“Did you locate the files you were looking for?” Adam asked as he glanced around the space.
She hesitated. “I never said I was looking for specific files.”
“You must have reason to believe that some are missing if you’re going to this much trouble.”
She walked back over to the desk and rested a hip against the corner, a fifty-something woman of supreme confidence and little patience. Her personal style was sophisticated and spare, and yet there was a hint of sensuality in the way she leaned back on her hands and gazed across the room at them. “The clinic is fully computerized. We don’t even ask patients to fill out paper forms anymore. Charles was a little slow to adapt to our new system. He preferred the old-fashioned method of file folders and color-coded tabs. He’d even go so far at times as to have his assistant print out files just so he’d have a hard copy to study. When he was finished, he’d return the file to his assistant for shredding.”
“Sounds like a lot of extra work,” Adam said.
“Whatever Charles Nance wanted, he usually got,” she said with a trace of bitterness. She caught herself and shrugged. “He was the boss, after all. Anyway, his assistant came to me yesterday morning right after we heard the news. She said he’d requested several files a few weeks ago and never returned them for shredding. If those files were to fall into the wrong hands, the clinic could be subject to a number of costly fines and possibly the kind of lawsuits that could bankrupt us.”
“Why did you think the files would be at the cabin?” Nikki asked.
“Because Charles came here before he died. And because we couldn’t find them at the clinic or at his house. This was the last place I could think to look. I drove out the first chance I had to search.”
“How many files are missing?” Adam asked.
“At least a dozen, some of them dating back years.”
“Do you have a list of the affected patients?”
“I do, but I won’t release that information without a court order. Besides, the names are unimportant. Patient privacy is all that matters.”
Adam nodded. “Do you have any idea why he wanted the files?”
“Only that he told his assistant he was working on some mysterious project. I have no idea what that project might be, but then, we were all concerned about his behavior these past few months.”
“Sheriff Brannon told me about some of the problems he’d had at the clinic,” Nikki said. “Do you know if he underwent any cognitive testing?”
“Not that I’m aware. He knew something was wrong, though. At first it was small things like misplacing his keys and forgetting his phone. But the incidents grew progressively more serious. That’s when I knew I had to step in. He was devastated, of course, but he understood. In some ways, he may even have been relieved that I’d forced the issue. He agreed to phase out his practice as soon as he returned from his trip.”
“I wonder why he never mentioned anything to me about his impending retirement,” Nikki said.
“Maybe he hadn’t fully come to terms with it himself,” Dr. Wingate suggested. “Charles was a very proud man, and the aging process took a toll.”
“When did you last speak to him?” Adam asked.
“The day before he left on his trip. He was in good spirits, considering. He looked forward to reconnecting with some of his colleagues. He’d even planned a fishing trip.”
“Why do you think he had a change of heart?” Adam asked.
“I have no idea. Maybe he got confused and came to the first familiar place he could think of.”
“You’re a full partner in the clinic?”
“No. Dr. Nance kept fifty-one percent when he allowed me to buy in. He wasn’t one for relinquishing control.” There was that hint of bitterness again.
“What sort of arrangement do you have in place in the event of a principal’s death?”
She straightened. “How can that possibly be any of your business?”
“I understand it’s an uncomfortable question,” he said. “But as Dr. Dresden mentioned, the more information we can gather, the easier it will be to determine what happened.”
“Charles drowned. That’s what happened. Nothing I can tell you will change that tragic fact.”
“He drowned,” Adam agreed. “But we’re not convinced it was an accident.”
His bluntness drew a gasp. She gazed at them in shock. “You can’t possibly think Charles was murdered. He was beloved by the whole town.”
“Maybe not by everyone,” Adam said. “His popularity aside, he was a successful doctor with a flourishing practice. When looking for motive, it’s always helpful to figure out who had the most to gain from his death.”
Patience Wingate’s expression hardened as she rose from the desk. “Are you suggesting I had something to gain?”
“Of course not,” Nikki said quickly, but Adam merely shrugged.
“If the partnership was designed so that the surviving partner inherits the practice, then yes. You’d have a great deal to gain from Charles Nance’s death.”
“WOW,” NIKKI SAID AS they went down the steps together. “You really got under her skin. Did you see her face before she ushered us out?”
“She looked pretty upset.”
“Upset? If she’d had a gun, she might have shot you on the spot.”
“Comes with the territory,” Adam said. “I don’t feel I’ve done my job unless I’ve ruffled a few feathers.”
“Rest assured, you excel at what you do,” Nikki replied dryly. “Seriously, though, I find it hard to believe that Patience Wingate would be capable of murder. She’s a doctor, and a very good one, from what I hear, despite her abrasive bedside manner. Dr. Nance would never have allowed her to buy into the clinic if he didn’t think highly of her abilities.”
“You think doctors—even good ones—are incapable of taking lives?” He sounded amused. “I don’t know, Dr. Dresden. She seemed wound pretty tight
