One Strange Accident

by Kay Wyont

  “We’re not filming you, Gloria. You’re safe.” Randy pulled his badge out and set in in front of her. “Here. You may deserve this more than me. That’s really good work.”

  “Thanks, but you can keep it. Nail Dr. Higgins and we’ll call it even. That’s all I’ve been praying for, but I wasn’t sure how it could happen. Who else would suspect something like this was going on? And then today you showed back up. An answer to prayer! I want Saul exonerated. He was a good kid. He wouldn’t have arbitrarily run that bus off the overpass. Higgins got him to do it. I don’t know how, but I know he did. Probably in that special room of his.”

  “You mean the one with the projector in it?”

  “That’s the one!”

  “What does he do in there?” Danny asked.

  “I don’t know. We close every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon at two o’clock, and it’s my job to close up on my way out, even though Higgins would often still be with a client. I thought it was rather strange for a business to be closed, so I’ve watched from the parking lot. Rick Caldwell always had a one-thirty appointment on Thursdays, and he’d stay until after five. Same on Thursdays with Dr. Nelson.”

  Randy’s admiration of Gloria edged back toward irritation at the risks she’d taken. “You camped out in the parking lot and waited for him to leave? Dr. Higgins could very easily have seen your vehicle in the parking lot. If he expected you’d gone home, you could have been in danger.”

  “Give me a little credit. I drive my car to work, and that’s what Dr. Higgins is used to seeing. When I was doing reconnaissance, I used Tom’s SUV. It’s got dark, tinted windows, so I just parked in the shade and crawled into the back. Nobody could see me in there.” Gloria chuckled. “Maybe that’s why I’ve been losing weight. It was hot back there. Hey, I could start my own weight-loss clinic!”

  “You are something else, Gloria,” Danny said, shaking his head.

  “No kidding,” Randy agreed. “In all your investigative work, did you find out what he’s been showing on that projector? I doubt he hung around after hours to watch What about Bob with his clients.”

  “I didn’t find anything, but I’m sure it’s some sort of mind control movies. At any rate, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.”

  “Why?”

  “I know you can’t tell me what you found at the clinic. I get that. But I will ask you this. Hypothetically speaking, if someone were to search the clinic, do you think they would have found any films? You know, like you’d use on that projector? I mean, if someone other than you were to search it, of course.”

  “Hypothetically speaking only, they probably wouldn’t have found them,” Randy replied.

  Gloria eagerly leaned forward. “Did you by any chance notice how small that storage room is?”

  “I think I can safely say I took note of its size. Why?”

  “That bothered me. I mean, the reception desk is right in front of it, but the footage just didn’t seem to fit. So, when Dr. Higgins was gone one day, I did a little investigating. Behind that stack of boxes is a panel in the wall that opens. There’s another small room behind the storage room. It’s full of tape reels that look like they fit the projector.”

  “You might as well take my badge, too,” Danny said. “I can’t believe you found that.”

  “A movie came on TV recently that had a similar scenario...a hidden room. That’s what keyed me. I did a little snooping.” Gloria looked embarrassed, as if she couldn’t believe she’d shared so much. “I bet you think I watch too much TV.”

  “No, I think I don’t watch enough, and I also think you’re one of a kind, Gloria!” Randy turned to Danny. “Perhaps we should make another run out there tonight.”

  “Wait until tomorrow,” Gloria said.

  “Why?”

  “When I called the doctor, he told me to lock up after you left, because he wasn’t coming back. He also told me to call him and let him know if you found anything. I think I’ll be forgiven for lying, but when I called, I told him you hadn’t. I checked after you left, and I know you found the vials. I was sure tempted to take one to a lab and get it analyzed when I first stumbled across those, but I figured if I took one, he’d know, and I didn’t want to take that chance.

  “Anyway, I’ll bet you’d like to get your hands on his laptop. I’ve never gotten a look at it because he guards it with his life, so you know he’s got important things in there. He even takes it to the restroom with him, for Heaven’s sake! Probably to watch something without being interrupted. But if you get there about nine-thirty tomorrow he’ll have it. I get to work at nine, so I can call and let you know if he didn’t bring it. You can’t risk getting this wrong. You don’t want to spook him.”

