Chapter 5 - The Man Above Holloway
Smoke filled the sixth-floor corridor.
Dominic grabbed Evelyn’s good arm.
“Stairs.”
“My patients—”
“Evelyn.”
“There are patients on this floor.”
Dominic looked down the hall.
Nurses were already evacuating rooms.
“Then help them.”
For the next six minutes, Evelyn forgot about Grant.
She became a nurse again.
“Room 608 first!”
Dominic pushed an elderly patient’s wheelchair toward the stairwell.
“Where?”
“Down one floor!”
“You're bossy.”
“Move!”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Even in the chaos, Evelyn almost smiled.
By the time firefighters arrived, everyone on the floor had been evacuated.
Grant Holloway had disappeared.
Outside, Luca approached.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“Holloway left through the east garage.”
“Find him.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“No.”
Dominic turned.
“No?”
“If you find him your way, he disappears.”
“And?”
“And I need him talking.”
Dominic stared at her.
“To police?”
“Federal investigators.”
“You trust them?”
“I trust documentation.”
Dominic almost laughed.
“Of course you do.”
Evelyn held up the compass charm.
“And Grant believed this contains everything.”
“It doesn’t?”
“About twenty percent.”
Dominic smiled.
“Where’s the rest?”
“Nowhere Grant can reach.”
---
By sunrise, Evelyn sat in Dominic’s library with Dr. Palmer.
A laptop stood between them.
Dominic entered.
“Grant is running.”
“Let him,” Evelyn said.
Dominic stopped.
“That’s new.”
“He thinks I have the evidence.”
“You do.”
“Not the evidence he needs to destroy.”
Palmer looked at her.
“You're talking about the audit server.”
Evelyn nodded.
“What audit server?” Dominic asked.
“Greyhaven backs up pharmacy transactions through an independent compliance company.”
“Grant can access it.”
“Not the archived version.”
Palmer understood.
“The courthouse.”
Dominic looked between them.
Evelyn explained.
“Two months ago, I submitted a sealed whistleblower packet to a federal healthcare-fraud investigator.”
Dominic stared.
“You already reported this?”
“I told you I kept another copy.”
“You neglected to mention federal investigators.”
“You never asked.”
Dominic laughed once.
“You're terrifying.”
“Thank you.”
Palmer leaned toward the laptop.
“If the packet was received, why haven't they moved?”
“They needed corroboration.”
He pointed at the compass.
“And that card?”
“Contains Holloway’s internal authorization codes.”
Palmer smiled.
“That's corroboration.”
Dominic’s phone rang.
He answered.
“Luca.”
His expression hardened.
“When?”
Evelyn watched him.
“What happened?”
Dominic ended the call.
“Grant isn't running anymore.”
“Where is he?”
“He called me.”
“Why?”
“He wants a trade.”
Evelyn frowned.
“What does he have?”
Dominic’s gaze shifted toward Palmer.
Palmer went pale.
“My daughter.”
Silence.
“No,” Palmer whispered.
Dominic looked at him.
“Grant took her twenty minutes ago.”
Palmer stood so quickly his chair fell.
“Where?”
“Old freight terminal.”
“I’m going.”
Dominic blocked him.
“No.”
“That’s my daughter!”
“And Grant expects you.”
Evelyn stood carefully.
“He expects all of us.”
Dominic turned toward her.
“You’re staying here.”
“No.”
“This isn’t negotiable.”
“You're right.”
Evelyn picked up the compass bracelet.
“I’m coming.”
Dominic stared at her.
May you like
“Why are nurses impossible?”
“Occupational requirement.”
