That afternoon, he paced around their workroom, waiting to hear. Finally, Evan walked in, looking much cleaner than he had this morning. “What happened?”
“Jesus, man. Give me a chance to get a cup of coffee.”
“Fuck the coffee,” he barked. “You’ve already taken time to get cleaned up, so what happened?”
Evan once again settled into Rachael’s empty chair. “You’ve got reason to be suspicious of Polly Starr. I made very little conversation with those around me, but from what I heard and could see, she’s a nice lady who wants to help.”
Carter’s eyebrows jumped up as his eyes widened. “What?”
“I don’t know if that’s an act she puts on or if it’s real. But the people in line seemed to really like her. I made sure when she got close, I sniffled and coughed. She came to me and asked how I was. I just mumbled that I was fine, then went into another coughing fit. She handed me tissues and cough drops and told me to come into the clinic. I told her I didn’t trust clinics and didn’t have any money anyway. She stood there for a second and I thought maybe she was going to offer me something else, but she didn’t.”
Leaning back in his chair, he kept his gaze pinned on Evan. “There must be something else. When you sat down you admitted that I’ve got a reason to be suspicious of her.”
Evan nodded slowly, rubbing his fingers over his rough, unshaven chin. “She’s got a bag that she wears across her body, and it seems to be filled with all kinds of stuff she was heading out. Tissues, lollipops, toothbrushes and toothpaste, cough drops.” He leaned forward, his elbows on the desk, and added, “And unmarked bottles of pills.”
“Shit.”
Blinking in surprise, Evan asked, “Why do I get the feeling that wasn’t the news you wanted to hear? I’m good to keep going back until she offers something to me. If this woman is giving out illegal prescription drugs, she needs to be out of that clinic and off the street.”
“I know, I know. It’s not that.” He huffed, frustration pouring off him as he thought about Tara and how she would react if Polly was arrested. Looking back up at the evidence board, he thought about the bags of pills. “What does she have the pills in? Did you say bottles?”
Evan nodded. “It looked like the amber-colored plastic bottles that prescriptions come in when you get them from the drugstore. It happened very fast, but I don’t think there was a label on it. I could be wrong. I won’t know until she tries to give me something.”
“That doesn’t fit with the bags of opioids our guys had in their possession. Although, I did find out that all three used to go through the lunch line every time it was open. I just don’t know that Polly was the one giving them the bags.”
Pushing to a stand, Evan said, “She may not be the person you’re looking for dealing opioids, but I think we’re going to get her on illegal prescription drug dispensing. I’ll be back in line on Monday.” As he walked out of the workroom, he called over his shoulder, “Have a good weekend.”
A good weekend. A weekend that involved a dinner date with Tara, someone he was now wanting to spend more time with. And a weekend worrying about what the investigation was going to uncover next week that might affect her. A good weekend? Shit.
“Dr. Tiller, thank you so much for giving me a minute,” Tara said, sitting down in his office. “I’ll make this quick, I promise.”
Smiling, he waved his hand in dismissal. “We’re always packed with patients, Tara, but I’ve been dying for a second cup of coffee so this gives me an excuse to get caffeinated while you tell me what you need.”
“I wanted to find out if you ever use volunteers in the clinic for more than just reception work.”
“Like nurses or techs?”
“To be honest, I’m not quite sure.” Shaking her head slightly, she said, “I’m actually asking for my sister, Erin. She’s recently out of the Army where she was a medic. She served in Afghanistan and is now back home in Hope City. She was uncertain what she wanted to do for the first couple of months but has now decided that she wants to pursue nursing. She’s already checked with the university and they will offer her credits for some of her Army courses and experience. She should be able to get her LPN in a year but would really like to gain civilian experience and does not mind volunteering.”
“I would be a fool to overlook free help. Of course, not everyone can handle working in a clinic like this. It takes a special person to be able to deal with the issues that we see on a daily basis with people who are very poor, often have neglected their health for years, or simply have never had the means to learn how to care for themselves.” He tilted his head slightly, his elbows resting on the arms of his chair and his fingers steepled together. “And yet I can imagine that a military medic would have seen much worse. Tell you what, have your sister give me a call, and we’ll meet.”
Her breath left her lungs in a rush as she stood and extended her hand. “Dr. Tiller, thank you so much. I can vouch that Erin would be an excellent volunteer and can assure you that this would be very good for her, too.”
Walking out of his office, she felt lighter and could not wait to call Erin. Digging into her purse, she rounded the corner and ran into someone. Jerking her head up, her gaze landed on Polly. “Oh, I’m so sorry.”
Laughing, Polly said, “No worries.” She glanced toward the doctor’s office where Tara had just emerged. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, really good, actually. My
