“Until you make me believe it. Something’s going on in this clinic. Somebody here knows exactly where those drugs are coming from. And since you’re in charge around here, Dr. Bingham, it’s hard to accept that you’re completely oblivious.”
After what might have been a gasp, Mari said, “Surely you aren’t suggesting I’ve been deliberately holding back information from the police.”
“I’m not suggesting anything—I’m telling you that something is damned suspicious around here—and that a lot of the signs are pointing right at you. You have been pretty desperate to raise large amounts of cash for your new research facility, haven’t you?”
This time it was Cecilia who gasped. She hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but she hadn’t been able to avoid hearing that rapid-fire exchange. Surely Detective Collins wasn’t flat-out accusing Mari of being involved in drug trafficking. Was the man completely off his rocker?
Even if Mari had broken his heart in the past, he had to know what an insane suggestion it was that Dr. Mari Bingham, to whom nothing was more important than this clinic and its patients, would have anything to do with something so evil and destructive.
Cecilia should probably make a hasty retreat, since this conversation was absolutely none of her business. But she really needed to consult with Mari, and she was beginning to believe Mari would appreciate the rescue. Besides, Cecilia was feeling a strong urge to rush to Mari’s defense against this unfair attack, even though she knew Mari was fully capable of standing up for herself.
But a distraction came in the unlikely form of a young woman with wildly spiked blue hair and a pierced eyebrow. A new receptionist at the clinic, Heather was certainly an attention getter. Nodding to Cecilia, who had stepped somewhat abashedly back out of the way, embarrassed to be caught eavesdropping, Heather rushed to Mari’s office door.
“Sorry to interrupt, Dr. Bingham, but we’ve got a situation developing out there in the waiting room. Some crazy woman is throwing a fit, saying she’s hurtin’ and she needs some Orcadol. She doesn’t have an appointment or anything, but she said she got it here last time, and she needs it again. She’s so strung out that none of us can make any sense of anything she says, so we think you’d better come.”
Cecilia grimaced. She could just imagine what Bryce Collins would make of that jumbled summons, considering that he already thought Mari had something to do with illegally supplying the powerful and addictive painkiller.
She stepped into the doorway, determined to do what she could to deflect his attentions. “Mari, when you’re free, I need to consult with you on a new patient. Late-stage pregnancy with a risk of preeclampsia.”
Mari pushed a hand through her hair, then squeezed the back of her neck in a gesture that made her look even more like her brother than usual. “Thanks, Heather, I’ll be right out. And, Cecilia, I promise I’ll find you as soon as I’m available.”
“Thank you.” Cecilia turned to the officer then, her voice chilly when she asked, “Can I show you out, Detective Collins?”
He looked at her with narrowed eyes. “I know the way.”
She nodded, then crossed her arms and waited, making it clear that she thought he was in the way of business. Heather also hovered nearby, looking curiously from Cecilia to Mari to the scowling detective.
Collins exhaled sharply, then pointed at Mari. “I’ll be back. And if I find out that you’re involved in this in any way, you can bet I’ll do my job and haul you in.”
Avoiding his eyes, she moved toward the doorway. “Just go away so I can do my job.”
He stalked off, leaving the three women to glare after him.
“Mari, if there’s anything I can do…” Cecilia began awkwardly.
Mari gave her a weary smile. “Thanks, Cecilia, but I can handle Bryce. Now, Heather, let’s go take care of the crisis in the waiting room.”
It looked like rain. Skimming down the highway on his motorcycle after escaping from a long, mind-numbingly boring day at the office, Geoff studied the dark clouds gathering over the mountains in the distance. He would bet that was a storm building on the horizon.
But in the meantime, he could enjoy the ride as he tried in vain to convince himself he wasn’t counting the minutes until he could be with Cecilia again.
He wondered if he was coming down with something. Did the flu cause a person to walk around in an addled state or muddle his thoughts until he wasn’t sure what was real anymore? How else could he explain his odd behavior of the past week and a half, ever since he had reluctantly brought Cecilia home from the cottage weekend?
He seemed to be waking with a new sense of expectancy each day. Rather than his usual rather grimly determined morning routines and obligations, he was singing in the shower, spending more time planning nice things to do for Cecilia than thinking about the business concerns that usually occupied nearly every waking minute of his days.
Odd, that, considering the limited nature of their partnership. Maybe it was because he was confident that the relationship was temporary that he could enjoy it so much, he rationalized. Maybe he saw his time with her as…well, as an emotional vacation of sorts. A chance to have a great time with a beautiful, sexy woman without worrying about where it would all lead.
Or maybe it was flu.
He slowed as he approached the city park. Although it was a weekday, there were still a few families taking advantage of the facilities on this steamy July afternoon.
One particular family caught his attention as he cruised past. The man was tall with brown hair, the woman shorter with darker hair. She was a bit heavier than Cecilia, but the couple still looked oddly familiar. A small child bounced between them, an energetic boy of perhaps three.
Maybe he and Cecilia could bring their son to this park, he mused. They would laugh as he went down the slide and applaud when he navigated the monkey bars. And maybe that boy would have a little sister to play tag with and to—
Realizing where his thoughts were taking him, he shook his helmeted head. He and Cecilia weren’t starting a family in the traditional sense. Their plan was to have a child together without sharing anything else in their lives. Cecilia had made it very clear that was all she wanted from him.
It was all he wanted, too. Right? The joy of a child without the drudgery of marriage?