Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) by Karen Rose

            “I agree, but I’m frankly shocked that they’re seeking medical help at all. Amos Terrill said that, in general, if members of Eden got sick, they either recovered on their own or they died. Outside help was never sought.”

            “Didn’t Ephraim Burton get a glass eye?”

            Huh. He does read the briefs I send him. “Yes. Ephraim Burton’s eye surgery seems to have been an outlier, and one that was kept from the community as a whole. Amos said he continued to wear his patch whenever he was in the compound. We think Burton got a doctor in Santa Rosa to perform the surgery during one of his quarterly hiatuses from Eden, but again, that’s an outlier. For them to leave Eden and seek outside medical assistance—”

            “It has to be a grave injury,” Raeburn finished.

            “Yes, sir. I think so. It would almost have to be one of the leaders.”

            “Belmont’s hurt,” Raeburn said.

            “True. He was wearing a sling in the surveillance video we took from the office building he used to target Mercy Callahan.” And Liza.

            “Maybe he arranged for Dr. Arnold’s services because he was back in Sacramento intending to finish off Mercy Callahan.”

            “That makes sense, sir.”

            “So who is this guy? Is he associated with a hospital?”

            “I don’t think so. Dr. Arnold’s name doesn’t get any hits on the surface web, but he’s quite popular on the dark web.”

            “Not a shock,” Raeburn muttered. “What did you find out about him?”

            “He’s recommended by movie stars, TV personalities, and mob bosses all over the world. He does surgery from his home, but his former patients say they convalesced and received rehab services at Sunnyside Oaks Convalescence and Rehabilitation Center. Again, patients include both A-list celebrities and criminals.”

            “Excellent work, Hunter. Can you find an address for Arnold’s home surgery?”

            “Not in these search results. It seems like his patients agreed to keep the location secret. A few say that they don’t want to make the doctor angry in case they have family members who need help in the future.”

            “What about the rehab facility?”

            Tom opened a new search window and typed in the name. He was a little surprised when an address surfaced. “That’s available. The place is very private, but . . .” He turned to his primary computer and typed the name again. “It shows up on both the dark and surface webs. I’ll send you the surface link with the address, but their website is very basic and says little of substance.”

            “It’s something, though. This is our first real break. I assume you haven’t traced the e-mail allegedly sent from Eden, since I haven’t heard from you on that.”

            “Not yet. Still working on it.”

            “Keep me up to speed. I’ll see you back in the office first thing.”

            It wasn’t a request. Tom grimaced, wondering how he’d ensure Liza’s safety tomorrow. He needed to hire someone to watch her, ASAP. “Yes, sir.”

            “And you will not be sharing this information with anyone, even Agent Reynolds, correct?”

            Tom gritted his teeth, but forced his voice to remain level. “Of course not, sir.”

            “Good night, then.” Raeburn ended the call before Tom could say another word.

            Not that he’d wanted to say more, not after being chastised like a teenager skipping school. Telling Molina would help soothe the irritation. He started to dial from his work phone, but stopped himself. He didn’t want either of them to get into trouble.

            Using his burner phone, he dialed Molina’s number. She answered on the first ring, wary but alert. “Yes?”

            “Agent Molina, this is Tom Hunter.”

            “Agent Hunter. Why are you calling from this number?”

            “Because I have information.”