Page 84 of Her Only Hero

I smiled at the cute compliment, then immediately refocused. “Out of curiosity, how many people out of the 225 have died?”

Aram counted the Xs from each sheet. It took a while, but I watched and waited. “In total, there are 152.”

“Could that be significant?”

“Possibly,” Aram said.

I shelved the statistic in my brain in case we found a lead in this direction later.

“June, I’m going to download each patient file from the hospital system onto one of my own USB sticks, so you have a copy, too.”

“Thank you, Aram.”

“I’m trusting you with my livelihood.” His cheeks dimpled when he smiled.

He made light of what he said, but this was serious. If discovered, a breach of confidentiality could ruin his career and reputation.

“I would never tell anyone.”

“I know you wouldn’t.” We made eye contact. My heart palpitated. He looked away and pushed his chair back. “Do you know what I would like right now?”

I shook my head, a little stunned at the intensity of that brief moment.

“I would like a glass of the wine you brought. Would you care to join me?”

I thought about it.

“Half a glass?” he asked.

I couldn’t resist. “Sure. Thank you.” He uncorked the bottle. Like a sommelier, his movements were graceful and mastered. He poured some wine into a stemless glass and handed it to me.

I swirled the liquid and took a sip. The rich oak-vanilla flavor stimulated my palate and warmed me from within. My bodyloosened, and I watched Aram put the rim of his glass to his mouth.

“Mmm. You chose a very nice vintage, June.”

“I’m pleased you like it.” I took another drink. This sip went down smoother, relaxing me another notch.

Back to business.

“Here’s a random thought,” I said. “Could the list on the drive by any chance be a compilation of prominent people? Maybe this is a blackmailing scheme.”

Aram flipped through the pages of names. “That’s an interesting theory. But there’s no way of assessing the prominence of these people.”

“That’s true. What are we missing?” I said, more to myself, and studied the first name on the computer screen, again. Demographics—name, address, phone number, next-of-kin, family physician, health card number. I clicked on the comment box. It read: Primary and sole care transferred from Dr. Fulthorpe to Dr. Crawford, and the referral date.

“Is this normal?” I asked Aram. “To switch primary care doctors?”

“Sure, people switch all the time. They may want a second opinion and end up preferring the other doctor.”

“Or maybe the patients think Crawford is a better doctor, or for some reason they don’t like Dr. Fulthorpe,” I said.

“Possible,” Aram said. “But if it came down to bedside manner, Fulthorpe would win hands down.”

Patient after patient, I clicked on the comment sections on the list. I finished the first page. “Aram, theseallsay switched to Crawford for primary and sole care.”

Aram put his glass down and took a closer look at the screen. He moved closer to me, too.

“That sounds significant, doesn’t it?” I said.

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