Page 44 of Forbidden Whispers

Dr. McCaughan rubbed this chin thoughtfully. “There’s actually a liquid form of alprazolam. It’s difficult to get, but it does exist. Is it possible you drank something on Friday that contained it?”

“I don’t really see how,” Noah said. “The only drinks I had were in my own home and then in public dining venues.”

“Hmmm, well, the good news is that the effects are not lasting. You may not get your memory of Friday night back. But the level you had in your system won’t do any permanent damage.”

“At least there’s that,” Noah mumbled.

“Is that all? I have other patients I need to get to.” Dr. McCaughan prepared to roll his mobile desk cart out of their room.

“Wait, Dr. McCaughan,” Maggie said. “There’s one more thing. Do you recall a young woman accompanying Noah?”

The doctor’s brows shot up. “Oh, yes, I almost forgot about that! Just before we released you, there was an altercation going on in the waiting room. Two men were placed under arrest by the police. I heard that the young woman who accompanied you here was addressing them with some very colorful language as they were being escorted out of the building. She accused them of stalking her. They all put on quite a show for our staff and everyone else in the waiting room.”

“Did you see the two men?” Maggie asked.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t,” he said. Just then, an older woman in blue scrubs walked passed their room and he called out to her. “Lara, you were here Friday night, weren’t you?”

Lara turned and gave a nod. “I was.”

“Did you see all the drama and the arrest in the waiting room?”

“I sure did,” she said with a shake of her head.

“Noah,” Maggie said. “Show her the picture of those two guys from the cruise that you have on your phone.”

Noah pulled out his phone and quickly scrolled through the images. Then he held up one for Lara to see. “Was this them?”

She peered at the screen for a few seconds and then nodded. “I believe so.”

Maggie and Noah exchanged a look. Then Noah turned back to the doctor. “I’m sorry, I just have one final question. Did I give you any indication where I was planning to go after I left here Friday night?”

The doctor shook his head. “I’m sorry, I don’t recall.”

“That’s all right,” Noah said. “Thanks for everything you did for me, and for this information. You’ve both been really helpful.”

Back outside, Noah unhooked Boone’s leash from the bike rack and he trotted beside them as they all walked back to the Porsche.

The day had grown warm, the sun shining bright in the cloudless blue sky. Noah grabbed a collapsible dog dish from the floor of the back seat and placed it on the ground in front of Boon. He took a water bottle out and poured the contents into the dish for the dog.

“Wow,” Maggie said. “You’re really prepared.”

Noah acknowledged her comment with a small nod, but his expression remained serious.

“What’s wrong?” Maggie asked.

“I’m just frustrated. We’ve hit a dead end and we’re still no closer to finding Valentina.”

“Maybe you should call your friend Hugo, and let him know that those two guys, Nick and Johnny, were arrested here Friday night,” Maggie suggested. “Maybe he can find out some information about them that will help us.”

“Good idea!”

Noah dialed Hugo’s number and put him on speaker so that Maggie could hear. He updated him about the two men, the attack last night, and about the drug found in his system. Hugo promised to look into the arrest for him. Then he said, “I was actually about to call you, Noah. First of all, they rushed the preliminary toxicology report on that bottle of wine we found in Valentina’s condo.”

“What were the results?”

“They found arsenic in it.”

“What?”

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