A noise resounded in her throat that must have sounded like assent for he relinquished it and she migrated to the filing cabinet, skin on fire beneath her sweater.
One hand plucked at her collar for relief as the other combed through the meticulously alphabetized files until she came upon the slot for Mathers, Dustin.
Though Dr. Merino was silent and hard at work, she felt safer with her back to him. She had more or less grown used to his company in the office but now his presence felt threatening, like she was being mentored by a violent ex-convict rather than a licensed clinician.
Just as Kenna started closing the drawer, she stopped, fixating on one of the names. McAnders, Bella.
She wasn’t sure it was the same girl that Liam had spoken of but chills began to prick her arms the longer she stared at the printed label. Her fingers itched to reach out and glimpse its contents.
“My tone was harsh, wasn’t it? I’m not in optimal condition today. Can I be frank with you?”
Dr. Merino’s speech startled her into action. She shut the drawer and reminded herself to walk to her seat at a normal pace though her mind urged her to make haste.
“Of course.”
“Your accusation, I know it wasn’t direct but it was there, in your tone. It struck a nerve. I’m here to help you sluice out whether this is the type of work you’d like to carry on with once you leave this institution. And despite whatever your trivia teammates undoubtedly had to say about me, I have no intention of harming you or anything else you’ve dreamed up.”
“How did—”
“This is a small town. People talk.”
Knocking reverberated on the glass panel. His 7:30 had arrived. This time Dr. Merino’s faint smile was genuine, one of amusement.
“In the hall, Miss O’Callaghan.”
* * *
Kenna didn’t leaveher apartment the entire weekend.
In the 12 days she’d known Dr. Merino, she’d deemed it appropriate to dedicate an entire notebook to him in which she recounted their meetings, paying close attention to anything peculiar she had encountered.
-tea drinker
-staring problem
-slept w/ a patient (maybe?)
Okay, when the list materialized on paper, it was far less compelling. She left off the bit about Bella because she didn’t deem it suspicious but the third item alone was sufficient cause to shift the amateur investigation to the internet.
She’d had only four years of public school to master using computers before hopping on a Greyhound and heading for Oregon—18 with her life savings rubber-banded in a shoe.
So much had changed since then. She had changed.
The search engine lit up her screen.
Her trembling fingers typed ‘Dr. Merino’ into the query bar. Under normal circumstances, she would have never considered googling university staff but he had an agenda.
Of that, she was certain.
Within seconds of clicking the icon, Google delivered a concerning number of results. Scrolling along the page, she noticed all of the entries were people named ‘Dr. Merino’ from other states. An illogical part of her insisted that the inconclusive results were a sign, warning her not to meddle in the personal dealings of this man.
A burning pain spread in her chest; the palms of God, pushing her away from the laptop.
“Father, forgive me,” she mumbled.
She tried again, tacking ‘Ponderosa University’ onto the end of the search phrase. The first listing was for the faculty page on the university’s website which provided a direct link to his page. Kenna instantly gauged that the photo was out of date due to minor changes in his appearance.
Shorter hair, cut even with his rounded ears. Skin free of scars. Face ornamented by a mustache and goatee.