Chapter Twenty-Six Her

Chapter Twenty-Six Her

Present Day

Finding out who was framing me before I was arrested was my number one goal. Figuring out Richmond’s surgery mess and his

role in Ben Cullen’s death was a close second since the two could be related.

Elias still didn’t offer as many details as I wanted, so I pivoted to a weaker target. Dr. Thomas Linfield. He thought he

was coming over to pick up confidential files I claimed to have found in the box I took from the office. We both agreed they

should be handled with care, so he volunteered.

For a guy with a fancy medical degree and decades of practice convincing people about how smart he was, he was easy to fool.

He sat on the couch in the library, sipping the coffee I made for him, without a clue he was being played.

I sat down, leaving plenty of room between us in case this conversation went sideways. Always be prepared for the worst when it came to dealing with men . That was one of my life rules, and I had no intention of abandoning it now.

I set my untouched coffee down on the table and dove in. “We have a mutual interest.”

Thomas’s eyebrow lifted as he stared at me over the rim of his mug. “Oh?”

“August Christopher.”

With that name and his specific medical credentials, August should have been an easy man to find but that wasn’t the case.

I’d done some computer searches, mindful of the fact the police were likely watching. They were welcome to look into the surgery

issue and Richmond’s lies and save me from having to do it, but I doubted I’d get that lucky.

Every lead turned into a dead end. This August guy wasn’t reachable or locatable at any of the places the internet searches

suggested he might be.

“How do you know about August?” Thomas asked.

“Richmond and I were married. We talked about important issues.” That sounded like something a real married woman might say,

so I went with it.

Thomas set his mug down. “Is August mentioned in the files you called me about?”

Not at all, actually. “He’s integral to Peter Cullen’s allegations about the death of his son.”

Thomas exhaled and managed to make it sound condescending. “I can’t discuss this topic with you.”

“You can tell me how many times August filled in for Richmond during surgery.” The idea still didn’t make sense. The one thing

Richmond valued was his reputation. He’d need a significant reason to take that risk, and none came to me.

“That’s only an allegation.”

Not the adamant denial I expected. Not an it didn’t happen or that’s ridiculous but a much more careful response.

“August is missing. I want to know why.” I had theories, all of which centered on Richmond sucking.

Thomas sat up straight now, fully alert. Every word mentally dissected and measured before saying them out loud. “August left

our practice for another position.”

Fine. We could do this the hard way. “Where?”

“I’m not at liberty to—”

“Where he works can’t be top secret. Surely, his patients would know.”

“There are privacy concerns.”

That had to be a made-up thing. Elias threw that kind of sentence out there whenever he didn’t want to share information.

Sounded like Thomas knew the same trick.

“You do understand that a detective is looking into Richmond’s life, right? That includes Richmond’s medical practice. Detective

Sessions is going to rip every piece of this story apart.” Probably not true, but I needed leverage.

“My understanding is there’s no need for further investigation.” Thomas seemed to hesitate for maximum impact. “They have

a suspect in Richmond’s murder.”

The entire town had weighed the nonexistent evidence and found me guilty. “I didn’t kill my husband, which means someone else

did and that person better hope they covered their tracks.”

“I wouldn’t know anything about that.”

But he’d tensed. A slight movement, but I saw it. “You and your medical practice can’t hide from this.”

“You would be wise to stop digging around, Mrs. Dougherty.”

Empty threats seemed to be second nature to rich people. They threw out words and tried to make others scared, but none of them had the stomach to get really dirty. I’d spent most of my twenty-seven years learning how to read people, and Thomas didn’t have the stamina for this game.

He continued. “Do you really want your life dissected and pulled apart? Every secret revealed? Your marriage to Richmond examined?”

Score one for the doc for trying to walk down a road that would turn him into roadkill. “You’re welcome to try, but if you’re

going to take a shot I’d suggest you perfect your aim first.”

“I didn’t mean—”

Yeah, he did. “The hospital and your medical group are about to be sued. It would be easier to shift the blame away from your

group and solely onto Richmond if his wife was on board.”

“What’s in it for you? Why would you help the practice?”

Because I wanted to destroy Richmond even though he was dead. If he hadn’t gotten himself killed I’d be destroying him right

now. His being in a box changed my methods, not my focus. “You don’t need to worry about that.”

Thomas sat there in silence for a few minutes then stood up. “I’ll show myself out.”

He feared blowback on his livelihood. That’s how his type acted—in their own best interest. Always.

I followed him to the entry hall without saying a word.

He was the one to restart the conversation. “I worked with Richmond for years. Excellent references. Supremely talented. Respected.

A significant moneymaker who could rally support.”

“That sounds like his self-written bio. What did you really think?” People buried their skepticism when it came to Rich mond. They lapped up every word he uttered until the line between fantasy and reality blurred.

“I’m not denying that the real Richmond Dougherty behind all the hype was...” Thomas visibly searched for the right word.

“Difficult.”

An interesting place to land. “Understatement.”

“I don’t know you and I don’t trust you.”

That was the first smart thing Thomas had said since he entered the house. “The feeling is mutual but not relevant to our

respective interests. You want to avoid liability.”

Thomas shook his head. “I want to set the record straight.”

Trifling nonsense. It sounded like Thomas lied so often about his concerns that he now bought his own bullshit. “I’d think

you’d want to bury the truth because as Richmond’s partner you could easily become collateral damage in his mess.”

“Our lawyers—”

“We both know that some secrets are both too dangerous to share and too big to hide... without help.”

Thomas fell silent again. He didn’t move for the door. He stood in the middle of the foyer with his hands fisted at his sides

and his mouth locked in an unreadable expression.

When he started talking again his voice had dropped lower. “Sticking your nose into this situation could lead to a very dark

place.”

“Richmond is dead, Thomas. There’s no need to protect him.”

Thomas’s eyes narrowed. “I’d think you’d want to preserve his legacy.”

“You were right earlier. You don’t know me at all.” And I needed to find August and fast.