The Last Mile (Amos Decker, #2)(81)

“So was Fisher saying that Roy Mars didn’t have a filling in number four? That’s why something was wrong? But if so, why wouldn’t he have pointed that out back then?”

Decker picked up his phone again, called Fisher’s office, and a minute later was talking to the dentist.

“Your grandfather was very helpful,” he said. “But I have a question for you.”

“Okay, shoot,” said Fisher.

“Tell me the procedure for when the police want to get copies of your records.”

“They send in a court order and we answer it.”

“How so? Do you personally pull the records?”

“Not always. But if not me then someone on my staff does.”

“Who checks for accuracy?”

“Well, all of our files are carefully organized, cross-checked, and labeled seven ways from Sunday. We also have electronic copies of everything. Nature of a medical practice these days. No room for error.”

“But twenty years ago?”

“Well, it was different. My grandfather still kept excellent records. But they were stored manually and labeled with the patient’s information. Name, address, Social Security number, and individual patient file number.”

“Do you have anyone on your staff who worked with your grandfather twenty years ago?”

“Yes, Melissa Dowd.”

“Can I speak to her?”

“Where is all this going?”

“Please, time is of the essence.”

“Hold on while I get her.”

A minute later a woman answered the phone. “This is Melissa.”

“Melissa, Amos Decker with the FBI. I was wondering about your filing system twenty years ago.”

“Yes, Dr. Fisher told me. Well, lots of practices had transitioned to some sort of computer system by then, but Fisher Sr. was old school, so our operation was still manual. We used a typewriter. Labels were made up for all patient files. It was all very organized. We never made any mistakes with recordkeeping.”

“Do you remember getting the court order to turn over the Marses’ records?”

“I didn’t personally pull those files, but I do remember the request. We’d never had such a request before, for a murder anyway.”

“Did someone have to authenticate the records during the trial?”

“Yes. I was the one who did that, because I was the one who really maintained the records.”

“So Dr. Fisher wasn’t involved in that?”

“No, he was very busy and couldn’t take time off to come to the trial. It was the only time I was called on to do that. It was kind of exciting.”

“Did Dr. Fisher ever mention to you that there might be something wrong with the records?”

“No, not that I recall. Was there something wrong?” she asked anxiously.

Decker ignored this question and said, “Do you remember who cleaned your office building back then?”

“Cleaned our office building?”

“Yes.”

“Um, well, it’s the same firm that does it now. Quality Commercial Cleaners. They do all the offices here.”

“And so they had keys to your office?”

“Well, yes, that’s normal practice, but we’ve never had any problems.”

“Thanks.”

Decker clicked off and looked at Bogart.

The FBI agent was studying him. “Is this going where I think it’s going?”

“I don’t think Roy Mars died in the bedroom that night. I think a nurse or technician pulled those records and sent them to the police and then Dowd authenticated them at trial. But she would just be looking at the names and other file criteria in order to do that. Maybe sometime later, maybe a lot later, Fisher Sr. looked at the records and saw a filling in the number four premolar where he hadn’t put one.”

“Well, we can’t assume it wasn’t the other way around. It might be he was referring to Lucinda’s records. She didn’t have a filling, but maybe Fisher had put one in there.”

“Agreed. And why he didn’t come forward then I don’t know. Maybe he was starting to feel the effects of the dementia by then.” He sighed and added, “Well, this opens up a lot of questions.”

Bogart nodded. “Well, the big one for me is, if it wasn’t Roy’s or Lucinda’s body, whose was it?”





CHAPTER

45



HOW ARE YOU going to break this news to Melvin?” asked Bogart. They were driving back to the motel from the warehouse.

“It’s not a fact, it’s a theory. I have no proof.”

“But it’s a pretty good theory based on some facts,” replied Bogart.

“If we assume it was Roy Mars that faked his death, that would explain the shotgun to the face. And the bodies being burned. Dental records would be the first way to ID the bodies. The teeth were relatively intact.”

“But he would have had to get into the dentist’s office and swap out the records with those of the body that was discovered.”

“Lucinda worked for a cleaning company in the area. I’m betting it was Quality Commercial Cleaners. That would have given her and Roy access to the dentist’s office after hours.”