“Thanks,” Jack said, hoping the schedule he held in his hands would serve as a quick solution to this case.

  He took the schedule with him over to a small waiting area just off of the HR window. He honestly wasn’t even sure what he was looking for. Certainly, the patients the doctor had seen during the day weren’t currently in a hospital bed. Or maybe patients that seemed to have rescheduled often or getting bumped from Dr. Matthew’s schedule.

  He noted right away that there were no details concerning the nature of the appointments on the schedule. This didn't surprise him because he knew there was a huge wall to be knocked down in terms of learning about the patient's diagnoses. In fact, he was pretty sure a good portion of his day tomorrow would be spent making calls and trying to get Anderson and some other higher-ups to somehow get the hospital to make exceptions for the case.

  At first glance, he got exactly what he’d been expecting out of this list: nothing. But then he thought of the files from the first doctor that had been killed three days ago. He hadn’t even looked those files over yet—a complete oversight on his part and something Rachel would have instantly started to connect. He opened up the files, looking to see if anyone had bothered to get the schedule and patient names of the first doctor.

  He didn’t find anything so helpful, but he did see the crime scene photos. It was a very similar situation, wherein the doctor—a primary care physician specialist by the name of Dr. Leery—had been brutally attacked in a parking garage. The driver’s side window had been smashed in, and there were splatters of blood around some of the fragments, indicating that his head had likely been slammed into it. Cut marks all along the side of the deceased doctor's face back to this up. There was also blood on the side of a concrete pillar directly beside the parking spot, not to mention the copious amount on the concrete.

  Like Matthews, Leery seemed to have no boiled-down specialty. He was listed as a general practitioner and primary care physician. He’d been killed outside of his car at 6:17 three afternoons ago, and there was no security footage of any kind. So that was another thing these murders had in common: the doctors had been killed shortly after their shift had ended, and there was no security footage. That suggested that the killer knew these doctors’ schedules as well as the location of security cameras…that, or he’d been incredibly lucky.

  There was, of course, the idea that these two murders might not be linked at all. It could all be a very violent coincidence. But Jack’s gut was already saying otherwise. The brutality and the amount of blood was just too much to look beyond.

  He looked through the contents of the file one more time but again found no patient lists or schedules. He supposed whoever had put it together had gotten the briefest amount of pushback from the hospital and called it a day. It happened; he knew this all too well. But that was going to have to be something he’d need to take care of himself tomorrow.

  And sadly, it would have to wait until tomorrow. He knew there would be no one in the hospital offices to help him with such red tape at such an hour.

  With a defeated sigh, Jack got up out of the chair and headed for the exit. He checked his phone and saw that it was nearing midnight. The coroner would be of no use for another few hours, and though forensics might be able to offer some breadcrumbs, he knew nothing substantial would come out of their work for another six hours at least. And with roadblocks with the first doctor’s patients list, there was nothing he could do.

  For now, Jack’s hands were tied. He knew what he was going to do. He was going to head home, get some sleep, and tackle this thing headfirst tomorrow. But as he left the hospital and walked across the parking lot for his car, he couldn’t help but wonder what Rachel would think of such an idea. She’d come up with something they could do. And though there were times when he thought he was striking blindly out into the dark was a waste of their time, he had to admit that it paid off more times than not.

  It almost had him rethinking his plans for the rest of the night. Maybe he could go back to the field office and do a deep dive on the two doctors. But if he was being honest himself, he couldn’t find the motivation to do it. Still, so he wouldn’t feel so guilty and lazy, he sent a quick email to Anderson from his car before he left the hospital, letting him know about the obstacles that would be in his way until morning.

  He then left the hospital and drove in the direction of his apartment. For one fleeting moment, he thought about texting Rachel to see if she was still awake—if she might want to spend a bit more time on her patio. But he knew that was overreaching…that even if she wanted to, the reality of just how quickly things were developing between them would have to be faced head-on.

  And he wasn’t sure if he was ready to face it completely just yet. Because at the end of the day, he knew she was going to die, if not in a couple of months, then in about a year and a half. If she opted to do the chemo and try to get a few more years out of it all, he’d gladly be there by her side. That he was willing to admit without an issue.

  But what was going to be hard to admit to her (and, he supposed, fully to himself) was that he was quickly falling in love with a woman that might be dead in less than two years.

  CHAPTER SIX

  On the morning after Jack had come by only to get pulled away by another case, Rachel woke up feeling a sense of urgency. She wasn't scared, and there was no more panic in her heart about her situation than usual. She simply woke up feeling that she needed to get some things accomplished.

  Ever since she had taken her leave from work, she'd been unable to sleep in. The one exception was the very first morning when she had managed to sleep until about nine o'clock. Every morning since then, she had woken up just shy of six. Most of those mornings were spent in silence on the patio, sitting in the glider with a cup of coffee until Grandma Tate came out.

  But now, seconds after opening her eyes, Rachel got out of bed, brushed her teeth, and went downstairs. She poured a cup of coffee and headed for the patio as usual, but this time she took the small file folder she’d kept tucked in the magazine rack by the couch.

