Private Practice Ch. 01

Gaston was yelling "You're violating doctor-client privilege! You're violating doctor-client privilege!" I went over and frisked him for weapons, and removed his car keys from his pants pocket.

"I haven't violated anything." I said loudly as Roark pulled Gaston to a standing position, the legal beagle's hands cuffed behind his back. "I'm just seeing if any of the drawers have been emptied."

"Then why didn't you say so?" yelled Gale Gaston.

I got right in his face and yelled at the top of my lungs: "I DO NOT HAVE TO EXPLAIN MY ACTIONS TO YOU, ASSHOLE! MUCH LESS GET YOUR PERMISSION!"

I then added: "You are not in charge, here! *I* am! Commander Croyle! This bastard is under arrest. Read him his rights, and make sure you are videoed doing so. Sit him on the sofa over there for now. I'm going back to the reception room---"

Just then, the door to the office opened, and in walked Assistant District Attorney Savannah Fineman. Nadine Hall, Marla Locklear's attorney, was right behind her. And right behind them was no less that Chief Deputy Sheriff Cindy Ross.

"Before you go off on Fineman," Cindy said to me, her green crowbar at the ready, "I have to tell you that she and Miriam went to Judge Patrick R. Folsom to get an order to allow her into the crime scene. He said he would not normally issue one, but would do so in this case because of the connection to the Stanley Locklear trial. Sheriff Griswold sent me with her to make sure we don't have a second murder here."

Savannah held up a document as she loudly broke in and said loudly: "This order from Judge Folsom states that you are not to attempt to even look at any files that have anything to do with either of the Locklears."

"And I'm here to make sure that is enforced." Nadine Hall said. Then she looked down and saw the body of Dr. Peter Frost, and turned away with a look of horror on her otherwise very attractive face.

I said to Cindy "Keep Fineman in here for a minute. I have to go back out there. Davis! Assist Chief Deputy Ross if she needs anything."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Claire Michaels and Nadine Hall came with me as I went to the reception room. "Captain, watch over Ms. Denise, here. Lieutenant Warner, walk with me." We went into the small hallway, but I saw the other lawyer trying to listen in on a conversation that did not concern him

"Don't say anything yet." I said. "Bertram is trying to listen to us." The legal beagle glared at me. Unperturbed, I took out my Police iPhone, attached a cord to it, and plugged the other end into the alarm system I'd observed on the wall.

"Okay," I said, showing Joanne what I was doing, "the alarm was deactivated this morning just before 8:00am. It was last activated Saturday afternoon at 3:35pm, and deactivated at 12:30pm before that. So that three-hour window is very likely our timeframe for the murder."

"Neat, sir!" Joanne said happily. "I have got to get me one of those!" I chuckled, then had her step outside with me. The lawyer did not try to follow us.

"Don't tell me, let me guess." I said. "Something about Denise's story raised a red flag with you."

"Yes sir." Joanne said. "Here's the whole story. Madison and Colquitt got here first when the radio call went out. Just as they arrived, those two lawyers came up. By the way, what was all the shouting about?"

"I'll tell you later." I said. "Keep going. What time did you get here? And what time was the 9-1-1 call?"

Joanne said "I got here at 8:52am. The 9-1-1 call was logged at 8:43am, and Colquitt said she and Madison got here at 8:46am, being right in the area. Jerome... Lieutenant Davis... sent me and Mr. Roark right away, then he followed us. When I went in, the receptionist Denise was crying at her desk, and I had her move over to the waiting room chairs."

"Good." I said. "Keep going."

Joanne: "Denise said she got here just before 8:00am, like she always does. She said Dr. Frost usually comes in by 8:10, but sometimes not until later. So she did what she normally does: she got the appointment list printed for Dr. Frost, brought up the patient files to be ready for him if needed, checked his emails, stuff like that."

Joanne: "She said that at 8:40, she unlocked the door to Dr. Frost's office... she has a key... and was going to put his mail and printed schedule on his desk like she always did when he was already here. And that's when she found his body on the floor. She said she screamed, checked for a pulse and found him not only dead but cold, and then rushed back to her desk and called 9-1-1."

Joanne: "What bothered me, sir, is that those lawyers were already here when we got here. They came in with Colquitt and Madison, and started saying over and over that we couldn't touch the files because of doctor-client privilege. The lawyer in the reception room, Bertram, also grabbed the computer on Denise's desk and held on to it. So I think Denise is truthfully telling me what happened, but maybe the timeline is off, and she contacted those lawyers before calling 9-1-1."

"Excellent!" I praised. "You are very correct to have observed and deduced that. And here's something else: you could not have known this at the time, but the servers have been taken out of the back room behind Dr. Frost's office. I don't know what Denise was bringing up on her laptop, but she should've seen that she didn't have a connection to the servers, much less access to any files on them."

