THE THERAPIST

09

𝐂 𝐡 𝐚 𝐩 𝐭 𝐞 𝐫  𝟗

     “Wait, doc,” Meredith murmured, moving toward my desk. “You know someone in rehab who wanted to hurt you?”

     “I wished. Not someone. It’s worse than that. She’s my sister and also a drug addict.” I swallowed hard, then added, “She hates me because I put her there. She tried to kill me. Twice.”

     Detective Spade threw me a look, kept his eyes on me, and then moved them away.

     “Whoa!” Meredith let out. “That’s a hell of a family feud. You think she could’ve had something to do with the murders?”

     I shook my head frantically. “No. One—she can’t get out of the rehab center. I made sure of that. Two—she’s not smart. She couldn’t have killed anyone of them without being caught in the act. Three—she hates me. If she wants to settle a score, she’ll attack me. Not my clients.”

     “Okay,” Meredith said, “so she’s eliminated from the list. Got anybody who hates you enough to kill your clients?”

     “I’d have to think thoroughly first. Give me a day or two, and I will get back to you.”

     “All right.” She went into her pocket and pulled out a card. Handing it over she said, “Call me if you get anything.”

     I flipped the card in my hands, my mind grappling with the thoughts someone would kill my clients just to get even with me. Then Garry’s voice echoed.

     There was a figure last night standing on the street and watching the house.

     Oh my God! Could this be the same person Garry saw yesterday? Should I tell the cops? I didn’t completely trust them. Meredith seemed like a nice cop. Spade, on the other hand, was very hostile toward me. They can’t help me when they think I’m hiding something. I had to get to the bottom of this. On my own.

     I placed the card behind my purse. “Sure.”

     Meredith adjusted her jacket and stood.

     Spade cleared his throat. “Should we look into this as a single murder?”

     I had thought the murders weren’t connected at first until Meredith mentioned her hunch to me. “At the moment, yes. Check Lucas out. If Rosalind broke up with him, then he has a very plausible reason to kill her. He financially depended on her.”

     “We’ll need his home address now,” he said.

     “Sure.” I felt their eyes on me as I walked to the built-in cabinet where I stored the files of my clients. I pulled out Rosalind’s file and glanced over the pages. I walked to my desk, grabbed a pen, and wrote down Lucas’ home address.

     I extended a hand. “Here you go.”

     Meredith collected it, looked at it, and dipped it into her pocket. “Thanks for your time, Doc.”

     “Anytime,” I said, hoping I wouldn’t ever have to see them again.

     Spade had taken the lead. Meredith followed behind. They walked out, closing the door.

     I let out a sigh, then fell back on the chair. This wasn’t good. The murders were connected. I was the target. Edna! I had to see her. I hadn’t heard from her in a while. But first things first. I’d have to go—

     The door swung open without so much as a knock. Dr. Mann stood on the threshold, holding two styrofoam cups. Her brown her swinging wantonly, she made it to my desk in seconds, the clicks of her high heels piercing my ears.