“I’m trying not to dwell on it. We can’t think about it or we won’t have the focus we need to figure it out.”
She lifted her head. “I know, I know. I’m not sure where to go next, what to do. All these piddly questions don’t seem to be getting us anywhere.”
“I don’t think it’s Drew, do you?”
Her hazel eyes were wet, and she shook her head. “Not really. He’s a bully, but I think he was telling the truth about the day Gail died.”
“So go with your gut, Jane. If your gut says this is the wrong direction, let’s focus elsewhere. We can talk to Finn’s associates and see how else he might be connected to this. We can check with the doctor whose signature she forged. Maybe she did something else to him and he did it. But you know who I keep circling back to?”
“Who?”
“Gabriel. Who else would want to cause us pain? Who has a motive to frame Will in order to make us hurt?”
She chewed her lip. “We could go out to the island and talk to him again.”
“I think we should.”
She swiped at her face. “Thanks for keeping me on track. I’m about to go out of my mind with worry. I’m a professional. I should be able to think more clearly. I don’t know what’s the matter with me.”
“You’ve been under a crazy amount of stress.”
“I know, but I shouldn’t let it affect me like this. I have to get it together. I feel like I’m about to shatter into a million pieces.”
He leaned over and cupped her cheek. “I wouldn’t let that happen. I have faith in you, Jane. I know how good you are at your job. It might take longer than you want, but you’ll find the killer. We’re going to get Will released. Have faith in yourself. And faith that God will lead you in the right direction.”
“I’ll try.” She pressed the back of his hand where it rested on her cheek. “You’re the best, Reid. Let’s talk to that doctor today. I have his name, and he’s here in Foley too.”
* * *
The doctor’s office was packed, but Jane wasn’t about to let something like that deter her. She marched to the reception desk and flashed her badge at the woman behind the glass. “I need to see Dr. Bix for a few minutes.”
The receptionist gave an exasperated sigh. “He’s got a packed schedule. We should be closing in five minutes, and it’s going to be seven by the time he sees everyone.”
“I understand, but this is important. It shouldn’t take more than fifteen minutes.”
The receptionist rolled her eyes but got up and went out. Her jaw was tight when she returned. “The doctor is down the hall to your right. His nurse will take you to him. Please be considerate of our patients and make this as quick as possible.”
The door opened, and a nurse beckoned to them. She didn’t look as annoyed as the receptionist. Instead, her blue eyes held an avid curiosity. She escorted them to a small inner office.
A bald man was at a desk, and his dark eyes glanced Jane’s way as he rolled out from his desk a bit. “You’re here about Gail Briscoe.”
“I am. I appreciate your taking a few minutes. I know you’re busy.”
“Crazy busy. Allergy season.” Dr. Bix stretched out his legs. “I have to admit, I was shocked she was forging my name. I’d wondered why she wasn’t sending labs over to be reviewed, but I thought maybe she’d found someone else to analyze them.”
“Were you upset?”
He gestured toward his waiting room. “You saw it out there. You think I need more work? I was disconcerted that she put my name on something false and ruined people’s lives, but I didn’t do it. I did receive a few threats though.”
Jane’s ears perked. “Threats? Did you report them?”
“Nah, I didn’t take them seriously. Phone calls, a note or two from a man claiming I ruined his life and would pay for it. Some graffiti on the office windows. I knew they’d stop once the news media got a hold of the arrest.”
“You knew there was a warrant out for her arrest?”
“I assumed so when I was interviewed. It was a serious accusation. You can’t have people impersonating doctors.”
Jane nodded. “Was anyone in your office upset?”
“No. We have plenty of work.”
She put her pen and pad away. “Well, thank you for your time, Dr. Bix. I’ll let you get back to your patients.”
She and Reid went back through the packed waiting room and out into the heat. “You were right. I think this line of questioning is wasting our time.”
Reid glanced at the sky. “We should wait until tomorrow to confront Gabriel. By the time we return to Pelican Harbor and rent a boat, it’ll be getting dark. You don’t have enough manpower to crash in on him in the dark.”
While that was the prudent thing to do, she wanted to find out something now. She glanced at her watch. “We have a little time for some kind of investigation. Any ideas?”
“We have a ton of emails Elliot found on Lauren’s computer. Let’s grab some dinner and take it back to your place to review them. Once that’s done, we have more cleaning to do at my house. Olivia and Megan move in tomorrow morning.”
Jane felt such a sense of urgency, but she knew he was right. So much was pressing down on them right now. They had to take this step by step.
Twenty-Five
“I got the document from Elliot pulled up.” Reid looked up from his laptop screen. He didn’t want to read it without her. They were both stressed and might miss something, but together they made a formidable team.
The remains of takeout shrimp étouffée permeated the air in her apartment, and the sounds of laughter and jazz music floated through the open balcony door to where they sat making notes and planning a strategy.
He patted the space beside him on the sofa, and she scooted over to read the emails with him. The vanilla scent of her hair made him want to nuzzle in closer, but there was no time for romance, much as he wanted to kiss her. Their son’s freedom hung on everything they did for the next few days.
He enlarged the screen and propped the laptop so they could both easily see it. Elliot had arranged the conversation from first to most recent at the end. The lengthy document was a list of emails and responses between Gail Briscoe and Lauren.
The first email was from Gail to Lauren, thanking her for a fun night at the bar. The first few messages were about mundane things like cooking, work, and friends.
Jane tensed beside him and he knew she’d just read what he spotted—Lauren telling Gail she’d deserted a husband and his “little brat” eight years ago and that she’d tracked them to Pelican Harbor.
Jane leaned back against the sofa. “Lauren’s love for Will was always fake. That breaks my heart. I wish I’d been there to see him take his first steps, to hear his first words.” Her voice was thick with heartache.
He hugged her to his side. “I know. Me too. One of these days we’ll look at videos I took of him when he was little.”
“I’d like that. I’m so glad he won’t ever read this.”
“I think Will always sensed it. That was why he hung on to her so much. He wanted her to love him and knew it was all pretense.”