  “Gloria, I’m not sure you should go to work tomorrow,” Danny said. “You’ve done enough. I’m concerned for your safety.”

  “In for a penny, in for a pound, Danny. Besides, if I’m not there he’ll get suspicious, because that wouldn’t be normal. If you don’t know that, then perhaps you should watch more television. It would be helpful in your job.”

  “I agree with Agent 007, Danny,” Randy said, chuckling. “Just remember, Gloria, try to act normal. Although I have no doubt in my mind you can do just that.” And here I thought she was a bad actress. Boy, were you wrong, Monroe! “You’re amazing. We really appreciate all you’ve done. Just be careful.”

  “I will. And you can show your appreciation by putting him behind bars and clearing Saul’s name.”

  “We’ll do our best to get to the truth, I promise. Will anybody else be there tomorrow?”

  “Probably not. I’m sure you’ve noticed there aren’t a lot of clients.”

  “We did notice that. But his filing cabinet is full. Well, it was.” Randy nodded toward the file boxes piled in the corner Marty had brought to them.

  “Oh! From everything I’ve been able to find out, most of those are made up files. Just like the pictures on his wall.”

  “You mean the before-and-after pictures?” Randy asked.

  “Yes. I recognized the photo of the woman in the yellow muumuu. It kind of stands out, and I was pretty sure I’d seen it recently, so I looked and sure enough, it was in one of my magazines. Once I started checking, I found more pictures. It looks like he pulled them off the internet. That’s why he can offer a money-back guarantee on his services. The only clients he actually seems to have are ones who end up dead.”

  “Holy cow,” Danny said. “How does he get around seeing other people?”

  “I wondered the same thing. He gives anyone who comes in a questionnaire to fill out. He asks a lot of personality questions that don’t seem to have anything to do with weight loss. Once I figured he was looking for deep-seated fears to manipulate, the questions made sense. If someone comes in that he doesn’t think he can turn, or who doesn’t have a glaring weak spot of some sort, he refers them someplace else.”

  “What does he tell them?”

  “I asked him about that, because it seemed like there were a lot of people being referred out. I didn’t see how the business could be making any money, but at that time I didn’t realize it wasn’t about the money. He told me that based on their responses to the questionnaire, he doesn’t think his program is for them and they’ll have more success someplace else. Then he gives them a list of other places to check out.”

  “Man, he’s got this thing down to a science, doesn’t he?”

  “Sure looks like it,” Randy said. “If he doesn’t have any actual clients, this must be costing a fortune.”

  “Must be nice to be rich and crazy.” Danny gave a wistful sigh.

  “Well, you’re halfway there, so it’s all good.” Randy chuckled at Danny’s irritation. “Is there anything else, Gloria?”

  “Just one thing. He has a new client by the name of Robert Richardson. He’s been coming there about two months, and when I called Dr. Higgins after you left, he told me to set Robert up with a one-thirty appointment for this Th
ursday. I’m concerned. That’s why I decided after you left that now was the time to see if I can trust you. I can see this coming a mile away. You must stop Higgins before he gets to Mr. Richardson, too.”

  “Hopefully we’ll have Higgins in custody before then. We can warn Richardson away from the clinic if something goes wrong.”

  “Okay,” she said, standing up. “But you better not mess this up. If you let something happen to Robert, you’ll have me to deal with.”

  “I have no doubt in my mind that we would.” Randy laughed as they ushered her out. “And believe me, the last thing in the world I want is to get on your bad side.”

  “One more thing,” Gloria said on the way to Reception, “I put the envelope you gave me in one of the desk drawers. I hope it won’t be a problem if Dr. Higgins doesn’t get it right away.”

  “No problem at all,” Randy replied, grinning.

  When they returned after escorting her out, Danny said, “Do you believe that? We have investigators who aren’t as good undercover as she is.”

