“No. Not frightened exactly. Dale dealt with individuals with a variety of mental health issues, so he was used to dealing with unusual behavior patterns. But this guy did seem to stand out. I think Dale knew the guy was a potential danger to himself or someone else, and he felt unsure about how to help him.”
Cass jotted down a few notes. “Other than the individual you just mentioned, do any other patients come to mind?”
Lissa paused, I imagined to consider the question. “There was a woman Dale had been meeting with for a few months. She was in an abusive relationship but was afraid to leave. Dale managed to convince her that leaving was her only option, and I know he helped her locate a facility where she could stay while she got on her feet. The woman’s husband was certain that Dale was the reason his wife left him, and I know that Dale received several threatening emails and phone messages from him in the past couple of weeks. Again, Dale never mentioned the name of either the woman involved or her husband, but based on what he did say, it sounded liked the guy was a real piece of work.”
The conversation paused while Cass jotted down a few more notes. “Do you know where Dale would have referred the woman to? Could it have been the county women’s shelter?”
“I don’t know for sure. He didn’t say.”
Cass pursed his lips, narrowed his gaze, and then continued. “Okay, so do any other patients come to mind?”
“Just one. There was a woman who Dale had been meeting with for over a year. I guess she fell in love with him at some point along the way, although he didn’t realize it until after the two of us got together. After we started dating, she became very needy and clingy. She doubled the number of sessions each week, claiming that she felt suicidal and really needed the extra encouragement. Once Dale realized she simply wanted to spend more time with him, and had, in fact, become obsessed with him, he told her he was going to refer her to a colleague. She got angry at that point and started stalking him. When we spoke, he didn’t think she was a threat, but it did seem that her shows of affection were becoming more frequent and more disturbing.”
“Shows of affection?” Cass asked.
“She started off by baking him cookies, sending him love letters, and leaving small tokens such as flowers and stuffed animals on his porch. I don’t have all the details, but I do know that he spoke to her on more than one occasion about her inappropriate behavior, and even threatened to take out a restraining order if she didn’t back off a bit. I don’t think he ever pursued the restraining order. He felt somewhat responsible for her obsession with him and wanted to help her through it. He said he should have seen it earlier. If he had, he would have referred her to a colleague before it got to the point it had.”
“And you don’t know the name of this woman?” Cass asked.
She shook her head. “No. He never said. As I said before, Dale was always careful not to say anything to give away the identity of the person we discussed. He may even have changed some of the details to add further anonymity. The only reason he discussed his patients at all was because he would show up for our dates stressed and distracted, and I’d ask him what was on his mind, and sometimes he would share a really vague overview.”
Cass leaned back in his chair. “Is there anyone else that you can think of that stands out?”
She paused and then shook her head. “No. Just those three. I wish I knew more, but I don’t. Perhaps if you look at his phone records, certain numbers will be prominent. I know he kept his calendar on his phone and his tablet. I’m not sure if you’ve recovered either, but it might be worth it to see if you can track them down.”
“Do you happen to know the password to unlock his phone and tablet should we find them?” Cass asked.
“Bingo.”
Cass raised a brow.
“Dale had a dog named Bingo when he was a kid. He used Bingo as a password quite often. If the password needed to be longer or include a number, he would often use Bingo95. I’m not sure where the 95 came from.”
He closed his notebook. “Okay. I think this provides me with a place to start. I appreciate you taking the time to speak to us.” He handed her a card. “If you think of anything else, please call me.”
She took the card. “Okay. And if you come up with any news that might explain what happened, will you call me?”
“I will.”
Cass stood up. I stood up as well. I hugged Lissa one more time as she showed us out the door. Man, did I feel bad for the poor woman. She seemed to be holding it together, but there was no way she wasn’t in shock after everything that had happened. I suspected it would hit her at some point, and she’d lose it completely. I just hoped she had someone around to help her through it when that moment occurred.
“So, what do you think?” I asked Cass after we returned to his vehicle.
He opened the car door for me. “I’m not sure. The three leads she gave me seem like solid leads, and I do intend to check out all three, but I was picking up on something more. Something she wasn’t saying. I’m just not sure what that something was.”
“I’m sure the poor woman must be in shock. Maybe once she has a chance to think things through, she will remember the small details that didn’t come to mind this evening.”
“Maybe.” Cass closed my door and then walked around the vehicle and slid into the driver’s seat. “Are you still up for pizza?”
“Actually, I’m starving.”
“I could eat, and there isn’t much I can do to follow up on the three patients Lissa mentioned until tomorrow. I do want to call the fire marshal and see if he has any news, but I can do that from the pizza parlor. As I said before, although it looked as if the entire house was in flames, the back of the house was actually undamaged. I’m hoping to get in to take a look around. If there was someone in the house with Dale when he died, maybe that person left a clue. Additionally, if I’m lucky, maybe he left his phone or his tablet in a room other than the office. If Lissa was correct about the password and I can access his calendar, I should be able to figure out who he met with just before you and Lissa arrived.”
“Do you think whoever he met with last is the one who killed him?” I asked.
“Perhaps. I suppose it’s possible that someone not on the schedule came in after the last patient left, but the man’s calendar will be a good place to start. If I’m lucky, he will have his contact list on his phone or tablet as well. Maybe this case will be solvable after all.”
Chapter 3
Monday
I hadn’t seen Cass at all over the weekend. I knew he’d been busy tracking down clues he hoped would lead to Dale Conover’s killer, and I’d been busy setting up interviews for my Ms. Cupid article. I needed to turn in my next column by Friday, but I felt with the interviews I’d already completed, and the handful I’d set up for early this week, I should have no problem coming up with a riveting read by the deadline.
I’d spoken to Cass briefly on the phone last night. He’d shared that he’d been able to get inside the house and take a look around, but he hadn’t found any obvious clues that would help explain what happened. He also said that the fire marshal would have his report ready today and that he hoped once he fully understood the specifics relating to the fire, he’d be able to better understand who might have done what they had. He hadn’t found Dale’s tablet yet, but his phone had been near his remains. It was destroyed, but he had specialists working on trying to recover the information contained within the chip.
The file cabinets in the office were damaged as we’d expected they’d be, although there were documents that had survived thanks to the fire-resistant units. Unfortunately, fire-resistant didn’t necessarily mean fireproof, but the fire-resistant nature of the cabinets had helped. The files located in the center of the drawers were mostly intact, while those documents in the front and the back of the cabinet were burned and scarred but not destroyed.