“Her conclusion was that Dr. Blythe should be relieved of his duties,” Jack said. “There was also suggestion that he was possibly involved in fraud. The report was scathing, but Julia’s superiors wanted more evidence before taking any disciplinary actions against Dr. Blythe. What Julia had found was circumstantial only. It looks like she was just about to embark on this task.”

Val was shocked by what she heard. She knew Blythe had a problem with Julia but she had no idea that it was something like this. The conversation stopped as the waiter came by and asked about drinks—Jack ordered Cobra beer. Val and Gwen did the same.

As soon as the waiter left, Jack said, “With your information Gwen, it only adds to our suspicions about Dr. Blythe, but I’ll be honest, that’s all it is at this point, a suspicion. There was no proof, nothing tangible at all to link him to these crimes.”

“So, what are you going to do?” Val asked, scared, her stomach tightening. If Blythe was guilty, she wanted him behind bars. Not roaming the same halls that she did, let alone loose on the streets of the city. Val knew she was on his shit list already, and had been for some time. She felt the target on her back getting bigger.

“If he’s involved, he must have screwed up somewhere. We just have to find out where. We have to keep going at him. This is how it’s done. Sometimes it’s persistence that pays off in the end,” Jack said. He took a papadum and scooped some chutney onto it. “Which brings me to the reason for our meeting tonight. With your positions at the medical examiner’s office, you are the best people to get information, anything on Blythe. With the medical examiner refusing to speak to us, this investigation is about to stall. We need information quickly. Ladies, Thomas and I need your help.”

“What if Dr. Blythe finds out? This could be dangerous,” Val said, fidgeting uncomfortably in her chair. It creaked as she moved. She looked at Gwen. Working on this case with someone like Thomas Hayden should be a dream come true. This dream, though, could quickly become a nightmare. “Two things could possibly happen. If he’s guilty, he could kill us. If he’s not guilty he could fire us. We lose either way.”

“I don’t think either of you has to worry that Dr. Blythe will take out your teeth and dismember you,” Jack said. “If he is guilty, the last thing he would do is to murder someone in the same way, especially with Colin sitting in jail for crimes like this. I’ve seen stupid criminals before, but never one daft enough to do something like that.”

“What about firing us?” Val asked, though her mind was still focused on the getting killed part.