  “I know. A secret room behind a bunch of boxes? In whose world is that normal?”

  “We’ll need to come up with a new protocol for technicians. Checking walls and measuring rooms. Wait until we tell Susan and Marty.”

  “Tell Susan what?”

  The detectives turned in surprise to find the lady in question had snuck in while they were marveling at Gloria’s detective work.

  “Tell you that you didn’t do a very good job searching the clinic,” Danny replied.

  “What are you talking about? There’s not one square inch of that place we didn’t search. Marty even took off all the a/c vents and outlet covers and looked behind them.”

  “Sounds pretty thorough. But you didn’t search all the rooms.” Smugness dripped from Danny’s voice.

  “What are you talking about? Of course we did.”

  “Even the hidden room?” Randy grinned at the astonishment on Susan’s face.

  “He has a secret room? I thought they only did that in really old B movies. Where is it?”

  “Behind that small storage room. There’s a panel you open, and another room is behind it.”

  “Crap!” Susan slapped her forehead with the heel of her hand. “I knew that room seemed too small. I should have measured. How did you find out?”

  “Mrs. Winslow.”

  “The receptionist?”

  “Yes, although she’s not really a receptionist. She’s a wannabe undercover agent, and she’s very good at it,” Danny explained.

  “I can’t believe an amateur found something I didn’t!”

  “In your defense, she spent a lot more time at the clinic than we did.”

  “True, but still. Undercover agent? Why was she there?”

  “She’s Saul Young’s stepmother. She suspected Dr. Higgins of doing something to him that caused him to crash that VIA bus.” Randy filled Susan in on their conversation with Gloria.

  “Aha! That explains it. Marty and I were discussing her image on the way back. This makes more sense. Are you sure we can trust her? This isn’t some elaborate plot to throw us off, is it?”

  “We’ll find out tomorrow.” Randy said. “We’ll get there about nine thirty. Before Gloria has a chance to do something else she shouldn’t. It doesn’t seem to bother her, but it bothers me. I want her safe. Will the results on those vials be back tomorrow morning?”

  “No.”

  “Darn. Why not?” Randy didn’t bother to hide his disappointment.

  “Because I have them right here.” Susan proudly waved her printout. “I couldn’t wait. It’s LSD all right.”

  “Yes! Tell me you found prints, please.”

  “Your wish is my command.” Susan glanced at her folder. “Just his. I’m surprised Mrs. Winslow’s weren’t on there.”

  “I’m not,” Danny replied. “You know she wore gloves or picked them up with a tissue.”

  “Yep. She wouldn’t take the chance of contaminating the crime scene.” Randy chuckled. I can’t believe I’m saying that about a civilian. “So, plan on leaving about eight thirty tomorrow morning. I don’t want to get stuck in traffic. We’re arresting him, even if all we can get him on is possession. Gloria thinks he has another client lined up to turn. That can’t happen.”

  “I’ll go catch Marty before he leaves and let him know.” Susan hurried away.

  “I’ll call the chief and see if he’s left yet.” Randy crossed his fingers and grabbed the phone with his other hand. “Maybe he’ll know a judge we can get a warrant from tonight.”

  “Why do we need a new warrant? We already have one.”

  “I want to make sure it says something about having access to any connecting rooms not readily visible. If there’s the slightest chance that room can’t be classified as part of the clinic, our current warrant isn’t any good.”

  There was no way he’d let Higgins slip through their fingers on a technicality. Tomorrow, he intended to prove the Doc was no good and put an end to the rash of strange accidents in San Antonio once and for all.

  FIFTEEN

  “Good morning.” Mrs. Winslow looked up in apparent surprise as the officers entered the clinic, followed closely by Susan and Marty. “Oh my! After yesterday, I thought you were through.”

  Oscars, here we come. Randy kept his amusement hidden safely behind his tough-cop face. “Good morning, Mrs. Winslow. Is Dr. Higgins in?”

  “Why, yes, he is. He’s back in his office.” She stood and turned toward the hall door. “Would you like me to see if he’s available?”

