Page 11 of Savage Peril

Lori returned to the clinic in time to see her afternoon patients. For a few hours, she focused on her duties. After the last patient, the nurse asked to speak with her. Sarah Phillips had been with the clinic for years, and Lori trusted her like a friend.

Sarah was an attractive woman in her thirties. She was a dedicated member of the staff, and Lori was glad to have her. While the administrative staff finished the remaining tasks and prepared to close the clinic, Lori went to her office with the nurse.

“It’s good to have you back from your trip,” Sarah said. “We can manage for a while without you, but it isn’t the same.”

“I understand,” Lori said. “It’s especially difficult for all of us without my father.”

“Very true,” Sarah said. “You are in charge now, so I suppose I’ll be coming to you with any problems.”

“Of course.”

“Well, that’s why I wanted to talk to you privately,” Sarah said. “It’s about the supply orders, particularly the drugs and injections.”

“Did our suppliers deliver?”

“It’s not that,” Sarah said. “I’m reluctant to bring this up, but there have been inconsistencies. I usually unpack and store the supplies. I keep track of our usage and place orders when we need to refill.”

“There’s a problem with that?”

“I mentioned this to Matt when you were away,” Sarah said. “But he was touchy on the subject. I assume he didn’t mention this to you?”

“No, he didn’t, or I would tell you.”

“Some orders have been excessive,” Sarah said. “Matt is my supervisor and seemed to feel that I was making accusations. I definitely was not.”

“You can share your concerns.”

“Where is the excess going?” Sarah said. “I hate to be so direct, but we need reorders at the usual intervals. Yet we are ordering in larger quantity, plus some items that we haven’t needed before. I’m baffled by it and felt obligated to make you aware.”

“I’m glad that you did,” Lori said. “There are tight controls on drug distribution. Our license would be at risk if there are abuses. There must be an explanation. I’ll look into it and make any inquiries. Matt may not want to divulge certain things to you, but he will need to be forthcoming with me.”

Sarah didn’t take that further. She hadn’t accused Matt of anything, other than having an arrogant attitude. Lori hoped that was all it was. There had to be a perfectly sensible explanation for the inconsistencies. Likely, it was an oversight, merely an error.

After Sarah left, Lori took a few minutes to process the information. A mistake could be corrected, but it had to be more than an isolated incident. When Matt wasn’t around to look over her shoulder, she would check the orders and document what she found. Faced with the discrepancies, he would be obligated to assist her to fix the problem.

*****

Gunner went to his boss’s office. Travis Hewitt had founded Stealth Security years ago, after retiring from the Navy. He was a family man with two twin daughters, and there was quite a story to go with that. He’d shared with Gunner that for the first seven years of marriage, his wife had been unable to conceive.

But Travis had good fortune, as his wife did get pregnant, so he came home to be with her. She gave birth to Abigail and Brianna, and the girls were now in their teens. Framed photos of Melanie and the girls were on the desk.

“How’s the family?” Gunner said, then sat across from Travis.

Travis glanced at the photo with a look of pride. “You have no idea what it takes to raise two teenagers…girls, no less.”

Gunner envied him that, as he didn’t have a loving family to go home to. “I’m sure Melanie manages well.”

“She’s super,” Travis said. “Now, about that assignment…” He proceeded to fill Gunner in on the details. It was a close protection job at a concert, similar to the last case, and with the same client.

Gunner was only half listening, since he knew the routine. He had another matter that he wanted to get back to, one that he had no business getting involved in—but he would anyway. When Travis dismissed him, Gunner went to his desk to call his teammate in Houston.

Ripley McConnell was Stealth’s senior security analyst. Frequently, Gunner teamed up with him on local business. He was good with risk assessments and handy with the tools of the protection trade. He was a valuable guy to have on the team.

Gunner gave Rip a call to check on an ongoing investigation. After discussing business, Rip said, “So, buddy…how’s it going?”

“Not bad…the usual.”

“Come on, we work together,” Rip said. “Cough it up. I can tell something is on your mind.”

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