Chapter 6 - The Doctor Who Woke Up Afraid)
Dr. Leonard Pike regained consciousness that afternoon under police guard.
He had been found on the floor of his private office beside an overturned bottle of bourbon and an empty prescription container. At first it looked like an overdose.
It was not.
Someone had struck him behind the ear.
His office computer had been wiped.
Two file cabinets had been emptied.
The clinic's backup server had been disconnected.
But the person who cleaned the office had missed one thing.
A paper appointment ledger kept by Pike's elderly receptionist.
Mia Harper's initials appeared eleven times.
Grant stared at the photocopy Detective Torres brought him.
"Eleven appointments?"
"According to the book."
"I attended one."
"Ten occurred while you were traveling."
Grant looked toward the hospital window.
Mia was doing a puzzle with Evelyn in the pediatric lounge. Two officers stood discreetly outside.
"What did he do to her?"
"We're waiting for him to be medically cleared for interview."
"I want to be there."
"No."
"Detective—"
"No."
Grant turned.
Torres remained steady.
"If Pike is willing to cooperate, your presence could shut him down. If he is not, your presence could contaminate the interview. You want answers. Let us get them."
Grant hated the logic because it was correct.
At 6:20 p.m., Torres returned.
Pike had talked.
Not because he was brave.
Because he was terrified.
He admitted prescribing low-dose sedatives to Mia under false diagnostic codes. He admitted creating notes describing panic episodes, aggression, auditory hallucinations, and "fixation on deceased mother." He admitted never personally observing most of those symptoms.
"Why?" Grant asked.
Torres looked at him.
"Money."
"From Camille?"
"Through a consulting company."
"Whose?"
"We're tracing it."
"Charles?"
"Possibly."
Grant stood.
"What else?"
"Pike says he believed the purpose was a future custody dispute."
Grant laughed without humor.
"Custody of my own child?"
"He says Camille told him your work travel made you vulnerable in family court and she wanted documentation showing she was Mia's primary stable caregiver."
"She was documenting my daughter as insane so she could take her?"
"Pike claims that's what he thought."
"But you don't believe him."
Torres's silence was answer enough.
"What does he know about Laura?"
"Very little."
"About the trust?"
"He says nothing."
"About Charles?"
That answer was different.
"Pike has known Charles for twelve years."
Grant sat again.
"How?"
"They were fraternity brothers."
The network was getting older.
That frightened Grant more than the individual crimes.
Camille had not simply become cruel after marrying him.
Charles had not simply manipulated paperwork after Laura got sick.
Pike had not simply accepted one bad favor.
They had history.
Torres placed another document on the table.
"This is a corporate registration."
The company was called Northbridge Advisory LLC.
The listed manager was a trust company in Delaware.
The mailing address belonged to a vacant office suite.
"Why am I looking at this?"
"Northbridge paid Dr. Pike."
Grant studied the page.
"How much?"
"One hundred eighty thousand dollars over eighteen months."
"For fake medical notes?"
"Maybe more."
Grant turned the page.
There were transfers.
Northbridge to Pike.
Northbridge to a private investigator.
Northbridge to Bellweather Family Office.
Northbridge to another company called Wren Holdings.
Grant's finger stopped.
"Wren."
Torres noticed.
"You know it?"
"Laura used to draw wrens."
"What?"
"Little birds. On notes. Napkins. Birthday cards. She said they were stubborn for their size."
Torres leaned closer.
"Could she have created the company?"
"I don't know."
"Then we need to find out."
That evening, Grant returned to the villa for the first time since Mia entered the hospital.
He went alone except for a police escort.
The house felt contaminated.
The pink birthday balloons had been removed. The cake was gone. The marble had been cleaned. Only a faint scratch remained where the picture frame shattered.
Grant stood there for a long time.
Then he went to Laura's old office.
Camille had converted it into a dressing room two years earlier.
Grant now saw the decision differently.
He opened drawers.
Shoes. Scarves. Receipts. Cosmetics.
Nothing.
Then he noticed the molding behind a built-in cabinet.
One piece had a slightly different color.
He pulled.
It did not move.
He pressed.
A narrow panel opened.
Inside was an old spiral notebook.
Laura's.
Grant recognized her handwriting immediately.
The first pages were medical notes.
Treatment dates.
Medication changes.
Questions for doctors.
Then the writing changed.
C.D. brought amendment again. Says "routine."
C. at Bellweather asked whether Grant travels often.
Why?
Page twelve contained a list of names.
Charles Danner.
Camille Ross.
Leonard Pike.
Martin Vale.
Northbridge.
Grant had never heard the fourth name.
Martin Vale.
Beside it Laura had written:
NOT A LAWYER. NOT FINANCE. WHO IS HE?
Grant photographed every page.
Near the end of the notebook, Laura had written a paragraph in large, uneven letters.
If they say I was confused, ask why they needed so many people to prove it.
The last written page was dated six days before her death.
M came to hospital.
Said Grant will lose everything if I don't cooperate.
Said this started before Grant met me.
Grant stopped.
Before Grant met me.
He read it again.
Then he heard a floorboard creak behind him.
He turned sharply.
Anna stood in the doorway.
"Sorry, sir."
Grant exhaled.
"You scared me."
"I thought you were at the hospital."
"I needed to look."
Anna saw the notebook.
"Mrs. Laura's?"
"Yes."
Anna's face changed.
"You knew her?"
"I worked here her last year."
Grant stared at her.
"What?"
Anna looked down.
"I wasn't a housekeeper then."
"What were you?"
"A nursing aide."
Grant felt another piece move.
"Why didn't you ever tell me?"
"Mrs. Camille told me you knew."
"I didn't."
Anna looked frightened now.
Grant closed the notebook.
"Anna, who hired you?"
She hesitated.
"Mrs. Laura."
"Before she died?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Anna's eyes filled.
"She told me one day someone might need to remember what she was like before everyone started saying she was confused."
Grant could barely speak.
"What did you see?"
May you like
Anna looked toward the hall.
"More than I told the police."
