by L. T. Ryan
“I don’t think I like your attitude.” Billy’s eyes narrowed as he looked up at Bear.
McKinnon huffed. “I don’t really care what you think, Security Officer Stewart. That’s a warrant. You’re obligated by law to take us to Dr. Sing’s office. If you don’t, I’ll have you arrested. You might lose this job, too.” She leaned closer. “And we’ll still get into her office. I’ll kick down the door and put it on your tab. How about that?”
Billy’s face turned beet red, but Bear couldn’t tell if it was from anger or embarrassment. Either way, he kept his mouth shut as he grabbed a keyring off the wall and led them up to the office. When he unlocked it, McKinnon snatched the warrant from his hand, gestured for Bear to enter the room, then slammed the door in Billy’s face.
“Prick,” McKinnon said under her breath.
“It’s always the short ones,” Bear said.
“Height or length?” McKinnon laughed when Bear’s mouth dropped open.
“Sheriff, you do have a sense of humor hidden in there.”
“Must mean I like you.”
“I’m flattered,” he deadpanned. “Really, I am.”
McKinnon’s face dropped as she glanced around the room. “You see anything wrong?”
Bear looked for himself. The room felt small for a doctor’s office, and he wondered if Dr. Sing saw any patients in here or if she just used it for paperwork. What had probably been an organized office earlier in the day was now in mild disarray. A handful of filing cabinet drawers were hanging open, as was a drawer in the doctor’s desk. A cup of pens had been knocked over and abandoned.
“Looks like she left in a hurry,” he said.
McKinnon snapped on a pair of gloves and handed some to Bear. She walked over to the wall Mandy had described with the hidden compartment. When she laid a hand on the panel and pushed inward, the door slid open. She made a sound of approval followed by a discontented click of her tongue.
“What’s wrong?” Bear asked.
McKinnon stepped to the side. “Empty.”
Bear peeked inside. The compartment no longer held any of the shipping orders or journals Mandy had taken pictures of earlier. The only thing left inside was the switch to close the door. Bear cursed.
“She knew we were coming,” he said. “Dr. Sing wasn’t taking any chances. She either figured Mandy had found the compartment or was worried we would on our search.”
“She’s one step ahead of us right now, and I don’t like it.” McKinnon peered into a few of the open filing cabinets. “There are files missing here. Mandy said they were all full. Half of these are empty.”
Bear sat down at the desk and pressed the button to turn on the computer’s monitor. When it came to life, Bear cursed again. He read the dialog from the pop-up window. “Your system has been returned to factory settings.”
McKinnon looked at the computer over his shoulder. Her breath was hot against his neck and ear. “No way.”
Bear pulled open the desk’s drawers. He found sample medications and a bunch of rubber bands, but the journals Mandy had described here were missing. “What’s our next step?”
“Dr. Sing is scared.” McKinnon stood up straight. “She’s running. If we catch up to her, we might get her to confess once we tell her we’re more interested in whoever she’s working for.”
“Are we more interested?”
McKinnon scoffed. “Hell no. If that page in her journal is any sign of what the hell she’s been up to, she’s going to be far worse off than just losing her license.”
“Do you know where she lives?” Bear asked.
A smile crept onto McKinnon’s. “I do.”
28
Bear and McKinnon had debated waiting to get a warrant for Dr. Sing’s house. McKinnon didn’t think the judge would grant one, and they were low on time. If the doctor knew they were closing in on her, she’d do everything in her power to get out of dodge. They wanted to catch her before she could disappear.
“Whatever she was doing had to be big,” Bear said. “She had a career, a good job. A husband and kids, too, right? She either thought this was worth it, or she had to believe she’d never get caught.”
“Maybe both.” McKinnon took a corner sharp and hit the curb. “Either way, we have a chance of getting her to talk. If she’s this scared, she knows we’re close. She’ll want to save her own skin.”
