One Night in Weaver... by Allison Leigh Read Free Book Online

say.”
    She caught the reflection of her narrowing eyes in the mirror and hastily smoothed out her face as if he could see through the phone to her severe expression. “I don’t make up things when it comes to my patients.”
    “So you make up things when it doesn’t?”
    “You’re toying with me.”
    “If you unwound a little, you’d be quicker to recognize when a person’s joking.”
    Tension that she hadn’t even realized she was feeling released inside her chest. She exhaled and pushed her feet into leather ballet flats. They weren’t on her list of favorites, but they were comfortable and no-nonsense and she’d quickly learned that where her newest patient was concerned, no-nonsense was key. In one of his rare verbal offerings, he’d warned her to save both her coddling and her feminine wiles. The fact that she’d offered neither was immaterial. “I
am
sorry, Seth.”
    “I’ll make sure you make it up to me.”
    “Ha ha. Another joke.”
    His voice dropped. “No, Doc. That’s a promise. Obviously this is going to take some work.”
    She smiled even though a shiver was dancing down her spine. “I guess we’ll see. I’m afraid dinner will probably have to wait until after Casey and Jane’s wedding this weekend.” She had several group sessions that met during the week in the evenings. And Friday would be busy with the wedding rehearsal and the dinner Casey and Jane were having out at their place. “I don’t expect to have any free time until next Sunday at the earliest.”
    “Guess it will be back to the microwave for me. When I die from malnourishment, drop a flower on my grave.”
    She laughed softly. “I’ll do that. Good night, Seth.”
    “Good night, Doc.”
    Still smiling, she slid her phone into the side pocket of her briefcase, which usually doubled as her purse, too, and went back out to the living room.
    “All work and no play isn’t going to keep you warm at night, dear,” her grandmother cautioned.
    Even though Hayley felt certain that Vivian hadn’t left the house all day except for the morning walk she usually took, her grandmother was still dressed in a Chanel suit with jewels sparkling at her ears and throat. In six months, Hayley had never seen her grandmother dress differently. She seemed to have an endless array of designer clothing and priceless jewelry. Undoubtedly the benefit of having been married once upon a time to a steel magnate. “That’s why I have an electric blanket,” Hayley assured her grandmother. “Don’t wait up. I might be late.”
    “I wish it were for a different reason.” Vivian’s acerbic voice followed her out the door.
    “Me, too,” Hayley murmured as she hurried to her car. “Me, too.”
    * * *
    Ten minutes away in the observation room that overlooked McGregor’s cell, Seth slid his cell phone into his pocket. Beyond the monitors and the bulletproof glass, the disgraced agent had finally stopped throwing his furniture around and now stood motionless in the middle of the room, staring down at his feet. They were bare below the pale blue medical scrubs that he wore. When it came to acting, the guy was doing a good job of looking as if he was losing his marbles.
    Not that his behavior changed Seth’s mind at all about McGregor’s involvement in his partners’ deaths.
    He glanced at the young man sitting in front of the monitors. “Thanks for keeping me in the loop, Adam.” Strictly speaking, Seth had no official need-to-know where the safe house’s “guest” was concerned. But Seth had helped Adam get into Hollins-Winword a while back and loyalty stuck. “Does Dr. Templeton ever check the log?”
    Adam shook his head. “I tried showing it to her because Mr. Clay said she was in charge of everything with McGregor except security, but she didn’t want to see it. Says her only interest is in her patient. Not the comings and goings of his keepers, since we never interact with the guy.”
    The only people who did interact with