The Silence That Speaks (Forensic Instincts 4)

“I think he’s a politician soliciting votes. Becoming hospital administrator of a massive institution like the one the merger would create would open huge doors for him. Whether or not it goes deeper than that, I’d need time to figure out.” Marc glanced down at his notes. “Dr. Sharon Gilding stuck out, as well. She’s definitely got a bug up her ass. She looks at Madeline with extreme resentment, and glares at her whenever she thinks no one’s watching.”

“I caught that, too,” Casey said. “She’s also in competition with Conrad to become the chief of surgery of the combined hospital entity. She claims to be fine with that and to respect the hell out of him. I don’t believe her. And the cake topper is that she was tight with Ronald Lexington. She played down the relationship, but where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire. Frankly I just don’t trust her.”

“Nor do I.” Claire contributed her thoughts on the matter. “There was negative energy all around her. It increased when she looked at or addressed Madeline.”

“Then we’d better dig deeper and find out more about her,” Casey concluded. “We’ll start by talking to Madeline tomorrow.”

“I can tell you now that she’d be a close second to Conrad in securing that chief of surgery position.” Ryan glanced down at his printouts. He’d done a cursory job of researching every employee at the hospital. More in-depth analysis was in the works. “She a world-class neurosurgeon. Great educational pedigree and flawless professional history. She could definitely give Conrad a run for his money, especially if his mental state keeps him from performing the way he did before Lexington’s death.”

“Or if he doesn’t come back at all.” Casey gestured at Ryan’s notes. “Find out more.”

“Already working on it, boss.”

“I’ve got more names on my list,” Marc continued. “A few employees—or their spouses—who attended the dedication and whose behavior toward Madeline seemed off.”

“I wonder how many of those names match the ones I compiled,” Claire said, reseating herself with her cup of herbal tea.

“I’ve got a couple of names myself,” Emma surprised them by saying. “When I wasn’t pretending to hook up with Mr. IT Loser, I did some glancing around.” Her brows arched when she saw the team’s surprised reaction. “Don’t look so shocked. How do you think I used to pick my marks? I checked them out. Not the way you do, but my way. So I can tell you that there were at least three women at that ceremony who hate Madeline’s guts. I don’t know their names, but I can describe them. I can also tell you why they hate her. They’re dowdy, with knockoff clothes and purses, along with costume jewelry. Madeline is rich and pretty. She dresses expensively, but everything’s understated. She’s divorced, free to live her own life any way she wants to and is loaded to boot. That’s a lot of reasons for the average woman to detest someone.”

Casey’s lips twitched again. “Ah, Emma, you’re so young to be such a cynic.”

“Young but smart. You know that everything I just said is right.”

“Yes, I do.” Casey took out her file and opened it to review her own notes and take new ones. “Let’s go over each of our lists. I’m curious to see how many matches we have.” She glanced up. “Oh, and by the way, I’m scheduling a lunch with Janet Moss. She’s been the hospital administrator’s assistant for years. She’s the go-to person, in my opinion—the information hub of the hospital.”

“Yeah, she wields a fair amount of power.” Ryan was scanning his notes again. “She moved up the ranks quickly, and kept in close contact with everyone she worked with along the way. They’re all still chummy with her, if you read her personal emails. Which, of course, I did. I’ll know more after I gain access to the hospital computer system. As a side note, Ronald Lexington relied heavily upon her.”

“Any sign of a romantic link?”

“None that I’ve seen yet. Then again, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack, especially if they were discreet. My male radar says that Lexington slept with a quarter of the female hospital staff and hit on the rest.” Ryan saw Casey’s expression and modified his statement. “Okay, I’m exaggerating. But when people call him a player, they’re not lying. I can’t wait to read his email exchanges.”

“Till then, let’s get started compiling our lists.” Casey looked up. “Yoda, I need a whiteboard, with half a dozen headings and lots of space underneath each of them.”

“Done, Casey.” The virtual whiteboard appeared on the long wall behind Casey.

It suddenly occurred to her that Patrick had been unusually quiet during this meeting.

“Patrick?” A questioning look. “Anything to share before we start our analysis?”

Patrick was tapping his pen on the table. “I’m working on a different lead. Hero and I took a walk around Madeline’s apartment building while you were at the ceremony. I brought the scent pads you made from Madeline’s scarf.”

He was referring to the special gauze pads Casey used, along with what Ryan called “her canine vacuum,” to make scent pads from the personal belongings of their clients. Sniffing out people or items those people had been in contact with was Hero’s specialty.

“Hero went straight to the obvious places,” Patrick continued. “The walkway to Madeline’s building. The front door. But he also came to a dead halt and started barking near a low window in back of the building. I let him do his thing. He unearthed a file folder, an empty one, unfortunately. But it was labeled Conrad, Personal.

“Really.” Claire leaned forward. “I’d like to hold that folder, if it’s okay with you. I might pick up on something.”

“After I dust it for prints,” Patrick replied. “I used gloves to retrieve it, and I put it in a Ziploc.” A corner of his mouth lifted. “Old habits die hard. I guess I’ll always be a dinosaur FBI agent.”

“You’re no dinosaur,” Marc assured him. “You’re just damned thorough. That’s an asset.” A pensive pause. “What did the intruder hope to find in that file folder?”

“And did he get what he was looking for?” Ryan asked. “The file folder was empty. So the perp obviously took the contents. Did those contents contain something that would make getting rid of Madeline necessary? Did he think she’d rea

d something that made her a threat?”

“Or were the contents a waste of time, and he thinks there’s something more Madeline has or knows?” Marc frowned. “Why do I feel as if we’re going around in circles?”

“Maybe because we are.” Casey tapped her pen in irritation. “Let’s make our whiteboard lists—suspects’ names, jobs and possible motives. We’ll move on from there.”