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Chapter Twenty-Two
Brooklyn Sloane
December 2022
Monday — 7:11am
“Yourex-wifehadanaffair with Dr. Trenton Yackley, she became pregnant with his child, and she never blinked an eye when she lied to your face about you being the father.” Brook kept her voice low, but she made sure to maintain direct eye contact with Dr. Neil Cranston. “To this day, she doesn’t know that you are sterile.”
“I’ll call security,” Dr. Cranston warned quietly as he finally glanced away to see if anyone had overheard her. “You can’t talk to me without my lawyer pre—“
“I’m not with the police, Dr. Cranston. I don’t have to follow their rules.”
Brook had taken a guess that a man like Dr. Cranston would have a hard time forgoing his daily routine just because he wasn’t performing surgeries at the hospital. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, he arrived at his exclusive country club to meet with his personal trainer. His dedication to his health routine was admirable.
She could sense that he was aware of her identity, which meant that he’d spoken to Dr. Kolsby at some point regarding her involvement. Odds were that was before Dr. Kolsby decided to throw Devin Cranston under the bus.
“I can see from your expression that you’ve connected the dots. You would be correct, by the way.” Brook had taken off her leather gloves upon arrival, so she was able to slip her hands inside her pockets without any restriction. She’d been early to make sure she could catch the surgeon before he walked into the men’s locker room of the country club. “I imagine that Dr. Kolsby was hoping such a diversion would take the limelight off of Nolan.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
Brook lifted the corner of her mouth at how astute Dr. Cranston was even while being taken by surprise. Now that she had his attention, she turned and walked over to a private area where they could continue their conversation without being overheard.
She had no doubt that he would follow.
“Tell me about the call you received last week requesting a clandestine meeting out in the woods,” Brook instructed as she took a seat in one of the two chairs in front of a coffee table. They were close enough to guarantee that their voices wouldn’t drift across the large foyer. “I take it that you didn’t recognize the number, but did you recognize the voice?”
Dr. Cranston sat in the other chair, though he took his time doing so. She figured that he was trying to process her words, but she’d thrown a lot at him in a short amount of time. Brook set her purse next to the chair. Her phone was tucked into the side pocket and set on vibrate.
“Talk to my lawyer.”
“Dr. Cranston, I might be the only person involved in this case that doesn’t believe you killed those women,” Brook said honestly as she casually reached for one of the fastened buttons on her dress coat. Once she was more comfortable and her words had a chance to penetrate the man’s frustration, she continued. “I believe it’s in your best interest to answer my questions.”
“Or what? You’ll tell the world that Devin isn’t my biological son?”
Brook had been monitoring the man’s body language, and he wasn’t just frustrated over the situation. He was terrified, but not for himself.
“Devin has no idea that you’re not his biological father, does he?” Brook asked cautiously, wanting to ensure that she’d read the signs right. She was coming to the realization that Dr. Kolsby had taken his life-altering diagnosis and chose to protect his family above all else. Instead of Nolan being the center of attention, the spotlight was now on Devin. “Dr. Cranston, I’ll say it again. I’m not here to trick you into confessing to a crime that I highly doubt you committed. While it is true that killers return to the scene of the crime—in this case, the burial site—I don’t believe that you would be foolish enough to do so after you were identified as a suspect in Natalie Thorne’s disappearance.”
“I had nothing to do with Natalie’s disappearance,” Dr. Cranston said with a touch of desperation. He ran a hand down his face as if he couldn’t believe that his life was disintegrating right before his eyes. “I was fond of Natalie. We weren’t serious, but it could have turned out that way. As for Devin, no…he doesn’t know that he’s not my biological son, and I don’t want him to find out. He’s my son in every way that counts. He doesn’t need the trauma of finding out about his mother’s infidelities under these circumstances.”
“Did you kill those women?” Brook asked directly.
“No. God, no. I’m a surgeon,” Dr. Cranston exclaimed as if that made all the difference in the world. He spread his fingers wide and held up his hands. “I swore an oath, Ms. Sloane. And I know my son. I’m not saying that he’s an angel, by any measure. He has a wild streak a mile long, but he could never do what you’re suggesting.”
“What happened with Andrea Firth?”
“Andrea was stealing drugs from the hospital and selling them to whoever had the money and desire to distribute them.” Dr. Cranston finally lowered his hands, but he didn’t take his gaze off them. “Devin was one of her customers. I put him into rehab shortly after that night.”
“Was she fired?”
“Yes, from my understanding.” Dr. Cranston shrugged, as if anything was possible. “I’m sure you’d be able to get more information from one of the board members or the HR department.”
“Andrea was fired the day before a fundraising event, yet she still made an appearance. Why? And what happened that night that would prompt Devin to get into an altercation with Nolan?”
“How the hell would you know that?” Dr. Cranston asked with disbelief. “Are our phones tapped?”
Brook weighed her options, but it wouldn’t do to have Dr. Cranston paranoid. She decided to tell him the truth.
