the day with you while Rosco does his thing? Iâd love to spend more time with Lily, and if the weatherâs as nice as it was yesterday, we can take Bear to the parkââ
âNo, I should wait here for Dan.â
âWell, Iâd be happy to wait with you.â
âI couldnât impose â¦â Karenâs voice began to fade away.
âItâs not an imposition if I get to spend time with Lilybetâ¦. Letâs just say itâs settled. Iâll stop at the deli on the way over and buy us a bunch of sinful nibblies. Weâll have an all-girls day. Okay?â
âOkay â¦â Then the phone on Karenâs end dropped back into its cradle with what sounded like a crash.
Roscoâs face, when he returned to the kitchen, was lined; a clear indication he was thinking the worst. âNot good,â is all he said.
âNo,â agreed Belle. She dumped granola into two bowls, sliced bananas, and tossed them haphazardly on top while Rosco refilled their mugs with coffee. Neither paid much attention to the act of making breakfast, and neither spoke as they consumed their brief meal. They perched on two stools nearest the coffee machine rather than sit at the table facing the bay window as they usually did.
âAll set?â Rosco asked as he cleared away the crockery and put it in the dishwasher.
Belle nodded, rose, pushed the stool back under the countertop, and began to walk toward the coat closet to fetch her purse. Then she turned back to face Rosco. âCan you take this much time off from working on your other case?â
âI guess Iâll have to,â was her husbandâs resolute response. âRight now weâre in the middle of a waiting game. Oddly, no news is good news, and Karen needs all the help she can get, both emotionally and physically.â
Belle nodded again. Her eyes were now the color of charcoal. âShe doesnât sound good. Did you notice her voice seemed off?â
âWell ⦠donât forget that her husbandâs a doctor.â
âWhatâs that supposed to mean?â
âIt wouldnât be the first time a doctor prescribed âcomfort drugsâ for his wife.â
âThatâs not Karen,â Belle said emphatically.
Rosco shrugged. âNothing surprises me anymoreâ¦. Why donât you check on Danâs credit card activity when you get to their house. Iâm sure Karen has all the numbers. All youâll need is his Social Security number, motherâs maiden name, and zip code to access the accounts by phone. Write down the dates and times if anything shows up after he disappeared. Iâll run down the merchants if you find anything. Iâm going to start with the partner. Maybe Dan confided something to Jack Wagner that he couldnât tell his wife.â
âKaren already said they didnât get along.â
âIâd like to get Wagnerâs perspective on that.â He kissed his wife lovingly. âLet me know if anything jumps out on those credit cards.â
Rosco was in luck when he rang the buzzer of Smile! at quarter to nine. Appointments werenât scheduled to begin for another fifteen minutes, but Jack, Bonnie, and Ginnyâthe hygienist who worked Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morningsâwere already gearing up for the day. Fortunately, as yet the waiting room was devoid of patients.
âIâd like to speak to Doctor Wagner if I could,â Rosco told Bonnie.
She gave him her professional smile. âIf itâs an appointment you need, I canââ
âItâs a personal matter, Iâm afraid. Itâll only take a minute.â
âOh!â Bonnie looked momentarily perturbed, and Rosco sensed her scrutinizing him in an effort to ascertain what the issue might be. âYouâre not with the police, are you?â
âNo. Are you expecting the police for some reason? Have they stopped by or
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