Chapter 44

FORTY-FOUR

The feeling something was wrong crawled over Styles as the time for their appointment went over by thirty minutes. Finally, they were waved into an office by someone who introduced herself as Ms. Hadley. Had someone recognized Beth and Carter yesterday? He sat on the straight-back wooden chair and stared at the woman. "Our appointment is with the doctor."

"Yes, I'm aware of your needs, but unfortunately we haven't been able to locate the doctor this morning." Ms. Hadley opened her hands. "He may have been called out on an urgent case. He does deliver babies all over many counties. We had twins due anytime and maybe he got the call." She raised both eyebrows. "Nevertheless, as we mentioned previously, you come highly recommended and we'll be happy to fulfill your needs. I've made a few calls, and as you will imagine, we'll need time to organize the amount you require, but once we've established a line of, let's say, communication, we'll be able to keep up with demand."

Styles nodded. This was getting them no closer to finding the doctor or Shoebridge. "I need four minimum. I'm sure you understand."

"I made a few calls, and obtaining that number will take time. We can possibly have two ready for you in a couple of days." Ms. Hadley frowned. "Our agent will need to collect them and arrange delivery." She looked at him. "If you have a suitable van, we can sedate them for transport and arrange a pickup point? You do understand, this office is our only point of contact for now. We don't occupy the same offices for more than a few months. However, once you are on our books, we'll contact you for delivery."

"If not today, when can we speak to the doctor?" Jo leaned forward in her chair. "We'll need to view them before we take them. Our clients are very particular. I'm sure you understand. The price isn't an option. Can the doctor arrange for us to view a video of at least one of them?"

"Very well." Ms. Hadley nodded. "We'll reschedule the meeting for the morning, same time. I'm sure the doctor will be available."

Styles stood. "Okay, we'll see you tomorrow."

As they left the building, he called Beth. "The doc is a no-show. Have you seen him?"

"Nope, but I've had time to check the car rental computers and he has a license under the name he's using. We located his rental close by the hotel and it hasn't moved. Carter just received a call rescheduling our appointment, saying the doctor was on a call. As far as we can determine, no one matching his description has left the hotel since we arrived."

Styles thought for a beat and headed for the truck. "I'll get Jo to call him at the hotel. If he doesn't pick up, I figure we need to do a welfare check on the doctor. He's a person of interest. If something has happened to him or he's slipped the net, we need to know now and stop wasting our time."

"You'll blow the mission. What if he's holed up with a woman?" Carter's voice came through the speaker.

"Maybe ask the local cops?" Beth cleared her throat. "Then we won't be compromised."

Nodding, Styles pulled their FBI creds from the glovebox and handed Jo's to her. "We'll go and speak to the local cops. I'll tell them we're on a case and his name came up. I'll make some excuse for them to do a welfare check."

"Okay." Beth blew out a sigh. "We'll be waiting here, although I might dash across to the diner to use the restroom and grab us some coffee. It's cold sitting here. I just hope the doctor hasn't discovered our plans and skipped town again."

Styles locked the truck and leaned against it. "Me too. If he has, we're back to square one."

The moment Styles and Jo walked into the police station, they got the "why is the FBI here?" stink eye. It always amused him how when they needed assistance the hostility was minimal, but not every cop appreciated them and this was certainly the case in this instance. He made his request and received puzzled stares as if they'd suddenly grown two heads. "We could go in and bang on his door, but we've had him under surveillance and don't want to blow our cover."

"It's not that." The cop at the counter scratched his graying hair and went to his computer. "That name just came in on a 911 call. The paramedics are on their way. One of the guests heard a loud noise, like someone hitting the floor, and called the manager. They went to check on everyone in the area and Dr. Brewer wasn't answering his door. When the manager went to check on him, he was on the floor unconscious. They called 911 and the paramedics are on their way. That's all I know. I'd say he'll be heading for the hospital anytime now."

Styles nodded and slapped the desk. "Thanks." He looked at Jo. "We need to get there now."

The moment they stepped outside, he called Carter. "The doctor is down, paramedics on their way. You'll need to get there now. We're right behind you."

"The paramedics are heading into the hotel." A door slammed and Carter's boots tapped on the sidewalk. "We're on our way."

Styles disconnected and he followed Jo to the truck. They jumped inside and in five minutes they were outside the hotel. "If he's had a coronary or worse, there goes our lead to Shoebridge."

"Maybe not." Jo ran along beside him. "If he has his laptop with him, we can take it if he's dead. It will cut through a ton of red tape."

Styles ran up the steps and into the hotel. "I love your optimism." He moved into the foyer and went to the counter. "FBI. What room is Dr. Brewer in?" He held up his cred pack.

"Room twelve." The woman pointed. "The paramedics have just arrived and so have two other agents." She frowned. "Is Dr. Brewer someone important?"

"No." Jo glanced at Styles. "Just a friend."

Walking fast, Styles headed along the passageway, to find Beth just inside the door to a spacious room. Beside her, Carter was holding his badge out to the paramedics and raising his voice.

"Okay, you've established the man is dead, now step back." Carter glared at them. "This is a crime scene. Go and wait outside or you'll destroy evidence."

"How do you know it's a crime scene?" One of the paramedics stood hands on hips, nose to nose with him. "There's no evidence of injury."

Styles shouldered his way into the room. "If Agent Carter says it's a homicide, you better believe him." He held up his creds. "Agent Styles. Now please wait outside. As soon as we've taken photographs and called this in, we'll speak to you again."

