Morose, Janice nodded. “All of them. He had a regular harem going.”
“We’re going to have to see those files.”
“And then what?” Janice looked legitimately curious. “Will you go to their homes and question them about having sex for face lifts and boob jobs?”
“If necessary. For right now, we’d just like to see the list.”
“I guess that’s okay.” Janice pushed herself to a standing position and moved toward the nearest box. “These are the ones with the deferred payments. The others are the patients who got full bills. I sorted through all of them.”
“And how many are there?”
“Twenty-five.”
“Twenty-five?” Jared was horrified. “Are you saying he had regular dates with twenty-five women?”
“I don’t know if he managed to keep all of them on a regular schedule, but the ones I checked were seeing him at least once or twice a month.”
“Which means he was a very busy guy,” Mel said, shaking his head. “We definitely need to go through those names.”
“Go nuts.” Janice exhaled heavily, blowing up her bangs. “You can do whatever you want with his office and files.” She glanced around. “I was going to pack up all his things and try to protect his legacy. Now I wonder why I even bothered.”
“You should head to the bar and get a drink,” Mel suggested. “You need a night off from all of this.”
Janice brightened considerably. “That’s a good idea. I think I’ll head to the bar. Will you guys lock up on your way out? There’s still medical equipment here that could be stolen otherwise.”
“We’ll handle it,” Mel promised. “You have nothing to worry about.”
16
Sixteen
Harper, Zander, Nick, and Maddie set up shop close to the area where Morton’s body was discovered. They didn’t bother with the chairs and instead spread out on two benches at either side of the small area. Somehow — and Nick still wasn’t certain how it happened — he ended up with Zander. Across the way, Maddie and Harper had their heads bent together as they happily chatted and giggled.
“They’re kind of cute,” Zander noted as he watched them.
“They are,” Nick agreed.
“You wish Maddie would’ve sat with you, though.”
“That’s not true. I ... like you fine.”
Zander’s eyes lit with amusement. “I wasn’t suggesting you didn’t like me. You’re simply drawn to her even though you’ve been together for years.”
“That’s true.” Nick readjusted to get more comfortable. “I would be lying if I said I didn’t prefer being close to my pregnant wife when trying to track down a murderer.”
“She’s not very far away. We can get to them in plenty of time to save them if something pops up.”
For some reason, Nick found the statement absurd. “Maddie has protected herself more than once. She’s strong, even though sometimes she has trouble believing it.”
“Of course she’s strong. She still needs saving occasionally. Here’s a little hint.” Zander leaned closer to Nick. “Women don’t want to admit it, but they secretly like being rescued. No, it’s true.”
Nick eyed Zander with overt skepticism. “I don’t think that’s true.”
“No, it is.”
“Yeah, I think if you were to say something like that in front of Harper and Maddie, you would end up with a face full of dirt.”
“Oh, no.” Zander shook his head. “Men are more athletically inclined — and I could honestly be an Olympic runner if I wanted — so I’m not afraid of her.”
That was bold talk, Nick mused. He didn’t believe it for a second. “You could be an Olympic runner?”
“I could, only I don’t like running. My fiancé owns a gym and I like working out for muscles ... obviously.” He flexed for emphasis. “Sweat is gross, though. I don’t like to sweat when I work out and I always sweat when I run.”
Nick had no idea how to respond. Honestly, he couldn’t understand how they’d gotten on this topic. “Um ... okay.”
As if sensing Zander had taken the conversation to an uncomfortable place, Harper straightened on her bench and stared at the two men. “What are you talking about?”
Zander was the picture of innocence. “How adorable you two are,” he replied, not missing a beat. “Honestly, you could be sisters. That hair is ... .” He pressed his fingers to his lips and made a loud kissing sound.
Harper was having none of it. “What was he really talking about?” she asked Nick.
Never one to think of himself as a tattletale, Nick shifted again. He was having a difficult time getting comfortable. “It was just general chatter.”
“Oh, you’re a horrible liar.” Harper made a face. “Maddie, make him tell us what Zander was saying. I know it was something bad.”
“Zander would never say anything bad,” Maddie insisted. “He’s a sweetheart.”
Zander beamed at her. “Oh, you’re so cute. If I wasn’t already in love with Harper forever and always I would adopt you as my best friend.”
“I think my best friend could take you,” Maddie countered. “She wouldn’t like being traded in.”
“It’s funny you mention that,” Nick volunteered. “Zander was just explaining to me how men are more physically fit than women, which is why men should always be prepared to rescue the women in their lives.” He had no idea why he volunteered the information, but he was mildly curious how it would all play out.
“I knew it,” Harper hissed, her eyes flashing.
“Oh, I see how it is,” Zander drawled. “And here I thought we were on the same team.”
Nick shrugged. “Maddie is the only team I need. You said it yourself.”
“Oh, it’s on,” Zander muttered, his gaze dark. “You have no idea who you just messed with.” When he focused on Harper, his smile was benign. “Don’t listen to him, Harp. He’s just talking out of his behind because he wants Maddie to think he’s on her side when in truth he was just sitting over here complaining because you guys decided to sit together and that means you’re unprotected.”