“And she’ll be more prone to turn on whoever she’s working for.” Bear cracked his window and let the air ruffle his hair. They were going at least eighty. “Hey, maybe I can use my charming personality on her, too. I think Billy really took to me.”
“Oh, yeah.” McKinnon chuckled. “He’s your number one fan now.”
The conversation died as they got closer to Dr. Sing’s house. When they turned into the driveway, Bear whistled at the sight of the three-story Victorian and its well kempt garden featuring life-sized concrete lions perched on the front steps.
“The more she’s got to lose,” McKinnon said, “the more likely she’ll talk.”
They were cautious as they parked the car and approached the house. Bear wasn’t expecting a physical altercation, but he didn’t love the idea of being unarmed. He figured McKinnon would frown upon him carrying, even if he was licensed in New York. It’d be her badge for inviting him along if things went sideways.
McKinnon knocked on the door, and they both listened for sounds of activity. Dusk had fallen. The crickets were out in droves. Their sounds filled the cool night air. Goosebumps crawled along Bear’s skin with every gust of wind. Winter was approaching. In hindsight, Upstate New York might not have been the best place to settle down, though it looked like the universe had known that before he did. Was there any way he’d be able to stay after this was all over? Even if he wanted to?
After a minute, Bear circled the front of the house, trying his best not to tramp through the garden. When he peered through the front window into what looked like an office, his blood ran cold. Every gust of wind chilled him to the bone.
He took a moment to confirm what he was seeing. There was blood spatter and brain matter on the window. “Sheriff, we’ve got a body.”
McKinnon didn’t waste any time unholstering her gun. Bear joined her at the front door. The itch to have his own weapon in hand returned. The sheriff looked back at him like she knew what he was thinking. Her eyes were full of apologies, no solutions. He’d have to stay outside or go in unarmed.
She tried the door. The knob turned, the latch clicked, and it swung open on silent hinges. The house was quiet. All the lights were off. A prickle of anxiety slithered across the back of Bear’s neck. At least one person was inside, dead. Through the window, he couldn’t confirm the identity, but placing a bet on Dr. Sing felt like a safe gamble. The question was whether she was alone. Where was her family? Where was the killer?
McKinnon made her way through the foyer and into the next room. Dr. Sing’s office was filled with ornate mahogany furniture and surrounded by shelves filled with medical textbooks. It would’ve been beautiful if not for the doctor’s stiff body slumped over the desk. Her head was turned to the side. Her eyes wide with shock.
“Stay here,” McKinnon said. “I’m going to clear the house.”
Bear didn’t argue.
She made her way through the foyer and the next room, calling for backup over the radio. He waited to hear any shouts of surprise or gunshots. Everything remained dead silent. He turned back to the body.
Dr. Sing sat in her office chair, her head on her desk and her arms dangling by her side. As he made his way toward the window, he noticed a 9mm pistol on the ground and side-stepped to avoid it. At first glance, this looked like a textbook suicide.
But it didn’t sit right. Why not just run? She had enough money to leave. And what about her family? Maybe she didn’t want to leave them behind, but wasn’t killing herself worse? And why go to the trouble of clearing out your office if you were just going to come home and put a bullet in your
brain?
Something must’ve happened between then and now.
McKinnon returned to the room, holstering her weapon. “House is clear. The department is on its way.” She looked pale. “Three bodies upstairs. The husband and two boys. All point-blank range. No sign of a struggle.” She glanced at the body in the room. “Murder-suicide?”
“You think?” Bear didn’t hide the skepticism in his voice.
“No, but that’s what it looks like. You find anything?”
“Murder weapon.” He looked to the gun on the floor. “And look at her computer screen. It has the same message as the one in her office.”
“All the files erased.” She shook her head. “Subtlety is not a strong point here.”
“They didn’t have a lot of time to work.” Bear looked around the desk and noticed the trashcan was stuffed full. “Look at this. Shredded papers. If they’d have been smart, they would’ve taken everything with them.” He stepped over to the window and rapped his knuckles on the glass. “I think we’re being watched. They had to have been here when we arrived. Otherwise, why not make the scene look perfect?”
