Page 32 of Diagnosis Attraction

“No, sir. I killed the old lady, and I didn’t expect anyone else besides Forester.”

He could see Lang thinking about the answer. He was wondering if Gary had made a mistake—or they were dealing with someone very clever. From experience, he knew there was no use trying to persuade his employer either way. He’d make up his own mind.

“The police still don’t know who she is, or they’re not saying, which gives us an advantage,” Lang mused.

“And I think she still doesn’t know, either. At least I got that impression from talking to her.”

“Why?”

“The look in her eyes,” Gary answered promptly.

“Okay.”

With anyone else, Gary might have asked a question like, “What’s our next move?” But he kept silent because he knew Lang would give him further orders when he had a plan in place.

He watched his boss thinking about his options before he said, “Stake out her house. If she figures out who she is, she’ll go back there.”

“Yes, sir,” Gary answered, relieved to have a new assignment. One he wasn’t going to screw up.

“And one more thing. The cops are also looking for the doctor who treated her, the one on shift the morning she was released. Unless we have contradictory information, we have to assume that he’s the guy who came up behind you. And we have to assume the two of them are together. Keep a man on his place, too, in case he’s dumb enough to go home.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’ll check his credit card records and his background. Where was he before he was in Baltimore? We may get a lead on where he’s gone.”

Gary left the room, feeling like he’d made a lucky escape. Other men who had worked for Derek Lang had disappeared. They might have moved on to other jobs, but Gary didn’t think so.

Matt kept his arm around Elizabeth. At the same time, he sent her soothing thoughts. It was a strange way to communicate, but he knew it was working as he felt her shivering subside.

“Let’s think this through. Make some plans.”

She caught a thought sliding through his head. “And you want to have a hamburger while we’re doing it.”

He laughed. “I can’t help it. I haven’t had anything to eat since that wonderful chili of yours, and I think we both need to keep our strength up.”

“You like my cooking?”

“It’ll be a nice bonus—when we get out of this mess. But for now, fast food.”

“Okay.”

Her agreement came with what she was really thinking—that after seeing the news report, she wasn’t sure she could eat.

“Inconvenient to be getting so many of your stray thoughts,” he murmured.

“Yes.”

“There are a ton of fast-food chains around here. I can go out and bring the burgers back.”

“Okay,” she answered, and again he picked up more than she was saying. She didn’t love the idea of being left alone, but under the circumstances, it was safer.

“I know,” she murmured aloud.

He nodded and got dressed. “Back in a flash.”

When he stopped short, she gave him a questioning look, then said, “You’re worried that the cops could be looking for your car.”

“Yeah.”

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