“Okay, I will. Thanks so much for calling. This is indeed an interesting turn of events.”
She ended the call and returned to the table, sitting back down on her chair, her back straight, a look on her face that was inscrutable.
“Apparently,” she said and opened a file. “Our Miss Lisa has a family member on the NYPD Major Crimes unit.”
“Ahh,” I said, finally understanding. “And that someone is hoping that Lisa’s allegations hold up because then they can lay the blame on me instead of their delusional family member...”
“Precisely,” Lara said. Her wide eyes were the only hint that she was excited about this development. Other than that, she was as composed as ever. “We’re going to have to tread very lightly, if that’s the case. People can get very pig headed when family is involved. This will require a deft hand with the NYPD. I have a few markers I can call in – a few backs I’ve scratched before. Don’t worry,” she said and closed a file. “We can deal with this.”
“I sure hope so,” I said, leaning back in my chair, exhaling heavily.
We spent the next hour drinking down coffee and poring over my schedules, re-checking for any time I had gone to a dungeon party, a night out at the opera or theatre, and any fundraising activities with DWB. I marked down every night I worked late on an emergency surgery. Dates that I was involved in board meetings at night for the corporation. There were a lot of dates. I was a very busy surgeon, executive and philanthropist. Plus, I brought along my schedule of dates I played with Mersey.
“God, I didn’t realize until now how busy I was back then,” I said and shook my head. “I was out more days than I stayed at home. Pretty much every evening was taken up either practicing, performing, at some function or working late. I don’t know when I could have squeezed in a mistress on top of a serious girlfriend, fiancé and then wife.”
“Too busy,” Lara said. “Once we can check the new dates she gave the police, we can probably rule out all of her claims that you were together.”
“How can I prove I didn’t meet her secretly in the broom closet at Carnegie Hall?”
Lara shrugged. “We’ll find something. One date we can prove you were not with her, then all the other dates become suspect.”
“I hope so,” I said and checked my watch. “Looks like we have to get going.”
Lara checked her watch and nodded. “Okay, handsome,” she said and smiled at me. “Let’s go slay some dragons.”
“You can lead,” I said and helped her with her coat.
She grinned. “As always.”
McDonald and St. James met us in the waiting area and escorted us into a larger conference room. It was not at all like one of the smaller interrogation rooms I had been in before. It made me feel less like a suspect and more like a citizen who had to clear up a few details before the case could move forward.
At least, that’s what I hope it meant.
McDonald sat across from me and put a piece of paper on the table, pushing it towards me with a placid expression on his face.
“You are familiar with the list of dates that Dr. Monroe claims you were together. I would appreciate it if you could provide us with your whereabouts on those additional dates," he said and pointed to a half-dozen new dates appended to the bottom. "If there’s anyone who can corroborate your details, we’d appreciate their name and phone number so we can contact them to clear this up.”
I nodded and took the sheet of paper in hand. Lara scooched closer, and spied the sheet after putting on her horn-rimmed glasses. The dates were spaced out over the period, with a notable blank space during the time Kate and I were in Africa, but there were a few dates each year that supposedly, Lisa and I were together.
Lara had a list of dates in her hand.
“That,” she said and pointed to a date two years earlier. “That was the fundraiser for Doctors Without Borders.” Lara glanced up at the detectives.
“I was there with Dr. Morgan,” she said. “I didn’t see her that night and I would have known if she was there.”
“You’re his lawyer,” St. James said, his tone dismissive.
“I’m also his friend. I know both Lisa Monroe and Derek Richardson. I’m sure once you get ahold of Derek, he’ll tell you that Drake was not interested in Lisa beyond a couple of times they were at parties together. In fact, Mr. Richardson offered to involve Dr. Morgan more intimately, but Dr. Morgan declined.”
“Is that so?” McDonald said and glanced at me. “So do you think her,” he said and paused, “focus on you began at that point in time?”
“Yes,” I said, glancing at Lara. “It must have. I wasn’t interested in her as a submissive or in becoming more involved with them. You can talk to Richardson about it. He knows how I felt. In fact, I talked to him about her after I started in the fellowship program.”
“Mr. Richardson has been a difficult man to find. He’s out of the country right now, according to his lawyer, so we can’t confirm your story. But we will, once we’re able to contact him.”
I leaned back. “I’d be happy for you to contact him, because he’ll corroborate my story.”
McDonald nodded. “When was the last time you spoke with Richardson?”