The Deputy’s Duty

information.”

When they arrived safely at Elm’s Peace an hour later, a well-dressed woman escorted them through a nicely decorated lobby toward an office. She gestured for them to enter.

“Dr. Bates will be with you shortly.”

“Nice place,” Meghan commented and moved to the window overlooking a flower-filled courtyard. A few people of various ages wandered the paved path cutting through splotches of green grass and flower beds.

Ryan didn’t care about the aesthetics of the facility. His thoughts centered on finding Christina Hennessy and the little girl. He swallowed hard. His niece. An image of the toddler’s bright eyes tore through his mind. She had the Fitzgerald blues, just like his siblings and him. A trait handed down by their father. Georgina’s grandfather.

Anger stirred in his chest but also protective instincts, so ingrained in his blood he didn’t question them. To protect and serve strangers was one thing. Georgina shared the same blood that ran through his veins.

And Meghan’s.

His steps faltered.

Meghan shot him a glance. He looked for a crack in the tile floor behind him.

The door opened and a tall, sandy-blond-haired man entered. He was younger than Ryan had imagined he’d be, considering his profession. “Dr. Bates?”

“Yes, and you must be Deputy Chief Fitzgerald.” Bates held out his hand.

He had a firm handshake. Ryan could tell a lot about a man by his handshake. Too tight, the guy was trying to prove something. Too loose, meant insecure or hiding something. Firm, but not crushing, spoke of confidence. Trustworthiness? Had to be proven. “I spoke to your nurse on the phone. I assume she told you why we’ve come.”

Bates turned his attention to Meghan as she stepped forward, her hand outstretched with a business card. “I’m Meghan Henry, freelance journalist.”

The doctor read the card. The smile he sent her was just shy of a leer. Ryan clenched his jaw shut to keep from telling the guy to back off. “Miss Henry. My pleasure. Interesting to have law enforcement and a reporter in my office at the same time. A dichotomy to be sure.”

The flare of interest in the doctor’s eyes as his gaze took in Meghan made Ryan’s fingers curl. She did look pretty with the sunlight streaming through the window at her back, kissing the golden highlights in her hair. Her hazel-green eyes snapped with intelligence as she assessed the doctor in return.

Bates turned back to Ryan. “I’m sorry, Deputy Chief, but you do understand I can’t tell you anything without written consent by my patient.”

“Christina Hennessy is still an active client, then?” Meghan asked.

Bates frowned and shot her a glance. “I didn’t say that.”

Ryan’s mouth twisted at the corner. No, he hadn’t, but it was implied. Ryan had no doubt Christina would use her mental status and her association with the doctor to her advantage when arrested. “Do you have any idea where Christina Hennessy would go?”

Bates shook his head. “Even if I did I couldn’t reveal the information to you.”

“Did she have any visitors while here?” Meghan asked.

“Really, Miss Henry. HIPAA laws prevent me from revealing any information whatsoever. I’m sure you understand.”

Meghan fired off, “But a child is in a dangerous situation. Aren’t you obligated to talk to the authorities?”

Bates heaved a heavy sigh. “I would have had to have seen Christina with the child.”

A fire built in Meghan’s eyes.

Ryan stepped closer to Bates. He had a couple inches on the guy and used every millimeter. “Listen carefully, Doctor. Christina Hennessy is a suspect in two murders. She’s armed and dangerous. She’s on the run with her adoptive daughter. If anything happens to that child, you’ll have to live with the knowledge you could have saved her, but chose not to.”

The doctor stepped back, his complexion slightly green. “I can appreciate the gravity of the situation. But you must understand my hands are tied. Legally.”

“Please, Doctor,” Meghan said. “The little girl is my cousin. I have to find her before something bad happens to her.”

Sympathy pooled in Bates’s eyes. “I wish I could help you. I’m truly sorry.”

Meghan’s gaze whipped to Ryan. “Get a court order.”

He nodded. “It’ll take time.”

With her mouth pressed into a tight line, Meghan bolted from the room. Ryan’s heart squeezed tight with unexpected empathy. His own frustration gnawed at him. With effort he unclenched his hand to give the doctor his card. “Call me if you change your mind or think of something that would be helpful without breaking patient confidentiality.”

Bates took the card with a nod.

Ryan hurried out the door. He expected to find Meghan in the entryway but she was nowhere in sight. A flash of worry knotted his gut. He frowned. She’d probably gone to wait by the car. He strode toward the exit. His bum ankle gave him grief with each step. A flash of honey-blond hair caught his attention. Meghan was standing in the courtyard talking to an older woman who kneeled at the flower bed to pull weeds. A moment later Meghan came inside, excitement danced in her eyes.

Grabbing his arm and practically pulling him toward the door, she said in a low voice, “Christina has an aunt who visited her a few times while she was in the facility.”

Admiration for her tenacity and ingenuity infused him. The woman wouldn’t let anything stop her from her goal. He only hoped her determination wouldn’t be her downfall. Or his. “Who told you this?”

They pushed through the door and stepped back into the sunshine. “Mrs. Hargrove. She’s been a resident patient here for over ten years. She remembered Christina. They’d played bridge together.”

“How did you know to ask her?” Ryan asked, impressed by her ability to ferret out information.

She made a flippant gesture with her hand. “She was the second patient I asked. Lucky break.”

“You work fast,” he commented as he opened the passenger door for her. “Do you have a name and an address?”

“Just a name. Dosha Meniski.”

At least they had that. It was a start. Something for them to go on.

Them.

He shook his head in bewilderment. When had he started thinking of them as a team? He should be the one having his head examined.

SIX

Ryan punched the name Dosha Meniski into the national database on his computer. They’d returned to the Fitzgerald Bay police station and headed straight for Ryan’s office. He sat at his desk, and Meghan paced the short length of floor from the window to the door and back. Ryan’s gaze strayed to her as he waited for the information to appear on the screen. She really had nice legs. Long and toned. He’d seen her out running on the beach several times over the past few months.

The computer dinged. He forced his gaze away from her legs and back on the screen. A file appeared.

A Dosha Meniski resided in Brookline. He knew the area, made up of mostly Russian immigrants.

“What did you find?” Meghan asked.

“An address. Not sure it’s the right person, but worth checking out,” he replied as he hit Print.

“Can we go see her now?” Meghan asked, coming to a halt at the edge of his desk.

Ryan rose and took the paper the printer spat out. He wanted to tell her he’d go alone, but knew that would only cause an argument because the tenacious Meghan wouldn’t be benched. She’d only insist on tagging along. Or would follow him as she’d threatened to do before. Since time was of the essence, he said, “Let’s go.”

Twenty minutes later they arrived at a block filled by an apartment building on a tree-lined street. They quickly found the correct apartment number on the fifth floor. He knocked. The door eased open.