“They grow out of the gross phase pretty quickly.”
“Then they grow into the annoying-questions phase, followed by the sulky teenager phase—”
“I think you skipped a few phases in between.”
“See? I know nothing about kids. I’m doing the world a favor by not having one of my own.”
Fighting a smile, he asked, “What does Pete think of your anti-kid sentiment?”
I shrugged. “He knows.”
“And?”
“And I get that you’re trying to segue our conversation into another chance to pry into my personal life again. Stop it, or you’re next in the time-out chair over there.” I jerked my thumb in the direction of a red-faced girl sitting on a tiny chair in the corner. She’d just slapped her younger brother for no apparent reason, so their mom had made a makeshift punishment area in the waiting room.
“Detective Hamilton, Ms. Langley, Dr. Devaux will see you now.”
Ryder didn’t miss the fact that every little boy in the room turned to gawk admiringly at him when the receptionist called out “Detective Hamilton.” I hadn’t pegged Ryder for such a softie where kids were concerned.
Dr. Devaux was waiting for us in his office. When we walked in the door, he looked up, recognizing me immediately. I wondered if he remembered the angry phone call my mother made to tell him what she thought of his bogus diagnosis. “Little Julie Langley. You’re all grown up. I guess I haven’t seen you since you were ten years old. Please, sit.”
Ryder introduced himself as I cringed inwardly, wondering how many times I’d hear the phrase “Little Julie Langley” come out of Ryder’s mouth in the next few hours. Dr. Devaux for some reason could never get my name right.
Fighting to keep a straight face, Ryder said, “Dr. Devaux, we’d like to ask you a few questions about Silver Spruce Pharmaceuticals.”
Dr. Devaux smoothed his tie and tried to keep his doughy face passive. The plaid fabric was unmistakably Burberry. Unless Dr. Devaux had grown some fashion sense, someone had given him that tie. All I’d ever seen him wear were polyester clip-ons, which went just fine with his paper-thin dress shirts that showed his ill-fitting wife beater underneath and his Sansabelt slacks. The Burberry tie was strikingly out of place.
“Ask away,” he replied.
Ryder said, “Who is your drug rep?”
The doctor cleared his throat. “I think her name is Mandi. Oh, and sometimes Jared comes calling.”
“How about Scott O’Malley?”
He shook his head so fast it made his droopy jowls flop back and forth. “I don’t know him. He’s…dead, right?”
“Yes,” I replied. “Possibly murdered.”
Dr. Devaux’s eyes grew wide. “Julie, you’re investigating a murder? But…I thought you were going to be a famous singer when you grew up.”
“I’m a woman of many talents. So do you have drug reps from other pharmaceutical companies who visit you?”
“Well, not too many. I mainly do business with Silver Spruce. They carry most everything I need to dispense.”
“Are there any particular reasons why you tend to choose Silver Spruce products over others?” I asked.
He got out a grayish hankie and wiped his forehead with it. “No.”
“I love your tie, Dr. Devaux. Where did you get it?”
His eyes narrowed at me. “My receptionist told me you were here investigating Scott O’Malley’s death. What does my tie have to do with him?”
“Maybe something if his wife gave it to you.”
His face flaming red, the doctor slammed his hands down on his desk. “Are you insinuating there’s something going on between myself and Mandi?”
I laughed out loud at the thought before I could catch myself. Not only was Dr. Devaux old enough to be Mandi’s grandfather, but he also hadn’t been even remotely attractive in his younger years. Time had unfortunately not been his friend, either.
“No, I’m asking if she gave you that tie. It’s a simple question with a simple answer.”
“My tie has nothing to do with her husband’s overdose. But if you must know, I bought it at the mall in Ellsworth.”
Ryder nudged my foot with his. The coroner hadn’t yet confirmed whether it was an overdose or a poisoning, although according to Detective Delaney it was looking more like the latter. The toxicology tests often took weeks to be completed and returned to the coroner, so they wouldn’t know for sure for a while. It seemed that someone had started a rumor—or told Dr. Devaux a flat-out lie—about Scott’s cause of death.
