Page 15 of The Paternity Puzzle

“I figured as much.” Royce rested his hand on Sawyer’s hip and leaned closer. “Did you see the medical journal on the coffee table at the fertility clinic yesterday?”

“I saw it but paid little attention to it. Did you?”

Royce nodded. “The cover featured a renowned doctor in the fertility field named Jean Claude Matisse. The caption under the photo referred to him as a trailblazer in the field.”

“Okay. And…” Sawyer prodded.

“He was just found dead in his swimming pool,” Royce replied.

Sawyer furrowed his brow in confusion. “A suspicious death?” It was the only logical reason the chief had called Royce, who worked homicides before becoming the Explorer Academy’s director.

“Too soon to tell,” Royce replied. “It’s an unattended death, and the man has a lot of clout, so Commissioner Rigby has requested my participation, and Mendoza let me choose my partner from the major crimes squad.” He sighed heavily and forced his shoulders to relax. “Let’s go find out what Felix knows before I ruin Diego’s night.”

Only a few years ago, Royce would’ve approached the situation with Felix a lot differently. Law enforcement agencies and reporters often disagreed about how and when crime should be reported, leading to contentious interactions. Royce had believed journalists only cared about being the first to break the news and make the biggest splash without regard for the victims’ families or the investigation. He’d painted Felix with the same broad stroke as all the others. Sawyer hadn’t been the reporter’s biggest fan either after Felix ran a series of articles exposing the previous Chatham County sheriff’s homophobic views. Sawyer’s very public exit from the sheriff’s department had been a topic in a series of exposés Felix published about CCSD’s hostile work environment under Wheeler’s leadership, and the wording made it seem like Sawyer had been the reporter’s confidential source. Sawyer had taken a lot of heat from his previous colleagues at CCSD and struggled to find acceptance with his new ones at SPD. And by that, Royce meant himself because everyone else had liked Sawyer immediately. Their mutual animosity toward Felix had been something Royce and Sawyer had bonded over in the early days of their professional partnership.

But the intrepid reporter had won their trust and respect over time and had become a valued friend, and Felix proved the feelings were mutual when he tilted his head toward the house to request a private discussion instead of trying to dodge them. Royce could’ve chased him down, thanks to Sawyer’s clean-eating and fitness influence, but he was more than happy to have a simple conversation and reserve his energy. When Rocky and Jonah fell into step behind Felix, Royce realized the news of Dr. Matisse’s death likely had a bigger implication than Commissioner Rigby or Chief Mendoza realized. The trio of trouble were already huddled together in the kitchen for a hushed conversation by the time Royce and Sawyer stepped into the house. Royce hadn’t caught a word they’d said, but their combined shock and frustration forged a frenetic energy palpable enough to have its own heartbeat. Dread wrapped its gnarled fingers around Royce’s heart and squeezed. Dr. Matisse was likely the subject of aSinister in Savannahpodcast investigation, and any hope for a swift resolution died right then. The huddle expanded to include Royce and Sawyer as they approached. The trio wore resigned expressions on their faces, but tension tightened the areas around their eyes and bracketed their mouths. They were going to cooperate, but they didn’t like it.

Royce crossed his arms over his chest. “Tell me what you know as quickly as you can. I need to grab Diego and head over to the good doctor’s house.” Royce had used the “good doctor” phrase to get a reaction from his friends, and they didn’t disappoint him. Jonah snorted, and Rocky rolled his eyes, but Felix had the most visceral response.

“Good doctor, my ass.” Felix practically spat the words, and fire blazed in his gaze. “He was a fucking monster who escaped justice before we could serve it up to him.”

“Unless someone beat us to it,” Rocky added, turning to Royce. “Felix’s source only told him that Dr. Matisse was found dead in his pool. Did he die from natural causes, or did he have help?”

“I know nothing more than Felix does at the moment.” A bitter truth Royce struggled to swallow. Felix’s source either worked for SPD or owned a police scanner. It was completely unacceptable for a reporter to receive the information before the lead detective did. But Royce needed Felix’s cooperation, so finding out why the doctor’s death was important to Felix mattered more than who’d told him. “You’re obviously investigating Dr. Matisse for your podcast. Tell me why someone would want to kill him.” Royce looked at his watch. “And give me the two-minute-trailer version instead of a lengthy synopsis.”

