Page 184 of Bad Blood

I pull out my phone and stare at the black screen while I process what I need to say. This is where things get tricky. I don’t have the evidence directly tying Kline to the murders. And my next step will set things in motion.

Yes, he dated all three—four if you count Nell—of the women on this list.

The list is too much of a coincidence.

And Phillip mentioned the shooting range.

I don’t have more than that.

Just a hunch.

And the possibility Kline will implicate himself.

I enter the doctors’ lounge and set my laptop on the counter, rolling my finger across the mouse pad to bring it to life as I dial Hudson.

A young female voice answers the phone; her tone clipped and intolerant.

“This is Rachel. How may I direct your call?”

I clear my throat. “Detective Roark, please.”

“He’s unavailable at the moment. Would you like to leave a message?”

“Yes, please. This is Dr. Fields. I have some new information for him,” I say, repeating the words I was told to say verbatim.

She pauses, and clicking on a keyboard fills my ears before she asks, “Can you hold?”

She cuts me off before I can reply, the sound of her voice replaced with obnoxious elevator music. I wait . . . and wait. I glance at the clock on the wall. This is taking longer than it’s supposed to, and Kline could show at any second.

The longer I’m on hold, the more this seems like a bad idea. I pull the phone from my ear to make sure I didn’t lose the call and try to organize my thoughts.

An incoming text pops up at the top of my screen, and Dax’s face flutters to the forefront of my mind like a rabid butterfly.

Dax: Can I bring you lunch?

Shit. Shit. Shit. He can’t be here. His part of my plan is over, and I don’t want him around, just in case. I fumble through a response of what to type back when there’s an interruption to my thoughts.

“Hello?” A husky voice fills the phone, a little breathy and on edge. “This is Roark. Dr. Fields?”

“Yeah, I’m here.”

“Sorry, we were in a briefing. Told Rachel to get me if anyone called regarding the hospital cases. You have something for me?” I appreciate his ploy of acting like this isn’t part of our plan since he’s at work with prying ears.

“Ten, fifteen minutes, and the answer will be yes.” Once I set this in motion, I won’t be able to make it stop. Hudson said he needs more than the list, but I don’t know if what I’m about to do will be enough and if it will work.

“Could you hang on a sec? I need to shut my door.”

There’s a brief silence, and the sound of a copier fills my ears, along with some joking in the background. There are multiple voices and a telephone ringing before it all goes silent.

“You still there?” he whispers when he returns. “Wait. You said you already have what I need.”

“I mentioned an idea of how to get you what you need. And I need ten to fifteen more minutes. Wait until then. If you come any earlier, it could mess everything up.”

He gives me a deep, throaty snigger. “I don’t know what you’re planning, but please don’t make me regret giving you the green light.”

An uproar of raised voices in the hall behind me pulls my attention from the phone. As it gets louder, my heartbeat quickens. I double-check that my computer is recording and step to the side to make sure it captures the entire room. I can’t make out the voices, but I have my suspicions. I cup my hand over the phone and try to make sense of the heated conversation. I knew I was right. But what happened to letting me know he was on his way?

“Don’t be late.” I hang up, not giving Hudson the chance to talk me out of what I’m about to do.

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