The Trophy Exchange (17 page)

“
Ellen, I
’
ve got to go to work.
”

“
It
’
s your day off, Ted.
”

“
I know, hon, but duty calls.
”

“
Duty, my ass. It was that woman on the phone.
”

Ted sighed.
“
If you mean Lieutenant Pierce, yes, she did call.
”

“
And you
’
re chasing after her, aren
’
t you?
”

“
Ellen, this is work.
”
He walked up to the doorway where she blocked his egress with a rigid body and a downturned mouth.
“
Can I get by
,
Ellen, please?
”

“
You promised to go furniture shopping with me today.
”

“
We can go Saturday.
”

“
We wanted to go on a school day so we wouldn
’
t have to drag the kids along. Or did you forget about the kids, too, in all the excitement of hearing your girlfriend
’
s voice?
”

Ted shook his head. He placed one hand on the top of each of Ellen
’
s arms and gently shifted her out of the doorway.
“
I gotta run, Ellen.
”
He slipped out of the bedroom and down the hall to the kitchen.

Ellen followed.
“
You can
’
t run out on me again, Ted.
”

“
I
’
m not running out on you, Ellen. I
’
ve got to follow a lead in a murder investigation.
”

“
You
’
ve got to follow the scent of that woman, you mean.
”

“
Ellen, this is really getting old. We
’
ll talk when I get home
,
if you want
,
but I
’
ve got to go now.
”
He pulled open the back door.

“
It
’
s me or her, Ted. Make up your mind right now.
”

He looked at his wife. Snapshots of their early years flashed
in his memory
. The way her eyes used to twinkle when she looked at him. He had not seen that sparkle in such a long time. The way she used to kiss him goodbye every time he walked out the door as if a trip to the corner store was an absence too long to bear. A smile of longing flitted across his lips
–
and was gone as quickly as it came.
Nothing’s been the same since the baby died.
His shoulders slumped. He shook his head.
“
Later, Ellen,
”
he said as he stepped across the threshold.

“
If you leave now, don
’
t ever plan on coming back.
”

“
Aw, jeez, Ellen! Don
’
t be an ass.
”
He pulled the door shut and walked to his car.

Eighteen

Ted and Lucinda entered into the medical office of
Dr.
Spencer. The decor displayed the sophistication of a highly
regarded, highly paid surgeon
;
no cheap plastic chairs in this waiting room. The wooden-armed chairs housed thick red cushions. They backed up to the white wainscoting of the bottom half of the wall. Above, the painted wood, red-flowered wallpaper with the look of an antique design
,
coordinated with the chairs. Even the selection of magazines was more upscale than the traditional selection found in a typical general practitioner
’
s office. Instead of
People
,
Sports Illustrated
, and
Newsweek
, the glass
-
topped tables between the chairs offered up
Architectural Digest
,
Gourmet
and
Sailing
.

They approached the front desk.
“
Good afternoon, ma
’
am,
”
Lucinda said flashing her badge.
“
I
’
m Lieutenant Pierce. And this is Sergeant Branson. We
’d
like to ask a few questions.
”

“Dr.
Spencer is not in the office today.
”

“
Are you the one who handles the scheduling of appointments?
”

“
Yes, I am.
”

“
Then you
’
re the one we want to talk to.
”

“
Me? You want an appointment?
”
Her eyes roamed over Lucinda
’
s face. She furrowed her brow and bit her bottom lip.
“
I
’
m very sorry but I
’
m afraid
Dr.
Spencer doesn
’
t do plastic surgery.
”

“
No, not an appointment for me. I want to know about
Dr.
Spencer
’
s schedule.
”

“
I
’
m sorry
,
that is confidential information.
”

“
We just want to take a look at his calendar
,
not at any personal records.
”

“
I can
’
t do that without his express permission. I have to protect the privacy of our patients.
”

“
We don
’
t care about the patients
’
names, records or anything about them. We just care about
Dr.
Spencer
’
s whereabouts.
”