"Ohhhh." Joanne said as it hit her. "Wowww... I need to talk to Denise again." She was about to stalk back inside, but I stopped her.

"Hold on." I said. "Now admit it, you're about to go in there and confront her, aren't you?"

"Uh, yes sir." Joanne said.

"Why don't you let me talk to her, and you observe." I said. "I suspect that honey is going to work better than vinegar, here." Joanne nodded.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

We went back inside. I quietly told Officer Colquitt to videotape my interview with Denise, then went over and sat down by the distraught receptionist. I said in the most soothing voice I could muster: "Hi Denise, I'm Commander Donald Troy."

"The Iron Crowbar?" Denise asked. "I've heard about you, of course."

"Thank you for that." I said. I noticed the lawyer Bertram edge closer to us, perhaps trying to intimidate her... or me. I continued: "I'm sure it was a shock to you to find Dr. Frost like that, and I'm very sorry for your loss. But time is of the essence to find whoever murdered him, so I need to ask you some questions. And I apologize in advance if you've already been asked some of them."

Denise nodded and I said "So was the door locked when you got here? Was the alarm set?"

Denise said "I got here just before 8:00am, and yes, the front door was locked and the burglar alarm was set; I deactivated it when I came in."

"Okay, good." I said soothingly. "So does Dr. Frost ever get here before you?"

"Rarely, sir." Denise said. "He usually gets here by 8:15, though. He's usually here by the time I bring him his mail and his schedule."

I said "So what happened this morning?"

Denise said "I went about getting ready for the day. Just after 8:30 or so, Peter hadn't come in, so I unlocked the door to his office to put his mail and schedule on his desk. And that's when I... I found him..." She broke down sobbing.

"Okay, thank you." I said. "Tell me something: when you came in this morning, was your desk and this room tidy, or in disarray? And do you remember if Dr. Frost's office was tidy, or had papers strewn about when you went in."

"Don't answer that!" said the lawyer Bertram, coming closer to us. "That's enough questioning her, Troy."

Denise said "My desk was normal. I didn't see anything out of place. I don't remember anything about Peter's office except him... lying there. She began sobbing again.

I asked "Denise, when you got here, were you able to access the files on the servers, to help Dr. Frost prepare for today's appointments?"

"DON'T ANSWER THAT!" yelled Bertram.

"What, you trying to hide something from me?" I fired back at Bertram.

"I... I had no problem accessing the emails or the files." Denise said.

I glanced at Bertram with a look of triumph, and saw the hatred on his face in return. Then I said: "Denise, you cannot have heard of me without having heard of any small reputation I possess. And I can tell you now that there are a few problems with your story. Lying to Police can get you into trouble, so I really need for you tell me the whole truth---"

"Don't say another word!" yelled the lawyer Bertram to Denise.

"SHUT UP, ASSHOLE!" Denise yelled back at him, her voice full of ugly hatred. "I am NOT going to jail to cover for YOUR worthless asses!"

Bertram looked like he was about to advance upon her, and go through me to get to her. I stood up, and Officer Madison had come over, as well. And Claire Michaels and Joanne Warner were maneuvering between Bertram and me. He backed off.

"Tell you what, Denise." I said quietly as I sat back down. "Why don't I tell you what really happened, and you just correct me if I go astray, okay?"

Denise nodded and I began: "You got here like you said. You accessed your laptop, which must have been locked away in your desk since it wasn't stolen. I might've thought it had been stolen, but the way Bertram is holding it as if it's made of solid gold, I think I'm right on that." Denise said nothing to correct me.

I went on: "You did go into Dr. Frost's office, and you found the body... but it was no later than 8:10 to 8:15am. And you did make the phone call to 9-1-1, but it was not your first phone call of the morning. You called Dr. Frost's lawyers here." I could tell by both Denise's and Bertram's reactions that I was correct.

Me: "These attorneys came over, also checked and found that Dr. Frost was dead, and then began arranging a scene for us to find. They cleaned up any papers strewn about the floor of his office, secured your laptop, perhaps checked to make sure certain files were present, or not, and only then had you contact 9-1-1 when they were ready, at just after 8:40am. They went outside and came back in just as our first responding Officers arrived at the scene, to make it look like they had just gotten here themselves. Is that not right?"

"Don't answer! Don't say a word!" Bertram yelled. But Denise just looked at me and nodded.

"Yes, that's true." Denise said. "Peter always said that if something happened to him, to call his attorneys first, even before calling the Police or 9-1-1."

"When did he tell you to do that?" I asked. "Recently?"

"No, it was a couple of years ago, at least." Denise said. "I've been here with him for four years, and he told me that a while back, when he was having some trouble with a client that was suing him---"

"STOP TALKING!" Bertram yelled. "THAT'S PRIVILEGED!"

