She hesitated a moment.
For all I knew, she could have been in on it.
"Look, I know everything that goes on in this office—who comes in, what procedures they have, and what they’re billed. There are patients that I don't remember, that I never saw, that had expensive procedures. Paid for in cash. Their entries just show up. Someone adds them when I’m not here. I’ve asked Dr. Latham about it, and she always dismisses it or says she had an after-hours client.”
"That's exactly what I'm looking for.”
“To be honest, there are dozens of those. It never sat well with me. But I liked my job and wanted to keep it. What was I supposed to do?”
"Are you in the office all day today?" I asked.
"Yes. I'm planning to step out and get a little lunch about noon, but other than that, I'll be here.” Then she added, “You’re not going to arrest me, are you?”
“No,” I said with a chuckle.
“Whew!”
"I could stop by while you’re at lunch. You could just happen to leave the billing information and appointments available on your computer screen. You wouldn't be directly divulging any patient information.”
It wasn't exactly ethical, but neither was torturing and murdering someone in a dental office.
"By the way," Pepper said. "Dr. Latham didn't do implants. She did fillings, crowns, general dentistry, that kind of thing. She sends her implant work to Dr. Marston. Between you and me, Dr. Crane is much better. But I digress.”
"The people who killed Dr. Latham were inquiring about an implant she had done.”
Pepper said, "Maybe they were just confused.” Then she added, “I'll leave the door unlocked. The screensaver locks out after 15 minutes, so make sure you access the computer before then.”
I thanked her for her cooperation, then ended the call.
JD and I drove to the office and arrived at noon. We stepped in, just as Pepper stepped out. There was no one else in the office as far as I knew.
Jack and I made our way around the counter. I took a seat at the computer terminal. There was no security screen. Pepper had the recent appointments pulled up, and I scrolled through them, making a note of anyone who had been in recently for a crown.
One name stood out in particular.
“Is that…?” JD said, looking over my shoulder.
Rachel, Dr. Latham's assistant, stepped into the office and caught us red-handed. Her face twisted, and she looked at us with confusion. "What are you doing?"
JD and I shared a guilty look.
"What brings you into the office today?" I asked, changing the subject.
"I thought I'd pick up some of my things. It's not like I'm going to be working here anymore. I just got another job over at Dr. Denton’s office. I start tomorrow."
"Let me ask you something. You worked with Dr. Latham on all her procedures?”
"Yes."
"Did you notice anything unusual over the last couple of months?"
"What do you mean by unusual?”
“It looks like Senator Bergen was a patient recently?”
"Aren't those protected records?" she said in a sassy tone.
"The only thing I care about right now is finding out who murdered your former boss. And with the kind of people she kept company with, I think it's in your best interest if I find out."
