by Unknown
“I felt like cooking, I hope you’re hungry,” Bella pulled the large topped popovers from the oven, setting them to cool on the rack before opening the fridge and putting two salads on the table.
“Starving,” he admitted. “Anything I can help with?”
“I think,” she glanced around with a satisfied smile. “We are set.”
There was laughter and teasing as they cleaned up the kitchen and put away the leftovers, another popover disappearing into Sam’s mouth as he put things into the cabinets. He wandered into the living area, a small very girl old desk sat facing the TV with Bella’s laptop on it. He found the remote and settled in with a contented sigh, talking with her about the news and the next few days.
“That bastard!” Were the first words out of Nyssa’s mouth when she set the video call to Bella first thing next morning. “I found the payment records. Three visits to the house, paid in full, all during Chloe’s interment.”
“Name?” Bella felt a tiny jolt of the old excitement at unraveling a mystery.
“Got it…Philip Clauston, out on Mercer Island, of course. Specializes in hypno therapy,” Nyssa shook her head. “Just when you think you’ve seen it all…”
“Problem is…they come up with new ways to be creepy,” Bella said. “We need to find out if he has a record of what he did to Chloe. And then find a way to undo it, Pem or Cat can help us with that, but we need those records.”
“He’s got lots of alarms…probably lots of rich people to protect,” Nyssa looked up at a voice just entering the shop. “Can you come down to the shop tomorrow? I think I have the glimmer of a perfect plan forming.”
“Name the time and I’ll be there.” Bella wrote it on her calendar and signed out. She knew Chloe and Simon were having a grand time in Europe. Last she heard they were diving off Greece. It would make a great wedding present to have this removed from her friend’s life.
She went in search of Sam. It’s kind of hard to hide a guy his size, she mused, and found him chatting with Jerry and Amy in the front hall.
“I have the list,” Jerry agreed with a nod. “It’ll all be taken care of.”
“Amy, can we talk a bit?” Bella walked with her outside, the cool air went unnoticed as they talked.
Jerry and Sam looked at one another, both shrugging. “No clue. She knows you’re relocating,” Sam offered, striding with him to the closed door. Both watched the women, Bella’s hands gesturing toward the large empty space to the south of the lodge.
“Whatever it is, Amy looks damn happy about it,” Jerry watched her hug Bella and come running back toward the lodge, barely stepping aside before the door went wide. “We’re off to the airport,” he said, their taxi pulling beneath the covered drive. “See you in a week or two.”
“Have a great flight,” Sam felt her hand gently pat his behind as she sauntered past, a laugh leaving his lips as he went off to find her. “So do I get to know the words that set your brain to perking where Chloe is concerned?” Sam poured himself some coffee and joined her at the table for a quiet breakfast. He hoped.
“You said I was hypnotic,” she recalled with a smile. “Then later on, you said it was important to know who was coming and going…when we were at the pool,” she filled in when he looked puzzled. “That is what we missed where Chloe was concerned. I don’t think Wetherly had the least bit of an intention of marrying her off four years ago. But I do think he was up to something, which reminds me, I will be out this afternoon. Going to Des Moines to meet with Nyssa. But you being a hot shot manager, you’ll be okay,” she kissed him but stopped. “You know…you really should give up that little room. We might have visiting people who could use it,” Bella winked at the broad grin crossing his features.
“Hmm…that definitely makes us a couple,” Sam commented with a slow grin.
“How about that…see you tonight.”
Chapter Thirty
Dee James looked from Bella to Nyssa and sunk into one of the chairs.
Dark lashes dropped closed for a long minute. Shapely legs stretched out in front of her, her head against the back of the chair.
“Chloe?”
“Safe in Greece with Simon,” Kate said quietly.
“Okay,” Dee sat upright and reached for the headset, tapping in the number on the paper and clearing her throat.
“Dr. Clauston’s office, this is Marsha, how may I help you?”
“Marsha, my name is Dee James and Dr. Pembrook Cameron recommended I give your office a call and speak with Margaret Lawrence. Is she available?” Dee’s voice was clear, positive and full of smile.
“Please hold a moment,” soothing music filled the void.
“This is Margaret,” came the soft voice through the line.
“Margaret, my name is Dee James. Dr. Cameron suggested I might contact you regarding an upgrade to your patient file software with regards to security and confidentiality,” Dee knew what she wanted to say, just how she wanted the hook to sink.
“Dr. Cameron recommends a lot of patients to Dr. Clauston,” Margaret said carefully.
