Chapter 41
"Now, Deputy, you know I can't give out protected health information," Pepper said.
"You handle all the books and billing, right?”
“Yes.”
“Have you noticed anything unusual? Large transactions. Ghost clients. Irregularities.”
She hesitated a moment.
For all I knew, she could have been in on it.
"Look, I know everything that goes on in this office—who comes in, what procedures they have, and what they’re billed.
There are patients that I don't remember, that I never saw, that had expensive procedures. Paid for in cash. Their entries just show up. Someone adds them when I’m not here.
I’ve asked Dr. Latham about it, and she always dismisses it or says she had an after-hours client. ”
"That's exactly what I'm looking for.”
“To be honest, there are dozens of those. It never sat well with me. But I liked my job and wanted to keep it. What was I supposed to do?”
"Are you in the office all day today?" I asked.
"Yes. I'm planning to step out and get a little lunch about noon, but other than that, I'll be here.” Then she added, “You’re not going to arrest me, are you?”
“No,” I said with a chuckle.
“Whew!”
"I could stop by while you’re at lunch. You could just happen to leave the billing information and appointments available on your computer screen. You wouldn't be directly divulging any patient information.”
It wasn't exactly ethical, but neither was torturing and murdering someone in a dental office.
"By the way," Pepper said. "Dr. Latham didn't do implants. She did fillings, crowns, general dentistry, that kind of thing. She sends her implant work to Dr. Marston. Between you and me, Dr. Crane is much better. But I digress.”
"The people who killed Dr. Latham were inquiring about an implant she had done.”
Pepper said, "Maybe they were just confused.” Then she added, “I'll leave the door unlocked. The screensaver locks out after 15 minutes, so make sure you access the computer before then.”
I thanked her for her cooperation, then ended the call.
JD and I drove to the office and arrived at noon. We stepped in, just as Pepper stepped out. There was no one else in the office as far as I knew.
Jack and I made our way around the counter. I took a seat at the computer terminal. There was no security screen. Pepper had the recent appointments pulled up, and I scrolled through them, making a note of anyone who had been in recently for a crown.
One name stood out in particular.
“Is that…?” JD said, looking over my shoulder.
Rachel, Dr. Latham's assistant, stepped into the office and caught us red-handed. Her face twisted, and she looked at us with confusion. "What are you doing?"
JD and I shared a guilty look.
"What brings you into the office today?" I asked, changing the subject.
"I thought I'd pick up some of my things. It's not like I'm going to be working here anymore. I just got another job over at Dr. Denton’s office. I start tomorrow."
"Let me ask you something. You worked with Dr. Latham on all her procedures?”
"Yes."
"Did you notice anything unusual over the last couple of months?"
"What do you mean by unusual?”
“It looks like Senator Bergen was a patient recently?”
"Aren't those protected records?" she said in a sassy tone.
"The only thing I care about right now is finding out who murdered your former boss. And with the kind of people she kept company with, I think it's in your best interest if I find out."
A quizzical look tensed her brow. "Who did she keep company with?"
"It looks like she was laundering money for the cartel.”
Rachel bit her lip and hesitated for a moment.
"I don't know what she had going on, but there was some weird stuff happening around here.
I just kept my mouth shut and minded my own business.
As long as the checks cashed, I didn't have any complaints.
As far as Senator Bergen goes, she handled the whole procedure herself.
Usually, I come in and set everything up.
She does the tooth prep, then I finish, doing the scans and temporary placement.
I thought it was weird when she didn't want me involved.
I figured, hey, whatever. He's a high-profile guy. People like that often want her to do everything, start to finish.” Her face crinkled as she thought for a moment.
"It was kind of weird, because I think she sent it out to a different lab than normal.
If you look through the transactions, there's no order record for his crown.” She shrugged.
"But hey, there are always weird things like that happening around here. "
I thanked her for the information, and she continued into the back to gather her belongings. JD and I finished up, rounded the counter, and left the office.
"What the hell do you think's going on?” JD asked as we took the stairs down to the first floor.
“I have a bad feeling. And I’m not sure I want to know."
"You think she's involved?"
I knew he was referring to Catalina. The thought had been bouncing around in my head from the moment Greg said he heard a woman’s voice. I tried to dismiss the notion.
As we climbed into the Porsche, my phone buzzed with a call from an unknown number.