Heads You Lose - Lisa Lutz [44]
“I don’t see why not. What did you have in mind?”
“I have some patients who could use a certain kind of medication.”
“Why don’t you write them a prescription?”
“The closest compassion center is a three-hour drive. Most of my patients can’t drive. I need another option.”
“Are you a cop?” Lacey replied.
“No, I’m a doctor.”
“Sorry. I had to ask.”
“Do we have a deal?”
“I’ll comp the first batch. After that, you need to pay.”
Doc Egan re-dressed Lacey’s wound while she provided a complete price list. When he was done, he returned to his desk and on a prescription pad wrote out an address and passed it to Lacey. She looked it over.
“Wait a minute,” Lacey said, “I thought he’d at least left the state. This is just a P.O. box in Tulac.”
“I doubt he’s living in Tulac. He probably has his mail forwarded to wherever he went.”
Lacey hopped off the table. “Nice doing business with you, Doc.”
Egan walked Lacey to the door.
“Want to catch a movie sometime?” he asked.
“Did you know that the closest movie theater is a forty-minute drive?” Lacey replied.
“I didn’t.”
“You should have looked into that before you moved here.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“Sure. Why not?” Lacey replied.
“This week sometime?”
“I’m busy this week.”
“Doing what?” Egan asked. As far as he knew, she had all the time in the world.
“Solving a murder. I thought my brother would help me, but he’s totally useless. It’s kind of taking up most of my time.”
“Why don’t you leave that business to the cops?”
“It’s personal,” Lacey replied.
On her way home, Lacey dropped by Betty’s place. She wanted to check on the address of Mallard Corp., the apparent provider of Doc Holland’s supplemental malpractice insurance. If that’s what it was. Lacey couldn’t articulate a connection, but two operations named after ducks couldn’t be a coincidence, could they? Betty still had Holland’s accounting data in her computer and had no problem accessing the address, a mailbox in Emery, just north of Mercer. Betty served Lacey a mug of hot tea. She was itching for the latest town gossip, but Lacey was more interested in old news. She hoped Betty’s memory was better than Sook’s.
“Do you remember when my parents died?” Lacey asked.
Betty and Lacey’s mom had been close. Their friendship arose out of proximity rather than common interests, but what eventually tied them together was trust. Betty was a woman you could rely on. On occasion she used to babysit the Hansen children. After Sheriff Ed broke the horrible news to Lacey and Paul, Betty was the first person to bring a casserole to the house.
“Of course I do, darling. It was a terrible day for the whole town.”
“Was there an investigation?”
“I’m sure the police looked into the matter, but I don’t think anyone thought it was anything more than an awful accident. Nobody had those carbon monoxide detectors back then. Come to think of it, I don’t have one now. Do you?”
“Yes,” Lacey replied. “Paul changes the batteries twice a year.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“Did my parents have trouble with anybody?”
“Everybody loved the Hansens.”
“Everybody?”
“I think Big Marv had some sort of scuffle with your dad.”
“What kind of scuffle?”
“Remember that fifteen-acre lot your family owned just on the city line between Mercer and Emery?”
“Vaguely.”
“Well, Big Marv wanted to buy it. For years, he kept making offers and your dad always said no. Figured it would be worth something one day. ‘Once the suburbs ooze their way out here,’ he used to say. They still haven’t spread this far. Still, it’s a nice piece of property.”
“So what happened to it? We don’t own that land.”
“After your folks passed, your uncle wanted you and Paul to have some savings, so he sold it.”
“To Big Marv? That’s awfully convenient.”
“No. Marv tried to buy it, but Terry Jakes outbid him.”
Lacey’s head was swimming with inchoate clues. No matter how she twisted the facts, she couldn’t figure out how she and Paul were connected to Hart’s murder. She only knew that there was a connection.
Sheriff Ed’s