the clinic. Get his opinion. Besides, he's over in Biloxi, and he loves to fish. A day or two in Bowen will be a vacation for him.'
'I will appreciate his help… and yours too, but I wonder if maybe we aren't making a mountain out of what could have been
just a random act.'
'You don't really believe that, do you?'
She rubbed her temples. 'No, I guess I don't. I don't think Ben believes kids did it either,' she admitted. 'He walked around the clinic with me, and we both noticed there weren't any footprints outside the window. The grass was still soggy. It had rained
hard the night before. There should have been footprints.'
'So why did you argue with me about how he got in?'
She shrugged. 'I guess I just wanted it to be easy and make sense. Do you know the first thought I had when I saw my office?'
'What's that?'
'Someone really hates me. It scared me,' she said. 'I've been racking my brain trying to come up with a name, but honestly, I haven't been back in town long enough to make enemies. Give me a couple of months, and I'm sure I'll have a list as long as
my arm.'
'I doubt that,' he said. 'The man was definitely out of control in your office. Noah will have some ideas for us.'
He popped another Triscuit in his mouth. Without some squirty cheese or peanut butter, the crackers tasted like sawdust to
him, but he kept eating them anyway.
'Men like Noah catch criminals, and you put them away.'
'Something like that.'
'At least you don't have to worry about people shooting at you.'
'That's right.' His quick agreement was a lie, of course. Hell, he'd been shot at, kicked, bitten, punched, and spit on while he was doing his job. He'd even had a contract taken out on him-twice now that he recalled- and when he went after Leon's family,
he received daily threats.
'I have a theory,' she said.
'Let's hear it.' He was digging into the bottom of the box, searching for one last piece of sawdust he could eat.
'One of Dr. Robinson's patients was trying to steal his file.'
'What would his reason be?'
'I don't know. I thought that if he had some contagious disease or some diagnosis he didn't want his insurance company or his family to know about, then maybe he might want to steal his file. I know I'm reaching, but that's the only theory I can come up with as to why the files were all torn apart.'
'Did Robinson give you a list of his patients?'
'Yes, he did. There was a printout in a manila envelope taped to one of the boxes. He didn't have a big practice considering the length of time he worked here. From what I've heard, Dr. Robinson needed to take a couple of sensitivity classes. He offended
his patients.'
'Which is why he didn't have a big practice.'
'That's right.'
'After Noah goes through the clinic and tells us what he thinks, you're going to have to match the files with the list of names to
see if anyone's chart is missing.'
'Assuming that list wasn't destroyed.'
Theo nodded. 'I also think you should call Robinson and ask him if there were any difficult patients. You'll know what to ask.'
'Yes, all right. He probably has a copy of the patient list anyway if we need it.'
He noticed she was rubbing the back of her neck. 'Are you getting a headache?'
'Sort of.'
'Maybe I can 'sort
He got up and joined her on the sofa. Then he put a pillow on the floor between his bare feet and told her to sit there while he worked the kinks out.
The offer was irresistible. She got settled between his knees and stretched her legs. He put his hands on her shoulders, then pulled back.
'Take your robe off.'
She unbuttoned the robe, untied the belt, and slipped the robe off.
'Now take your pajama top off.'
'Nice try.'
He grinned. 'Okay, then unbutton the top buttons.'
She had to undo three buttons so his hands could get to her skin. Too late, she realized what she was doing. His big, warm
hands were touching her bare skin, and, oh, Lordy, did it feel wonderful.
'Your skin's soft.'
She closed her eyes. She should make him stop, she thought. How crazy was this? Theo was the reason she was feeling so
tense, and now he was making it blissfully worse. Oh, yes, she should definitely make him stop. She turned her head to the side instead so he could rub the knot on the column of her neck.
'You know what I thought when I first met you?'
'That I was irresistible?' she teased. 'So irresistible you had to throw up on me?'
'You're never going to let me live that down, are you?'
'Probably not.'
'I was out of my mind with pain then,' he reminded her. 'And that's not what I was talking about anyway. After the surgery, when you came into my room and you were telling me about Bowen and your clinic and the people who live here… you know what I was thinking then?'
'That you wish I'd stop talking and let you get some sleep?'
He tugged on her hair. 'I'm being serious here. I'm gonna tell you why I really came to Bowen.'
His tone of voice indicated he wasn't teasing. 'I'm sorry. What were you thinking?'
'That I wanted what you had,' he said.
'Oh?'
'I saw something inside of you I had when I first started out, but somewhere along the way, I lost it. That never bothered me
until I met you. You made me want to find it again… if that's possible.'
'What was it you saw?'
'Passion.'
She didn't understand. 'Passion for my work?'
'Passion to make a difference.'
She paused for a moment. 'I don't want to change the world, Theo. I'm only hoping I can make a difference in a little corner
of it.' She got up on her knees and turned around to face him. 'You don't think you make a difference?' she asked, astonished.
'Yeah, sure I do,' he said very matter-of-factly.
'I've just lost my enthusiasm for the job, I guess. I'm not sure what's wrong with me. The men I put away… they're like rodents. Every one I lock up, three more take his place. It's frustrating.'
'I think you're experiencing burnout. You've been working long hours since your wife died. You don't allow
