Showdown in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law, #3)(42)

Dr. Spencer appeared flustered. “I’m sure if you check my rec ords, you’ll see I’m telling the truth. I’ve never treated Melissa Franco. I didn’t even know the name until it was on the news.”

Zach narrowed his eyes at the man. It was so clear he was lying, but about what part? “Dr. Spencer, there are other eyewitnesses who put Susannah Franco and her daughter in your office,” he lied, “so you can either tell me what’s going on now, or I can drag you down to the station, and we’ll take all night to go over it.” Zach pulled the handcuffs from his waist. “Your choice.”

Dr. Spencer paled. “You don’t understand.”

“That’s exactly my point,” Zach said. “And I need to understand. Rest assured that I don’t care what you were doing here as long as it had nothing to do with Melissa Franco’s kidnapping, but I do have to know what you were doing. So what was it—were you having an affair with Susannah Franco?”

“Good Lord, no,” Dr. Spencer said. “I’m a happily married man, and Susannah is young enough to be my daughter.”

“That’s never stopped ’em before,” Raissa said dryly.

Zach shot her a warning look and turned back to the doctor. “Good. See, this isn’t so hard, is it? So you weren’t sleeping with Susannah Franco. Were you treating her?”

Dr. Spencer sighed. “No. I was treating Melissa, but I swear I didn’t know that was the child’s name until I saw her on the news. Her mother gave a fake last name. Paid cash.”

“Isn’t that unusual?”

“Yes and no. Susannah said their church took up a collection each week for Melissa’s visits. It’s not that uncommon among some of the churches here.”

“And you never noticed that their clothes or jewelry didn’t match the charity claims?” Zach asked.

“Well, no. They were always clean and tidy, but never overdressed or even dressed fancy. The mother always had on jeans and a top. The child had on the type of cotton clothes that children wear. I never saw any expensive rings or other jewelry.”

Zach looked over at Raissa for confirmation and she nodded. The doctor was right. There was nothing about them that automatically made one think “wealthy.” Even Raissa had never caught onto their status during the shop visits.

“I apologize, Detective,” Dr. Spencer said, “but the reality is, if Ms. Franco was carrying an eight-hundred-dollar handbag or wearing a two-hundred-dollar polo shirt, I’d be the last to know. My wife does all the shopping for our household.”

“So let’s just say you didn’t know,” Zach said. “Melissa’s picture has been plastered all over the news. Why didn’t you come forward then?”

“What could I possibly know that could help the police?”

“I find all this secrecy disturbing. You’ve never met Peter Franco?”

“No. Ms. Franco claimed she was a single mother. She didn’t wear a wedding ring, so I had no reason until recently to suspect otherwise.”

Raissa stared at the doctor. “But, Doctor, this is the part that I don’t understand. It’s one thing for Susannah Franco to hide her identity, but Peter Franco told the police that his daughter has never been sick. Are you trying to tell us the man doesn’t know his own daughter is ill? How can that be? Why wouldn’t Melissa tell him about the treatment herself?”

A hint of red crept up Dr. Spencer’s neck. “Because we didn’t tell her what was really wrong with her.”

Zach threw his hands in the air. “Well, why the hell not?”

Dr. Spencer took one step back, clearly unnerved by Zach’s obvious exasperation. “Her case was mild. Even the treatments weren’t making her sick. Her mother said as long as the disease remained that way there was no use scaring her.”

“So what, exactly,” Zach asked, “did you claim you were treating her for?”

“Allergies. It’s something that requires some blood drawn, regular care, and daily medication.”

“And it doesn’t bother you in the least that this woman obviously used you for her own purposes?”

Dr. Spencer gave Zach an apologetic look. “I wasn’t trying to create a smoke screen for a crime spree, Detective. I only wanted to save a little girl a lot of worry, if it wasn’t necessary. I know it’s not the most ethical thing to do, but the mother really had the final word on the matter since Melissa is a minor. I was certainly unaware of all the other subterfuge.”

“You said she takes medicine daily,” Raissa said. “How much damage will be caused by her going without it?”

Dr. Spencer shook his head. “There’s no way to know for sure, but the medication seemed to curb newly developing symptoms and relieve previously developed others. The longer she goes without the medication, the greater the chance she’ll suffer a lot for it.” Dr. Spencer pulled a card from his wallet and handed it to Zach, clearly worried. “If you need anything else, or when you find her, please call me. She’ll need special care.”

Raissa shot Zach a grim look. No further explanation was necessary.





Maryse flipped through the photos at the drugstore counter, then shoved them back into the envelope. “They look great,” she told the woman behind the counter, who scanned the envelope to ring her up. Maryse passed the woman some money, picked up the envelope, and headed to the back of the store for the restroom. Helena was already waiting inside.