“I’ve spoken to the DA, and he believes we do.”
“Why don’t you sound more pleased about that?” I ask cautiously.
“Our tech guys also found a message stream that Mr. Underhill had clearly attempted to delete. It was between him and a second person. We’ve tried to trace the number, but it’sa disposable burner phone, probably purchased from a grocery store.”
“And what do these messages say?” I question, already knowing exactly what they say.
“It seems that Mr. Underhill and his accomplice were planning to hurt your wife.”
“What?” I gasp.
“It appears that whoever Mr. Underhill is working with, their aim is to hurt you, and they believe that the best way to do that is by hurting your wife. It appears it may be someone close to you, someone that you may know or may have known in the past.”
Chief Turner goes on to suggest that he station police officers at the house to act as personal protection, but I decline his offer, letting him know that we have it handled and that Starling will remain safe. After he reluctantly agrees, he ends the call with the promise that he and his detectives will discover Tom’s accomplices’ identities soon and apprehend them.
When Clay planted an edited version of the texts between Courtney and Tom yesterday in his deleted files, we knew it would lay the groundwork for Courtney ultimately being discovered, but we decided to keep out the messages where she’d lied about trying to blackmail me because we need to make sure that no matter what we do to Courtney, it can never be linked back to us.
When my cell rings again, it’s a notification that my visitor has arrived, so I push out of my chair and head to the door to meet them.
“Dr. Harris, thank you for coming,” I greet him warmly, holding out my hand to him the moment he’s close enough.
“It’s lovely to see you again, Sebastian. How are you? How is your wife?”
“Come in,” I say, stepping back so that he can enter the house. “Starling and I are both well, thank you. Come on backto my office so we can talk,” I suggest, leading the way. Taking a seat behind my desk, I gesture to one of the seats in front of me, then wait while Dr. Harris places his old-fashioned leather medical bag on the floor.
“Is your wife here?”
“She’s upstairs,” I tell him.
“Will she be joining us?” he asks, glancing over his shoulder to the doorway.
“No, she won’t.”
His bushy eyebrows furrow in confusion. “I thought you wanted to talk about fertility treatments?”
“I’m not sure if you remember, but my wife has a very severe fear of needles, so she’s tasked me with explaining our needs to you. I’m sure you understand.”
“Oh,” Dr. Harris says, his lips folding into a flat line. “I do have a vague memory of us talking about this before, many years ago.”
Smiling confidently, I nod. “My wife and I are trying for a baby. She’s been using oral birth control for a number of years, and given that we’re hoping to get pregnant as quickly as possible, we were hoping you’d be able to give us both something to boost our chances of conception.”
“I see. Well. You’re both young and healthy, I can’t see why medically you wouldn’t be able to conceive naturally without intervention.”
“Our health isn’t my concern, although my wife has asked that you perform an exam on her to check that there’s nothing of concern that could prevent conception.”
“She has a gynecologist?—”
Interrupting, I say. “Oh yes, she sees her regularly, but as our family doctor, we were hoping you could just double-check before you give her the shot.”
“Well, I mean.”
“I’m so appreciative of your help over the years. Harry said that your son is such an asset at the company, and I know my mother is on the board for GAA and that she mentioned your granddaughter is in line to graduate top of her class,” I say, reminding him of all the things he’s taken from us over the years in payment for his ability to look the other way in some of the more morally gray decisions I and my brothers have made for our women.
Sighing, like he knows he doesn’t really have a choice, he nods. “I’d need to talk to your wife.”
“Of course. Let’s head upstairs, shall we?” Pushing out of my chair, I circle my desk and then motion for Dr. Harris to follow me, as I stride through the house and up the stairs toward our bedroom. Pausing outside our bedroom door, I turn to the doctor. “Would you mind waiting here while I let Starling know that you’ve arrived?”
“Of course.”
