Dakota Meltdown

Nick stared at her with narrowed eyes. “Paul, go with her.”

“Yes, sir!” Paul leaped to attention, a grin filling his face. “Come on, Jensen, I have my orders.”

As she stepped from the war room, a bit of the weight she’d felt bearing down on her lifted. At least with Nick out of the way she wouldn’t be thinking about him. He was too much of a distraction when she had a killer to nail.

“On second thought, I’ll go with her.” Nick stepped up behind Brenna and assisted her as she pushed her arms into her jacket.

Paul gave her a lopsided grin. “Maybe next time.”

AS NICK STEPPED THROUGH the door to Dr. Drummond’s office, he shrugged out of his jacket, his senses on alert. A light scent of potpourri filled the air, much better than the acrid aroma of disinfectant he expected in a doctor’s office. But then Dr. Drummond was a psychiatrist.

Brenna led the way into the doctor’s waiting room, stripping her jacket from her shoulders. “Hello, Mrs. Keckler,” she said to the woman behind the counter.

“Brenna Jensen? Is that you? Oh, my Lord, it’s so good to see you!” The older woman hopped out of her seat and came through the door to hug Brenna. “Or should I call you Agent Jensen? It’s been a long time.”

Why did Jensen know the receptionist in a psychiatrist’s office so well? Were they old family friends or was there something more to the relationship? Was Brenna a former patient?

“I’m sorry it’s under these circumstances.” Brenna returned the hug and stepped back quickly, her movements jerky. “This is FBI Agent Nick Tarver.”

“Nice to meet you.” The older woman shook his hand and then turned back to Brenna. “I heard they found the doctor’s body—” Her voice cracked. She snatched a tissue from a box on the counter and dabbed at her eyes. “We’re all still in shock. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to hurt Dr. Drummond. Who would do this?”

Smoothing a hand over the woman’s shoulders, Brenna said, “Actually, that’s why we’re here. We need to check the patient files.”

“Do you think it was one of her patients?” Mrs. Keckler twisted her hands together. “Oh my. How awful.”

“We don’t know,” Brenna said softly. “It would help to see the files.”

Mrs. Keckler sniffed and shook her head. “I can’t. What with doctor-patient confidentiality laws and all, my hands are tied.” She sank onto a nearby chair. “Just to think it might be one of her patients makes me positively ill. If it were up to me, I’d give you every last file.”

“We understand and we’re not asking you to break the law.” Nick knew how important it was to obtain evidence legally. Too many criminals walked because of sloppy investigative techniques. “What we need is for you to do a cross-check of a list of names we have with the patients in your files.”

“I can do that.” Mrs. Keckler took the list Brenna held out and ducked back into the inner office to sit at a desk with a computer.

In the ensuing silence, Jensen stood with her back to Nick.

“How well did you know Dr. Drummond?” Nick asked.

Her shoulders stiffened. “Fairly well,” she said, her words clipped, not inviting further probing.

That didn’t stop Nick. Brenna was holding something back. If it had anything to do with the case, he wanted to know. “Friend of the family?”

“Not really.”

Nick laid a hand on her shoulder and turned her to face him, his fingers holding her upper arms in a vise grip. “I need to know everything, Agent Jensen. If you had a connection with Dr. Drummond, tell me. It could be vital to solving this case.”

She refused to look into his eyes, focusing instead on something over his shoulder. “I used to come here,” she mumbled. Then her gaze leaped to his. “I used to be one of Dr. Drummond’s patients. Okay?”

His gut tightening, Nick loosened his hold on her arms. “Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“It’s not something I advertise. How would it look for a criminal investigator to have a mental health history?”

“There’s nothing wrong with seeing a psychiatrist.”

She snorted. “Tell it to the reporters and the security-clearance guys who love to jump to conclusions.”

“Look, it’s just another piece of the puzzle.” He drew a deep breath and held it a moment before he blew it out. “Promise me you won’t keep anything else from me. I need to know I can trust the members of my team.”

She sighed, her shoulders sagging. “Okay, I’ll tell you what I know.”

Nick waited, but the silence lengthened. “Well?”

“I don’t know anything else right now. When I do, I’ll be sure to report it to you.” She glanced down at his hands on her arms and back up to his eyes. “Now, if you don’t mind…”

Nick dropped his hands and stepped back, at the same moment Mrs. Keckler returned.

“I checked all the files and none of them matches the names on this list.” Mrs. Keckler handed the sheet of paper back to Brenna. “I’m sorry. If you have reason to suspect one of the patients, you can get a warrant and I’ll release that patient’s information, but I can’t just let you go through the files.”

“Thanks anyway, Mrs. Keckler.” Brenna hugged the woman and left the office.

Nick followed, stepping over a stream of melted snow to climb into the passenger side of the Cherokee.