Nick’s mouth dropped open. “I never said that.”
“He did.” Zander mimed crossing his heart. “He’s a total pig under that metrosexual veneer he boasts. He doesn’t understand the struggle of our people.”
Nick’s forehead creased. “What are you even talking about? What people?”
“I can’t believe you said that, Nicky,” Maddie chided on a tsk. “That’s horrible.”
“I didn’t say that!”
“I told you not to mess with me,” Zander muttered under his breath.
Harper smirked at Nick’s obvious discomfort. “Of course you didn’t say it. I’m familiar with Zander’s work. You would never think women need to be protected.”
“Of course not.” Nick’s response was automatic, and then he thought better about it. “Well ... that’s not entirely true.”
“Here we go,” Maddie groused.
“Oh, don’t be that way, Mad.” Nick held out his hands in a placating manner. “I believe women are just as capable as men when it comes to protecting themselves. Maddie has gotten herself out of a host of trouble.
“Despite that, when it comes down to it, I believe people are supposed to take care of each other,” he continued. “Maddie has saved me so many times I’ve lost count. It’s not really about saving the other person anyway. It’s about being there for each other.
“I will always be there for Maddie and I know she’ll always be there for me. We’re a team, and teams work together.”
The group was silent for a beat and then Zander burst out laughing.
“Oh, you’re so easy,” he said, swiping at the tears leaking from the corners of his eyes. “I told you I could fluster him.”
It took Nick a moment to realize what Zander was saying. “You played me?”
“I told him that you would always do the right thing,” Maddie offered
hurriedly when Nick’s angry eyes landed on her. “Zander claimed he could manipulate any man into looking like a Neanderthal. He gave it a good try, but that little speech you just made proves he was wrong.”
“I’m never wrong,” Zander countered. “I had him exactly where I wanted him.”
“And I think I’m done talking to all of you.” Nick folded his arms across his chest and refused to meet Maddie’s gaze. “Just know, if you guys get in trouble, I won’t run to the rescue. You’re on your own.”
Maddie knew that was a load of crap, but she decided to let him sulk. For some reason, she found it amusing. Before she could tell the others to back off and leave him alone, a hint of movement caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. When she shifted, sure enough, Morton had appeared and seemed to be entranced by the show.
“Dr. Morton,” she said, shifting her attention.
Harper followed her gaze. “Thank you for joining us,” she said dryly. “We were starting to wonder if you would take time out of your busy schedule to grace us with your presence.”
Morton’s lips curved down. “Do you think I don’t recognize sarcasm? Well, you’re wrong. Not only do I recognize it, but I’m also fluent in it.”
“Who is fluent in sarcasm?” Maddie asked blankly.
Zander raised my hand. “I am. If he’s claiming that, he should know I already own the world record.”
“Is this like you being an Olympic runner?” Nick queried.
Harper snorted. “Did you tell him you could be an Olympic runner?”
“I could if I wanted,” Zander protested. “I’m a world-class athlete.”
“You don’t like to sweat.”
Zander jutted out his chin. “That’s neither here nor there.”
“Oh, geez.” Harper rolled her eyes until they landed on Morton. “We have some questions for you.”
“And what makes you think I want to answer your questions?” Morton challenged. “Now that I’m dead — and, yes, for the record, I’ve come to that conclusion after much scientific experimentation — I don’t feel as if I’m beholden to anyone.”
“It’s not about being beholden,” Maddie argued. “It’s about figuring out what happened to you and putting the perpetrator behind bars.”
“See, we think you’re a bit of a turd, but that doesn’t mean you deserved to be murdered,” Harper explained. “We want to solve this. When we’re finished, I can help you pass over.”
Morton looked mildly interested. “Over where?”
“Over ... yonder.” Harper vaguely gestured. “There’s another world out there, one that’s beyond this one. I’ve seen flashes of it. I can help you get over there.”
“You’ve seen another world?” Maddie’s eyes went wide. “How?”
Harper shrugged. “It’s the dreamcatchers. I don’t know how to explain it. I’ve seen a flash when engaging them a few times.”
“What have you seen?” Maddie was enthralled.
“Absolute beauty ... and there’s this feeling of peace. There’s nothing to fear from death, in case you’re wondering. Sure, it’s best if you don’t die before your time, but when it happens, there’s so much more than this.”
Maddie pursed her lips and glanced at Nick. “Did you hear that?”
He nodded, his earlier annoyance with their game forgotten. “I did. I guess that means we’ll have forever together after all.”
“I never doubted that.”
Honestly, neither had he. He inclined his head toward the ghost he couldn’t see. “Get your answers. We’ll talk about Heaven, which I already see every time you smile, later.”
“Oh, that was smooth,” Zander intoned. “You’re good.”
“Shut up.” Nick flicked his ear. “You’ve gotten me in enough trouble for one day.”
Harper decided, since the conversation was meandering, to refocus it. “Now that you realize you’re a ghost, Dr. Morton, what can you tell us about how you died?”
“I don’t remember the act itself. In fact, everything is a blur.”
