Last Licks

“Well,” Will said, watching the disappearing doctor. “I have time for this burger.”

“Are you sure?” Sunny said dubiously. “She looks ready to raise hell.”

Will only shrugged. “Either we’ll get what we want, or we won’t. There’s only one thing that annoys me.”

“What?” Sunny asked.

“The doctor stuck us with the bill for her meal.”

There was no use wasting their food, too, so Will and Sunny did their best to enjoy their meals. Lunch didn’t sit so happily when they arrived at Bridgewater Hall, however. Dr. Reese only confirmed Sunny’s apprehensions.

“I just had a meeting with Dr. Gavrik,” the administrator said. “She told me that, apparently having failed to find any convincing evidence about Mr. Scatterwell’s death, you want to try a desperate fishing expedition through our mortality records.” Reese leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. “I can’t allow that. Our initial agreement stipulated that we would offer as much assistance as possible, but we would not jeopardize patient confidentiality. We are legally obligated to keep patient records private, and this request goes beyond that.”

“Does that include patient names?” Will inquired.

“Federal regulations prohibit it,” Reese said. “But even if it were solely within my discretion, I still wouldn’t give you those records.”

“Fine,” Will said. “I’ll explain that to Mr. Barnstable. And then you’ll probably get to explain it to him again.”

They went straight from the administration offices down to Room 114. Ollie’s roommate was out, which was just as well. Ollie wasn’t happy to hear about Dr. Reese’s attitude. But he was even more upset when he heard why Will wanted the records.

“You think one of the doctors or nurses is euthanizing patients?” Ollie looked as if more than his leg was paining him.

“It’s just a theory,” Will admitted. “We’ve taken a pretty good look at the suspects who shouldn’t have been in the ward on the night Scatterwell died. They have alibis, but they’re not airtight. But what about the people who were supposed to be there—the staff? We can’t ‘follow the money’ to see if someone received some unusual amount without searching through all their bank records—that’s a police investigation. And we don’t have the leverage to circumvent patient privacy laws to look into medical records and see if there might be something behind those high mortality rates we heard about. Again, it would have to be an official police request.”

“And we all know that Sheriff Nesbit isn’t about to do that,” Sunny said.

“So, unless something amazing happens, you’re telling me your investigation is dead in the water.”

Ollie’s shoulders seemed to shrink.

“Listen, Barnstable, we were supposed to see if there were any circumstances that suggested anything other than a stroke.” Will spread his hands. “Natural causes still seem to be the strongest possibility.”

After saying good-bye to a subdued Ollie, Sunny and Will headed for the door in silence. Rafe Warner was working the front desk, but must have caught their mood, because he didn’t chat either, merely nodding as they signed out.

Conversation continued to languish in Will’s truck all the way home. As they turned onto Wild Goose Drive, he asked, “Should I come and pick you up later?”

Sunny gave him a listless shrug. “If you don’t mind taking Dad, too.”

“Heck of a date,” Will muttered. “Will he be riding shotgun or sitting between us?”

Mike surprised Sunny with a roasted chicken, roasted potatoes, and two kinds of hot vegetables waiting on the table. “Picked it up all ready-made at Judson’s Market,” he admitted. “Kinda pricey, but I was in the mood to splurge. Besides,” he added, patting his stomach, “we’re going to need some fortification before we deal with O’Dowd’s beer.”

Sunny got some cat food for Shadow, and then all three of them started on dinner.

When they’d finished, Sunny went upstairs to dig out her old pair of Doc Martens and her least disgusting housecleaning jeans. A navy blue T-shirt with a couple of paint splatters and a gray hoodie completed the ensemble. Hardly the way I’d usually dress for a date, she thought wryly.

She came down to discover that Mike had changed into some old clothes, too. Shadow circled around them, looking a little skittish. Mike began to laugh. “The last time we looked like this was during spring cleaning. He’s probably expecting us to start taking the house apart again!”

Dropping to her knees, Sunny coaxed Shadow over and gently stroked him. “No excitement here,” she told him. “We’re going away for a while.” At last, his tail stopped twitching. Will arrived in his pickup, and Sunny and her dad went outside. Mike told Sunny, “You go up first, honey.”

She grinned, climbed aboard, and settled next to Will. Then Mike hauled himself aboard, slammed the door shut, and off they went.