“Really? She’s always struck me as very cool and analytical. Not the type to get her hands dirty with homicide.”
“Appearances are often deceiving,” Adam said.
“So I’ve been told.”
He paused halfway down the stairs and turned to her. She was a step or two above him so that they were standing eye to eye. The nearness quickened her pulse, but she told herself to settle down. If they agreed to enter into a working arrangement, it had to be temporary and remain strictly professional. She didn’t need the kind of messy complications that seemed to follow a man like Adam Thayer. Maybe that was an unfair assessment since she’d known him for such a short time, but he’d been living on Echo Lake for little more than a week and already he’d been shot at, beaten up and nearly run down by an unknown driver, all while recovering from his previous gunshot wounds. Danger followed him, too, apparently.
“Think about it this way,” he said.
“I’m sorry. Think about what?”
He gave her a quizzical look. “You okay?”
“Yes. I lost my train of thought for a moment.”
“We were talking about Dr. Wingate and whether or not she might be capable of murder.”
“Right.”
“I say, who better than a medical doctor to commit the perfect homicide? She has access to drugs. She has a key to Dr. Nance’s cabin, possibly to his house, and she was familiar with his schedule and habits. That gives her means and opportunity. If she stood to gain from his death, there’s a motive. I’ll be interested to see what the tox screen reveals.”
“After that long in the water? Possibly nothing,” Nikki reminded him.
“We’ll see.”
She glanced back at the cabin. The light had gone out, but she could make out Patience Wingate’s silhouette at the window. “She’s still inside. I think she’s watching us.”
“Probably wants to make sure we leave.” He looked tense and pale in the moonlight. Deadly, Nikki thought with a shiver. In more ways than one. “Maybe she didn’t have anything to do with Dr. Nance’s death, but she’s hiding something.”
“How can you be so sure? She seemed forthcoming about her reason for searching the cabin.”
“Was she?”
“You didn’t buy the story about the missing files?” Nikki asked.
“Oh, I think she was looking for those files, all right, but maybe not for the reason she gave us. Do you happen to know the assistant she mentioned?”
“Darla? She’s been with Dr. Nance for years. She and I went to high school together. We’re on friendly terms these days, but we aren’t friends.”
“Do you think she’d be willing to do a favor for Dr. Nance’s protégée?”
“You mean me?” Nikki frowned. “What kind of favor?”
“We need to get our hands on a list of those patient names.”
“Why? What do you think is in those files?”
“I don’t know, but Dr. Wingate doesn’t strike me as the type to do her own grunt work. If she were only worried about HIPAA violations and patient privacy, why didn’t she give the key to the assistant and send her out here to search the cabin? Why wait until tonight if she learned about the missing records yesterday?”
“I assume you have a theory.”
His gaze flicked past her up the steps, probing the shadows behind them. Gooseflesh prickled at the back of her neck.
“What is it? Did you see something?” she asked anxiously.
“No, but we shouldn’t stand out here any longer. We’re too exposed. Let’s head back to the boat.”
She hurried down the steps after him. “Okay, but what’s your theory?”
“Maybe there’s something in those medical records she doesn’t want anyone else to see.”
“Like what?” They were at the edge of the lake now. The water lapped softly against the bank.
“I don’t know. Evidence of malpractice. Kickbacks from drug or insurance companies. Could be anything. When Dr. Nance called me, he said he’d pulled files and made notes. It was all there in black and white, but he needed my help to make sense of what he’d found.”
“You think he meant these files?”
“Seems a reasonable conclusion.”
“But he never said anything about Dr. Wingate, right? He never even mentioned criminal activity. He said something strange was going on in Belle Pointe. Something dark. That could mean anything or nothing at all. I feel I need to point out that you’re building a case against Dr. Wingate from little more than thin air.”
He nodded his approval at her rebuke. “It’s good to play devil’s advocate. Keeps me honest. But I’m not accusing Dr. Wingate of anything. Yet.” He slapped a mosquito at the back of his neck as if to emphasize his point. “You have to admit, as a suspect she ticks a few boxes. I think a deeper dig is warranted.”
They fell silent at the sound of an ignition turning over. Nikki cocked her head toward the steps. “Sounds like she’s leaving. Shouldn’t we go back up? We didn’t get the chance to conduct our search. Maybe we can find another piece of evidence.”
“Let’s leave it for now. We’ve pressed our luck enough for one night. I’ll come back over in the morning and take another look.”
They pushed the boat back into the water and hopped in. Adam steered them away from the bank and out into the moonlight. Nikki had to resist the urge to glance over her shoulder. Maybe it was her imagination, but she sensed invisible eyes upon them and she couldn’t help wondering if someone watched from the shadows at the top of the embankment. Or through the night vision scope of a rifle.
She kept her eyes peeled and breathed a sigh of relief when they drifted up to the dock on the opposite side of the lake. Adam shut off the engine and they both climbed out. She stood on the dock keeping watch while he tied off.
“See anything?” He moved up beside her at the rail.
“No. Dr. Wingate is probably halfway back to town by now. Everything seems quiet enough. But...” Nikki trailed off on a shiver as she wrapped her arms
