Chapter 29
"Dr. Latham fired Hannah about a month ago," Pepper said.
"Why?" I asked.
Pepper frowned. "Dr. Latham accused her of flirting with her husband, of all things. Like she even cared. Then, to add insult to injury, she filed a complaint. Said that Hannah was showing up late, exhibited signs and symptoms of alcohol abuse and drug addiction. Last time I talked to Hannah, she couldn’t get another job.
I think she's in a completely different industry now.”
"Was she a hygienist?"
Pepper nodded.
"I'm glad I never got on Dr. Latham's bad side. She made it a point to destroy people. Talk about vindictive.”
"Do you have contact information for Hannah?”
She nodded, and I gave her my card. Pepper texted me Hannah’s information, and it buzzed my phone a moment later.
"What about surveillance cameras?”
"We don't have any in the office," Pepper said.
"There are some on the grounds that cover the building entrances and exits, but there is nothing in the common areas for privacy reasons.
I don't think the cameras have worked in a couple of years. The management company is terrible about maintenance around here. I had been telling Dr. Latham we should move out of this building for a long time.”
I asked her a few more questions, then we stepped back into the waiting room. Forensics investigators dusted the door handles for prints.
I moved back to the scene of the crime.
Brenda still examined the remains.
"Do we have a time of death?"
"I'd say last night between 9 and 11:00 PM. But I'll know more when I get her back to the lab.” Then she added, “I’m going to go out on a limb and say this was personal.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Somebody drilled out all of her lower molars.”
I winced.
“I’d dare say it was done without anesthesia. Somebody wanted her to suffer, and that, she did.”
I searched Dr. Latham's pockets and found two cell phones. If she was having an affair and going through a divorce, I figured one of the phones might be a burner—common among people in contentious separations.
I held both devices in front of Dr. Latham's face, hoping to clear the security screen, but neither device accepted her lifeless gaze. It worked about half the time. This time, I was batting zero.
I talked to JD after he had spoken with Becky and Rachel. They had pretty much said the same thing as Pepper. We collected their contact information and exchanged cards. Then JD and I started knocking on neighboring doors to see if anyone had seen anything.
That didn't prove fruitful. No one had been in the office building at the time of the murder. It was well after business hours.
From Dr. Latham's office, you could see directly across the atrium to Dr. Stockton's office. Jack and I walked to the other side of the building and stepped into his office. I flashed my badge to the receptionist and made introductions.
Concern tensed her eyes. "What's going on over there?"
I told her, and she gasped.
"Is Dr. Stockton available? We’d like to ask him a few questions.”
“He's with a patient right now, but I'll let him know you're here."
She stood up from her chair and walked into the treatment area. Dr. Stockton's voice bounced down the hallway as he talked to a patient. The receptionist gave him the news, and she returned a moment later. "Please have a seat. He'll be with you shortly.”
JD and I took a seat in the waiting room and flipped through magazines while we killed the time.
About 10 minutes later, Dr. Stockton pushed open the door and stepped into the waiting room with a solemn face. "Good morning, deputies." He extended his hand. "Jim Stockton. Good to meet you." He said as we shook. He frowned and shook his head. "Just terrible about Dr. Latham. What happened?"
He held the door for us and escorted us down the hallway to his office. We stepped inside, and he offered us a seat across the desk from his. He closed the door behind us and took a seat.
Dr. Stockton was a handsome man in his mid-40s with a square jaw, ice-blue eyes, and slicked-back brown hair that was just starting to gray at the temples, giving him a distinguished look. He wore a white lab coat and looked like he kept himself fit.
"It's too soon to tell right now," I said. "We're gathering information, talking to staff and acquaintances. Just trying to get a picture of the situation."
"Was she killed in her office?”
"I'm not at liberty to discuss the details of the case.”
Stockton nodded. "I understand.”
He frowned and shook his head again.
"It's my understanding you were close with Dr. Latham," I said.
His eyes narrowed as he tried to decipher what exactly I meant by the word close. "Yes, she was a valued colleague. I would often send clients to her and vice versa.”
"I think there was more to it than that.”
Dr. Stockton smiled and cleared his throat. "I see you've done your homework.”
I gave a guilty shrug and smiled.
"I'm hoping what's said in this office will remain in this office, as it pertains to my personal life.”
"I’m not looking to destroy anyone's marriage," I said.
After a pause, he said, "Yes, Laura and I had been seeing each other for a few months.”
"Was it serious?”
"I'm a married man, gentlemen. She was a married woman. We both knew the score. We were just having fun.” He smirked as he remembered better times. "And we had a lot of it.”
"I'm sure. Does your wife know about your extracurricular activities?" I asked.
"Not that I'm aware of. I prefer to keep it that way if at all possible.”
"Can you tell me where you were last night between 9 and 11:00 PM?”
"I was at home with my wife.”
"During that entire time?"
"Yes.”
"So you can account for her whereabouts as well?”
"Yes. What? Is she some kind of suspect?"
"In situations like this, yes.”
"I seriously doubt Elizabeth would kill Dr. Latham. She's not a violent person.”
"She might not be thrilled about your affair. People do crazy things when they're jealous.”
Dr. Stockton frowned. "What time was she murdered?"
"We think between 9:00 and 11:00 PM. The medical examiner should be able to lock it down to a tighter timeframe, but that's what we have to work with at the moment.”
Dr. Stockton sighed. "I hate to say this, but I want to be fully transparent.
Elizabeth had a yoga class last night. I think she got home around 9:30 PM.
" He shook his head, dismissing the notion.
"But there is no way she had any involvement in Dr. Latham's death.
She had no idea we were having an affair. I'm very good at covering my tracks.”
"I'm sure.”
"Did Dr. Latham talk to you about anybody she felt threatened by?”
He took a deep breath and lifted his eyebrows as he thought about it. "You're obviously going to consider her husband, aren't you? I mean, the guy's a real scumbag.”
"Spouses are always suspects. I'd love to hear more.”