Chapter Thirty-Five
At my desk in the lab, I unfolded the scribbled message Ursula had left for me.
June,
Dr. Crawford called. Call him back.
I sat and swiveled to-and-fro on my chair. What could Dr. Crawford want with me?
Lara waved, wearing her trench coat with the strap of her handbag over her shoulder. “Earth to June.”
“Sorry, Lara,” I said. “Are you on your way home?”
“Yes, finally,” she said. “You should get out of here, too. And get more rest. Promise?”
I smiled and crossed my heart.
Edward and Vinny were at the stainless-steel sink scrubbing their hands, getting ready to head out, too. “Night, June,” they all said.
“Have a great weekend, everyone,” I said. The door slammed shut, and all became quiet.
I sat holding the note, mulling over whether or not to call Dr. Crawford. I picked up the phone and dialed. A male voice answered.
“Hello, is Dr. Crawford there?”
“Speaking.”
“Hi, this is June Harber.”
“June, I appreciate you calling. I’ll cut to the chase. I am concerned about my partner, Stan Fulthorpe. Do you know if Officer Verbeek has located him?”
“I’m sure if you speak with the officer, he’ll give you an update.”
“I will. I have another question. David Moreno’s nurse told me you had seen his personal possessions. Is that true?”
“Yes, I did,” I said. “I saw them before they were submitted for evidence. Why do you ask?” He couldn’t be looking for David’s medication list again. Could he?
“Can you tell me what the items were?”
I found it very odd how Crawford was talking to me about this matter. “I’m sorry. I don’t think I’m the right person for you to be asking about this.”
“I apologize I’m not following the proper protocols, but I’m concerned about my partner. Do you, by any chance, recall coming across Stan’s private cell number?”
“Oh, I understand,” I said and tried to remember all the items the police had retrieved from David’s pockets that day at my duplex. “I remember there was an empty pill vial and a wallet. They’re in police evidence.” I didn’t tell Dr. Crawford that David also had my ID badge; I didn’t want to explain that aspect.
“Can you recall any other item? A ball bead keychain?” Dr. Crawford said.
“There weren’t any keys,” I said and noted that was a specific detail he asked about.
“Thanks for your help anyway,” he said, sounding disappointed. “How are you doing, June? I heard Moreno broke into your house the day before he passed away.”
How could he know that? “I’m fine,” I said. “How did you come across that information?”
“I spoke with Dr. Hamid in consultation about the case.”
I exhaled. “I see. I will be sure to mention I talked with you to Officer Verbeek.”
I hung up and went to my locker. My cell phone rang, and I grabbed it from my purse.
“Hey, Patrick.”
“Hi, babe. I have a lead on finding Dr. Fulthorpe, so I’m going to work a double.”
“That’s fantastic—about the news, not about working a double. What a weird coincidence.”
“What coincidence?”
“I just got off the phone with Dr. Crawford. He said he couldn’t reach his friend and asked if you’d been able to contact him.”
Patrick paused. “It sounds like there’s a timeline off somewhere, because we traced a recent cell phone record between Dr. Crawford and Dr. Fulthorpe.”
“Wait. They talked?”
“Records show a two-minute conversation.”
Something was amiss with this situation. Crawford had had Fulthorpe’s number? Then why did Crawford ask me for it? What was he really looking for? Crawford knew something about Fulthorpe. I felt it in my gut.
“I have to go, June. We’ll discuss this soon.”
“Okay. Good luck. I may be going out this evening to visit a friend.”
“Enjoy yourself and be careful. I’ll see you later.”
Instead of going out to the parking lot, I turned and marched to Aram’s office. From the hallway, I saw the light was on, and then it clicked off. Satchel in hand, Aram came out of the room. I stood there like a creeper.
“Oh. Hi,” he said.
“Hi.”
He waited for me to say something, probably trying to figure out what I was up to. Or had Ursula changed his mind, and he decided to distance himself from me, which would be ideal. We had had our time. We could ever only be friends. But right now, I needed his help and feedback.
“Aram, I was wondering if your invitation still stood, to come to your place tonight? And tackle what is on that flash drive once and for all.”
He hesitated.
“I know it’s short notice.”
“No, no, it’s not. I just hadn’t expected for you to take me up on my offer.”
Was he misinterpreting my intentions? “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. This is strictly work related, right?”
“Yes, that had been my intention as well when I invited you.”
My chest lightened. “I feel the info on that drive is significant, and if anyone can figure out what’s on it, it’s you.”
He smiled. “I’m glad you’re trusting me in some capacity again. I hope I don’t disappoint you.”
“Thank you, Aram.”
“Would you like to drive with me?” he said. “Or do you still think people who drive BMWs are pretentious?”
I laughed. I’d forgotten I had said that. “Well, it’s kinda still true, for those that are.”
He chuckled.
“No, seriously,” I said. “Thank you for offering a ride, but I have my car.”
“I’ll order some food. Would you like Thai? Cashew chicken?”
“That sounds good,” I said, pretending I hadn’t noticed he remembered the special menu item we had shared some time ago.
In my pursuit of answers, I knew I was dancing with fire.