Laurie nodded approvingly. “Is there anything you can tell me about Joy Valeski that might shed any light on this inquiry?”
“I only met her a few times. She brought my family homemade meals when we arrived in Stillwater, and when she switched to my care we had an initial consultation to review her treatment and medication.” Flora thought back to that meeting, casting a glance in Leon’s direction. This wasn’t going to be easy. In the brief time she had known him, his loyalty to the man he worked for at the Main Street Clinic was all-too-apparent. Nevertheless, she had information that could be relevant. She took a deep breath. “Joy told me she felt she had received unnecessary or inappropriate treatment from Dr. Grayson over a period of several years.”
She felt the weight of Leon’s gaze in the silence that followed. Laurie made a few notes before looking up. “Did you find anything to support that claim?”
“She was being treated for Crohn’s disease, and my initial assessment suggested she didn’t have that condition. Because of that, I made some changes to her medication,” Flora said. “I also asked a colleague to see her and provide a second opinion. That was the appointment she missed.”
Laurie pursed her lips. “Had Joy made a formal complaint against Dr. Grayson?”
Flora risked another glance in Leon’s direction. His expression was unreadable. “She told me she was considering it. I said I couldn’t advise her.”
“Leon?” Laurie turned to him. “Do you have anything to add?”
“Not on this subject.” His voice was normal, apart from his usual slight hesitation, but Flora noticed a residual tightness in the fine muscles around his eyes. “Joy Valeski wasn’t my patient and, although she was a friend, we never discussed her medical care. But there is something you should know about Alan Grayson, something that may be relevant to your investigation.”
Laurie gave him a sympathetic glance. “Anything you can tell me, no matter how minor, may be helpful.”
“I don’t think this is m-minor.” Leon’s voice had a hollow note to it and the way he stumbled over the word gave away his discomfort. Flora experienced a fierce desire to grasp his hand. “Alan hasn’t seen any patients since last week and I found out this morning that he emptied his office on Tuesday. I have no idea when, or even if, he plans to return.”
Laurie concentrated on her task as she made a few more notes. “He’s not answering calls, but obviously, I’ll stop by Dr. Grayson’s house as a starting point. We don’t have any evidence other than Tegan’s word that he’s left town and has confirmed that he doesn’t intend to return. I will need to look into Joy’s claim that Dr. Grayson was providing her with unnecessary treatment. Depending on my findings, I may extend my scrutiny to other patients. With Dr. Grayson effectively missing, you are now the only doctor at the Main Street Clinic, Leon. I’m relying on your cooperation in this matter.”
He nodded. “You have it. Of course.”
She turned to Flora. “While this issue with Dr. Grayson seems to have opened up one line of inquiry, I can’t ignore the way you have been targeted since your arrival in Stillwater, Dr. Monroe. Can you think of anyone who might have a grudge against you?”
An image flashed into Flora’s mind. The bland courtroom. The solemn expression on the judge’s face as he said the words. Life sentence. The venom in the eyes of Danny’s killer as he turned to look at Flora. The screams and curses from him and his girlfriend as the prisoner was led away to the cells.
“Only one, but I don’t know why she would surface again now when I haven’t heard from her for years.” Her hands twisted nervously as she spoke, and she clasped them together, forcing herself to remain calm. “My husband, Danny, was a police officer with the Denver PD. He was murdered by a drug dealer he had been tracking for some time. When the killer was sentenced, his girlfriend stood up in the courtroom and threatened me. She said Danny had ruined her life and she would do the same to me. Her name was Luella French. She went missing after that and I never heard from her again.”
Just talking about it brought it all back and she drew in a long breath, forcing the pictures out of her head, willing the good memories to take their place. Danny, her high school sweetheart. His big grin and his loud laugh. The day she told him about her pregnancy. Their light-hearted squabble about whether, if it was a boy, it would be Francis after his father, or Steven after hers. He never knew it was twins...
Flora was aware of Leon’s eyes on her and she turned her head slightly to look from him. Although he didn’t smile, there was a slight softening in his expression that told her he knew what she was feeling. And...how? He was a stranger, yet he could look at her that way and ease some of her hurt. She didn’t know whether to be glad or start running as fast as she could in the opposite direction.
Since Laurie was talking, she didn’t have time to do either. “I’ll have her checked out. We’ll look as well at other angles such as whether Joy had any enemies.”
“You’re talking about Stillwater’s most popular resident,” Leon reminded her.
“Everyone is hiding something,” Laurie said. “It’s my job to find out who has a secret so big Joy Valeski had to die for it.”
The meeting ended soon after that and Leon accompanied Flora as she walked down the stairs. “How’s Stevie?”
She was glad for the normality of the question. “Although his arm is fine, getting him back to daycare wasn’t easy. He’s normally my little tough guy, but the incident seems to have bothered him and he got quite tearful when I took
