Chapter 5 - The Doctor Who Disappeared
Malcolm Reeve had treated the Vance family for seventeen years.
He had delivered routine diagnoses, prescribed antibiotics, adjusted Arthur’s cholesterol medication and attended three Vance Christmas dinners.
Forty-eight hours before Julian collapsed, Dr. Reeve had closed his practice.
No announcement.
No referral notice.
No explanation.
His office voicemail simply said:
This practice is permanently closed.
Detective Cole discovered the office had been emptied overnight.
Computers removed.
Paper files gone.
Even the framed medical licenses had disappeared.
“That doesn’t happen because a doctor wants early retirement,” Clara said.
They stood outside Reeve’s dark clinic the following afternoon.
Julian remained unconscious but stable.
Cole pushed through the unlocked outer door.
Police had already cleared the building.
“Financial records show he withdrew two hundred and forty thousand dollars three days ago.”
“Cash?”
“Cashier’s check.”
“To whom?”
“Unknown.”
Clara walked through the empty reception area.
Dust outlines marked the walls where photographs had hung.
She entered Reeve’s examination room.
Empty.
Almost.
A wastebasket sat beneath the counter.
Clara crouched.
Inside was a torn corner of medical paper.
She lifted it with gloved fingers.
Cole leaned over.
A partial name remained visible.
J. Vance.
Below it:
K 2.5
Na 128
Repeat urgently
Clara stared.
“This was from before last night.”
“You sure?”
“The formatting comes from Reeve’s lab system.”
“How long before?”
“Can’t tell.”
Cole photographed it.
Clara continued searching.
Inside a cabinet, she found a small yellow adhesive note stuck behind a removable shelf.
Three words.
Not stress. Exposure.
Clara’s stomach tightened.
“He knew.”
“Maybe.”
“He knew Julian’s symptoms weren’t stress.”
Cole took the note.
“Then why didn’t he report it?”
“Because somebody stopped him.”
Cole’s phone rang.
He stepped outside.
Clara remained alone.
She imagined Julian sitting on Reeve’s examination table.
Tired.
Weak.
Confused.
Had Reeve told him?
Had Julian known something was wrong?
Her phone vibrated.
Another unknown message.
He tried to warn Julian.
Clara typed:
Where is Reeve?
No answer.
She tried again.
Who are you?
Nothing.
Cole returned.
“We found Reeve’s car.”
“Where?”
“Airport parking garage.”
“So he left?”
“No.”
Cole’s expression changed.
“His car has been there four days.”
Clara understood.
“He never boarded a plane.”
“No.”
“What about security cameras?”
“Already requested.”
Her phone vibrated once more.
This message contained only an image.
Clara opened it.
Dr. Malcolm Reeve stood in what looked like an underground parking structure.
Timestamped two nights earlier.
May you like
Beside him was Serena Hale.
And behind Serena, unmistakable even in poor lighting, stood Arthur Vance.
