"Kiser, Marcia - Doctor Of Death" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kiser Marcia)

"After she calmed down, I again asked her about her relationship with Mr. Harvey. She denied it. Rather than push it and have her erupt again, I let it go and asked about the scene I witnessed when I came in that morning. She flatly denied it. And said, quite primly, I might add, that I had imagined the whole thing."

"Detective, I simply can not afford to have a receptionist I can not trust. I had no choice but to let her go. When I told her my decision, she again became quite agitated. Screaming and shouting. Tearing at her hair and clothes. I was concerned I would have to call security to have her removed. Then, as suddenly as she started, she stopped."

"She faced me and said she understood, but that I couldn't fire her because she quit. That she was tired of working and tired of working for me, in particular."

"Did anyone else witness any of this, Dr. Green?"

"I'm afraid not. I don't have a large practice, Detective. After my parents were killed, I lost heart. I finished my degree and opened a practice. I work with mainly older patients. That pleases me for some reason. Maybe I see myself ministering to my own parents, I don't know. I'm financially secure; my parents saw to that. So, I don't have to have a large practice to support myself."

Salida hardened her heart. "So, there's no one to back up your story, is there, Dr. Green? And it still doesn't explain seven deaths, does it?"

"I'm getting to that, Detective." Dr. Green took a deep breath. "As I said, I know it looks as those I'm trying to shift the blame, but I did not kill my patients, Detective. You must believe that."

"Go on.Ф

"After Mrs. Mason left, I needed to pull a file. I had patients coming and needed their records. That's when I discovered what I thought was Mrs. Mason's nosiness. Mrs. Mason had placed notes in several files. The notes were, well, let's just say, they were less than complimentary about the patients. It infuriated me. I spent last night here, going through files and finding those notes and destroying them. She had signed my name to them. If a patient had seen one of those notes, what little practice I do have would have been ruined."

"Did anyone see you here last night?"

"The security guard checked me in and out, but no, he wasn't in the office with me, if that's what you're asking."

"What did you do with the notes?"

"I shredded them. They were quite inflammatory, Detective. They were not something I wished to leave in the wastepaper basket, I assure you."

"You still haven't explained the seven deaths, Doctor."

"How can I? I did not hypnotize those people, Detective." Dr. Green drummed her fingers on her desktop. "You can check my calendar. I wasn't in town when the six were killed. Mrs. Mason left their obituaries on my desk for me."

"Okay, I'll bite. Where were you?"

"I don't remember each one, but I know I was at a medical convention when Mr. Smythe had his accident. I got in late on a Friday and came to the office on Saturday to catch up on mail and found the clipping in the middle of my desk. At the time, I thought it was extremely thoughtful of Mrs. Mason."

Salida narrowed her eyes and studied the doctor. The doctor appeared to be telling the truth, but then, so did Mrs. Mason. What the hell is going on, Salida wondered.

"But, if those people were hypnotized, then you wouldn't have to be in town, would you? You could've planted one of those post-hypnotic suggestions."

"For the last time, I did not, and do not, hypnotize my patients."

"Who put those notes in the dead patients' files?"

"I honestly don't know, Detective. But it wasn't me. As you saw, all my notes are handwritten. Those particular notes were typewritten."

"But, you suspect somebody, don't you, Doctor? That's why you keep mentioning shifting the blame."

"Yes, I do, but I know you won't believe me. I think Mrs. Mason is involved with their deaths."

Salida laughed. "Now, how could that frail, bird-like lady kill those people? She doesn't weight 90 pounds soaking wet. Besides, you said yourself there was no one around Mr. Harvey when he stepped in front of the bus."