Dr. Devaux cleared his throat. “Now, if you’re quite finished wasting my time, I have patients to see.”
Ryder and I left his office, having to wade through a sea of munchkins to get out into the fresh air.
Ryder asked, “Why were you on him about his tie?”
“I was trying to get him to ’fess up about taking a kickback.”
He gave me a confused look. “You were hinging your theory on a tie? He could have got it anywhere.”
“False. You can’t buy a designer tie like that around here. That was a Burberry.”
“I don’t know if you’ve heard, but there’s this cool new thing called the Internet. You can buy stuff on it from practically anywhere in the world and have it sent to you.”
I growled as I got into his car. “Shut up. If he bought it on the Internet, then why did he lie about buying it at the mall in the next town? I’m right about this.”
Starting up the engine, Ryder said, “Your theory’s still shaky. He’s a doctor. I’m pretty sure he can afford a blackberry tie or whatever.”
“One, it’s Burberry. Two, he’s a pediatrician in a small town where everyone has shitty insurance. He’s making decent money, but he’s not rolling in it. Not enough to waste a couple hundred bucks on a tie.”
“Whatever you say, Julie.”
“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that and go on. Three, I saw the exact same tie in Mandi’s drug bag along with several others like it. It came from her.”
He furrowed his brow. “How did you manage to get your hands on the bag Mandi uses for work?”
Uh-oh. When I’d told him about my previous trip to Liberty, I’d kind of left out the fact that Pete and I had broken into Mandi’s house. I merely told Ryder I’d spoken to her, leaving out the other details.
When I didn’t reply, he pinched the bridge of his nose, a sure sign I was super close to working his last nerve. “Tell me you didn’t steal from her.”
I couldn’t say I didn’t steal from her, either. “I didn’t steal her bag.”
“Keep talking. Out with it.”
“I looked inside the bag when Pete and I went to her house.”
Now his jaw was clenched. He did not like it when I was vague. “What did you do?”
I sighed. “We, um…sort of let ourselves into her house. Because we, you know, had Scott’s man purse, which had his house keys in it. I found her bag and went through it.”
He jerked the car over to the side of the road, I guessed so he could turn his full wrath on me. “First Scott’s bag, then the tablet, and now unlawful entry and going through someone’s home? What the hell were you thinking?” he barked.
“That Pete and I were both murder suspects who needed to clear our names.”
“Come on, Juliet. As a PI, you should have known better than to pull that amateur crap.”
I frowned. “Hey, you’ve resorted to creative tactics in investigations before.”
“We’re not talking about me right now. We’re talking about you. You could have been—and still could be—arrested for the stupid things you’ve done this week.”
“Better than being arrested for a murder I didn’t commit.”
Still fuming, he conceded, “Well, at least you didn’t get caught.”
I kept my mouth shut about that one.
Chapter 18
By the time we got to our next stop, Ryder had calmed down enough to at le
ast hold a civil conversation with me. He made a move to get out of the car, but I put a hand on his arm.
“Considering the direct approach didn’t go so great with Dr. Devaux, do you think we could try something different with Dr. Grantham?”
“What do you have in mind?” he asked.
“Well, Dr. Grantham is a forty-something divorcee who’s on the prowl for husband number four. Maybe it’s time we broke out Seth Davis and his charm. He’s good at winning over the ladies, or so I’ve heard.”
And the glare came back. Seth Davis was the name Ryder had originally given me when we’d met, because he was working undercover at the time. I ended up figuring out his real name on my own, which of course caused waves in our already fiery relationship. Anytime I wanted to needle him about honesty, I tended to bring that up.
“What can Seth Davis get out of her that Detective Hamilton and his badge can’t?”
I shrugged. “Possibly a straight answer. I was thinking you could pretend to be a drug rep and try to buy her affection.”
“With what? I don’t have anything to give her.”
“You could always give her an invitation to dinner and a not-so-subtle implication of something more.”
