Page 65 of High Society

She knows he’s right, but it doesn’t diminish her doubt. “Have you ruled out foul play?”

“We haven’t ruled anything out.” He angles his head slightly. “But it sounds to me like you have suspicions of your own.”

Holly considers her words carefully. “JJ is the second death in my practice in the past few weeks.”

“Second?” His eyelids flicker, but his expression is unchanged. “Who was the first?”

“Elaine Golding.”

He jots down the name. “The activist who overdosed in Laguna?”

Holly nods. “I’m not convinced her overdose was accidental.”

“Why not?”

“To begin with, Elaine always used oral opioids. Percocet and Vicodin, mainly. Never fentanyl. Which is what killed her.”

“Isn’t it common for users to cross over to other opioids?”

“Yes, but Elaine never had before. Besides, even if she did decide to try fentanyl, she could have smoked it instead of injecting.”

“Can’t someone overdose smoking fentanyl just as easily as injecting?”

“Sure. But Elaine had a severe needle phobia. I’d given her IV medications before, and she was terrified. It’s hard for me to imagine her being able to inject herself.”

“Hmm,” Rivers mutters as he writes more notes. “You think the two deaths in your practice are connected then?”

She shrugs. “I have no idea what to think. But it would be quite the coincidence if they aren’t.”

His gaze is indecipherable. “Did Ms. Golding know Ms. Jang?”

Holly hesitates. “They were in group therapy together.”

His eyes widen momentarily. “How many others in this group?”

“Five.”

“Can you tell me their names?”

She holds up a palm. “No. That would be a betrayal of the other clients’ confidentiality. I only told you about JJ and Elaine because… they’re gone.”

“All right. Can you tell me more about the purpose of the group? Were you treating all the members for addiction?”

“Yes. But for different types. For Elaine it was opioids, JJ alcohol. Others in the group have varying types of addictions.”

The detective studies her for a few unnerving seconds. “You’re the therapist who treated Simon Lowry, aren’t you? I read something about that. He’s one of my dad’s favorites.”

She doesn’t see any point in concealing what is already public knowledge, so she nods.

“Was he in the same group as Ms. Jang?” he asks.

“I can’t comment on that.”

“He was getting psychedelics as part of his treatment, wasn’t he? He said as much in that interview. Ketamine, right?”

“Yes.”

“Can I assume Ms. Jang was also being treated with ketamine?”