“You’d asked if there was anyone we could think of who would want to hurt us through Daniel.”
Mason stayed silent.
“I’ve been thinking, and I remember about a month before Daniel was taken, I’d had an issue with a patient.”
“An issue?”
“A death. He died on my table.”
Mason straightened in his chair, making it squeal in protest. “He died? Like during surgery?”
“Yes. And the family laid the blame on me.” Her voice was steady, emotionless. “He was high risk. It was do something or he would definitely die. It was worth a chance, and his wife knew it. I presented my case to her, and she gave me permission to try to save him.”
“What happened?”
“I couldn’t save him. Once his chest was open, I saw it was even worse than we’d expected.” Dr. Brody abruptly went quiet.
Mason waited, wondering if she was about to lose composure. He sincerely doubted it. The slight woman had a spine of steel.
“Mr. Jeong wasn’t old. He was young, considering the type of medical issues he faced. He’d been in the country visiting family when he collapsed in one of the local shopping malls. He was transported to my hospital—”
My hospital?
“—and the family was immediately told the outlook was grim. I was amazed by the number of family members present. It seemed to grow by the hour. The man’s father arrived and took command of the large group. He only spoke Korean and didn’t live in the US either.”
Dr. Brody cleared her throat.
“Language was a bit of a problem. The patient’s wife was pretty fluent but couldn’t calm her father-in-law. After the death, the man repeatedly sent me threatening letters and tried to bring lawsuits against the hospital and myself. He was rich. Loaded with money. He threw it around, trying to get me fired, trying to get the media’s attention. It didn’t work.”
“What happened with the lawsuits?” Mason wondered how much money someone had to have to warrant a comment about wealth from the affluent Dr. Brody.
Mason printed on a yellow legal pad. Lawyers? Court records?
“Nothing came of it. There was some minor harassment. I was blatantly followed by Asian men for several days after the lawsuits were thrown out.”
“Did you contact police?”
“No. They never came close. Just followed at a distance and made certain I knew they were there.”
“You think this man was angry enough to hurt your son?”
A long silence filled the line. “I don’t know,” she said slowly. “You asked me to consider everything. I was haunted by this man’s anger for a long time. I’ve never seen anyone’s gaze show so much hate…I can still see his eyes. He truly believed I killed his son.”
Mason heard the words she didn’t say. He may have killed mine in revenge.
“Thank you, Dr. Brody. We’ll look into this. Can you forward me the records you have? We’ll contact the hospital and their legal department, too.”
“It could be nothing,” she said quickly.
“It needs to be ruled out.”
“Yes, well…whatever it takes. I want to know what happened to Daniel. I need to know before…”
Mason blinked. He’d nearly forgotten the steely woman was ill. “Doctor…what is your medical condition?”
“I need a kidney,” she stated simply. “Without it, I’ll be dead within the year. My husband and Michael can’t donate. They each only have one kidney apiece. A hereditary issue. We need a special match for me to lower the rejection risk.”
Mason mentally squirmed, her utter frankness throwing him for a loop. “Ah…okay…that’s not good…I hope they find—”
“Thank you, Detective. Good day, Detective.”
The phone clicked in his ear.
Shit. Mason slowly lowered the receiver and rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. Ray watched him intently from across their desks.
“Dr. Brody?”
Mason nodded. “She had a patient who died a few months before her boy disappeared. The patient’s father sounds like a nutcase. A rich, foreign nutcase. Possible revenge motive.”
Ray nodded. “That’s more than any of the other parents have thought of. Kendall Johnson’s mother had an argument with her daughter’s music teacher the day before she vanished. That was the only incident she could think of. The music teacher was seventy-two at the time.” Ray’s voice twisted wryly. “Passed away eight years ago.”
“The Brodys never mentioned this patient to investigators twenty years ago.” Mason scratched at his chin. “I wonder why not. Why now? I didn’t think to ask her a minute ago.”
“She’s had twenty years to think about it,” offered Ray.
“The senator must have known. I could tell there was something more he wanted to say that day in her room. He must have wanted his wife to bring it up.” Mason tapped his pen on his desk. How did this fit with what they’d found out in the woods?
An angry Korean father and a local male prostitute.
Two and two weren’t adding up to four.
“Lotta missing pieces,” stated Ray. His logic was following the same path as Mason’s.
“Yep. And it’s our job to find the rest.”
Jamie shut off the news. She didn’t want to see any more body bags or people digging in the dirt. She didn’t want to hear more vague police statements or reporter speculation. She was sick of TV. She’d caught a quick glimpse of Michael Brody standing behind the yellow tape, his hand clasped in a gorgeous blonde’s.