Cadie walked for another block in silence.The street opened onto a small park with a fountain at its center.Water spilled over a stone basin, and two pigeons perched on the rim.Barrett guided her to a bench beneath one of the oaks and sat beside her.He kept her hand in his.
"There's something I've been thinking about since I saw my room," Cadie said.
"Tell me."
"Who would target me?"She turned to face him on the bench."Someone sent a person to my hotel room, and that person knew I wouldn't be there last night.That's not random."
Barrett had been expecting the question.He'd wondered the same thing since the moment he saw the ransacked room."It had to be Kal Davis, or more likely, a criminal he hired for the dirty work," he said."Kal knows you're here.He knows you inherited the property.And he knows you haven't agreed to sell."
Cadie held his gaze."He's desperate."
"The break-in tells me he's getting more aggressive."Barrett leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, keeping his hand in hers."Kal has done business in Charleston for years.He has resources and connections.Sending someone to search your room wouldn't be difficult for him.And the goal was to send a message."
"That I should dump the property as quickly as I can then leave," Cadie said.
"That's my take on it."
Cadie straightened on the bench."I'm not going anywhere."
Barrett saw the resolve in her expression.She was not a woman who folded under pressure.
"I know you're not," he said, "and I'm going to make sure you don't have to."
He checked his watch.They had been walking for nearly an hour, and the meeting with the forensic expert was approaching.
"We should head back," Barrett said."The meeting with Dr.Holloway is at eleven."
Cadie stood."Will the detective be there?"
"Sullivan is off duty this morning, so he won't be attending."Barrett stood beside her."But he'll get a full report from me.He trusts the process, and Dr.Holloway's expertise."
As they walked back toward the hotel, the streets were busier with tourists and locals moving along the sidewalks and cars passing on the cross streets.Barrett kept Cadie close to his side.
"After the meeting," he said, "we'll have a much better idea about our strategy."
Chapter 13
The building that housed Dr.Patricia Holloway's office was a converted historic structure on the quieter edge of downtown Charleston, the kind that had been a merchant's counting house or a law firm in a previous century and had since been divided into professional suites.The brick exterior was original, darkened by time and salt air.
Barrett held the front door open and Cadie stepped inside.The lobby was cool and smelled faintly of lemon oil and old wood.A small directory on the wall listed the building's tenants in brass-toned letters.Holloway Forensic Consulting occupied Suite 204.Barrett let the door close behind them and placed his hand briefly at the small of her back as they found the elevator.
The second-floor corridor was narrow and quiet.Their footsteps were muffled by a runner of dark carpet, and the walls were lined with framed botanical prints that someone had chosen to soften the professional atmosphere.Suite 204 was at the end of the hall.Barrett knocked once and opened the door.
The office was orderly without being sterile.The desk was large and uncluttered, positioned to face the door rather than the window, which Cadie read as a deliberate choice—a woman who wanted to see who was coming rather than admire the view.The bookshelves along the wall held medical texts and bound reports, their spines aligned as though they had never been pulled in haste.The only personal touch was a small framed photograph near the corner of the desk, angled away so it was not visible from the chairs.
Holloway stood when they entered.She was perhaps sixty, with silver hair cut close to her face and reading glasses pushed up on her head.She wore a dark blazer over a cream blouse, and her handshake, when she offered it to Cadie first, was firm.
"Ms.Ladd," Holloway said, "thank you for coming.I don't normally work on Sundays, but I have a packed schedule and wanted to be sure to fit you in."
"Thank you for seeing us," Cadie said.
Holloway shook Barrett's hand next, then pulled out one of the two chairs arranged before the desk, and Cadie sat down.He took the chair beside her.
Holloway settled into her own seat and folded her hands on the desk.She did not open a file or reach for notes, which told Cadie she had prepared thoroughly enough not to need them.
"I've reviewed everything that was provided to me," Holloway said."I want to share my conclusions with you.Based on the information we have, medical manipulation is not only possible, but likely.Celia Ann Stratton was prescribed multiple heart medications, including beta blockers, ACE inhibitors, and diuretics."
Cadie kept very still.She had expected the words, or some version, and yet hearing them was still startling.The meetings with Barrett, the financial records, and the timeline she had constructed had led to this meeting.She watched Barrett across the distance between their chairs.He was leaning forward with his hands resting on his knees.He asked in a steady voice, "What is your conclusion, Dr.Holloway?"
