Page 89 of Diagnosis Attraction

Behind her, he pulled closer to the curb, cut the engine and followed her up the driveway. She stood for a moment, staring at the house with its boarded-up windows and blackened bricks, then skirted around to the real scene of destruction.

She could see an enormous hole in the ground, filled with debris. Pieces of wood, cinder blocks, medical equipment, and furniture were scattered around the rubble.

“It looks like nobody’s been here to clean up,” she whispered as Matt came up behind her.

“Maybe there’s a question of ownership.”

She looked up and down the street at the well-kept houses and yards.

“They can’t leave it forever,” he said, following her thoughts.

She made a derisive sound. “There was a swimming pool in Baltimore that kids used all the time. I mean kids whose parents couldn’t afford a country club. The owner tore it down, and we all thought they had sold the land for houses or apartments. That was fifteen years ago, and it’s still sitting empty.”

“But the pool owners didn’t leave a mess, did they?”

“No.”

Matt nodded and stepped closer to the pit, looking down into the tangle of debris.

“I see a lot of medical equipment—some of it expensive.”

“Like what?”

He pointed. “There’s a mangled X-ray machine. A couple of exam tables. Cabinets that probably held drugs. An EKG machine. Centrifuges. A spectrophotometer. It looks like the doctor had plenty of money to spend on his research project.”

“I wonder what he was doing. Do you think it was related to the clinic?”

“Or something new. It looks like it was paying off.” He turned to her. “We shouldn’t stick around here.”

“I know. I just wanted to see what it looked like.” She shuddered. “And try to figure out what happened. You think a gas leak really destroyed this place?”

“I don’t know.” He dragged in a breath and let it out. “I don’t smell anything like explosives.”

“It was a few months ago.”

He picked up a stick from the ground, walked to a pile of debris, and turned over some charred pieces of wood and paper.”

“But the smell would linger.”

“What else could do so much damage?”

“I’d like to know.”

She gave him a long look. “If … uh … somebody had a lot of time to practice, do you think they could blow up a building the way we’ve been zapping people and rocks?”

His head whipped toward her. “You’re thinking people like us could have done it?”

“Could they?”

“Not just two people, I don’t think.”

She shivered. “What if …”

He waited for her to finish the thought, but she shrugged. “I’m not going there.”

They returned to the car, and Matt pulled away, checking in his rearview mirror as he turned the corner.

“You think someone could follow us from here?” Elizabeth asked.

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