Terminal (A Lomax & Biggs Mystery Book 5) Read Online Free Page B

computer. “Sorry. And nobody named Bernstein had an appointment today.”
    “Can you think of any reason anybody would want to kill Dr. Kraus?” I asked.
    “No. You knew him, Mike. He dedicated his life to trying to give couples the one thing they wanted most in life.” She pointed to a wall in the waiting room that was covered from floor to ceiling with baby pictures. “And even when they didn’t conceive, he still gave them hope. People loved him.”
    “Somebody didn’t,” Terry said. “What can you tell us about his personal life?”
    “Married, two kids in college.”
    “I’m looking for something a little more personal.”
    “You mean did he screw around? My last job, the doc had an affair. You can’t keep that on the down low from the woman who answers your phone and opens your mail. But not Dr. Kraus. He was a good man.”
    “I’m sure he was,” Terry said, “and we’re very sorry for your loss.”
    She looked away. “Stupid, stupid, stupid,” she said, pounding her desk with the flat of her fist. “I should never have buzzed him in.”
    “Michele,” I said, “he came here to shoot Dr. Kraus. If you got in his way, he’d have shot you too.”
    She nodded. She knew I was right. It’s just another one of those things you learn growing up on the streets of East LA.

CHAPTER 5
    “YOU READY TO go?” Terry asked when we’d finished talking to Michele.
    “Almost,” I said. “I’ve just got to make a quick stop at Doug Heller’s office.”
    “Good idea. He probably can tell us a few things about the victim. I’ll go with you, partner.”
    “Nice try,” I said, “but I can handle this on my own… partner.”
    Terry shrugged and headed for the car, and I walked back down the same hallway I raced through an hour ago. Doug’s waiting room was empty, but Nadine was still at the front desk.
    She looked up at me, the radiant smile gone, her face drawn in pain. “Mike,” she said, “I wasn’t sure you’d come back. Dr. Heller is in his office.”
    Doug was sitting at his desk. When it comes to death, especially something as violent and senseless as the murder of Kristian Kraus, doctors are no different from the rest of us. Doug was shaken to the core.
    I sat down across from him. “Was he a friend?” I asked.
    “More of a colleague, but one I liked. Hell, everybody liked him. Most docs deal with pain and suffering. If we’re any good, we can make you feel better. Kris helped people make babies.”
    “Can you think of any reason why anyone would want to kill him?” I asked for the second time in the space of a few minutes.
    He shook his head. “I’ve been sitting here trying to come up with an answer, and the only thing I can come up with is that maybe the killer got the wrong doctor.”
    “He asked for Dr. Kraus by name before he shot him.”
    “Why, Mike, why?”
    “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out. I’ve got a long day ahead of me. I’m going to ask for a rain check on that prostate exam.”
    He smiled. “No problem,” he said. “Especially now that I realize it’s not your prostate that’s going to kill you. You’re more likely to die in a shootout at your doctor’s office.”
    “Thanks.” I stood up.
    “Not so fast,” he said. “I still want Brenda to draw some blood before you go.”
    “You mind telling me why?”
    “I will, but as your primary physician, there’s something I have to say first. Next time you hear gunshots, don’t go running towards them.”
    “Sorry, Doc, but that’s my job.”
    “And that, Detective Lomax, is exactly why I’m running these blood tests. Now if you don’t tell me how to do my job, I won’t tell you how to do yours.”
    Ten minutes later, I was back in the car with Terry.
    It was unseasonably warm for the middle of October, and I had made the mistake of not wearing my jacket.
    “What’s going on?” he said, pointing to the telltale Band-Aid taped over the vein in my left arm.
    “I don’t want to talk