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Candance got up from her little desk and stepped out ofsight. She disappeared down a small hallway to the left, tucked away behind the wall that separated the administrative desks from the lobby. Rachel wasn’t sure how this would play out, and as she waited, she understood just how simple and devious this was. Was she really going to break the law in order to help Jack with a case?
Yes. Yes, she was. She and Jack had often bent the rules to help speed a case along, and this wasn’t all that different. Besides, now that she was basically no longer an agent, she could see the obstacles and headaches they often had to deal with for what they were: simple bureaucratic nonsense that was often disguised as rights. While she was all for privacy, especially when it came to personal medical records, she also knew that red tape that kept these things under wraps for criminal investigations often caused more issues than they solved.
It took another two or three minutes before Candace returned. When she did, she looked hurried and still slightly annoyed.“Here’s the deal, ma’am. We don’t have you in our records, but we do have a few doctors that work with Dr. Emerson. You’re not in the schedule for Regina Little or anyone else, but I’ve got someone that can talk to you to figure out what has happened. Sound good?”
“Yes. Thank you. Where do I—”
“Come on around through the door to your right and then take the first left you come to. You’ll be speaking with Ms. Clements in Office 106.”
“Thank you so much.”
She walked quickly to the door in question and took a hallway that led her behind the admin desks. As she made her way to Office 106, she thought about the hunch she'd felt when speaking to Jack. At the time, she’d thought her own situation might be influencing the hunch, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense.
The killer had brutally murdered these doctors. It made her think it was an act of revenge. And if that were the case, she thought it was safe to also assume that the killer had been given some bad news. Maybe he'd been given fatal news and was trying to eliminate those he thought were responsible for it. During her darker moments of wrestling with her own diagnosis, she had been faced with similar thoughts and feelings. She knew it wasn't very logical and borderline morbid, but there had been times when she had entertained dark fantasies about hurting people like Dr. Emerson. These were thoughts she would never act out on, of course, but the thoughts themselves did seem to relieve a bit of tension.
If they were dealing with a killer that was already inclined to violence, she had no problem whatsoever imagining that such a person could be driven to violent outbursts or even murder. If she were still an active agent, this would be a theory she might keep to herself for a bit longer. She’d need more evidence to present it to Jack. But based on what she knew of the case she was working under the impression that this killer was terminal.
She came to Office 106 and knocked on the door, which was partially open. The thin, African American lady sitting behind the desk grinned widely at her. But she also looked a little taken off guard. She could only imagine this woman's reaction when Candace had come back and explained the confused and frantic woman she was dealing without at the administration desk.
“Ms. Tate, right?” the woman asked.
“Yes, and you’re Mrs. Clements?”
“I am. Now, Candace tells me there are quite a few issues going on with your paperwork, is that right?”
“Yes, apparently. And I don’t understand. I was asked to come in and…and…”
She felt childish, but she put some of her subpar acting skills on display. She partially collapsed into the chair in front of Clements’desk, and though she didn’t try making herself cry, she did make it sound as if she was slightly panicked.
“It’s okay,” Clements said. “Let’s just take it one step at a time. Now, what was you name again?”
“Paige Tate.”
Clements then performed another step in Rachel’s plan by typing the made-up name into the hospital’s database. It took just a few more seconds for her to look away from her screen with an apologetic frown. “Honey, your name just isn’t in the system. Would it be under anything else?”
“Are you spelling Tate right?”
“And how is it spelled?”
“T-a-i-t,” she lied. And then, right away, she made a point to pinch her face up as if she were on the verge of tears. “Mrs. Clements, I’m so sorry. Could I…do you have water anywhere nearby?”
“Are you okay, dear?” Clements asked, getting out of her chair.
“Yes, I’m just…anxious…about the chemo stuff, meeting with Dr. Emerson later, and…I just…my mouth is all dry and I’m just…”
“One second, sweetie. Give me just a minute.”
With that, Clements got up and hurried out of the office. Rachel wasted no time, walking behind Clements’ desk. The database had been left open, and Rachel wasted no time helping herself. She quickly found the option to filter by specialty and doctor, typing inMatthews.The connection was fast, and a listing for Dr. Evan Matthews popped up. She quickly looked for an option for his schedule, found it, and pulled it up.
She knew she had limited time, so she started with the most recent patients. She opened each one and snapped a picture with her phone. By the time she snapped the first picture, shehad assumed twenty seconds had passed. She opened file after file, taking picture after picture and working as quickly as she could.
When she thought sheheard motion coming from just outside the door, she closed out of theMatthewssearch. She hurried back around to her chair, but Clements came into the office before she sat back down.
“Are you okay?”
“No,” Rachel said. “Feeling sick. Where’s the nearest restroom?”
“Down the hall, right at the end.”