  “That won’t be necessary, Mrs. Winslow. We know the way. We’ll show ourselves back. Please remain here.”

  “All right, but I should give him a head’s up. He doesn’t like unannounced visitors.”

  “We’ll take the heat for that, ma’am. Please wait here.”

  “Yes, sir,” she replied, sitting back down. She watched them go down the hall.

  Frank leaned in to whisper to Randy. “Are you sure she knew we were coming? She certainly looked surprised.”

  Danny whispered back, “She’s an Academy Award winning actress!”

  Randy turned and put his index finger to his lips. He ignored the ‘Please knock before entering’ sign, swinging the door wide. The doctor looked up in surprise and quickly closed his laptop. Bingo. “Good morning, Dr. Higgins.”

  “Why are you here? It’s bad enough you ransacked the clinic yesterday, but now you barge into my office like Neanderthals? Mrs. Winslow told me you didn’t find anything yesterday, and you won’t find anything today, either. You can’t keep coming back. This is harassment!”

  “No, Dr. Higgins, this isn’t harassment, it’s an arrest. You’re under arrest for illegal possession of a controlled substance. Please stand up.”

  Dr. Higgins remained sitting, a look of astonishment on his face. “Controlled substance? What are you talking about? I told you we don’t use drugs. I don’t have any controlled substances in here.”

  “I won’t ask you again, Dr. Higgins, please stand up and turn around,” Randy said, as Danny took out his handcuffs. “And you’re right. You don’t have any drugs here because we took them yesterday after we found your little stash in the storage room. Next time, you might consider a better hiding place.”

  “Well, if there were drugs in there, they certainly weren’t mine. Perhaps you people planted them.” Higgins argued but complied, turning his back as Danny approached. “And that’s all I’ll say. I’ll let my lawyer do the talking for me.”

  “That’s fine with us,” Danny clicked the handcuffs on the doctor’s wrists. “This way, sir,” he said, leading the doctor out of the office.

  “Oh, my. What’s going on, Dr. Higgins?” Mrs. Winslow’s eyes bugged out and she clapped her hands over her mouth. “Why are you arresting him?”

  “Please don’t interfere, Mrs. Winslow,” Randy said, trying not to laugh at her charade. She’s good...hopefully good enough to fool Higgi
ns.

  “Would you please close up the clinic, Mrs. Winslow?” Dr. Higgins asked. “And contact my lawyer. Warren Wynn. His number’s in the Rolodex. Tell him to meet me at the police station.”

  “I will, Dr. Higgins. Is there anything else you’d like for me to do?”

  “No, just call Warren and lock up the clinic. Don’t let them bully you into anything, Mrs. Winslow, and don’t worry.” Higgins’ voice dripped with arrogance. “I’ll be out soon.”

  “We won’t be bullying her, Dr. Higgins. Although we’ll be searching her, too. We have a warrant to search everything on the property, including anything in her possession.” Randy scowled at Mrs. Winslow. Two can play your game, Gloria! “If we find something, you may be joining your boss downtown. I wouldn’t get too comfortable if I were you.”

  “Don’t worry, Mrs. Winslow, you haven’t done anything wrong either. I’ll make sure you’ve got good representation if they try to pin some trumped-up charge on you, too. This is a sham!” Despite the bravado in Higgins’ voice, his face was tight as two back-up officers read him his rights and escorted him to their patrol car.

  Gloria blanched and tightly clasped her hands. Once the doctor was gone, she asked, “Why would you search my things? Should I be concerned?”

  Randy smiled to put her at ease. “Hey, you’re not the only one who can act. Sorry for scaring you, but on the off-chance Dr. Higgins makes bail, I don’t want him suspecting you had a hand in this. Based on what we know right now, that would be dangerous.” Watching Marty bring out a box full of tape reels, he added, “Although I don’t think that’s going to happen. Thanks to you.”

  “Susan wants to see you guys when you get a chance, Randy.” Marty called over his shoulder as he hurried to the van.