Page 97 of Locke 2

“Little kids?”

“Kindergarten.”

“Oh, no.” She made a sympathetic face, but I chalked it up to doctor acting. “Kids are tough that age.”

“Are you a parent?”

Now her face fell. “No.”

She said that in a quiet tone. I studied her carefully, wondering what that was about. “Good thing,” I said, trying to be positive. “At least you can walk away from a kid going crazy when the bell rings. Can’t do that at home.”

Her laugh was high pitched and fake. “Well, I was prepared for it. We wanted to have one, but the marriage fell apart.”

Oh, shit.“I’m sorry to hear that.”

She shrugged. “Probably a good thing. He’d have gone on his precious weeklong fishing trips and I’d have spent my days child rearing without him. Worked out well in the end.”

This was really sad and interesting, but we were getting way off topic. “That’s selfish. I see a lot of that at the school. Myanxiety actually spiked because one of the little boys in class just left out of the blue. His name was Lenny, and his mom didn’t seem all that present with him.”

She looked away from the laptop and at me, studying me. I cleared my throat, continuing. “So, anyway, I…” I stumbled again and shut my eyes, feeling embarrassed because this was not going to plan. “I’m having a tough time…with Lenny…”

“Lenny McClane,” she spoke, finally.

I opened my eyes to look at her. Her eyes had narrowed on mine. She was wary. “Yes, that’s him. Do you know him?”

She wasn’t stupid. She abandoned the laptop, crossing her arms as she came closer to me. “You don’t forget a boy like Lenny McClane.”

“No, you don’t.”

It felt like her eyes were digging into my being. “Is this truly about your anxiety, Kari?”

I gave her a flat smile. “No.”

She nodded, all too aware. “What is it about?”

“Lenny’s aunt said you saw him when he got sick.”

“I did.”

I swallowed, clearing the lump in my throat. “How did he seem to you?”

“Well, he had a bad case of the flu, and his chest was congested. I didn’t feel a follow-up was required, but apparently the mother did.”

My brows came together as I reflected on the timeline. “You saw him once, though.”

“I did. I was supposed to see him the second time, but I had to cancel my appointments that day for personal reasons.” The way she said personal reasons made me think it had something to do with her failed marriage.

I tilted my head to the side. “I’m confused, so then you didn’t see him.”

“He still came in.”

“How did that go?”

She shrugged. “I imagine it went well. A doctor saw him, and nothing was prescribed for him.”

My mind raced. Locke had produced all medical records. “Why wasn’t that appointment recorded?”

She gave me a funny look. “Well, it would have been. We keep records of all patient interactions.”

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