I told her not to wait with me. I figured I’d call her when Theodore showed up, and we could all go talk somewhere private together. She didn’t need to be seen with me right now, but she was insistent, and if I was being honest with myself, I wanted her around.
After everything, it was becoming clear that I couldn’t walk away. Even if it would be better for her. I couldn’t bring myself to do it. She deserved better, of course—deserved a man that wasn’t tainted by whatever political bullshit was happening around me—but she’d made it clear that she had a say in all this, and I wasn’t going to deny her that right.
If she wanted to sit with me, I wouldn’t stop her.
Fortunately, we didn’t have to wait long. I spotted Theodore after about fifteen minutes of hanging around, enduring awkward glances from the staff, and more than one double-take from some of the doctors.
“That’s him,” I said, nodding toward his bland baseball cap mingled in a crowd lining up to cross at a nearby intersection.
“Good thing,” she said. “I’m pretty sure the hospital’s going to send security out to drag you away from here.”
“I’m tempted to go in there and make a scene for real.”
“Save it. Caroline and Gina would thank you, that’d make their jobs easier.”
“Fair enough.” I stood up and held out my hand. “Coming?”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” she said, and I helped her up. Together, we met Theodore halfway down the block. The private eye didn’t seem too surprised to see us there, approaching him in broad daylight. He stopped and stepped aside to allow the flow of pedestrian traffic to keep moving past him unencumbered. We stood in the entryway to a noodle place beneath their awning, the smell of fryer oil and broth sweet and savory and thick in the air.
“I’m glad we ran into you,” I said to him, extending my hand to shake.
He seemed surprised, but took it. “What can I do for you?” he asked.
“I thought we might talk.”
He glanced at Lori then back to me. “I have to admit, I didn’t expect to see you today.”
“Really? What brought you down here?”
He frowned a little and looked at Lori a second time—then I realized he was looking over her shoulder, down toward the hospital. He seemed nervous, like he was afraid someone might spot us talking, and he didn’t want that. I tried to wrack my brain for anyone that might care about this, and could only come up with Gina or Caroline, and most likely Caroline.
“Maybe we should talk,” he said. “Come on. Let’s go this way.”
He turned and set off. I followed, and Lori caught up. She gave me an uncertain look, and I shared her hesitation. I took her hand in mine and squeezed it, trying to reassure her through that simple touch, but I found myself drawn closer, my shoulder pressing against her own, like our bodies needed that physical contact to keep moving.
Theodore seemed on edge about something. Maybe it was about meeting with me like this, or maybe it was over whatever reason he had for skulking around the hospital. If he wasn’t there to spy on me, I had to guess that he was there relaying information from the Tippett family to Caroline. I figured he was very much a part of what was going on, but I was relying on one simple fact.
The Tippett family didn’t give a damn about him, and he didn’t have a position of power to protect himself. Caroline was the hospital administrator, and all the privileges of that job meant she could pull some strings to keep herself safe and clean. But Theodore was just a private investigator, and if it came to needing someone to take the fall—well, it wouldn’t be Robert Tippett, and it wouldn’t be Caroline, and it most likely wouldn’t be Gina.
Theodore took us several blocks away to a quiet Au Bon Pain. It wasn’t crowded—too early for lunch, too late for breakfast, and the good bread wasn’t the best place for brunch—and it was easy to find a table in the far corner, away from everyone else. Theodore sat with his back to the wall, eyes scanning the other patrons.
“Want something?” I asked before sitting. “Coffee? Pastry?”
“No, thanks,” he said. “Let’s talk.”
Lori beamed at the both of us while I took a seat. “I’m going to grab some coffee. I’ll bring you both one.”
Theodore didn’t argue, and she set off after giving my shoulder a quick squeeze. I felt thankful for her—she seemed to know that we needed a few minutes alone together. I felt as though Theodore might open up to me, but couldn’t guess how her presence would affect things.
“What were you doing, hanging around the hospital?” Theodore asked.
“Waiting for you,” I said. “I figured we had some things to discuss.”
“You’re right about that.”
I leaned toward him. “And what were you doing?”
He cleared his throat. “I was going to talk to Caroline.”
“I figured. Running messages for your employer.”
“Not exactly,” he said. “This was on my own initiative.”
I raised an eyebrow. “And what would you need to talk to the hospital administrator about, if it’s not coming from Robert?”
“There are some things I noticed, over the last couple weeks.” He cleared his throat again. He was nervous, twitchy almost, and he kept glancing to the side, toward the window, at the people walking past. Sweat dampened his underarms and darkened his light blue dress shirt. I couldn’t recall seeing him like this before, not even when I’d first confronted him. Back then, he seemed so cool and calm—but now, he was a mess.
Something was happening with him.
“I think I can guess what,” I said. “I’m betting it has to do with my notes.”
He coughed the nodded. “That’s right.”
“You know they’re fake, don’t you?”
“I have my suspicions.”
A long silence fell between us. My heart raced as I tried to come to grips with that. He knew, damn