Jonah and Rocky turned to Felix, signaling for him to take the lead. A muscle flexed in the reporter’s clenched jaw as he met Royce’s gaze. Felix quirked a brow with a silent question he didn’t need to ask.

“Yes, you’ll be the first to know details of my investigation once it’s safe to release them.” Royce circled his hand rapidly to urge Felix along.

“The three of us were about to expose fraudulent insemination practices carried out by Jean Claude Matisse over the past four decades,” Felix said. “He’s operated fertility clinics in several states and used his sperm to inseminate patients without their knowledge or consent.”

The words struck Royce like a sucker punch to the gut, knocking the breath from his lungs. Sawyer placed his hand at the small of Royce’s back, and they exchanged a quick glance. Of course he’d land a case involving a fertility doctor the day after their own insemination process. He conjured up an image of Dr. Flores’ kind face and thought about her professional and compassionate demeanor. Nothing about her had triggeredalarms for him. But Dr. Matisse’s victims probably felt the same way.Alleged victims.He couldn’t just accept Felix’s statement as fact without more information. Royce pulled air into his lungs and forced himself to focus on the situation at hand instead of making it personal. Which meant he didn’t meet his husband’s eyes when he felt Sawyer’s gaze on him.

“There’s so much to unpack here,” Royce said. “How do you know this?”

“Genealogy testing,” Rocky replied. “People are fascinated by their ancestry. Those kits are popular holiday gifts, and we know of several instances where kids used them for class genealogy projects.”

“And suddenly, you have people matching to unknown half siblings all over the country and not sharing genetic markers with the paternal family members they grew up with,” Jonah said. “There are forty-eight of his children living in Georgia alone.”

“Christ,” Sawyer muttered.

“So, these people share a father, but how do you know Matisse is the donor?” Royce asked. “Surely he wasn’t stupid enough to submit his DNA to these genealogy sites if he’d fraudulently swapped out the intended donor sperm with his own.”

“These siblings started communicating through email, and a pattern immediately formed,” Felix explained. “Many of them knew their mothers had undergone fertility treatments to get pregnant with them. Other siblings learned the truth after some tough conversations with their families. Dr. Matisse was the fertility specialist who helped them all.”

“And so Ilegallycollected the doctor’s DNA sample when the guy left an empty smoothie cup sitting on a picnic table at the park,” Rocky said. “We paid for the DNA test ourselves and hired an expert to do the DNA comparisons. We wanted irrefutableproof, and we got it. I am one thousand percent sure this man lied to his patients when he claimed he’d used their husband’s or chosen donor’s sperm.”

Royce turned to look at his husband for the first time since the conversation started. They’d been riding an emotional high since leaving the fertility clinic the previous day, even though they knew success wasn’t guaranteed. That same optimism shimmered in Sawyer’s chocolate-brown eyes, but caution tempered it now. Royce wanted the unbridled joy back for both of them. He wanted to assure Sawyer that everything would be okay. Hell, he wanted the guarantee too. But that was a private conversation they’d have later. Royce had pressing work to do, so he forced his attention back to their friends.

“It sounds like you’ve been investigating Dr. Matisse for a while,” Royce said.

“Almost a year,” Felix replied. “The forty-eight local families are just the tip of the iceberg.”

“Sounds like an expensive investigation,” Sawyer said.

Felix nodded. “Very, but we didn’t do this alone. When we realized the scope of the investigation, we sought partnerships withSavannah Morning Newsand Channel Eleven. In return for their investment, I am publishing an exposé in the Sunday edition. Jude is to follow up with reporting for Channel Eleven on Sunday evening. The podcast will handle the long-form investigation with weekly episode drops, starting on Monday. We will provide occasional updates to our news affiliate partners and provide them with bonus content they could tuck behind paywalls to generate revenue. We recorded most of the episodes already, but it’s still an active investigation.”

“Especially now that Matisse is dead,” Rocky said.