Mr. Good Bad Guy

26 - In My Favor

"Dr. Sinclair, can you–"

I jumped as I felt a hand clamp down on my shoulder. I turned around to see Dr. Acosta staring at me as if I'd lost my mind. I half smiled, hoping he'd ignore how freaked out I'd gotten. I'd been jittery since the night the house burned down. I told myself I wouldn't get too involved, but I found myself searching for Erik McCarthy to find out who he really was.

"You've been working hard since you came back to work," he said. "But..not hard enough. You missed your last two appointments at the prison. Do I need to put you on probation? You're neglecting--"

I cut him off. "No, I'm sorry. It won't happen again." I knew what he was going to say. He was going to talk about how I'd been slacking off at work, how I was losing focus. But I couldn't tell him about my days spent searching for Erik McCarthy, trying to find out who he really was beneath everything.

Dr. Acosta studied me for a moment before nodding. "Alright. If it does, you know what to expect." He patted my shoulder and walked away. I exhaled slowly, trying to calm my racing thoughts. "Wait, what are you doing for lunch?"

"Nothing, sir. I haven't made any plans."

"Would you like to go with me? I know a place that serves amazing tacos." He paused, studying me for a moment. "You know...as friends." He smiled.

I hesitated for a moment. I hadn't eaten since breakfast, and the thought of food was appealing. I glanced at my watch, noting that I had a few hours before my next appointment. "Sure."

"Great. Why don't you try to catch up on some actual work before we leave? Dr. Wellington will be doing workplace assessments next week."

I nodded, taking a seat at my desk. The weight of the files seemed to press down on me as I opened the first one. I glanced at the photo of the young man in the file. His eyes were soft, almost dreamy. He looked so different from the hardened criminals I'd grown accustomed to seeing in the prison. I wondered what had led him to this point in his life.

Time passed quickly as I worked, my mind occasionally drifting back to the look on Erik's face when I explained everything to him. No matter how hard I tried to convince myself, he didn't seem like the type of person to throw away everything to hide women in his basement. He had too much money to spend. Had he been that bored he turned to kidnapping and murder?

"Are you ready, Dr. Sinclair?" Dr. Acosta appeared in front of me, a mischievous glint in his eye. "We don't want to keep the tacos waiting, do we?"

I stood up, forcing a smile. "No, of course not. Let's go." I gathered my things and followed him out of the office. As we walked through the halls, the air seemed heavier, the colors duller. It was as if the entire world had shifted somehow.

As soon as he pulled out of the parking lot, I immediately noticed that he wasn't going the right way. I was expecting food, so why was he taking the way out of town?

"Sir, where are we going?" I asked.

"We're not at work," he said. "And I thought maybe you'd want a chance to see the crime scene. You've been...out of it since you came back."

"But--"

"Do you want to see or not? I saved a few things for you."

I smiled to myself, wondering what he wanted me to see. I wanted to take Nayeli, but this was even better. At least no one would question me if they wanted to know where we'd gone. Dr. Acosta was my insurance.

"To answer your burning question, Erik McCarty is a person of interest," he said. "I know you've been wondering that. We haven't found him yet. His neighbors say he's been out of town, but his employer and colleagues say otherwise."