Chapter 4 - THE MAN IN THE WHITE COAT
By morning, the storm had passed.
The suspicion had not.
Dominic slept for less than two hours.
At six thirty, he was already seated in his private office overlooking the gray-blue lake while Vincent’s security team reconstructed Monday night minute by minute.
Dominic hated waiting.
Waiting gave other people time to build explanations.
Vincent entered without knocking.
He placed a folder on the desk.
“I checked every earpiece transmission.”
Dominic looked up.
“And?”
“There was no registered security transmission during the camera blackout.”
“Then Ellie imagined it?”
“I didn’t say that.”
Vincent sat across from him.
“Our earpieces use encrypted frequencies. But the sound she described could have come from another device.”
“A radio?”
“Bluetooth headset. Disposable receiver. Almost anything.”
Dominic leaned back.
“You still think Arthur did this.”
Vincent hesitated.
“I think Arthur was where he said he was.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“No.”
Vincent’s gaze hardened.
“I don’t trust him.”
Dominic almost smiled.
“You’ve never trusted him.”
“I’ve never had a reason to.”
Before Dominic could reply, Mercer entered carrying imaging results.
“The nerve is irritated, but not permanently damaged.”
Dominic’s expression did not change, but some tension left his shoulders.
“How long?”
“Six to eight weeks if you follow instructions.”
Dominic stared at him.
Mercer corrected himself.
“Four to six if you follow most of them.”
That earned the faintest hint of a smile.
Then Mercer became serious.
“I also examined the brace.”
Dominic waited.
“The reversed component wasn’t simply flipped.”
“What does that mean?”
“Someone removed the retaining screw, rotated the cam, then reinstalled it.”
“Tools?”
“Yes.”
“Skill?”
“Basic mechanical skill.”
Vincent folded his arms.
“Meaning anybody?”
“Anybody who knew what to change.”
Dominic’s eyes narrowed.
“How would they know?”
Mercer placed a diagram on the desk.
“This model isn’t common. You’d need a technical guide.”
“Online?”
“No.”
“Where?”
“Manufacturer documentation. Hospital system. My clinic.”
Dominic and Vincent exchanged a look.
Mercer understood immediately.
“You think someone accessed my clinic.”
“I think someone knew exactly how to hurt me without making it look like an attack.”
Mercer looked disturbed.
“I’ll audit everything.”
A knock came at the door.
Clare stood outside.
She looked as if she had not slept either.
Dominic motioned her in.
“Ellie?”
“Eating breakfast.”
“Good.”
Clare remained near the door.
Her hands were clasped tightly.
“There’s something I should tell you.”
Vincent immediately became alert.
Dominic said nothing.
Clare swallowed.
“Monday night, I was bringing towels from the laundry room.”
“What time?”
“Close to midnight.”
Dominic leaned forward.
“Go on.”
“I passed the service corridor outside the physical therapy room.”
“And?”
“There was someone there.”
Vincent stepped closer.
“Arthur?”
Clare shook her head.
“I didn’t see the face.”
Dominic’s voice remained calm.
“What did you see?”
“A white coat.”
Mercer frowned.
“A doctor?”
“I assumed so.”
“Male or female?”
“I think male. Tall.”
“Did you recognize him?”
“No.”
Dominic watched Clare carefully.
“Why didn’t you tell anyone?”
Her cheeks flushed.
“Because people come and go here all the time. Doctors. Attorneys. security contractors. I thought he belonged.”
“And after last night?”
Clare lowered her eyes.
“After last night, I wasn’t sure.”
Vincent began asking questions rapidly.
Height.
Build.
Shoes.
Hair.
Direction.
Clare answered what she could.
Dark trousers.
Black shoes.
Something metallic in one hand.
No visible medical bag.
He had turned away when she approached.
Dominic noticed that detail.
“He turned away from you?”
“Yes.”
“Deliberately?”
“I don’t know.”
“You do.”
Clare looked at him.
Dominic’s voice softened.
“Trust what you remember.”
She hesitated.
“Yes.”
The word was barely audible.
“I think he didn’t want me to see his face.”
Vincent left immediately to pull service corridor records.
Mercer looked deeply unsettled.
“No doctor from my clinic was scheduled here that night.”
Dominic tapped one finger against his desk.
Arthur had been in the mansion.
A man wearing a medical coat had been in the mansion.
Vincent’s credential had been used.
And Ellie had heard an electronic signal while Arthur crouched near Dominic’s brace.
Too many details.
Not enough connections.
Dominic disliked puzzles.
People were easier.
People eventually became afraid.
Puzzles did not.
A few minutes later, Vincent returned.
“There’s no footage of the service corridor.”
Dominic’s eyes narrowed.
“Another camera failure?”
“No.”
Vincent looked irritated.
“There has never been a camera there.”
Dominic stared at him.
“In my house?”
“It’s considered staff-only access.”
“Fix that.”
“Already doing it.”
Clare shifted uneasily.
Dominic looked at her.
“What?”
She glanced toward the hallway.
“Ellie said something this morning.”
Dominic waited.
“She asked why the doctor didn’t have a doctor face.”
Mercer frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“I asked her.”
Clare’s voice lowered.
“She said the man in the white coat covered his face when he walked past her.”
Dominic’s expression changed.
Vincent stopped moving.
Clare continued.
“She said he pulled something over his mouth.”
“A medical mask?” Mercer asked.
Clare shook her head.
“She doesn’t know.”
Dominic looked toward the lake.
For the first time, he began to consider that Arthur might not have been working alone.
May you like
Or worse—
that Arthur might not have been the person who planned it at all.
