Page 62 of Seven Deadly Sins

He was more than happy to oblige.

Chapter Four

Harper stared intoMacey’s face. “How can you not believe, at least a little, that Landry is our man? He was gone from the office, supposedly sick, during the time we heard nothing from the perp.” She’d been reluctant to believe the man was right under their nose too, but the overwhelming evidence changed her mind. “I don’t believe in coincidences,Agent.”

“We have no solid evidence,Detective. Until we do, we are not going to focus all our time on one man.”

“I didn’t say we should. What I said was that we need to focus on him more than we have.” She crossed her arms and glared at the chief. “What do you think?”

“I think we continue as we are. Do you and Liam have any leads?”

She glanced at Liam. “No. We’re waiting for him to make contact again. We’ll dig deeper into our grandfathers’ medical files.”

“There’s no Landry listed.” Agent Harris slid the files across the table. “You think he’s using an alias.”

“Absolutely.” The perp wouldn’t make his true identity known until it suited his plan. She opened the file on top and started reading for the third time since she’d received them.

Liam took the bottom file and did the same as the other three filed out of the room. “Sorry, they don’t see it as we do.”

“When this is all over, they’ll realize we were right all along. I’m sorry I didn’t agree with you sooner. If I had, maybe Landry would be behind bars.”

“No, your believing wouldn’t have changed anything.” He placed a kiss on her cheek and turned his attention back to the task in front of him.

After two hours of poring through the files, she realized going through them again also didn’t change anything. She widened her eyes. “Do we have a photo of Landry? Maybe we can get one online. Then, we can question anyone still alive from these files. They might recognize him and be able to give us a real name.”

“Smart and beautiful.” Liam opened his laptop. “Here’s his photo on his office website.” He printed off several copies. “We’ll give one to the chief. Maybe he’ll have the news broadcast him as a person of interest. Somebody, somewhere, will have to have seen Landry recently.”

Photos in hand, they dropped one on the chief’s desk with a note explaining their theory, handed another to the unbelieving Macey, then set off to question the two survivors from Harper’s grandfather’s practice. One woman and one man both living in a nursing home. Hopefully, they were in their right mind enough to answer questions clearly. Luckily there was only one nursing home in Oakdale, and they were both residents.

When they arrived, they showed their identification to the receptionist and were given room numbers. “Neither of them are in a single room. If you’d like to speak in private, we can bring them to you. We have a small conference room.”

“That would be wonderful. Thank you.” Harper smiled. “The less questions from others the better.”

“I’ll have Mrs. Wilson brought to you straightaway.” She reached for the phone on her desk. “Head down that hall. Second room on the right. You can’t miss it. Large window.”

“Thank you.” With his hand on her back, Liam guided her down the hall. “Let’s pray this helps.”

She couldn’t agree more. She stepped into a room with an oval table and six chairs. Not large, but suitable for their purpose. When she spotted an elderly woman being wheeled their way, she moved one of the chairs out of the way so the woman could be close to the table.

The orderly smiled and put Mrs. Wilson in place. “Water, tea, or coffee?”

“Coffee,” Harper and Liam said in unison.

“Make that three.” Mrs. Wilson patted the man’s hand. “I like mine black, you know.”

“Yes, I do.” He left with promises to return in a couple of minutes.

“Now, what can I do for you?” The old woman’s shrewd blue-eyed gaze locked on them. “It isn’t often I’m visited by law enforcement. Has my past finally caught up with me?” She laughed.

“No, ma’am.” Liam smiled and slid a photo of Landry to her. “Do you recognize this man?”

She pursed her lips. “Vaguely, but there’s something off about him. Why do you want to know?”

“You were a patient of my grandfather’s. An oncologist. Doctor Scranton? Your primary care physician was Dr. McConnell. Do you remember?” Harper folded her hands on the table.

“Of course, I remember. That was a difficult time in my life. How could I forget?” She squared her shoulders. “But, I survived to live a ripe old age. Not everyone receives that gift.”

“We believe this man had a loved one who was also treated by these two doctors. Someone who didn’t survive. Perhaps you had treatment with them?”