  The folder contained what she was starting to think of as her End-of-Life To-Do List. It contained printouts and pamphlets about the chemo treatments that had been offered to her. As a total alternative to that, it also held a little bucket list of sorts that she had been keeping ever since her first negative diagnosis. It had changed a bit after Peter died, but almost every entry on the list involved Paige. There was information on how to enjoy Disney on a budget, a list of all family-oriented water parks in the state, and information on a few local travel agents that might be able to get the ball rolling on a trip to Hawaii.

  She figured that if she started on this list soon, she could knock every single one of them out before things got bad—whether or not she opted to undergo chemotherapy. It would pretty much wipe out her bank account, but it would be worth it. She knew that within a few weeks, the life insurance policy Peter had would start paying out, but she didn’t want to touch that money just yet. She knew without a doubt that he’d have no issues with her using it to pay for the trips if Paige was involved, but she still felt weird thinking about spending the money in such a way.

  She’d already done the math and knew that she could pull the trigger on the Disney trip whenever she wanted. The idea of it did make her happy, and she knew it was something she wanted to do long before things got worse for her. She started making a to-do list for the day, making a note to call Dr. Emerson’s office to see if it would be safe for her to fly.

  With the day’s to-do list sketched out, she eyed the pamphlets about chemo. Deep down, she was pretty sure it was the route she was going to take. Maybe after Disney and Hawaii, she’d go ahead and do it. It would give her, Paige, and Grandma Tate some wonderful memories to file away before things got too hard.

  As she took a sip from her coffee, her phone buzzed at her. Curious, she checked it right away, not sure who would text her at such an early hour. She smiled when she saw that it was a text from Jack. It simply read: Awake yet?

  She answered back with: Yes. Coffee on the patio.

  Rachel wondered if he’d get a chance to come by at some point today. But if he was burdened with two different cases, she doubted it. Maybe Anderson would take him off of the White Van Case if this newer one was more pressing. She found herself wondering what the new case could be and if Anderson would pair him up with someone new. If he did, she assumed it would be someone fairly new, maybe even a rookie.

  As she wondered about all of this, she heard the patio door open. She scooted over a bit on the glider, expecting Grandma Tate to join her like she did every morning. When she turned to greet her, she was startled to see Jack coming out to join her.

  “Um…well, hey,” she said. “Good morning.”

  “Same to you,” he said, sitting down beside her. She smiled at him when she saw that he had a mug of coffee—a mug from the kitchen. “How’d you…hold on…what?”

  "Well, remember a few months back, you told me where the spare key was. Back when…when you got your first bad news at the doctor. I came in right after I texted you. Your grandmother was in the kitchen, and I think I inadvertently scared the hell out of her. She poured me a cup of coffee and told me to take her place for the morning."

  “Well, it’s nice to see you.”

  “You, too.”

  “I figured you’d be running ragged with two cases.”

  “Oh, Anderson pretty much took me off of the one about the white van. The one I got called in for last night is taking priority.”

  “How late did it keep you out last night?”

  “I got home at 12:30. There are a lot of roadblocks I need to try to find ways around today.”

  “Sounds exciting. Want to tell me about it?”

  He leaned in and kissed her on the corner of the mouth. “If you want to hear about it…sure.”

  “I told you already,” she said, “I’m going to be living vicariously through you for quite a while.”

  “Okay. Well, it seems there have been two doctors murdered in the city over the last four days. One of them was killed last night in his office. The other was attacked in a parking garage. Two different hospitals, but both doctors are basic primary care physicians. The murders are violent. Lots of blood, indications of brutal violence.”

  Rachel considered this for a moment and said, “I take it some of the obstacles you’re trying to get around are related to getting patient information?”

  “Yes, exactly.” He smiled and took her hand. “So at six’ clock this morning, I was on the phone, seeking a warrant from a judge that will allow me to get access to the medical records. For right now, I’d be happy with just the patient lists, but I only have those from one of the doctors.”

  “You talked to a judge at six?”

  "No. An assistant or secretary…something like that. I was pretty hostile about it; I have to admit. I made it clear that I needed the warrant right away so I could start investigating as early as possible. She said she'd pass the message along urgently. I should know something by eight o'clock."

  She nodded, a sympathetic look on her face. But he saw the faintest traces of excitement there, too. He could see her trying to slip into the agent mindset, wanting to help figure out who this killer might be and what their motive was.

  “So…someone is attacking doctors in a brutal, angry way."

  “Yeah, that sums it up.”

  “Is there evidence of a weapon?”

  “At the most recent scene, yeah, it looks like it. A knife, almost certainly. I’ll know for sure after I check in with the coroner.”

  “I’m guessing the killer is angry… that these might be revenge killings. Maybe the result of receiving bad news.”

  She knew Jack had likely assumed the same thing. All the signs were there. It wasn't enough to just kill them. These doctors were being bludgeoned. But she took note of how he was saying nothing along those lines as he sat with her. He wanted to watch her mind at work. He wanted to let her stretch her work muscles, to be a part of this case, even if it was in an unofficial and minuscule way. He was kind of like that. And he also knew just how much she was missing work.

