An Office in St. Marlene's Hospital

 “Dr. Malcolm, how well did you know Sarah Tucker?”

“Miss Sarah is, er...sorry, was, a great nurse. Her loss was extremely tragic.”

Constable Jenny and Constable Jackson sat inside a small doctor’s office. It was a square room with only bookshelves full medical textbooks, an office desk with a computer, and a display of a skeleton model in the corner.

They sat across from Dr. Samuel Malcolm. A man in his mid-40s with a square jaw, a soft and well cropped moustache, and his hairline already receding into a clean M. A pair of heavy glasses sunk into his face. Whenever he rubbed his nosebridge the pits made by the pads were evident.

“I do apologize, officers,” Dr. Malcolm spoke up while adjusting his thick spectacles, “I am willing to cooperate with your questions, however I have to conduct a surgery for a patient in an hour.”

“Alrighty roo, let’s get down to business,” Jackson leaned back into seat, legs crossed, one elbow propped on the arm rest and spun his fedora on his finger before popping it back on his head, “Is it true, you had an affair with Sarah Tucker and tried to elope with her?”

“JACKSON!” Jenny slapped her partner in the arm with her tablet, and raised up a hand towards the doctor with concern, “I, am so so so sorry. He meant was—”

“No no, he’s right. I think at this time, there is no point hiding it anymore.” Dr. Malcolm pulled off his glasses and tossed them onto the files of patient records. He covered his mouth to hide a guilty frown and closed his eyes with a deep breath, “Sarah and I knew each other for a good while. As colleagues at first. We had many ups and downs in our life and I think what attracted us to each other was,” the doctor gave a heavy sigh, “was how lonely we were.”

Jenny fell silent. She took a moment to clear her throat, and shrugged off the awkward feeling as she began typing out the minutes of the interview on her tablet. “From the beginning, Dr. Malcolm. How did you meet Sarah?”

Dr. Malcolm sucked in air into his lungs, held it, and gave a heavy exhale that made his moustache shudder, “I met Sarah two years ago. I work as an orthopaedic surgeon and I often travel between hospitals, including St. Marlene. When I got lost here on the first day, Sarah found me and showed me the way. Over time in my visits, I often worked closely with her patients, and by chance herself. There was this odd attraction between us, like magnets. Sometimes I can’t help but take glances at her when she worked. Often times, I catch her glancing back at me. It sounds silly, but it’s hard to explain the feeling whenever we, you know...” Dr. Malcolm ended up drumming his fingers.

Jackson gave a shrug, “What was it about Sarah Tucker that allured you? Her good looks? Her feminine charms? Or the fact she was married?”

Jenny clenched her jaw and tried to focus on typing her notes, not commenting.

Dr. Malcolm had a mixed smile: half nostalgia, half disappointment, “Yes. I knew she was married. Her ring and the gossip from her co-workers were apparent. I honestly kept my distance after knowing. Only spoke to Sarah when the job required it, professionally. But.” The doctor shook his head at a distant thought. “I couldn’t help myself. And neither could Sarah. As to what about her that captivated me: it was her eagerness to challenge herself. She always went out of her way to learn something new, even outside her scope of practice, for the sake of improving health care for her patients. It’s – sorry – it was an admirable trait about her.”

The doctor clasped his hands into a steeple with a chuckle. “Sarah even took a shine to my work in orthopaedics. She had a keen and attentive eye. Brave, not many nurses enjoy this field of medicine. Eventually, I took her in as a personal assistant. Everyone in the hospital saw Sarah as a star pupil. Gave us a good excuse to always be together without suspicion.”

Jenny looked up from typing, “When was the last time you saw Mrs. Tucker?”

“Earlier this month,” Dr. Malcolm would glance left and right at his desk, his steeple hands caving into a fragile prayer, “Some time before she disappeared, Sarah and I had, um. Uuuh....Ahem. Formally ended our relationship.”

Jackson perked an eyebrow and leaned forward in his seat, “So what? Years of affair, over, done? Gone?” He made a slicing gesture with his hand over his throat with a short slashing whistle. “Just like that? Full stop period?”

“We...called it off.” The doctor shifted in his seat at his answer, “Sarah, suddenly told me she still loved her husband. She said he changed his ways, was willing to give up on the woman he was seeing and they wanted to start over. I mean, officer, w-we had a peaceful chat. We respected one another and I loved her from the bottom of my heart.” Dr. Malcolm closed his eyes to take a mental break, a few deep breathing exercises to calm his blood pressure. “After much decision, we decided to break it up. Go our separate ways. And to make sure we don’t feel awkward, we only saw each other for work purposes. We rarely talk since them, even when we run into each other in the break room. Because of this, I didn’t know she disappeared until the hospital talked about her death and...”

Dr. Malcolm’s lips pursed, eyes clenched. He buried his face in his palms, not wanting to utter much of a sound.

Jackson exchanged at glance with Jenny. The latter shook her head, eyeing between her partner and the man who should be left alone. A deep breath, and Jackson disappointed his partner and broke the silence. “Dr. Malcolm. I want to get something straight. Who started this relationship?”

“It—sorry. Ahem. It was Sarah Tucker. She often gave me signals and I lost myself to the temptation.”

“And who ended this affair?”

“...Also, Sarah.”

Jackson did a short sigh. He took off his fedora, sat up, and leaned in close to whisper, “Look, doc. I am sorry for your loss. You must have really liked her. Even your face is red just mentioning her death. I know it’s not my place, but I gotta ask...Did you ever, even for a moment, had a smiiiiidge of a doubt that, hmmmm.” He tapped his finger on his hat, a short hesitation. “That your romance was...bait?”

“Bait?" Jenny perked her head in confusion. Before she could say anything, her partner gave her a quiet nudge. It took her a moment before her lips went, “Ooooh.”

The doctor rubbed his face with his palms as if massaging every fibre in his cheek and forehead. He dropped his palm with a light slap across the desk, staring at the papers with the eyes of a dead fish. “In hindsight, you may be right Constable. A married woman starting a relationship with me, only to return to her husband. Maybe I’ve spent too much time studying and surgery, I lost myself in that sweet dream of love and romance...Wait.” He raised a hand up to stop his original thoughts, “O-on the day Sarah called it off, she, she mentioned that her husband knew about us.”

Jackson and Jenny eyes widened. The former dragged his chair closer with a creaaak, and leaned in to hear better. “Frank Tucker knew?”

“Y-yes.” The doctor nodded, confused with himself. “The way she said it, it sounded like he knew for quiet a while, maybe more than months. At the time my head was so muddled up, so heart broken it never really occurred to me, until you started asking today.”

“So, you’re suggesting. The husband knew about your affair...and did nothing about it? Not even charge into your office? Smash up your car? Call you anonymously in the middle of the night?”

“N-no nothing. Actually, Frank rarely comes into the hospital. At most he shows up during potlucks carrying food for his wife, but he usually stays in the parking lots to drop off and pick up Sarah.”

Jenny lowered her tablet to ask, “You mentioned Mrs. Tucker called off the relationship, because her husband wanted her back. Are you sure that is what she said?”

“I was just as confused,” Dr. Malcolm responded with a paling face, “I am not a psychologist, but I don’t think any average man would ever let his woman dally with another and not say anything. Let alone, you know, have them come back to their side as if nothing happened.”

Jenny took a moment to think it over before asking, “What are you suggesting, Dr. Malcolm?”

“I-I am not suggesting anything constable, but I can’t help but wonder. A husband lets his wife have an affair with another man. Calls her back. Only then to have her body discovered in seven pieces shortly after?”