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Yeah, it was probably something personal. Maybe a patient.
But a patient that knew the doctor well enough to know his schedule…and get into his office.
Okay, so maybe not a patient. But if not, then who?
Well, that’s what they pay us the big bucks for.
Jack grinned as he stepped off of the elevator and headed for the exit. He had a bloody case tucked in the folder in his hands, and he didn’t like the idea of being potentially partnered with someone else. So, as far as he was concerned, he needed to solve this one as quickly as possible—not only to stop a killer but so he could start figuring out what his future with Rachel was supposed to look like.
CHAPTER FIVE
When Jack stepped off of the elevators, the third floor was as quiet that's a graveyard. A sign on the wall directly in front of the elevator indicated that the staff offices were down the hall and to the right. He followed that instruction and began to hear the soft sounds of conversation as he neared the T-intersection at the end of the hall. There, to his left, Jack saw four police officers and two members of hospital security. So far, there appeared to have been no real attempts to cordon off the victim’s office. Someone had placed crime scene tape along the hall, taping a rectangular shape from wall to wall, blocking the office off.
He showed his badge and ID as he approached, and one of the police officers started toward him right away. This officer looked back to one of the security officers and beckoned him forward, too.
“Agent Rivers,” Jack said, placing his badge and ID back into his pocket.
“Glad you’re here,” said the police officer, a tall and thin man with a well-trimmed beard. “I’m Officer Tatum, and this gentleman right here,” he said, gesturing to the hospital security member, “is Roger Baynes. He’s been the one here in the hospital helping us out with everything.”
“Well, then for sure stick around,” Jack told Baynes. “But first, I’d like to have a look at the office.”
“Yeah, of course,” Tatum said.
They walked to the crime scene tape, and all three men ducked under it. The door to Dr. Matthews’ office was open, and only a single officer stood inside. He was jotting down notes on his phone and gave Jack a cursory nod as he stepped inside.
Even having seen the pictures, the overall state of the office was shocking. He’d been on enough violent crime scenes to know that pictures never quite nailed down just how brutal a particularly bloody scene could truly be. So much blood had been spilled in Matthews’ office that Jack could smell it in the air, a dingy copper scent.
There was a huge pool of blood on the carpet by the left side of the desk. Huge splatters of it were also on top of the desk, streaks of it covering a file folder, a few loose papers, and a closed laptop. There was also a bit on the wall, behind the chair at the desk and all the way against the far wall. He thought back to the pictures he had seen of the murdered doctor. There were obvious signs of head trauma; most of his forehead had been covered in blood, and the bridge of his nose looked like it had been shattered. It wasn't something he relished the idea of, but Jack was pretty sure he'd end up at the coroner's office to get a better look.
There were clear signs of a struggle within the office, too. A novelty coffee mug filled with pens had been knocked over on the desk. The chair behind the desk had been turned Askew. A magazine sitting on a small table by the visitor's chair had been knocked into the floor.
Certainly, there were plenty of answers to be had here. But they were the easy answers. There had been a struggle, a man had been severely beaten, and a grisly amount of blood had been left behind. The trick was to find a new set of questions before searching for more answers.
“Mr. Baynes, could I see you in here for a moment?” Jack called out.
Baynes stepped to the doorway at once. The way he kept his eyes ahead and focused solely on Jack was a clear indication that he was uneasy with the sight of so much blood.
“Something I can help with?” Baynes asked.
“Maybe. My report says that a nurse found the body, right?”
“That’s right. Natalia something or another.”
“Is she still here at the hospital?”
“Yeah. Down on the second floor. She sort of freaked out. Wouldn’t stop screaming. I think someone had to give her a sedative.”
Officer Tatum, standing directly behind Baynes, spoke up. “I spoke with her a bit. She’s out of it, but I gotsomestuff out of her. She swears she saw no one else in this hallway when she came to see him.”
“Any idea why she was coming to see him?” Jack asked.
“She’d been paged. She said Matthews needed to speak with her about something. She told me wasn’t surewhathe wanted to speak about. She assumed it was a patient.”
Looking to Baynes again, Jack asked, “Any cameras on this floor?”
“Not in this hallway, no. It’s all officers, so there’s really no point…or so we thought.”
“What about in the parking lots?”
