Orchid

'Very impressive, Snooky, but I've been told I'm a little on the primitive side, myself.'

Snooky growled.

'Behave yourself, Snooky,' Thelma called from the kitchen. 'Don't mind him, Mr. Stonebraker. He's really quite harmless.'

Rafe smiled at Snooky. 'But I'm not.'

Snooky blinked. His fangs disappeared.

Rafe continued to smile at him.

Snooky retracted his claws. The growl became a soft whine. He rolled onto his back, paws in the air, and exposed his throat.

Rafe sighed. 'I hate it when that happens.'

He walked over to the chair, reached down, and rubbed the cat-dog's furry belly.

'You know, you might want to take off some of that excess weight before you try to defend your chair from anyone else, Snooky.'

Snooky slithered off the chair and took up residence on the sofa.

Thelma reappeared. 'Here's your beer, Mr. Stonebraker. Now what was it you wanted to know about Dr. Austen?'

'Do you remember a patient named Theo Willis?'

'Willis? Oh, sure.' Thelma kicked off her shoes, sat down on the sofa, and propped her feet on a footstool. 'But I hope you don't want to ask me any real personal questions about him.'

'Of course not.'

'A syn-psych doctor's receptionist isn't supposed to talk about the patients.'

'I understand.'

'Just between you and me, Willis was a real nutcase, y'know? Dr. Austen said the guy was seriously paranoid. Real big on conspiracy theories and stuff like that. But he was harmless. I felt sorry for him. He seemed to be getting a lot worse toward the end. Real agitated, y'know? I wasn't surprised when I heard he'd killed himself.'

'I see. I respect the fact that you won't discuss any personal issues concerning Mr. Willis's syn-psych diagnosis and history,' Rafe said gravely. 'Nice to know that there is still such a thing as patient-doctor confidentiality in this day and age.'

'You bet there is. And it's up to people like us medical receptionists to maintain the standards.'

'I, for one, am grateful. But as I said, this isn't a personal question about Willis. It's about a matter of office procedure.'

'What about it?' Thelma took a swallow of beer.

'I'm trying to find out who referred Theo Willis to Dr. Austen.'

Thelma tipped her head to one side. 'How come you wanna know that?'

'It's a confidential matter, but given your responsible attitude toward this kind of thing, I'm sure it's safe to tell you the whole story.'

'Oh, yeah.' She watched him with eager interest.

Rafe cleared his throat and lowered his voice. 'I've been hired by the New Seattle Association of Synergistic Psychologists to look into some problems that have cropped up with the standard practice of professional referrals.'

'Referrals?' Thelma looked baffled. 'You mean, like, when one doctor sends a patient to another doctor?'

'Yes. Apparently some unlicensed syn-psych therapists have been forging referrals for a fee.'

'Yeah?' Thelma wrinkled her brow. 'Why would anyone do that?'

'The association believes it's the work of certain, mentally disturbed individuals who like to masquerade as therapists.' Rafe shook his head. 'We see cases like this two or three times a year.'

'Yeah? Weird.'

'Now, then, I'm assuming that Dr. Austen sent notes to professional colleagues who referred patients to him?'

'Sure. I usually wrote the letters for him to sign.'

'Do you remember writing one to whoever referred Willis to Austen?'

'No.'

Rafe stilled. He had been so certain this was going to go somewhere important. 'You mean you didn't write a letter?'

'Uh-uh. I mean Dr. Austen told me he'd take care of that one, personally.'

'Why would he do that?'

Thelma rolled her eyes. 'Because the little pervert was thrilled that such a major honcho in the syn-psych world had referred such a difficult case to him.'

Rafe was briefly distracted. 'The little pervert?'

'Between you and me and old Snooky here, Austen had a thing for some of his female patients. One of 'em was actually threatening to sue him. Claimed he'd hypnotized her into having sex with him in her office.'

'Is that so?'

Thelma shrugged. 'Probably the only way Austen could get any sex at all.'

'I see. About the thank you letter Dr. Austen wrote—?'

'Oh, yeah, right. Well, he was really thrilled because the other doctor told him that he thought Austen was the only one in New Seattle who could handle the case.'

Rafe felt the whole thing come together. Anticipation hummed in his veins. He did not realize he had allowed it to show until Snooky suddenly lifted his head off his paws and uttered a low whine.

Thelma patted the tense cat-dog. 'Be a good boy now, Snooky.'

Snooky paid no attention and stared at Rafe.

'Who was the doctor who referred Willis to Austen?' Rafe asked.

'Didn't I tell you? Dr. Gilbert Bracewell of ParaSyn Research.'

Rafe knew then that he finally had the link he had been looking for from the very beginning of the case. He smiled.

Snooky howled. He scrambled off the sofa and ran madly down the hall.

Thelma's face crinkled into a perplexed frown. 'Now what in the world got into Snooky? He hasn't moved that fast in ages.'

An hour later Rafe stood in the center of Orchid's small living room. He was no longer smiling. He was engaged in a battle with the white hot fires of fury that threatened to consume him.

He knew that this kind of anger was useless. He had to get control of it. The only hope was to freeze the rage so that he could think.

So that he could hunt.

Selby stormed through the open door. 'What in five hells is going on here?' He came to an abrupt halt and gazed around in confusion.

Rafe watched him closely as he examined the scene in Orchid's front room. Selby appeared genuinely bewildered by the sight of the overturned chair, the crumpled rug, and the shattered vase.

'I don't like being summoned.' Selby's eyes narrowed as he switched his gaze back to Rafe. 'I don't work for you.'

'I'm aware of that. But I thought you might like to be involved in this.'

'Involved in what?' Selby waved a hand at the disordered room. 'What happened here? And what the hell is my wife's car doing parked at the curb out front?'

'Good question. What is your wife's car doing out front?'

Selby scowled. 'I don't have time to play games.'

'Neither do I. Someone kidnapped Orchid.'

Selby's mouth fell open. 'Are you crazy?'

'I think whoever took her may also have taken your wife. I have a hunch she was in the wrong place at the wrong time.'

Selby stared at him with dazed, uncomprehending eyes. 'But . . . but that's impossible. Why would anyone