“Hi. I’ve done a really quick background on Dr. Keyes. He’s from Minnesota and has an excellent reputation as a cardiac surgeon, according to the medical journals, although he’s moved three times. Started in Philly, then went to LA, and then to his current position. I’ll need to make phone calls to each place for more information, but I can tell you from a quick search of public records in Washington State that he’s had seven malpractice suits against him as well as one civil suit that was settled with a confidentiality clause.”

Interesting. Huck leaned toward the dash. “Seven malpractice cases isn’t usual for a surgeon of his caliber. Find out what you can about each situation, would you? Who was on the other side of the civil matter?”

“The plaintiff was a woman named Louise Ferranto, and the complaint reads as sexual harassment. For some reason, the hospital wasn’t involved—it was a personal suit between the two. She didn’t sue the hospital.” He was quiet for a moment. “Oh, I see. She was his housekeeper and said he tried to force himself on her. The criminal case was dismissed for lack of evidence, so she sued civilly.”

“When?” Laurel asked, driving onto the interstate toward Seattle.

“Criminal case was dismissed six months ago, and the civil case was settled two months ago,” Nester said. “The settlement documents are not part of the public record.”

Laurel leaned to the side and then merged with the rapidly moving traffic. “If there were other similar complaints that happened at work, the hospital might’ve settled them outside of the court system. We don’t have enough for a warrant yet, but perhaps Christine Franklin could be of assistance there.”

Huck watched a small sports car zip by them going too fast. It didn’t belong on the roads this time of year. “She might be, but more likely she’s under a nondisclosure agreement.”

Laurel nodded. “Agreed, but she’s scared. She might make an exception for us if we keep all information confidential.” She eyed Huck. “That means no exchanging information with journalists.”

Huck stiffened. So they weren’t going to play nice.

Nester cleared his throat loudly. “I need to get back to my searches.”

Laurel’s lips twitched. “Have you been able to reach Dr. Keyes’s assistant, Nester?”

“I had to leave a message with her, and a scheduler called me back to say that the assistant is out for the day. She said that the doctor is scheduled with patients all day, as far as she could tell. I didn’t ask her to let the doctor know you were coming.”

“Good. I’d rather catch him off guard,” Laurel murmured. “Let us know when you have more.”

“Sure thing, boss.” Nester ended the call.