Page 42 of Unhinged
His eyes looked tired. “Just a normal day here. Come on back.”
She followed the man to a small office off the large bullpen area. The office was crowded, most of the free space taken up by the wide, scarred desk and two tall, beige filing cabinets, both dented and beginning to rust in places. She took a seat in another of the standard issue chairs and leaned forward, eager to get the interview over with.
Navigating his way through the narrow space, Detective Sanchez settled into the chair behind his desk and picked up a pen and yellow legal pad.
“Dr. Whitmore, could you please walk me through the events of last night?”
She took a deep breath and relayed the events, Detective Sanchez intermittently asking questions. “I’m not sure why,” she began slowly, “but it felt like I knew him.”
“Why do you say that?” The detective tipped his head to one side, his eyes boring into hers.
“I just got this… feeling. I kind of wonder if that’s why he didn’t come after me. Maybe he didn’t want me to recognize him.”
“You’re sure the suspect was male?”
“Absolutely.” There was no question in her mind.
“And do you have any idea who might want to harm Dr. Stanton?”
She paused. “I’ll be honest, the first person who came to mind was her husband Scott.”
“And why is that?”
“Isn’t that the way it always works?” Her mouth quirked into a tiny smile. “It’s usually someone close to the victim: the husband, the boyfriend.”
Sanchez’s expression didn’t change. “Occasionally, that’s correct.”
“Well,” she continued, “I can tell you this—Audrey and her husband, Dr. Scott Gerber, are in the middle of a divorce right now, and I know he harbors some animosity about the proceedings.”
Detective Sanchez nodded as if the logic behind that was perfectly understandable.
“As of now, they are still sharing the office at the health center, but I know they’re working to determine who gets to keep the practice. They did have an argument in the lobby a couple days ago.” She paused as Sanchez jotted down notes. “But I don’t think Scott was responsible for this.”
The detective’s features remained bland. “And why is that?”
“I just… I know it sounds strange, but I saw him at the hospital. He looked… ravaged.” The detective lifted a brow, and she held up a hand. “I know what you’re going to say. But I deal with people on a daily basis, most of whom are dealing with serious emotional issues. In my personal, and professional, opinion, I believe his reaction was sincere.”
Sanchez studied her for a moment before heaving a deep sigh and leaning back in his chair. “We’ll have to follow up with him as a precaution anyway. Is there anyone else you can think of? No lovers?”
She shook her head. “No, not that I’m aware of. I can’t be one hundred percent certain, of course, but Audrey was really hurt by Scott’s infidelity. I don’t think she’s been seeing anyone, but you’ll have to ask her for sure.”
“Alright. Well, I think that’s everything we need, unless you can think of anything else?”
She hesitated, twisting the straps of her purse between her fingers. She released a deep breath and met the detective’s eyes. “I don’t know if this is in any way related, but a few weeks ago I released a patient from my care. I caught him antagonizing another patient of mine, Rachel Dawes, who took her own life shortly after.”
Pity and anger flashed across Sanchez’s face in quick succession, and he held the pen poised in midair. “Name?”
“Steve Iverson.” She watched as he scribbled the name on the legal pad. “He obviously wasn’t happy with me at the time. I referred him to a colleague of mine, Dr. Andrew Chandler, but apparently Mr. Iverson never reached out to him.”
“Have you had any contact with Mr. Iverson since the altercation in your office?”
“Last weekend.” She nodded. “I was at the mall when he approached me. He asked to come back as a patient, but he got angry when I refused. He made some nasty remark and stormed off.”
“Nothing since then?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Think it could possibly have been him?”
