Jude
Jude, Fitz, and Ronan sat in the SUV waiting for Cope to drop Lizbet off with Nana Kaye. There had been a change of plans. According to his secretary, Ambrose Watson was out of town and would be returning the next day. After dropping in to see Dr. Vince Holbrook, the team would pop in on Oliver later that afternoon to ask about the baby.
Fitzgibbon was pissed to find out that Frankie’s husband had known she was pregnant and never said a word to any of the cops who’d interviewed him when his wife went missing. When they’d asked about a possible child, his lawyer wouldn’t let him answer the question. Jude knew that was because Oliver’s answer could later be used against him. It spoke volumes to Jude that Oliver kept news of the baby a secret from everyone.
“Sorry that took so long,” Cope said, getting into the car. “Lizzy B was a little clingy this morning. She was happy to see Kaye and Ezzie, but didn’t want to let me go either.”
“She’s been like that a lot lately. Do you think it’s a phase or should we be worried?” Jude asked, as Fitz pulled out of his parking space.
“I’m not sure,” Cope said. “With everything going on with her birthday party plans and now with this case, Lizbet’s behavior isn’t at the top of my worries for today.”
“Everly went through something similar when we’d leave for work. She was older than Lizbet though, by about six months. It was just a phase for Everly. We gave her a little extra love each night by adding the Goodnight song into our bedtime routine.”
“And that worked?” Cope asked.
“It distracted Everly long enough for her self-confidence to grow.”
“We’ll give it a shot. Thanks, Ronan.”
The car was silent for a few minutes. Jude was studying Cope. He’d been a little off his game for the last few days thanks to the Frankie Adams case. Unfortunately, the Goodnight song wasn’t going to help bring Cope back to his old, happy self. “Are you okay?” Jude asked, reaching for Cope’s hand.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Cope offered a smile. “I don’t know how you all do this every day, face the worst of humanity and still come out smiling.”
“It’s not as easy as I make it look.” Jude waggled his eyebrows at his husband. “It’s just a matter of putting my head down and powering through. I feel good when we get a killer off the street, but that feeling doesn’t last long because there’s always the next one and the one after that.” It was exhausting to think about the Salem Cold Cases that were still in their boxes untouched. “Have you heard or sensed anything else from Frankie?”
Cope shook his head. “No, it’s been quiet since she left my reading room yesterday.” He paused, giving their joined hands a squeeze. “Are you feeling better after talking to Bertha?”
Jude sighed. He knew Cope was going to ask him about his and Bertha’s epic hug-fest, it was just a matter of when. “Bertha feels so guilty for not being able to help me more when I was taken.” Guilty was an understatement. Bertha had been absolutely beside herself. Unbeknownst to Ronan, Everly had been the one to gently walk her back from the edge of the cliff. Neither she, nor Ten or Cope knew where Jude was. It wasn’t until they all worked together that they’d been able to locate him.
“We’ve had a couple of chats about what happened and how to move forward,” Cope said. “I tried to explain that our gifts are not all-encompassing. It’s not like we’re Avengers riding in to save the day every time something goes wrong. We have extraordinary gifts, but we’re all still human.”
Jude knew Bertha hated those conversations, not because she’d told him, but because the two of them were built the same way. Never stop. Never surrender. “I hear that and speaking of, let’s talk about Dr. Holbrook.”
“Okay,” Fitz agreed. “What were you able to find out about him?”
“He was born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1982. Got his undergrad at UMass Amherst in 2004 and went to Tufts for his DVM, graduating in 2008. He worked for a couple of vet clinics around Boston before opening his own practice in Salem in 2009. That clinic thrived until Oliver Adams came to town. His practice opened in 2016 and within six or seven months Holbrook’s business was on the verge of closing.”
“Why?” Cope asked. “What the hell was Oliver doing that robbed Holbrook of his patients?”
“That’s a good question, but I’ve got a better one,” Ronan bounced his eyebrows at Jude, “what was Holbrook doing that made his patients flee his practice like rats off a sinking ship?”
“You’re right, that is a better question.” Jude agreed.
“Are you getting anything about him, Cope? Is he a cheat? A gambler? A drinker?”
“I’m not seeing anything at all.” Cope shook his head. “Ronan wants to grill kabobs tonight and Fitz is wondering about buying a new SUV, so I know my gift is working. I’m guessing that Holbrook knows we’re coming. Not because anyone told him,but because he was on the original list of people interviewed when Frankie vanished four years ago and figures the SPD will get to him at some point.”
Jude hoped that was all it was. He needed Cope’s gift to be running on all cylinders today. He’d spent the night before going back through the Yelp reviews for Holbrook’s clinic and eighty percent of them were positive. Even the ones that were less than five star reviews didn’t offer a reason why most of Holbrook’s clients jumped ship to Oliver Adams.
“This is it, up here.” Ronan pointed to a strip mall sign. “Doggie Divas.”
“A licensed veterinarian is working as a pet groomer?” Jude asked, feeling as stunned as he sounded. “This makes no sense.” Why the hell had this man fallen so far careerwise?
“Let’s go make it make sense.” Fitz parked the car and climbed out of the SUV.
Jude followed behind him. All they had so far in this investigation was questions. It was time to get some answers.
The bell on the door jingled when Fitzgibbon entered. Several dogs began barking. One perky dust mop charged toward Jude. He bent to scoop up the little dog, who instantly began to lick his face.