“They wanted it to look like a suicide.” McKinnon paced from door to desk, desk to window. “They want it to look like she was hiding something. Something she’d die for. I bet if we put those shredded pages together, they’ll point a finger at Dr. Sing. And only Dr. Sing.”
Bear shook his head. “Her entire family is dead. Are we supposed to believe a doctor would kill her family and then herself?”
McKinnon shrugged. “People do it all the time. And what do the neighbors say? ‘They were always so nice. I’m so shocked.’”
Bear had nothing to offer other than a shrug.
“If she was conducting illegal clinical trials, it wouldn’t come across as strange.” She pretended to read a newspaper headline. “Rogue Doctor Implicated in Human Experimentation, Kills Family, Then Self.”
Bear didn’t like how this sat with him. The evidence Mandy had gathered wouldn’t be enough to tie anything to HealTek. They still didn’t understand the full scope of what was happening in this town. The evidence was not enough to flush someone out.
McKinnon circled the room, observing the pristine bookshelves and checking corners for hidden evidence. Bear pulled out his phone and sent a check-in message to Mandy. She responded with an emoji rolling its eyes, which he took to mean she was bored out of her mind but safe. He sent back a bee emoji for the hell of it.
“Bear.” McKinnon’s voice was sharp. He looked up. She held a cell phone in her gloved hand. “Look at this.”
“That Dr. Sing’s?”
“Might be. Won’t be able to get in with a passcode, but if it’s new enough…” McKinnon walked over to the body and held the phone to the dead woman’s face. A screen full of apps appeared. “For once, technology is on our side.”
Bear decided not to bring up the fact that he had only recently learned phones could do that. He’d spent way too long on the run with simple burners. He missed the days of Motorola T720s. Greatest flip-phone ever made. He’d have to get used to this new world if he wanted to survive in it. Maybe he’d get Mandy to teach him a few things.
He leaned over McKinnon’s shoulder. “Anything good?”
She swiped a few times and went to the Messages app. Dr. Sing had recently spoken to her husband and one of her kids, as well as another doctor and her mother. But at the top of the list was a number without a name attached to it. McKinnon pressed on the message.
She read the message aloud. “Can’t do this anymore. I’m out. Find someone else.”
Bear read the next line, the one from the unknown number. “Sorry to hear that.” He stood up and glanced around the room. “Pretty sloppy, leaving the phone behind. Must’ve been in a hurry.”
“Look at the time stamp,” McKinnon said. “She sent that after they caught Mandy. She knew we were onto her.”
“The response came about an hour ago. When we were at her office. You know what that means?”
“What?”
“We’re making them nervous.”
29
McKinnon’s deputies showed up to catalog the crime scene and take the bodies away. She relegated Bear to the foyer. They hadn’t allowed him to look through the house by himself with everyone else there. It was for the best. He’d get in the way or raise suspicions if he found something.
He spent the time observing McKinnon in her element and came away impressed with how she commanded her team.
Most of them gave her begrudging respect, only two older guys resisting. She handled it well. She’d listen to their suggestions, and if they had a better way of doing something, she’d give them the green light. If she thought her way was better, she’d explain why and give them no room to argue. They didn’t always like it, but they got the job done.
Bear wondered how many of them had ties to HealTek. How many could be playing spy?
McKinnon was in a tough spot. She had to do her job as sheriff and open the murder investigation. However, it provided another avenue for HealTek to get a peek into how far they’d come. She didn’t give away any other information they’d gathered so far. It was all business as she took care of the Sing case.
After another hour—and another moody check-in from Mandy to which Bear followed up with a turtle emoji—McKinnon and Bear went back to her office, leaving a couple deputies to monitor the crime scene overnight. They’d have a full day of interviews in the morning. No one was looking forward to breaking the news to the town.