“That’s what she told me. And given the caliber of the patients Dr. Clauston treats, I think she felt you would definitely appreciate a look at some new software that is not only a breeze to use, but at least five times more secure than what you might have,” Dee knew the attributes by heart. “Dr. Hofman and Dr. Craig both use it and offer a glowing review as to its ease of use,” she told the woman on the line, tossing out a few high profile client names.
Dee knew she’d dropped the second hook and waited patiently while the woman digested the information. She heard pages turning.
“We do have some high profile patients.”
“I have an amazing demo I could show you.” She offered a thumbs up sign to the trio watching her. “Absolutely no pressure, I assure you. I’d simply like the opportunity to show you what we’ve built for the medical community.”
“Could you come over tomorrow? About two? I have an hour free there and I think it’s well past time we were as secure as we could be,” Margaret had a pencil ready above her date book.
“Absolutely. Dee James with CPN Software. I look forward to meeting you, Margaret. Good bye.”
“Good job,” Bella complimented with a breath of relief.
“Now comes the fun part,” Phoebe rolled over in her chair, two small boxes in her hands. She opened one and handed it to Dee. “Put that on. Looks like any other ear piece out there. I personally think it’s much more stylish…”
Dee took the small silver ear piece, slid it over and into her ear. “Now we can talk.” Nyssa said softly from across the room. She laughed when Dee’s eyes went wide.
“This way, Nyssa will be with you all the time and we’ll be here,” Phoebe held out the item from the second box, holding it up to the center of her blouse. “Pin it right there.”
“What a cute little panda…and a beautiful stone,” Dee did as she was told, the secure pin easily piercing the fabric and latching together.
“You can’t see in…but we can see out,” Phoebe made a little adjustment on the keypad in her hands and grinned, turning to the side and nodding at the monitor. “Viola.”
“I’m wired…oh my god…” Dee laughed, twisting and watching the monitor as she moved.
“You know the software inside and out. You have the demo disk and the papers with instructions.” Nyssa said confidently.
“I know my way around the records room, Nyssa. It’ll be okay,” Dee promised. “If Chloe’s file is there, I’ll find it.”
The next morning dawned cool, brisk and dry, a very good sign, Dee decided as sh
e slid into her car and drove to the shop. She had a morning training session from ten-thirty to noon. And was ready for Dr. Clauston’s when she pulled into the parking lot. She could hear the vague chatter in the room when she entered the quiet office, dark eyes eagerly taking in the surroundings. Anticipation and nerves could easily take their toll. But she refused to allow it.
She met the smile of the receptionist with a pleasant grin. “Good afternoon. Dee James to see Margaret.”
Dee looked carefully around the office. Very plush. Her fingers tightened slightly on the handle of the stylish leather briefcase she carried, applying her best customer smile when the door opened next to the window.
“Miss James? Margaret Lawrence, we can talk in the medical records room. That’s where we have the computer set up,” a woman in her late forties, Margaret Lawrence fit the stylish layout and furniture of the office. She stepped to the side and gestured for Dee to come inside.
“Pleased to meet you, Miss Lawrence. You have an amazing office here,” she complimented warmly. “I love the Seattle shots in black and white from across the century.”
“They have a certain charm to them that felt right for the office,” she said, guiding Dee through the maze of corridors and rooms.
“I’m familiar with most computer programs for creating patient records,” Dee began once they entered the large room. Three room width record shelves and one long desk area at the T of the room. “Some are more friendly than others. Of course, the older they are, the less they’re capable of providing security necessary for the things hackers dream up these days,” Dee brought the pamphlet, disk and instruction sheet from inside her case, setting the leather case on the floor beside the chair. She handed the color brochure to Margaret.
“That is a brief explanation of what our program can do for your organization of records and input. There are screen shots and brief explanations,” Dee turned to get a good scan of the room. “Are all your records on computer?”
“I wish. I’ve been here a little over two years and I think they began computerizing the records a little over three years ago.”
“All these records are only three years old?” Dee heard the groan in the background in her ear piece.
“Heavens no. We keep patient files here for six years. If they’re still inactive when we bring in the new year, we begin weeding them and sending to a secure storage unit,” Margaret leaned against the desk, reading through the information.
Dee heard a collective sigh of relief, wandering casually among the racks. Simple A to Z formation, with A being against the far wall and Z closest to her. “I’m guessing their color coded by year, yellow being the oldest.”
“Yes, a new color for a new year.”
Dee saw what she needed and knew where to jump as soon as she received the break. She turned her attention to the computer and the screen before her.