He frowned. “I said I’d help you investigate, not take one for the team. Besides, I don’t think Maya would appreciate me doing that.”
“I’m not saying you have to follow through with it. Tell the doctor you’re a new Silver Spruce rep and that you want to make sure to give her the same level of service she’s used to. If all else fails, ask her what it would take to ensure her exclusive business.”
“Fine,” he conceded. “But next time, you’re the bait.”
I glanced down at my blouse and jeans, which were perfectly acceptable for interviewing potential suspects and witnesses, but wouldn’t begin to turn a man’s head. “I’m hardly dressed for it.”
“Like I am?”
Ryder, on the other hand, looked good enough to eat in anything he wore, which today was a black button-down with the sleeves rolled up and dark denim jeans. Most of the time, he didn’t have a clue how attractive he was.
“You’re fine. Flex a little and she’ll be eating out of your hand. And wear the mic and earpiece we brought so I can hear what goes on.”
Clearly unhappy with the situation, Ryder reached into the backseat and produced our listening/recording equipment. After we each got our own items ready, we did a quick test, and he was on his way.
No doubt charming the receptionist with his stellar smile, Ryder said, “Hi there. I’m Seth Davis with Silver Spruce Pharmaceuticals. I’m here to speak with Dr. Grantham. Looks like I’m going to be her new rep.”
A female voice cooed, “Oh, Mr. Davis, she’s with a patient right now, but I’m sure she’ll want to see you. I’ll let you wait in her office. Come with me.”
“Thank you so much, Tessa,” Ryder said smoothly. “You can call me Seth.”
I parroted breathily into my mic, “Oh, Mr. Davis, come with me.”
Hearing two sets of footfalls, I knew he was still with Tessa the receptionist, so he couldn’t fire off a retort at me.
“Here you go,” Tessa said cheerily. “If you need anything, Seth, you ask me.”
“I’ll be sure to do that,” he replied. After a pause he whispered, “Knock it off, Juliet.”
I chuckled. “Oh, whatever. You’d totally do it to me if I were the one in there playing the bait. Snoop around in her office while you’re in there.”
“Thanks for the tip. I haven’t done a lot of these investigation things before.”
“My, my. You are quite salty this afternoon, Detective.”
“You could be making yourself useful right now instead of bothering me.”
“Nah, bothering you is way more fun.”
He huffed out a breath. “I was thinking maybe you could take that stolen tablet—”
“Borrowed tablet,” I interjected.
“And poke around some more. I know you said it was mostly Scott’s work stuff, but maybe there’s something on there you missed. Some notes or saved files you might have skimmed over before.”
“You know, that’s not a terrible idea—”
“Dr. Grantham,” Ryder said. “Nice to meet you. I’m Seth Davis.”
“Hello, Seth,” Dr. Grantham purred. “I hear you’re my new rep from Silver Spruce. I can’t say I mind trading in that twit Mandi and her married friend Jared for a big, strong man like you. You’re not married, are you?”
I stifled a snicker and got to work on Scott’s tablet, tuning out their small talk. I didn’t need to listen to everything they said, so I keyword-filtered their conversation and kept most of my attention on the tablet, opening every app and thoroughly perusing everything I could find. Again, I was coming up with a lot of nothing.
My ears perked up when I heard Ryder say, “Wait, if you could just give me a few minutes, I promise to be quick.”
Dr. Grantham laughed. “I hope you don’t say that to all the ladies.”
That time I couldn’t contain my snicker. At least this conversation was more interesting than the load of useless information on Scott’s tablet.
Ryder’s voice sounded strained. “That’s not what I—”
“Tell you what, big guy. I’ve got a full schedule today, but I promise to give you my full attention over a drink tonight. What do you say to meeting at eight o’clock at Vecchio’s?”
After a pause, he replied, “You got it, Doc.”
Moments later I spotted Ryder striding out of the office, his posture rigid. He threw himself into the driver’s seat and started the car, then zoomed out of the parking lot.