The eyes of the receptionist squinted tight.
“
Does this have something to do with the murder of Dr Spencer
’
s wife?
”

“
As a matter of fact, it does.
”
Lucinda rested her elbow on the counter.
“
And you do want us to find out who killed
Mrs.
Spencer, don
’
t you?
”

The receptionist
’
s lips pursed. She leaned back in her chair.
“
That
’
s outrageous!
Dr.
Spencer loved his wife. He is a wonderful man. He
’
s a great doctor. Why don
’
t you leave him alone?
”

Lucinda sighed. She whispered into Ted
’
s ear,
“
Sweet talk time, Ted. Work your magic.
”
She turned away and headed for the door.
“
I
’
m outta here, Ted. This is just a waste of time. I
’
ll meet you back at the station.
”

Ted and the receptionist watched her leave. When the door shut, Ted turned around to face the woman behind the counter. He rested loosely folded arms on the counter, smiled, and donned his best puppy-face expression and a weak, apologetic smile. He
looked into her her eyes with warmth,
then shifted
his gaze
down to her mouth.
“
Sorry
’
bout that. She hasn
’
t been right since the accident.
”

Without conscious thought, the tip of her tongue slipped out and moistened her lips.
“
I
’
m sorry, too, but I can
’
t help you without talking to Dr Spencer.
”
She let a tight smile cross her face as she stretched out her arm to shake Ted
’
s hand.
“
I
’
m Jen,
”
she said.
“
What happened to her face?
”

“
Line of duty injury, Jen. It
’
s pretty sad.
”

“
Can
’
t they do anything for her?
”

“
Probably could but she
’
s too impatient to deal with the surgery. Probably scared, too.
”

“
We see a lot of that,
”
the receptionist empathized
.

“
I
’
ll bet you do. You strike me as a very understanding and perceptive woman.
”

“
Lieutenant Pierce thinks Dr Spencer killed his wife, doesn
’
t she?
”

He sighed deeply and allowed his eyes to roam across her face. Her pulse quickened as she waited for his response.

“
I won
’
t lie to you, Jen. Yes, she thinks it
’
s possible,
”
Ted admitted with a shake of his head.

“
That
’
s crazy.
Dr.
Spencer was in Afghanistan when that happened
. . .”

“
I know, Jen. But what can I do? I
’
m a
s
ergeant, she
’
s a
l
ieutenant.
”

“
What
’
s wrong with her? Why can
’
t she accept his alibi?
”

“
Well, she
’
s been a little edgy and bitter since she got shot in the face. It happened when she was protecting a woman from her husband. She
’
s not real keen on men these days. You can understand that, can
’
t you?
”

“
Sure, but she
’
s crazy if she thinks Dr Spencer killed anyone.
”

“
Yeah, I know.
”
Ted shook his head slowly.
“
But she
’
s got this list of dates she wants to check out to see if Dr Spencer was in the country. She figures that it will help her build a case against him.
”

“
That
’
s ridiculous!
”

“
I know, Jen, I know. But you see, the way I figured it is that we
’
d come here, we
’
d check out those dates she
’
s interested in, and we
’
d find out he wasn
’
t around at any of those times and she
’
d have to scratch him off her list of suspects.
”

“
Oh, I see.
”

“
But I do understand your position and respect you for it. We
’
ll just have to keep him on the suspect list. Can
’
t see any way around it, Jen. I hope Dr Spencer has a good combo of verifiable alibi
s
for those days. If not
. . .”
H
e shrugged.

“
You mean he could be charged with murder?
”

Ted reached across the counter and patted her forearm. He spoke softly, almost in a whisper,
“
You know, Jen, I don
’
t know what to tell you.
”

Jen
’
s brow furrowed, relaxed and furrowed again. She bit her bottom lip and exhaled with force.
“
I hope I
’
m not making a big mistake here,
”
Jen said,
“
but I think it
’
s in Dr Spencer
’
s best interests if I help you eliminate him as a suspect.
”