Free 2 Multiple Exposures by Audrey Claire Page B

know?”
    “Not yet, but I imagine the details will shake the town soon enough.”
    “Why?”
    I hesitated to admit the truth, but Edna was my friend, and like I told her, everyone would know soon enough. I explained finding the camera pen, and the more I spoke, the more she paled. I started to worry she had been one of his patients and asked.
    “Never! I told you he was into funny business even fifty years ago. No, thank you. I assumed he was on the up and up but never dreamed he would use his practice in such a heinous way.” Edna shivered, and sorrow touched her gaze. “There’ll be many that are hurt by this, Makayla.”
    “I know, and I wish it never happened, but I’m glad we found out. Please, if you can, don’t say anything about the pen just yet. I want Spencer to confirm the circumstances of his death first.”
    Edna offered me an expression of disappointment and then agreed. Apparently, the texts from her friends hadn’t revealed this tidbit, and she would have enjoyed being the first to share.
    “How about I update you as soon as I hear something?”
    She jumped at the offer, and we spent a little while longer enjoying each other’s company. We chatted about the citizens of Briney Creek and the ones she knew from the past, and then I took my leave. I had loved visiting with Edna, but just like her, I wanted to get information about Dr. Bloomberg, and that included receiving the list from Lissa. Whose names would be on it? I would surely find out soon.
     

Chapter Eight
     
    I sat at my desk scrolling through the list Lissa had sent me. There were indeed over three thousand names. The letters swam before my eyes as I wondered how in the world we would narrow this list down. After running a finger down the screen twice across two sheets, I came across only two names that I thought I recognized. The ladies were from Edna’s group, or at least I think they were. Lissa had been kind enough to include ages of the patients, making me feel again that she should be a detective.
    Of course, she had added no other information, not even their addresses. I supposed she assumed Spencer would be able to obtain that data on his own. Edna, from what I had seen so far wasn’t on the list, but I hadn’t gone through all of the sheets. I believed her when she told me she would never allow Dr. Bloomberg to be her doctor. She seemed genuinely disgusted by him.
    Realizing there wasn’t much I could do with the list at this time, I printed it off and set it aside. A call to Spencer might shed more light on the situation.
    Spencer came on the line sounding harassed and irritable. I was not surprised, nor was I to be deterred. “Have you learned anything about the doctor?”
    “Not anything conclusive yet, but it doesn’t look good.”
    “Why doesn’t it look good?” I was prepared to harass him if I needed to.
    Spencer seemed to realize this and sighed. “The ME suspects it was poison, but do not spread that around, Makayla. We don’t know for sure yet.”
    “I won’t say anything.” I know you’re thinking I had my fingers crossed behind me at this point, but I didn’t. When Spencer specifically asked me to be quiet, I did. He didn’t always ask me to. Take that as you will. “So you’re definitely ruling it a homicide?”
    “It’s not confirmed.” He sounded distracted, as if his mind were elsewhere. “We found a bunch of photos on his home computer and on the pen. Most were of women ranging from the ages of mid-twenties to early forties. Quite a few, hundreds.”
    I gasped, shaking from head to toe. The news was expected but too ghastly to fathom. The impact to these young women and their families couldn’t be gauged. I struggled to gather my thoughts. “You’re going to interview them?”
    “It’s my job. As it stands, I’m pretty sure someone killed Zachariah Bloomberg, someone who probably knew about his perversion. We’re working to narrow down the list, but we have to check them