“I never thought I’d see—or hear, rather—Seth Davis strike out with a woman.”
He frowned. “I have a date with her tonight, don’t I?”
“Yeah, but she blew you off pretty hard otherwise. It was clear she didn’t want what you were selling—besides sex, of course.”
“Which she’s not getting.”
I chuckled, but otherwise kept my mouth shut as he drove us back to Dr. Richardson’s office.
Still in a mood over the whole date thing, Ryder badged himself into an immediate meeting with Dr. Richardson, scaring the poor old receptionist lady half to death with his bad cop routine. In under a minute, we were in the doctor’s tiny office, both with a cold bottle of water in hand, courtesy of the jumpy receptionist.
Dr. Richardson came in, all smiles, but somewhat guarded. “What can I help you with today? Marie said you’re with the police?”
Ryder nodded. “We’re looking into Scott O’Malley’s death. He was a Silver—”
The doctor frowned. “A Silver Spruce rep. I knew him. He stole some meds from my office. I probably should have filed a police report, but that weasel McKay begged me to let him deal with it internally. Now, of course, the man in question is dead, probably from an overdose of what he stole, so he’s been punished enough.” He shook his head. “You know, this kind of shady, unprofessional behavior is why I refuse to meet with Silver Spruce reps. I don’t have time for the nonsense. If they want to leave their drug samples, they have to leave them with my receptionist. They no longer get an audience with me.”
I asked, “You’ve noticed Silver Spruce reps doing shady things other than the incident with Scott?”
Dr. Richardson snorted in disgust. “Where should I start? A few of my fellow doctors in town seem to be overly impressed by the little extras Silver Spruce reps like to offer. I, for one, have more integrity than that.”
Ryder said, “So you’re aware that other doctors are taking kickbacks.”
“It’s painfully obvious with some of them. Like a certain doctor in this building who suddenly has a collection of expensive ties, any of which could cover the monthly payment for his POS car.”
I murmured to Ryder, “Told you so.”
Dr. Richardson went on, “Or the idiots who blatantly go out and get drunk with their reps on the we
ekends. There’s no such thing as a free drink.”
“That’s true,” I replied. “When Scott came in your office that last time, how was he acting?”
“I didn’t see him myself. Marie spoke with him. She said he was rude and belligerent.”
Ryder asked, “How did he manage to steal some of your medicine?”
The doctor sighed. “He insisted on using the restroom, which is next to our supply room. Marie, bless her elderly heart, let him back here, not that she could have stopped him if she’d wanted to. Later that day we noticed that the cabinet where I keep my medicine samples had been broken into. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who did it.”
I nodded, hoping maybe Dr. Richardson could unravel the mystery of Scott’s behavior for us. “The sodium oxybate that went missing from your office wasn’t the only drug Scott had been accused of stealing. According to his manager, samples of levodopa, benzodiazepine, and H2 blockers have also gone missing lately from other drug reps’ bags. Would using any of those drugs make a person’s personality change to be especially agitated and angry, and maybe even delusional?”
“Absolutely. The levodopa could easily do that. Those are fairly common side effects.”
“Could an overdose of any of those drugs kill a person?”
“Probably not the H2 blockers, but the others could. Mixing levodopa or benzodiazepine with sodium oxybate would practically ensure death. I have to be quite careful when dispensing sodium oxybate for my patients with sleep disorders to make sure there are no possible interactions with other meds they’re taking.”
“Could someone ingest these drugs and not know it?”
Dr. Richardson eyed me. “Are you asking me if someone could slip any of them into another person’s food or drink unnoticed?”
“Yes.”
“I suppose. They’re all available in liquid form, so I would think it would be quite simple.”
I cast a glance at Ryder, who was already staring at me worriedly.
Ryder turned to the doctor. “Thank you for your time, sir. Since your receptionist dealt with Scott, we’ll want to speak with her while we’re here.”
“Of course. I’ll send her in.” Dr. Richardson disappeared out the door.
Murder Over Mochas Page 15