Page 17 of The Truth Will Out
“I can only imagine what nightmares she’s going to have to deal with.”
Lucy left the room. “What do you make of that?” Bob asked. “She seemed a touch defensive to me.”
“Yeah, you’re not wrong. We’ll bear it in mind, though I’m not sure I would go so far as to note her as a person of interest. I think she’s probably just a snippy cow.”
With that, Ruth entered the office.
“Hi, again. I’ve had a chat with Doctor Attle and Doctor Hagan, and they’ve both said they can fit you in within the next half an hour or so, if that’s any good?”
“That would be brilliant. Thanks for accommodating us. The sooner we can interview everyone at the surgery, the quicker we can get on with the investigation.”
“That’s what I told them. They were both shocked to hear the news of Robert’s passing. I hope I did the right thing in telling them. I needed to get across how important it was for you to speak with them today.”
“That’s fine. You did the right thing.”
“What about a drink now, while you’re waiting?”
“Thank you. Two coffees, both white, one with one sugar and the other with two.”
“I think I can guess which is which. My husband has a sweet tooth, too.” She chuckled and left the room.
“Who’s the predictable one now?” Sam leaned in and whispered.
“Get a life. I’ve got a feeling our visit here today isn’t going to amount to much.”
Sam tutted and ran her tongue over her dry lips. “I was thinking the same thing. Doreen was right; he was a mardy bloody doctor.”
“Yeah, sounds like he made the wrong career move, right?”
“Not half. I wonder if something had changed over the last few months to make him worse.”
“I suppose only Mrs Morgan will be able to tell us that, if he was the secretive sort, and she never mentioned anything to us this morning. There seems to be more to this case than first meets the eye.”
“Yeah, that’s the frustrating part. We know there’s somethingamiss, but it’s finding a clue to lead us to that nugget of information—that’s always the key factor that eludes us.”
Sam stopped talking when Ruth entered the room with their drinks. “Here you are. Two sugars for you, Sergeant.” Ruth handed Bob a mug decorated with sunflowers.
“Thanks. We really appreciate it. It’s been a while since the boss has let me have a break to replenish my caffeine levels.”
Ruth smiled. “She looks a hard taskmaster. And here’s yours, Inspector. Doctor Attle should be free in ten minutes, just enough time for you to enjoy your drinks.”
Sam reached for her plain mug and asked, “Wonderful. Thanks ever so much, Ruth. Is Lucy all right?”
Ruth frowned. “Why? Did she get upset?”
“A little to begin with. She couldn’t really tell us much.”
“Like all of us, I suspect.” Ruth exited the room.
“We’ve seen it before, either the doc was neck-deep in debt after gambling on the sly, or he’s done something in his past that has caught up with him,” Bob said. He blew on his coffee and took a sip.
Sam paused to mull over his suggestion and then rang the station. “Claire, it’s me. Have the financial reports for the victim come back yet?”
“Funny you should say that. I’m just going through them now.”
“Anything untoward in there?”
“I haven’t spotted anything so far. He’s got over a hundred grand in a savings account and around three thousand in his current one.”
