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Chapter Sixteen: Doctors:

The next morning, the boys gave Anna a special mission. They all planned this before she got up.

"Anna, go back to therapy," Watari told her. At first, she didn't get it.

"Why?" she asked. The scientist turned to her with a smile.

"Just go back to therapy," he said. She nodded once she saw where this plan was headed.

"Oh, I see." Anna said. So here she was again; only, not as a patient this time. Lucky for her, everyone was on staff today. Anna walked up to the reception desk. The girl on the other side ended her phone call as soon as she saw her.

"Hello, how may I help you today?" the receptionist asked.

"Ah yes, may I see your list of who's working today?" Anna asked. The other woman gave her an odd look.

"Sorry?" she asked.

"I need to see your list of who is working today," Anna repeated.

"Why?" the receptionist whispered. The woman leaned in close to the glass.

"I'm investigating the Nakata case,” she whispered. The receptionist went quiet as she lowered her eyes.

"Oh," she mumbled, "One moment please." The woman reached into her desk for the file. She pulled out whole file and handed it to her.

"Here," she said. Anna took it with a smile.

"Thanks," she said before she headed out the door.

Outside, Anna took a seat on the front bench. She opened the file and began looking at the names. Twenty-seven doctors on staff today with nine that work with the university across the street.

"Yamashita, Ono, Miyazaki, Uchino, Seki, Suwa, Emoto, Watanabe, and Hosoda," Anna read. The woman pondered her options. She ruled out Yamashita already; that left eight doctors to question. Anna sat back and breathed out. She got up and headed back inside.

Anna returned to the desk. The receptionist looked as if she had seen the devil in this woman’s eyes.

"Yes?" she asked in a shaking voice. Anna handed her the list with a photo of her uncle under the glass.

"Do any of them have ties to Kimoto-sensei?" she asked. "Look at it closely now!" The receptionist looked down at the picture with a pale face as she bit her lip. The other woman studied her closely.

/She's involved somehow/, Anna thought. The receptionist shook her head.

"No," she said in a high-pitched squeak. Anna narrowed her eyes at her.

"Don't lie to me," she said. The receptionist’s eyes darted around as if to look for an escape.

/Oh no/, she thought. Anna slammed her palms against the desk.

"Listen," she said. "I don't think you understand the situation. A girl was murdered."

"Better for everyone; she gave us all hell. No one will miss her," the receptionist tried to reason.

"Her brother misses her!" Anna shouted through the glass.

"He's lying!" the poor cornered woman wailed. The potential patient gritted her teeth as her fuse was about to blow.

"She was three weeks pregnant!" she snapped. By this time, the people in the waiting room stared at her, but she shook them off. The receptionist went quiet as her stomach flip-flopped. She lowered her head defeated. Anna looked at the receptionist.

"Which doctor is working with Kimoto-sensei?" she asked. The shine in the lens of her brown and tan glasses dimmed further as she looked down at her desk.

"Yamashita-sensei," she mumbled. Anna shook her head.

"No," she said like a disappointed mother. "He was set up; who here is really working with Kimoto-sensei?"

"Dr. Miyazaki," the receptionist admitted at last.

"Thank you," Anna said. "Is he here in the center now?"

"No!" the poor receptionist cried.

"Then, where is he? On break?" the other woman asked.

"At the university!” the receptionist confessed. “He works there on Thursdays and Fridays!" Anna backed up, satisfied with what she learned.

"Thank you," she said again as she bowed her head. The receptionist panicked as Anna turned and walked away. Oh shit! she thought. The woman reached into her pink Hello Kitty purse and drew out her phone. She hit the speed dial for number one.

"Come on! Come on! Pick up, this is an emergency!" she mumbled. The receptionist gritted her teeth when she received no answer.

"Damn it!" she mumbled, "Voice mail." The woman tried to keep it enough to leave a message after the beep.

"Baby, she's onto us; this is bad! Look out and please call me back!" the receptionist said in rushed panic. She quickly hung up, but that didn't stop her heart from racing.