“Then tell us what you were doing here,” Maddie suggested. “I wouldn’t think a cemetery was a normal hangout for you.”
Morton was haughty. “That shows what you know. If you’d ever bothered to spend any of your precious time with me you would’ve realized I’m a man of varied interests. Cemeteries are places of history, a space where human emotion can be gathered and studied.”
“That’s a load of crap,” Maddie shot back. “If you’re going to try and run that bull on someone, you should probably aim it at someone who doesn’t remember you.”
Morton’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t know me. We barely spoke in the years we worked together.”
“That’s because I knew what you were.”
“And what’s that?”
“A gifted man with about five diagnosable personality disorders,” Maddie replied, unruffled by his tone. “One of those personality disorders revolves around narcissism.”
“I would’ve thought that was normal for doctors,” Harper offered.
“Yes and no,” Maddie hedged. “It’s important to note that there are a lot of doctors out there — actually the vast majority — who followed their career path because they wanted to help people. Just like anything, though, you have a few bad apples who ruin it for everybody.”
“Are you saying I’m a bad apple?” Suddenly Morton looked amused. “Is that supposed to be an insult?”
“I’m saying you were full of yourself,” Maddie clarified. “I don’t even think you realized how you came across sometimes. You just figured that you were impressed with everything you accomplished so everybody else should feel the same way.”
“Do you want to know what people said about you?” Morton challenged.
“Nobody cares about your opinion,” Harper shot back, annoyance on full display. “We’re here to help you. That’s the important thing here.”
Morton never moved his eyes from Maddie’s face. There was something predatory about the stare that bothered Harper on multiple levels.
“It’s fine,” Maddie said after a beat. “If he wants to tell me what he thought of me back then, I can take it. There’s nothing he can say to hurt me. I already have everything I want in my life.”
Nick made a move, as if he was going to stand and protect Maddie from a rude ghost he couldn’t see, but Zander stopped him with a hand on his arm.
“I think this is her show,” Zander whispered. “You can’t do anything anyway. This is her thing.”
Nick wanted to argue the point, but he kept his mouth shut. Zander was right, he rationalized to himself. Maddie was more than capable of taking care of herself. He had to let her take control.
“You thought of yourself as some untouchable princess,” Morton volunteered. “You didn’t interact with any of the doctors. Did you know there was a competition to see who would bed you first? You wouldn’t play the game correctly, though. You kept your distance, like you were better than all of us.”
“That’s because I was shy,” Maddie replied easily, refusing to let the ghost upset her. “I felt out of my depth in Detroit. I had other things going on.”
“For a bit, everybody assumed you were doing that cop who kept showing up to talk to you,” Morton continued. “He was older, which made me think you had a daddy complex. I couldn’t quite figure you out ... and then I knew exactly what I had to do. Unfortunately, you disappeared before I had a chance to implement my plan.”
“Oh, yeah?” Surprisingly, Maddie found she was amused. “And what plan was that?”
“I was going to take you to my private practice as my nurse. I was still working things out when you left the hospital, though. I was going to offer my services for free to lock you in. That always works.”
A sick feeling rolled through Maddie. “Wait ... you were going to offer me services?” Her mind was busy. “Does that mean you offered free services to other people? Like … patients and nurses?”
Harper looked between Maddie and Morton as she tried to sort things out. “Is he saying what I think he’s saying?”
“What is he saying?” Nick asked. This time, when he got to his feet, Zander didn’t stop him. “Is he insulting Maddie?”
“Kind of, although just in a mild way,” Harper replied, licking her lips. “He’s suggesting that he was offering free procedures at his practice ... except they weren’t really free.”
Disgust rolled over Nick like a tidal wave. “Does that mean he was trading sex for surgery? That’s not legal.”
“It’s not,” Maddie agreed. “It’s also completely unethical.” She frowned as she regarded Morton. He looked entirely too smug. “You can’t possibly be proud of what you just said.”
“Why wouldn’t I be proud?” Morton shot back. “It was a win-win situation. I got what I wanted. They got what they wanted. Nobody was hurt. Nobody was forced.”
It didn’t sound that way to Harper. “You can’t use your influence as a doctor to push women into sex. It makes you the worst kind of predator.”
“You can’t prey on the willing.”
“They weren’t willing,” Maddie argued. “We’re talking women who felt they needed to improve their looks, many of whom had low self-esteem. You knew that and used it as a weapon anyway. That makes you a disgusting piece of filth.”
“No, that makes me a coveted doctor,” Morton argued. “Most of those women couldn’t have afforded their procedures if I didn’t work with them.”
“Work with them?” Maddie was beside herself as she shifted her hips. “Working with them is coming up with a payment plan. It’s not requiring sex in lieu of money.”
“How did it work?” Harper demanded. “How often were these women expected to perform for you?”
“Depending on the individual, we had a standing date once or twice a month,” Morton replied. He didn’t appear embarrassed by his actions, which only made things worse in Harper’s opinion. “It was hardly the sort of thing that was ruining their lives. I mean ... a fresh face for one night a month? I think most people would jump at that.”
Ghostly Graves: A Harper Harlow and Maddie Graves Mystery Page 17