairs, they sat facing away from the door and the receptionist. He opened it and held it between them. “Says he’s been a doctor for twenty years. Hmm. Are we assuming your aunt and he hooked up because of the class reunion? That would make them the same age.”

  “Or within a year either way.”

  He harrumphed. “Must have finished school early by my calculations.”

  “I guess it’s possible.” They continued to read the sheet. “It doesn’t say anything about all those other offices where he worked. Do you remember if they were the same type of doctor?”

  It took him a second to respond. He flipped the paper over. “I’m not sure.”

  Maddie gasped at the picture on the back. “Look. He has the same brown hair.”

  “Did you see this guy at the funeral?”

  She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know.” What about all the other people who’d showed up at the dinner afterwards? Was he among the crowd? “It’s scary to think he was in my house and I can’t even remember seeing him.”

  “I doubt he came up and made a formal introduction. He probably kept to the outskirts of the party.”

  She nodded. “Let’s get out of here. I think we got what we came for.”

  Joze ushered her to the door.

  If it wasn’t for the returning doom, Maddie would have hung back to ask the receptionist a few more questions, but she couldn’t get out of there fast enough.

  They hurried down the hall. A balding man in a white coat passed them, the sharp hint of antiseptic following him.

  Maddie held her head up. Adcock wasn’t bald. No worries. She told herself over and over to calm down. They were almost to the hall leading to the stairs again.

  Joze reached for her hand and she held on tight.

  People followed them down the hall. Now if they could meld into the crowd, it’d be grand.

  Maddie missed the ‘wet floor’ sign. One minute she was walking at a fast clip, and the next, her feet went out from under her. She reached for the wall, catching the side of her palm on the wainscoting and slitting her hand wide open. Searing pain shot through her hand. “Ow.”

  Joze tried to break her fall. She grasped his hand, smearing blood on his shirt with her other hand. Maddie stared at the red stain.

  Several people gasped and stopped in mid-stride. One man missing his two front teeth tried to help Joze lift her off the ground. “Ma’am? Are you all right?”

  “Uh, I think…so. We’ve got it. Thanks.”

  The man didn’t look so sure as he moved away from them.

  A couple other people stopped to ask if she was OK. She assured them she didn’t need any other help. The sharp pain in her hand radiated up her arm.

  Joze dropped to one knee and checked the wound, his gentle movements protecting her from further pain. Then his gaze shot over her left shoulder.

  Maddie stiffened. “What is it?”

  “Our guy is headed this way.”

  No way. Her body throttled into pure panic. She squashed herself against the wall as much as she could and whispered, “Let’s get out of here. Now.”

  He helped her to her feet and put a hand around her waist. All the offices were open for anyone to see in the hall. Where could they go?

  She looked right and left. A small hall led to the elevators. If Dr. Adcock was going that way, they’d be trapped.

  Joze pushed her through a door several yards away. Maddie tried to hold her breath and not cry out from the pain of knocking the injured hand on the doorframe.

  He flipped the light on and locked the door. They were in a single bathroom.

  “The family toilet?” She’d have laughed any other time. Bathrooms seemed to be their place of revelation lately.

  “We’re locked in and safe. And I can at least clean your hand in here.”

  True. Maddie looked down. A few drops of blood were at her feet on the tiny octagon tiles. Then she looked at his shirt and winced. “Sorry about your shirt.”

  Joze checked the spot. “I can get it out. Trust me, I’ve had worse on me and you really don’t want to know about it.”

  Moving to the sink, Maddie took a few deep breaths. The sharp pain turned to stinging. “I believe you.”

  Joze turned the water on and helped her wash out the cut. “It might need stitches.”

  “No. I think it’s fine.” She eyed the door. The walls must be thick because she couldn’t hear anything on the other side. Was Doc Adcock outside the door? Had he seen them? Her stomach dropped out like a load of rocks had been dumped into it.

  “Well, I have Dermabond in my pack if need be.” She frowned. “It’s a surgical glue to keep the wound closed.”

  “Oh.” Maddie returned her gaze to the door. “Did he see us?”

  Joze slowed the winding of his arm as he wrapped her hand in paper towels. “I…don’t…know.” He scrunched his fa
ce. “Maybe?”

  When he finished, he was able to tie the paper together. “That should hold for now. I have bandages in my car.”

  They both went to the door to listen. Maddie put her ear to the pine-colored wood and gently put her hand to her side. “How can we tell if he’s there? I can’t hear anything.”

  “I’ll take a look.” He opened the door a crack and then closed it. “I don’t see anyone.”

  She moved close again. “But what if—”

  A knock resounded through the little space and made her ears ring. Maddie jumped back and covered her mouth as a yelp escaped.

  Joze lowered his voice like a lumberjack. “Someone’s in here.”

  Her hands shook. Had he found them?

  As if on an unconscious level, Joze got in front of her, his hand splayed on each side.

  It was quiet again.

  They waited.

  One minute. Two. Three.

  He relaxed his stance. “I need to take another look. Get ready to move out of here if I give the signal.”

  Her feet seemed glued to the spot. All she could do was nod.

  He opened the door one inch. Then a little more. Then reached for her and took her good hand and dashed out.

  So much for a signal. They stepped into a group of senior citizens a few doors down. They moved at a crawl to the elevators. Maddie tried to make herself as short as she could.

  When the doors dinged opened, Joze pulled her to the back of the elevator and wrapped his arms around her. It shielded her from all view. One guy whistled in their direction and grinned. Maddie could see only his sparkling eyes over Joze’s shoulder. It took her a second to realize the elevator doors had closed and it began to descend. And it took a second longer to notice Joze’s mouth nuzzling her neck. She widened her eyes. “Hey.”

  “Huh?” He stopped but didn’t move away.

  The doors dinged again and the crowd surged out. Joze strode to the exit and checked the hall to the main level. “Come on. I don’t see him.”

  Maddie’s pulse raced through her veins as they bolted to the car. She never wanted to be that close to the stalker again. “We’re calling the police.”