Page 24 of Rescuing Ryder

Detective Stewart raised his hand and shook his head. “Hold on a minute. Did you say you recently moved? Maybe some teens decided to play a horrible joke, or the former owner feels disgruntled over the sale price. If this man resides in the mental hospital, don’t you think we’d receive an alert concerning a mental patient on the loose?”

“Well…I guess. What if they didn’t notify you? I’m telling you he went inside my home. Can you send someone out to check for prints or something?” Claire asked.

He shook his head. “Ma’am, I’ll make some calls and send this down for fingerprints. How many people visited your new home? Between the movers and yourself, the chances of discovering evidence lessen by each person who crossed your threshold.”

Claire sighed helplessly. “Can you send an officer over to confirm he’s there? David Kilner’s a dangerous man.”

“Of course. I’ll go myself to ease your fears. I’m guessing some local teens tried to scare you. Why didn’t you contact the local authorities?” he asked.

“Serenity’s a small town. I recently practiced in Seattle and his fingerprints remain on file here. If David Kilner somehow escaped, then we need to alert the public. Dr. Gregory Klein must be informed immediately. We testified against the man. If he’s after me, he’ll go after Dr. Klein, too.”

Detective Stewart chuckled. “I see you’ve thought this through. Why don’t you return home and let me do my job? I’ll check things out and will call you this afternoon.”

Claire swallowed the lump in her throat. She didn’t want to appear to be a drama queen. Yet when she awoke in the morning to find herself alone and Ryder’s scribbled note on the fridge, she felt the fear from the night before.

“I’ll expect to hear from you this afternoon,” Claire rose and shook his hand.

The detective walked toward the door and held it wide open. “I’m sure you’ll discover a few wayward teens trying to make the new resident scared. I’ll check out your concerns,” he assured her.

Claire nodded shakily as she exited his office. Her stomach sank. She felt positive he intended to do the least investigating possible. When she returned to her office, she planned to call Dr. Klein herself.

Detective Stewart knockedon the chief’s door. When he entered, he sat down across from his boss.

“Dr. Meyers came to see me today concerning the missing patient. The mayor wants to keep this under wraps, but I don’t know how long I can put her off. She mentioned contacting Dr. Klein. If they insist on an investigation, I’m afraid Mayor Thorton will need a backup plan,” he explained to Chief Greene.

The man nodded. “I’ll call the mayor and inform him of her visit. This campaign hinges on this new facility and how it offers mental health support to the community. Between his son’s death and this facility, Mayor Thorton can’t afford to have a scandal thrown at him. He’ll sacrifice us before he loses. Wait afew hours and then call her back and appease her. We can deny any knowledge later. Call the facility under a bogus question. It’ll show on the phone records you did your due diligence if something occurs.”

Detective Stewart nodded before rising and exiting the room.

Chief Greene picked up his phone, dialed the mayor's office, and waited until the official answered. “Mr. Mayor, we have a problem. David Kilner visited the woman physician. This situation grows worse by the day. If he contacts the other one, they’ll raise the alarm.”

“Keep doing your job, Chief Greene. Dr. Klein won’t be available to take her calls,” the mayor ordered.

“I don’t think she’ll drop it. What if Dr. Meyers tries to warn him?”

“We’ll handle it. Do your job and pray no one finds out how incompetent you really are,” Mayor Thorton responded before the line went dead.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Claire barely glanced up when Ryder entered her doorway. Her thoughts dwelled on how she planned to stay in the house alone. The joy of new homeownership went out the window at the sight of the letter. The pictures of the young woman and her mother’s bodies, and missing body parts, flashed in her head, and her stomach became queasy.

“Hello, earth to Claire,” Ryder waved his hand in front of her face.

She straightened and met his gaze. “Did you need something?”

He paused. “I’m reporting for my daily job of fixing all the disastrous things you’ve put together. What will it be today? A two-legged stool missing a third leg? A bookshelf missing the pegs and tilting forward? Wait, I got it. You want me to paint the ugly eye sore of a house.”

When Ryder didn’t get any reaction, he sat down across from her.

“What’s up, Doc?” he asked.

Claire attempted to smile, but by the expression on his face, she didn’t fool him.

“I’m sorry. It seems I’ve lost my mind. Come in. I didn’t bring any projects for you today. I forgot.” she confessed.

Frowning, Ryder leaned forward, trying to get a better glimpse of her downturned face.

“Do you feel all right? You seem a bit pale,” he asked.

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