Part 10 (1/2)
”Convenient.” Rae, dressed in low-key slacks and jacket, followed in Veronica's tracks. She noticed that Veronica still tended to wear flamboyant colors, even on the job-but jeans? Never. Rae wanted to be as inconspicuous as possible. Veronica could end up in deep s.h.i.+t for having a civilian in her vehicle. Rae a.s.sumed she must have gotten clearance due to their overlapping interests in the case. What did she mean...pick her brain?
Now, the women stood at the prescription window, Veronica in the lead, Rae, uncomfortable, hanging back as if she were the next customer in line.
Veronica flashed her I.D. ”Can you tell me who was on duty April 25th?”
The tall, gray-haired man consulted a calendar on his desk. ”A Friday. I was. How can I help you?” He didn't smile.
”Did you fill a prescription for a Morgan Farris on that date?”
Rae watched the man's Adam's apple bob. ”I don't think I can answer that,” he replied. ”The HIPAA law. Patient privacy, you know.”
Veronica retained her cool confidence. ”Actually, I don't care about Mrs. Farris's prescription. I'm just trying to trace the activities of her nephew. Did a young man pick up a prescription for Mrs. Farris on April 25th?”
”Bayfield-Farris.”
”Excuse me?”
”Mrs. Farris uses a hyphenated name. Bayfield-Farris.”
”Fine. Did a young man pick up her prescription?”
”Not exactly.” The pharmacist twisted in his white smock, his long neck reminding Rae of a turkey.
Veronica bore down upon him with her dark eyes. ”What do you mean by 'not exactly'?”
”Isn't this against the privacy rules?”
Veronica smiled, but her eyes were hard as pieces of coal. ”I don't want to intrude on Mrs. Bayfield-Farris's medical privacy. I just want to know if her nephew, Kevin Cantrell was here. He was nineteen. About five-ten. Brown hair.”
”Was?”
”He's dead. I'm investigating a possible homicide. Now will you help me?”
”Oh, my. I thought you were going to say Mrs. Bayfield-Farris was dead.”
”Why is that?”
”B..because...” the man stuttered, ”I had to go to the car to get her signature. A Cla.s.s Two substance can't be released to a third party--” He brought himself up short, apparently panicking that he'd revealed too much already. ”Oh, this law. It's so difficult to know what one can and can't--”
Veronica interrupted the pharmacist's mental juggling. ”So you went to the car and then what?”
”She...Mrs. Bayfield-Farris was slumped over in the pa.s.senger seat. I wanted to call nine-one-one.”
”Then what happened?”
The man shook his head. ”I knew this was going to be trouble.”
”Did she sign for the prescription?”
”She sat up and signed the form. The boy said he was taking her home.”
”Thanks for your help,” said Veronica. ”Can you give me one of your cards in case we have some more questions?”
He pulled a card from a holder on his desk and exchanged it for one of Veronica's.
”Please call me if you think of anything else,” added Veronica.
”What's a Cla.s.s Two substance?” asked Rae when she and Veronica were back in the car.
”A controlled substance. Legal, but strong stuff. Now let me ask you one. Why do you suppose she uses her grandfather's surname?” Veronica headed out of the Rite Way parking lot.
”Grandpa Bayfield was an egotistical son-of-a-b.i.t.c.h who threatened to disinherit his daughter and granddaughters if they didn't take his name.”
”Your source of that tidbit?”
”Danny.”
”How's he doing?”
”Not too bad. He'll probably go home in a day or two.” Rae hoped the heart attack was a wake-up call for Danny, but she wasn't about to share this with Veronica.
”He doesn't get anything from the Bayfield Estate, right?”
”I can't discuss that with you, Veronica. But you can look it up. The probate is of public record.”
”Rae! I put my b.u.t.t on the line so we could help each other here. Don't give me that confidentiality c.r.a.p.”
”You just did that. Not ten minutes ago.”
Veronica pulled abruptly over to the edge of the strip mall parking lot and turned off the ignition. ”We don't think Danny's involved. Okay? We do believe money is the motive here. It would help to know that Danny doesn't stand to profit from the deaths of his wife and stepson. It would allow us to s.h.i.+ft our focus. Quicker, maybe, if we didn't have to reinvent the wheel. In other words, what you already know may save legwork on our part and maybe help your client.”
Rae deliberated. ”I know where you're coming from, but I'll have to tell Danny what I'm doing. Let's just say that if I were you, I'd start with the Bayfield financial records. Sam says he gave the kid a check, then never saw him again? I'd ask to see the cancelled check.”
”That's why we're going back to Bayfield Enterprises. You've met Sam Garvin, right?”
”You know I have.”
”How about the secretary?”
”What secretary?”
”The one that sits at the front desk. Fredricka. She told me Sam Garvin gave her the afternoon off on April 25th, so she never saw Kevin.”
”There was n.o.body in the office but Sam Garvin when I was there. What about in Golden? Didn't anybody see anything?”
”The house sits on the edge of a field. There aren't any close neighbors. We've canva.s.sed the area and come up with a big, fat zero.”
”Thank you for sharing,” Rae said, trying to keep sarcasm to a minimum. ”So, why am I here?”