“Lots of people liked her.” McKinnon sat in her office chair. She cradled a whiskey in one hand. “She was a good doctor. Did a lot of volunteer work. Made an incredible pot roast. Seriously, I don’t know how she did it. Tried to get the recipe from her once and you’d think I had asked for her first born.” McKinnon looked like she regretted the words as soon as they came out of her mouth. Dr. Sing’s firstborn was dead, too. She took a healthy swig of her whiskey and bared her teeth as it burned her throat.
Bear took a sip from his glass. “She was either good at hiding who she really was, or she had some crazy blackmail against her.”
McKinnon drained her glass and got up to pour another. She twisted the lid off the decanter and paused. When she turned to Bear, her eyes were wide. “Seriously, what the hell is going on here?”
“I don’t know. It started with Katie. Maybe if we figure out what happened to her, we’ll blow this whole thing wide open.”
“But everyone who knew Katie when she was a kid is gone. Her parents, neighbors, Eileen. No one else has come forward.”
“They might be too scared.”
“I would be, too. But with the kids getting sick? Why won’t anyone offer information to put an end to this? Especially Laura Lynn’s father. He’s gotta know something.”
“Remember what Carl Donovan said?” Bear put his glass down on the table and leaned forward. “He said he never knew what HealTek was up to. They kept enough pressure on him to keep his mouth shut. Maybe Mr. Weinberger is hoping HealTek can reverse whatever is going on with his daughter if he remains quiet.”
“How does that help us?” McKinnon splashed whiskey into her glass and sat back down. “We have to find someone willing to talk. Someone who knows something that’ll help us. We need to figure out if this is one person or the whole board.”
Bear opened his mouth to make a sarcastic comment when he heard a sharp rap on the door. McKinnon sat up and threw Bear a puzzled look, but he just shrugged as if to say, it’s your office. She grunted and got up to answer.
“Sheriff McKinnon, it’s nice to see you again. My name is Henry Richter, I serve on the city council. We met last year at the Christmas party.”
“Of course.” McKinnon sounded relaxed but Bear noticed the tension rising in the room. “This is my friend, Riley Logan.”
Bear stood to shake the man’s hand. He was tall, probably in his late thirties, and fit. He looked comfortable in his three-piec
e suit, like he’d been wearing it since the day he was born. His jacket was draped over his arm, and he held a hat in the opposite hand. Bear didn’t bother being gentle when he introduced himself.
“Quite a grip.” Richter looked up at him with beady, snake-like eyes. His charm was disarming, but Bear saw its danger. Richter was coiled, ready to strike. “Do you mind if I come in?”
“We were actually just wrapping up,” Bear said. McKinnon shot him a look, but he ignored it. “It’s been a long day. Have you heard?”
“About Dr. Sing? Yes, of course. What a tragedy. My family has known hers for years.” Richter looked like he meant it, but there was something practiced about his words. Didn’t all politicians sound that way, though? “Still can’t believe she’d kill herself.”
“Neither can we,” Bear said with zero inflection.
McKinnon cleared her throat. “I don’t think you’re here for condolences, Mr. Richter. What can I do for you?”
“I’m here on behalf of the city council to ask that you close Dr. Sing’s case as quickly as possible. She was a pillar of this community, as you well know, and we’d hate to see an investigation into her death drawn out. The people of this town deserve to mourn quickly and quietly. Everyone will feel better once it’s been taken care of.”
Bear straightened and spread his shoulders. “That sounds an awful lot like sweeping it under the rug, councilman.”
“What I think Riley means,” McKinnon said, “is that we would love to wrap this up sooner than later. However, my number one priority for this case is justice.”
“Justice?” The man laughed and looked between them like he was missing something. “She killed herself. It’s not like you can hold her responsible for that. I think she’s already paid the price.”
“My job is to explore all the options,” McKinnon asserted.
Richter smiled and pulled out his phone. “Of course, of course. I understand.” He hit a few keys and looked up again. “I’ve been instructed to offer you monetary compensation for your work. We want to make sure you have enough resources to get the job done as soon as possible.”