  “If he wanted them dead,” Rachel went on, “a simple gunshot would do. Of course, that would be louder and draw attention…” She pondered this for a moment, sipping at her coffee.

  Jack sighed and said, “It was weird being at a scene like that last night and not having you around.”

  She smiled and said, “It’s good to know I’m missed.”

  “And I can’t help but notice what you’re looking at this morning,” he said, nodding to the End-of-Life Bucket List folder. She also took note of the pamphlet that was sticking out halfway. “Any chance you’ve made a decision yet?”

  “No. But I’m leaning heavily one way in particular.”

  “And can I ask which way that might be?”

  Before she could even begin to think of a way to dodge the question, Jack’s phone rang. “Oh no,” she said, chuckling. “I guess you need to take that call, huh?”

  He smiled at her, shaking his head as he dug his phone out of his pocket. He shrugged and showed Rachel the number. “This would be the judge.”

  She waved him on, gesturing for him to go ahead and answer it. She found that she was just as anxious as he seemed to be; she knew very well how much harder his day was about to be if the judge denied his request for a warrant.

  Rachel wasn’t sure why, but she was oddly touched when Jack didn’t bother standing up from the glider and taking a few steps away when he took the call. Instead, he remained exactly where he was, again seeming to make sure she felt as involved as possible. She sat and listened to his side of the conversation and could tell within the first few seconds that things weren’t going to go his way.

  “This is Agent Rivers… yes, and thanks for the speedy response. Yes, I can… wait, is he sure? I know that, but this is a…yes, as long as you know that you’re making this so much harder than it needs to be.” He looked at her, anger starting to register in his eyes, and shook his head. “I’m not being rude,” he said to the phone. “I’m just stating a fact…yes…yes…and what about something as simple as the patient list? No… you can give me that. I don’t even need anything personal. Just the names to compare the doctors and… yes. Yes, that would be appreciated.”

  He ended the call and uttered a curse word under his breath.

  “Sorry,” Rachel said. She leaned in and kissed him on the mouth, quick and soft. “But it seems like you’re at least getting the list, right?”

  “Yeah. Within the hour. And they also said if I can get more evidence to prove these murders were by the same killer, I could try again.”

  “Well, that’s infuriating.”

  “Yeah… yeah, it is.” He got to his feet and seemed to realize for the first time that he hadn’t even touched his coffee yet. He took a large slurp of it before setting it down on the little patio by the glider.

  “You know,” Rachel said, an idea suddenly coming to her. It felt far-fetched but, somehow, slightly thrilling. “I think I might be able to help.”

  “Um… yeah, I don’t think you should risk it. And I think Anderson might go nuclear on your if you even try to get active in this case.”

  “Oh, no, nothing like that. I just… do you trust me?”

  “That’s a loaded question. Are we talking overall or only when it comes to work?”

  She scowled at him playfully. “Never mind then. Just let me…yeah, I think I can help.”

  “Is it going to be worth my time and breath to ask you not to?”

  She stood up and kissed him again, a bit longer and with more intensity this time. “Yes, it would. Be careful out there. And text me when you can.”

  He eyed her skeptically, finally walking to the back door and opening it. “You be careful, too.”

  She watched him pass back through the back door and knew she should have walked him out. But as badly as she didn’t want him to leave, she knew it would just make everything so much harder. So she sat back down in the glider and started to think carefully about how she could help. The idea was already there; it had come out of nowhere, almost as a joking thought while Jack had been on the phone with the judge.

  She thought it might just work. She was just going to have to think outside of the box. And now, without a job to actually care about losing, she found that she was willing to take a risk.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  The judge declining his request for the medical records was a terrible way to start the day, but at least he’d have the patient list to work from. And he already knew that could go either one of two ways: he’d be done in about an hour and have no connections or leads, or it could have the potential to blow up his day.

  For Jack, the thought of just staying at Rachel’s house for the rest of the day was too alluring. He could make calls and receive emails from here, comparing patient lists. He could stay there and do all of those things until he absolutely had to get moving. Of course, that would not only be unprofessional but unproductive as well. So he’d looked past that tempting urge and pretty much forced himself back through her house, out the front door, and into his car.

  Because he had a bit of time to wait before the judge or the hospital sent over Dr. Leery’s patient list, he drove to the field office. He figured it wouldn't hurt for Anderson to know he'd been in the building at some point during the day. Plus, it would just be much more helpful to have the bureau’s database at his fingertips if the two doctors’ lists ended up providing a match.

  He thought Rachel and the capacity she thought she might be able to help. He wasn't worried about it, but he thought it over a great deal about it as he parked in his usual spot and made his way into the building to his office. What sort of help would she be able to provide, if any? He wondered if she had accumulated a few shady contacts during her time as an agent—maybe even a few people from on the inside. Would she be able to make a few calls and get him the medical records he needed? Or would her recent familiarity with hospitals and doctor's offices pay off somehow? What sort of pan might she have up her sleeve?

 

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