Page 81 of I’ll Be Watching You

“He was killed before he was able to expose whatever he found. All his data is missing.”

“If that is the case, I’m sorry. I wasn’t privy to any problems with the Neurovantix trial. It wasn’t something I closely followed, but if there were issues, I’m sure I would have been told.”

“So Dr. Klein didn’t come to you.”

She hesitated then said, “Honestly, I shouldn’t discuss any of the research programs with you. However, I can say I didn’t talk to Dr. Klein about any concerns he had about anything. I barely knew him. Maybe he brought them up with my assistant director.”

“Peter Stockman?”

She looked confused, then smiled. “Yes, Peter is the current director.”

“And he was your assistant director three years ago?” I pressed.

She nodded. “He earned the promotion.”

A woman walked in, wearing slacks and a white blouse. “Mrs. Maddox, you have a five p.m. calendar appointment you need to get ready for.”

“Oh. Yes. At the clubhouse?”

The woman nodded.

Mildred looked from Jack to Margo with a wide smile. “Is there anything else you need?”

“You’re on the board of Honor House, correct?” I asked.

She seemed surprised by the question, glanced at the woman in the doorway, then said, “Yes, I believe I still am, at least until the end of the year. Why?”

“Just part of our research,” I said as I stood. “Thank you for your time.”

Jack and I walked out.

Back at Jack’s truck I said, “Did she seem too nice?”

“She seemed like a slightly forgetful seventy-year-old. Why don’t you trust her?”

“I do, I guess, well, no, I don’t.”

Jack laughed and started the engine. “Wow, thanks for clearing that up.”

“You know me, I don’t trust anyone until I get to know them. You’re probably right, she seemed genuine, maybe too forthcoming.”

“She didn’t really tell us much of anything, other than she was a figurehead and her staff did all the work. Maybe not in so many words, but . . .” He let his thought trail off.

Jack might be right. I didn’t know. I needed to mull over the conversation. And I really wanted to talk to Peter Stockman, but couldn’t figure out how to approach him. Yet.

“Let’s dig around a bit into her past. Make sure there aren’t any skeletons.”

“So where to now?”

“Honor House. I want to ask Grace Poling about Mildred, get her take.”

Twenty minutes later, I was back at Honor House. It was after five in the afternoon, but the facility was busy. I realized most of the activity was around the kitchen.

I found Grace there, helping set up for the evening meal.

“Margo, good to see you again.”

“This is my brother Jack. You look busy, we can wait.”