Truth and Justice - Fern Michaels Page 0,16
discussed it. Andy is . . . was my husband. I want to see your camera surveillance footage,” Bella bellowed.
Dr. Peabody, a fussy little man with a bald head and wire-rim glasses, finally spoke up. “That will take a little bit of doing, but of course we will do it. We will accommodate you in any way we can. Dr. Petre is right, however. We do not make mistakes here at Samaritan. We follow all procedures that are in place to avoid exactly this kind of situation. Our records show that you were here. See for yourself,” he said, pointing to the computer that Dr. Petre turned around so she could view her own profile. Bella felt light-headed at what she was seeing. Was she losing her mind?
Bella suddenly felt sick to her stomach. “Then do it. I will sit here and wait until you prove to me I am wrong. Don’t even think about asking me to move. I will call the police; I was not kidding about that. And my lawyer. So hop to it, people,” Bella snarled.
All three doctors started to talk over one another as they professed not to know anything about how such a transgression could have occurred and babbling on and on about how nothing like this had ever happened and they were so very careful and had an impeccable reputation.
“I’m waiting,” Bella said, stamping her foot. “You can talk this to death later, but for now, find those surveillance tapes for me to see. I want . . . no, I demand to see who you turned my property over to because it sure as hell wasn’t me.”
“Of course, of course,” the fussy little doctor mumbled as he wiped at the sweat on his bald head. Bella wondered how he could be sweating when it felt like it was forty-eight degrees in the room. “Come with me to a more comfortable waiting area while we . . . while we review our inventory of tapes. It’s going to take a while, so we want you to be comfortable. Would you like some coffee, some donuts, anything?”
Bella watched the fussy little doctor deflate like a balloon pricked by a pin. He was nervous, though all three of them were beyond jittery. The only word in their minds right now was lawsuit and this woman standing in front of them as the new owner of the clinic.
Bella followed along behind the trio as they ushered her into a tranquil-looking room with earth-tone-colored furniture, just enough greenery to please the eye, and a fish tank that took up an entire wall, with all manner and color of fish swimming from one end to the other. As she stared at the wall of fish, she felt herself instantly calming down. She knew without a doubt that if she kept looking at it, she would fall asleep. She gave herself a mental jerk, turned away from the wall, and sat down on a nubby oatmeal-colored swivel chair. Maybe that’s what they wanted, for her to fall asleep so they could cover their tracks about the loss of her property.
Well, that wasn’t going to happen. The minute the door closed behind the three doctors, Bella was pawing through her purse for the business card of the lawyer she’d met at the tearoom six months ago. The pretty young lawyer had said to call her if she could help in any way. If Bella remembered correctly, the pretty lawyer said she worked for an all-female law firm. What was her name?
Five minutes later, Bella had the coveted card in her hand. Alexis Thorn. Quinn Law Firm in Georgetown. Without giving the matter a second thought, Bella had her phone in hand and was pressing in the digits to the main number of the law firm. When someone answered, she said, “I’d like to speak to Ms. Thorn, please. This is Bella Nolan. We met some months back and she gave me her card and said if I needed her to call. I need her. It’s urgent that I speak with her as soon as possible. Can I please speak with her?” A sob caught in Bella’s throat as she waited for the receptionist to reply.
“Hold, please. Let me see if Ms. Thorn is free.” Bella didn’t realize she was holding her breath until she heard Alexis Thorn’s voice. She let it loose with a wild swoosh of sound.
“Alexis Thorn.”
“Ms. Thorn, this is Bella Nolan. I’m not sure if you remember