The paramedics walked out, mumbling to each other, and Jo came inside.

"I grabbed these from a housekeeping cart." She held out gloves. "What happened here?"

"I'm not sure but he's dead—and look here." Carter pointed to the floor bedside the body. "If I'm not mistaken, that's a tarot card." He looked at Styles. "The thing is, no one went in or came out of the hotel since we arrived. People walked past and someone came out to pick up a pile of newspapers from the steps. That's all. If the Tarot Killer is here, he's still in the building."

Shaking his head, Styles stared at the card and then took out his phone and took photographs. "I very much doubt it. I'm assuming this place has a back door and a fire escape. He'll be long gone." He looked at Beth. "Glove up and we'll search the room for evidence."

"Chances are if the Tarot Killer murdered him, he took his laptop." Beth pulled on gloves with a snap. "I hear he strips Bitcoins from his victims. He'd need the laptop to find the wallets." She went to the bed and tossed around the sheets and then bent to look under it. "Touchdown." She dragged out a laptop and smiled. "Now we can find Shoebridge. He'll have all his contacts hidden right here."

"What else do you need?" Carter smiled at her.

"Any personal property he has with him." Beth dropped the laptop on the bed and opened it. "Oh good, fingerprint protected." She picked it up and went to the body placing it beside him. "Right index finger, for sure."

Always amazed by her businesslike attitude around corpses, Styles watched as she pressed Brewer's finger to the reader and the laptop opened. "Good, now move away. I need shots of the room."

"I'll remove the password protection." Beth went to work. "Done. Okay, did anyone find anything else we can use?"

"Yeah, wallet and keys to the rental on the bedside table." Jo opened drawers. "Ah good, plastic laundry bags. We can use them for evidence." She dropped the keys and wallet inside.

"It looks like he tried to shoot the Tarot Killer." Carter bent to pick up a Glock. "This might have the killer's prints on it." He examined the gun. "Interesting. He didn't rack the slide." He dropped it into the bag Jo held out for him.

Styles looked around the room and frowned. "It looks to me as if they struggled on the bed. It was a mess when we arrived. Brewer tried to fight back but was overpowered. He didn't get the chance to shoot." He bent to look at the body. "There's no signs of injury. Maybe he had a heart attack."

"The Tarot Killer must be a big guy to take him on. He must weigh three hundred pounds and then some." Beth bent to look at Brewer. "I wonder how many lives he ruined or ended. Serial rapist and killer."

Styles looked at her. "You'll need to prove it, Beth." He looked at Carter. "Who do you want in on this?"

"Right now, I figure this is so sensitive we play our cards close to the vest." Carter turned away from the closet and looked at him. "This man is a respected doctor who might have had a heart attack, but we need a forensic sweep done on this room. There is only one person we can trust and that's Wolfe."

The Black Rock Falls medical examiner was licensed to practice across the entire state, and he'd be the one to call. "Okay, call him and explain what we need." He thought for a beat. "Without elaborating, I'll call the director and inform him we have a suspected Tarot Killer murder in Helena and we're on the case. It will cover us for any problems down the line."

"What reason will you give him for why we're all here?" Beth straightened from bending over the laptop.

Shrugging, Styles met her gaze. "We're following up a lead Ginny gave me." He indicated toward Jo and Carter with his chin. "Jo and Carter were needed for surveillance, and it was too sensitive to bring in the local cops."

"Yeah." Carter grinned. "That works for me. I'll call Wolfe now. He headed into the bathroom and closed the door.

After making the calls, Styles spoke to the manager about opening the vacant room next door. "We'll need a place to wait for the medical examiner."

"Okay, that's fine." She handed him a key. "I'll keep everyone away from the rooms."

Styles tossed the key to Beth. "Get started on the laptop. We'll go and grab some takeout from the diner. It will be hours before Wolfe arrives."

"Okay." Beth moved to his side. "I'm not sorry he's dead. That man was pure evil."

Nodding, Styles looked into her brown eyes and blinked. "I wish you'd both remove those contacts. They're darn-right scary." He looked at Carter. "You both look so weird it's like I'm talking to strangers."

"I don't like wearing them, and I'll be happy to oblige." Carter grinned at him as they headed for the door.

As they waited for the takeout, Styles pulled Carter to one side. "How did you cope with Beth? She can be a little over the top at times."

"Fine." Carter frowned. "Don't be too hard on her today. I don't figure she's feeling well."

Rubbing the scar on his chin, Styles frowned. "She looks fine to me, a little flushed maybe, but as normal as Beth can be."

"Well, you need to make sure she sees Nate." Carter removed his hat and ran a hand through his hair. "She was squashed by that guy and it might have done some damage. The thing is, Beth is too stubborn to seek help. Has she always been like that?"

Nodding, Styles walked up to the counter to collect the bags. "Yeah, she's independent."

"So I see." Carter picked up the tray of to-go cups of coffee and followed him to the door. "Maybe it's because she'd never had anyone to care about her before now." He gave him a sideways glance. "She needs to know she's a valuable part of a team and we all have each other's backs. In case you've missed it, Beth is lonely and has trust issues. You could make that go away. I figure she's been hurt bad at one time. Like the rest of us, she's damaged goods. We need to bring her closer and make her fit, so she's got a group of friends around her."

Blowing out a sigh, Styles turned to him. "Trust me, that's easier said than done."