“I think one of the doctors at the hospital is murdering patients,” she said without preemption.
Okay, considering the alarm that crossed Dr. Lambert’s face, she probably could have come up with a better way to start this whole thing. But it was out now.
“Perhaps you had better start from the beginning,” he said in a tone that was far calmer than Lexi would have expected. “This sounds like something I should definitely hear.”
Lexi nodded, telling Dr. Lambert everything she knew as he turned his attention back to the test tubes in the rack. She tried not to talk too quickly, but she was intensely aware Patton was downstairs right this second, likely looking at the kid she and Trent had brought in. There wasn’t a lot of time to do this.
Dr. Lambert must have realized it, too, because his eyes widened in concern. “You’re sure the police will be here soon to look for the missing bodies?”
“I assume they’ll take Dr. Patton into custody first, but then they’ll probably start questioning all the people who are normally involved with handling the bodies here at the hospital,” she said. “At some point, I’m sure they’ll find someone who knows something.”
“I’m sure.” Sighing, Dr. Lambert set down the clipboard he’d been holding and picked up a syringe from the table. He glanced at her as he took out a medicine vial from a drawer and plunged the tip of the needle into the rubber stopper then filled the syringe with the clear liquid. “Why don’t you go back down to the ER? I’ll meet you there shortly.”
Lexi nodded and started for the door. She took two steps then stopped and turned back to him. “Thank you for believing me.”
“Actually. I’m the one who should be thanking you for the warning.”
She opened her mouth to tell him she was simply doing her job when she felt a sharp jab in her left arm. Startled, she flinched and tried to pull away, but Dr. Lambert grabbed her elbow and held on tightly. She looked down and saw the barrel of the syringe he’d filled pressed against her triceps.
She jerked her head up to demand an explanation when a wave of dizziness washed over her and everything went fuzzy, making it impossible to get the words out. Suddenly, her legs felt like Jell-O.
Crap. She’d been drugged.
She was vaguely aware of Lambert dragging her back into his lab and closing the door behind them. She shoved feebly at the hand holding her arm, but her muscles were complete mush. Humming to himself, Lambert lowered to the floor as her legs gave out. Then everything went black.
* * * * *
“Have you found her yet?” Dane demanded as he met up with Trent and Logan in the middle of the hallway leading to the ER.
His gut clenched when both men shook their heads. He cursed, torn between punching the wall and letting out a string of even more colorful expletives. Instead, he resisted the urge to do either and took a deep breath.
“Tell me everything again,” he said to Trent. “When was the last time anyone saw Lexi?”
Dane had still been working clean-up at the residential house fire, when Trent called him to say Lexi was missing. Dane had been so busy fighting the fire, he hadn’t even realized Lexi had left to take anyone to the hospital. He’d immediately checked in with his lieutenant, dropped his bunker suit with Jax then grabbed a ride to the hospital from a PD officer.
“Lexi’s friend Melinda saw her about two hours ago,” Trent said as Logan moved to the side to answer his cell phone. “When Lexi told Melinda her suspicions about Patton, she suggested Lexi talk to a doctor named Lambert. He’s the attending physician in charge of the residents, so Melinda thought he might be able to help.”
Okay, that was new. “So had Lambert seen her?”
Trent shrugged. “I don’t know because he’s missing, too. According to Detective Maxwell, neither one of them was caught on the security cameras anywhere in the hospital.”
Shit. “What about Patton?”
“He’s in custody,” Logan said, coming back over to join them. “He’s claiming he had nothing to do with the three deaths we’re investigating, or Lexi’s disappearance. Unfortunately, he’s also starting to go through withdrawal symptoms from whatever drugs he’s been taking, so I don’t know if we can trust anything he says.”
“Did anyone see Patton leave at any point before Lexi and Lambert went missing?” Dane asked.
Logan shook his head, but before he could say any more, his cell rang again. “I gotta get this.”
“They’re going to find her,” Trent said as the detective answered his phone. “Detective Maxwell told me they’re scouring the entire hospital for any sign of her or Lambert and they have BOLOs out, too. She’s going to be okay.”
Dane nodded, his chest tightening more with every passing second. He had no idea where Lexi was, but his gut told him she was in trouble. And all he could do about it was stand here and pray Logan and the rest of the cops found someone who might have seen something useful. Dammit, he hated standing around like this!
“We’ve got something,” Logan announced.
Putting his phone away, he ran down the hallway. Dane followed, Trent right on his heels.
“What is it?” Dane demanded. “Did you find her?”
