Chapter 10 - The Man Walter Called Doctor
Rebecca Lane knew him only as Doctor Ellis.
He was not a physician.
At least, she didn't think so.
She had met him twice at Walter's house.
Mid-fifties.
Thin.
Always wore gloves.
Walter paid him in cash.
"What did he do?" Ruiz asked.
Lane hesitated.
"He talked about substances."
Sarah felt sick.
"What substances?"
"I don't know."
"Try."
"Things that cause rashes. Irritation. Dizziness."
Mark stood abruptly.
Ruiz raised a hand.
"Sit down."
He didn't.
Lane continued.
"Walter asked how exposure could look accidental."
Sarah wanted to cross the table.
Instead, she gripped the chair.
"Did you hear him mention Lucy?"
Lane shook her head.
"Not by name."
"Did he mention slippers?"
"No."
Police searched records.
Doctor Ellis did not exist.
But one camera outside Walter's neighborhood showed a man matching Lane's description leaving the house on December 23.
Ruiz released a still image internally.
A narcotics investigator recognized him.
His real name was Peter Voss.
Former chemical safety consultant.
Fired from a manufacturing company after allegations that he falsified exposure reports.
Never convicted.
Now worked privately for industrial cleanup firms.
Ruiz found his address.
His apartment was empty.
Inside a storage unit rented under another name, investigators discovered gloves, chemical containers, burner phones, and cash.
One burner phone contained a text exchange.
The contact was saved as W.
W: Need visible reaction. Temporary.
Voss: Skin only?
W: Yes.
Voss: Child?
W: Necessary.
Sarah stopped reading.
Mark made a sound that was almost a sob.
The next message was worse.
Voss: Risk of permanent damage.
W: Keep dose controlled.
Walter knew.
He had discussed the risk.
He had approved it.
The slippers were no longer a suspicious gift.
They were evidence of an intentional assault.
But the last message in the chain complicated everything.
Voss: Payment incomplete.
W: Harlan handles remainder after transfer.
Transfer.
Sarah thought of custody.
Ruiz thought of money.
May you like
Mark thought of something else.
"What transfer?"
