Page 24 of State of Denial

They followed her to the kitchen at the back of the house. She put the baby in a high chair and sprinkled some dry cereal on the tray. “Can I get you anything?”

“I’d love some water,” Sam said.

“I’ll take some, too,” Freddie added.

As she filled glasses of ice water for them, Sam looked around at the fancy kitchen with the high-end stove that had a wooden hood above it. She would have no idea how to use a stove like that. The instruction book was probably three inches thick, which meant she’d never open it.

“I assume this is about Marcel and his family.” She put the drinks on the table. “I’m in total shock. I spent every day with him and never would’ve thought him capable of something like this. He adored his kids, or so it seemed to me.” She sighed as she sat next to Freddie. “I guess you don’t ever really know people.”

“So you believe he killed his family and then himself?” Sam asked.

Dr. Harvey stared at her. “I… I don’t know. I just assumed… With the news of the lawsuit about to hit the media.”

“What lawsuit?”

“Oh God, you haven’t heard.” She rubbed her temples as she seemed to struggle to find the words. “Four women have accused him of inappropriate behavior. He refused to settle out of court, and the whole mess was about to go public with a trial starting in two weeks.”

“What sort of inappropriate behavior?” Sam asked.

Oriana seemed exquisitely uncomfortable. “The kind where he allegedly ejaculated on them while they were under light sedation.”

After having been through fertility treatment, Sam’s stomach turned with revulsion as she imagined such a thing happening to vulnerable women chasing a dream. She cleared her throat. “Do you believe he did that?”

“I believe that four women have remarkably similar stories. Prior to hearing that, no, I wouldn’t have thought him capable of such a thing. He’d always been a consummate professional, and his patients loved him. They waited months to see him.” She released a deep sigh. “And he was my close friend and colleague. It’s just impossible to believe that he’d risk his livelihood, his reputation,everythingfor a cheap thrill. It’s disgusting.”

“Did the women report the assaults to the MPD?” Sam asked.

“They did, and each was investigated, but since there was no proof, charges were never filed. The women had decided to pursue the matter civilly. And that was about to erupt in a scandal for the ages. When I heard the news, I assumed Marcel snapped and decided to spare them all the shame.”

Sam was reeling after hearing about the lawsuit and realizing it was more than possible that Dr. Harvey’s theory was exactly what had happened. “While I understand that assumption, our job is to fully investigate every possibility.”

“Including that they were murdered?”

“Every possibility,” Sam reiterated. “Can you tell us where you were last night?”

The question shocked the doctor. “I’ma suspect?”

“Everyone is at this point in the investigation.”

“I… I was here with my husband and daughter. I got home around seven and didn’t leave again until this morning around seven thirty to go to the office for a couple of hours. We have cameras and a security system here at the house that records comings and goings.”

Sam glanced at Freddie, who would take care of getting a warrant for her cameras. Even with her permission to view the cameras, they would still get the warrant to cover their asses. “We’ve heard that Marcel and your other partner, Rory, had a somewhat major disagreement recently. Is that true?”

The doctor folded her hands on the table and then stared at them. “We were very upset with him for cutting back on his practice, at a time when people are canceling with us because of him, even though his calendar has remained booked solid. That he cut back without consulting with us first was the part that infuriated us the most.”

“Would you say that Rory was angry enough to harm Marcel?”

“God no. He thought of Marcel as a brother. The argument was intense, but they were like family to each other. Rory was as angry as I’ve ever seen him, but he loved those kids like they were his own.” With tears in her eyes, she added, “As did I.”

“Prior to these latest issues, how would you describe your work relationship with Marcel?”

“It was excellent. We’ve been in practice together for seven years and worked very well together. We helped each other out when one of us had outside obligations. We covered for each other. We were close friends as well as colleagues. Him making a major change like that without discussing it with us first was out of character, to say the least, as were the things his patients accused him of. We were deeply disappointed about all of it. I was especially upset with him cutting his hours, because he knew how challenging everything was for me since I had my daughter. Not to mention the lawsuit was heavily affecting Rory and me while leaving him relatively unscathed.”

“Wouldn’t you want him to cut back until the lawsuit was resolved?” Sam asked.

“He was booked solid with appointments more than a year out. His proven track record of success was what brought most of our patients to the practice.”

“Was this the only thing that was out of character for him lately?”

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