Page 91 of Her Only Hero

“Are you a patient?”

“No. But I actually may have some information for him. Something he requested.”

“Just a moment,” she said.

I waited for a couple of minutes and thought my call had been cut off. The phone clicked.

“Gideon Crawford here.”

I was expecting to leave a message and was surprised he took the call himself. “Hello, Dr. Crawford. This is June Harber.”

“What can I do for you, Ms. Harber?”

“I wanted to let you know, after our last conversation about David Moreno, I may have stumbled upon something.”

“I’m listening.”

“I found a flash drive in my basement, and I believe David Moreno had put it there. As ridiculous as it sounds, I think he was hiding it for some reason.”

“That sounds like an interesting theory. Though I suppose we’ll never know since he’s gone now.”

I regretted my rash decision to call Dr. Crawford. “It sounds implausible, I know. But you’re right. I’m sorry to have disturbed you, Dr. Crawford.”

“Don’t give it another thought, June. By the way, out of curiosity, did you take a look to see what is on that drive?”

“Yes, I did. I believe it contains a list of patient names. They may be your patients, actually. I wondered if you could shed light as to why they would have been listed.”

“You got me curious. I can squeeze some time in to have a look. Will you be coming with the officer?”

“No, just myself,” I choked out.

“Well, I’m working a half day today. Are you able to come to the clinic at about one o’clock?”

“Sure. I can be there then.” I hung up and paced in my living room. What the hell was I doing without Patrick? Was I even thinking clearly? Yes, everything would be fine. I’d ask a few questions and be on my way. Hopefully, he would divulge some information about his partner, Dr. Fulthorpe. I sat on my sofa and scribbled questions to ask.

I checked my phone again. No messages.

Lickety-split, Patrick shifted into reverse and backed out of my life. Apparently without even looking back. And then I thought about it from his point of view. Would I have been forgiving if I had seen him with another woman?

Probably not.

With no one around, I didn’t need to hold back my tears. I deserved this. Not because I let Aram kiss me, but because I let myself believe someone could love me as much as I loved them. I knew this could happen when I let my guard down. Nothing was for certain. Nothing.

I put on black tailored slacks and a long-sleeve crew-neck sweater. I dabbed concealer under my red eyes and brightened my complexion with some blush and lipstick. I looked in my purse to make sure the memory stick was inside. It was beside the gun. I hesitated in checking my phone yet again for messages. I looked at it and then dropped it back into my bag.

No calls. No messages. I was on my own.

After this meeting with Crawford, I was officially resigning from this case.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

I arrived at St. Eugene’s Hematology Clinic and parked beside a black luxury Audi—the only other car in the lot. The building’s automatic sliding door opened, and I entered. No one occupied the waiting room or the receptionist’s chair. There wasn’t a soul anywhere, and lights were off in the adjoining rooms. The creepy quietude was deafening, and I didn’t know if I should sit down and wait or leave. But then Dr. Crawford emerged from a corridor. I took my phone from my purse, pushed a few buttons, and held it in my hand.

“Hello, Ms. Harber.”

“Please, call me June. It looks like everyone is gone for the day.”

“Actually, no one else was here. I came in to finish some paperwork.”

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