“Yeah, we heard,” Hammerton replied, showing the first bit of sympathy on his face that David had seen.“I get it, man.Better safe than sorry, right?”
“Sure,” David replied with a shrug.“I think it’s a waste of time, but she’s the boss.”
“Hell, I wouldn’t say no to her,” Rogers opined.He reddened a little, maybe realizing how that comment could have been taken.“Anyway, we’ll give you a ride and hang out in the waiting room or something.”
Perfect.“That works.Again, thank you guys.”
He finished his coffee, hiding his smile with his mug.He might not be a sharp super-investigator like Faith, but he could be sneaky when he needed to be.
And he needed to be.This was important.Whether Faith admitted it or not, this was worth the risks he was taking.
***
“Wow,” Mary said when David stepped through the STAFF ONLY door.“Are those for me?”
David raised an eyebrow.“Does your husband know you look at other men?”
“Hey, I can’t order, but I can read the menu.”She glanced over the counter at David’s two bodyguards, both of whom comically dwarfed the chairs they were sitting in.“And I will read thehellout of those menus.”
“Read away.”
“Any reason you’re here on your day off?”
“Yeah, just have to check on a couple of things.”She raised an eyebrow, and he said, “I’ve been getting a little lazy with paperwork lately.I figured I’d catch up so I’m not drowning tomorrow.”
“Ah,” she replied.She smiled at Rogers and Hammerton.“You take your time, Dr.Friedman.”
David patted his receptionist on the shoulder.He headed to his office, sharing brief greetings with the nurses he passed in the hallway.As soon as he was in his office, he locked the door and put some music on, keeping the volume low but high enough that no one could overhear him through the door.
He sat at his desk and logged into the second user profile he’d created for this investigation.Since Faith had so easily retrieved deleted information from his laptop’s hard drive, he was no longer convinced that he could hide anything if anyone chose to look, but he needed to keep information somewhere, and if he played meek, then maybe no one would think to look.
Still, his heart pounded as he opened the list of people he’d identified who might know what was going on with the 93rdTesting Brigade.The list was small, but he knew from his conversations with Faith that it only took one thread to unravel a mystery.
He opened his desk and pulled out the prepaid phone he’d bought to have these conversations.Once they were finished, he would throw the phone away so it couldn’t be connected to him.
He dialed the first number, a widow whose husband was killed in combat shortly after lodging repeated requests for information about the reassignment of his working dog.David wasn’t ready to suspect that he had died by friendly fire, but he wasn’t ready to dismiss that possibility either.
The woman answered on the third ring.“Hello, this is Anneliese Kowalski.”
“Good morning, Miss Kowalski.My name is Dr.Daniel Tarrington.I’m a private detective investigating the disappearance of a military working dog.I understand that your husband once dealt with something like this?”
Anneliese was quiet for a long moment.“Who is this?I thought this was the party planner calling about the flowers for my sister’s wedding.”
“No, ma’am.I’m Daniel Tarrington.”
“DoctorDaniel Tarrington, the private detective?”
Shit.“Yeah, I dropped out after my internship.I still got the degree, but I’m not really cut out for the medical field.Too much blood.”
“Hmm.And what’s your license number,Mr.Tarrington?”
Shit again.“You’re not in trouble, Miss Kowalski.I just need to ask a few questions so I can see if your experience is anything like what my client is going through.”
“I’m hanging up now.”
“No, wait!”
For a moment, he feared she had indeed hung up, but a few seconds later, he heard a heavy sigh.“Yes?”