“I’m very familiar with this program. But I’m also aware they don’t offer a back-up program, nor do they offer any upgrades when the government issues new forms to be added to the privacy and security of patient files.” Dee tsked a little. “It’s never a good thing when dealing with an ongoing situation, like patient files, to simply create a program and hope it handles all situations that come up in the future. That’s one of the key items our software addresses.”
“No and that has been a problem. Some of our people forget to provide all the forms when patients request copies of their records to move out of the area.”
“Our system and service is quite different. I even know a few physicians who actually don’t mind completing patient records,” Dee said with a grin. “We offer a service of upgrades and back up storage. If you had a fire and lost your patient files, as soon as you had another computer, we could transfer your files all back to you through the program. Not that I wish this on anyone, but should something like that happen and you have our system, call me. And I’ll bring you another copy of the program, free of charge. You don’t back up at all now?”
“No…and that’s a little annoying. We lost correspondence because of power and computer problems about six months ago. But as I said, I’ve only been here two years, so I’m slowly bring them into the twenty-first century.”
“When the government issues new forms or mandates, our programmer creates and updates the program as quickly as possible, then when your system logs on to do your back up, it also receives any updates and changes to the forms. All done for you. In the morning when you log in, you receive an alert of the changes and why they had been made. I always suggest to my clients that they set the back up for midnight when it’s not an inconvenience to anyone. You’re on cable like most people these days, so it’ll happen without you even being aware of it.”
“Damn, she makes me want to buy the program,” Bella said in the background.
“With our system, should a patient request a copy of their records, all the forms are automatically printed along with everything that’s been entered for that patient. It kind of takes a little of the human error factor out of the mix for you,” Dee sat in the chair. “Through the website, we also have a suggestion form for you. If we can and it helps the performance of the program, we integrate and provide upgrades, all part of the service. If you ever wanted to fully get your records online, we also know several temp agencies who provided people familiar with the program. I’ve never seen the need for inactive people to be placed in the computer, though.”
“Exactly. As long as I can keep current patients updated, I’ll be happy,” Margaret looked up when the door opened.
“Margaret, there’s a Sheila Garrison asking for the office manager,” the younger woman glanced from one to the other. “She’s really upset.”
“Oh, don’t mind me…I can wait here for you. Unhappy patients always take priority,” Dee assured her sympathetically.
“Thank you. I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Margaret lay the brochure down and went through the door, closing it firmly behind her.
Dee moved very quickly, running on low heels to the section she’d seen where Chloe’s name would be filed. Fingers moved deftly over tabs as she listened to the racket being made up in the front office.
“You’re doing great.” Nyssa said in her ear. “And you’re a good sales person.”
“No, I’m not,” Dee said quietly, growling at the people who couldn’t file alphabetically correctly. “Finally!” She whispered, opening the file and working all the pages inside loose at the same time she heard.
“She’s coming back!”
Wasting no time, Dee folded the pages in four and slid them down the front of her skirt, into the back of her pantyhose. Nice, flat and secure, she thought, straightening and moving so she was standing near the window when the door opened.
“I’m sorry about that,” Margaret began.
“Oh, no problem at all. I was just admiring the fall. All the colors in the trees. I love this time of year,” Dee walked casually back toward the desk. “I hope everything is alright?”
“Silly woman had the wrong office to complain in!” Margaret shook her head.
Dee just laughed. “People are funny. Do you have any questions I can answer right now? If not, I’ll leave you with the demo disk and instructions. It’s an amazingly intuitive program and I think the added security it would provide would go a long way to getting your team into the twenty-first century.”
“I can use all the help I can get with some of them,” Margaret collected the three pieces of information and opened the door.
Dee lifted her briefcase from the floor and offered her hand. “I am also the trainer for your people, should you decide this will work for you. If you have any questions at all, here’s my card and I’d be glad to hel
p you. Thank you so very much for seeing me today, Margaret. Bye.”
Dee was positive she didn’t breathe again until she was on the I-90 bridge headed to I-5 and the store. “I got all the papers that were in the file and I’m headed to the office,” she said out loud. “Who is coming to review them?”
“Catherine North will be here any minute,” Nyssa answered in her ear.
Kate paced the floor, hands sunk into the pockets of her jeans. “Even before this little…infraction…there would have been no way to prosecute,” she told them with a scowl. “There isn’t enough for a search warrant and I’d bet as soon as he got wind we were thinking about it, Chloe’s records would have been shredded into a million tiny pieces.”
Chapter Thirty-One