"Court cases are public records." I fired back. Then I said softly to Denise: "Denise, was Peter having any problems with anyone recently? Were there any threats against him that you know of? Anyone following him, or you? Any incidents around here?"

"Just that damned Locklear case." said Denise. "Peter told me at least four times that I could not talk to anyone at all about it, especially the Press. And these attorneys and Marla Locklear's attorney told me the same thing, over and over and over again."

I nodded, then said: "I'm sorry to have to ask you this, but I must: Peter was more than just a boss to you, wasn't he? Were you in a relationship with him?"

"Yes." Denise said. "We began dating not long after I started working for him. For a while I thought I was in love with him, and he with me. But it cooled off, and we were 'friends with benefits' for months... years. I loved him... I still do... but I knew it would never be more than going to lunch or dinner, and having sex here in the office three times a week and occasionally at his place or mine on the weekends."

"Thank you, Denise." I said. "I'm going to need you to tell Lieutenant Warner your story again, but this time the full and complete truth, okay? You do that, and there will be no problems for you." Denise nodded.

I stood up and said "Okay, let's go back into the office. Mr. Bertram, hand me your car keys."

"You go to hell!" Bertram said, and found himself surrounded by Police Officers and me in his face.

"One more time. Car keys." I said. Bertram made no move to comply, so I grabbed his wrist, turned him around and shoved his chest onto the receptionist's desk. Officer Madison secured the lawyer's car keys from his pants pocket.

I said "Okay, into the office. Bring Bertram." The lawyer came into the office behind me and Claire, prodded by Officer Madison.

When we came into the office, Cindy came up to me and said quietly: "That bald asshole Gaston told Savannah that your Officers beat him up then cuffed him when he tried to stop you from getting into privileged files. She called Judge Folsom at the Courthouse and told him that. Then Teresa jerked the phone out of Savannah's hand and told the Judge that Savannah was lying. The Judge wants you to call him back, and soon."

Once in the office, I had Teresa bring Gale Gaston to stand next to Bertram. "So, gentlemen, where are you parked?" Neither man answered, but Bertram's eyes briefly darted to the front window while Gaston's eyes glanced at the back door. Then Gaston caught himself and winced as he realized he'd given himself away.

"Okay, let's go out back." I said. "I need a videocamera. Mr. Roark, Lieutenant Davis, and Commander Croyle, you're with me. Bring Gaston."

We went out the back door. There was an alleyway along the back side of the buildings, with a precious few parking spaces for employees. Stairs descended from the landing. After everyone else went down the stairs, making sure the handcuffed Gaston didn't fall, I held up his car key fob and pressed the 'Lock' button several times.

An expensive Mercedes, similar to my wife Laura's, was parked by the far side of the next building, to Frost's building's left as one looked from the front. The car's horn beeped loudly in response.

"Wow, why did you park so far away, Gaston?" I asked as we headed to the car. "Trying to keep us from finding it?"

"Fuck you, Troy! And you have to have a warrant to open my car!" Gaston said, his face and the top of his bald head red with fury.

"I think not." I said. "Exigent circumstances. You are already being charged with assaulting a Police Officer and resisting arrest, and we are merely following up on that."

Arriving at the car, I handed Jerome the keys and said "Pop the trunk, and search the whole vehicle." Jerome popped the trunk and I peered inside and saw a blue cloth bag inside. I opened the top and peeked inside, then pulled some of the bag back so the video camera recording everything could see what was inside.

"Why Mr. Gaston!" I cried out with Rudistan-'ish' joviality. "What in the world are Dr. Frost's servers doing in the trunk of your car?"

"They're mine, not his." Gaston tried.

"Good!" I said craftily. "Then there's no doctor-client privilege, and we can take these to Headquarters and see what's on them!"

"All right! They're Frost's!" Gaston conceded. "And as his attorney, I have the right to hold then to keep you from accessing them!"

"That won't fly." Teresa Croyle said. "You've just added removing evidence from a crime scene to your charges, not to mention obstructing justice and interfering with a Police investigation."

"And you have no right to access those files!" Gaston fired back.

"Okay, Commander Croyle." I said. "We need to have these servers taken to Headquarters under two man control. They----"

"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO ACCESS THEM!" Gaston yelled. "DOCTOR-CLIENT PRIVILEGE!"

"That's right, especially regarding Marla Locklear's files." Nadine Hall said. She had followed us outside, I observed and deduced (duh!).

"Commander Croyle, if they'll let me finish a sentence..." I said, then continued: "Transport these servers to Headquarters under two-man control, for safekeeping. I'm going to put them under my seal, and they are not to be accessed until we have the warrants to do so."

"The rest of the car is clean." said Jerome Davis. "I also checked under the hood. Nothing hidden in the engine."

"Good work." I said as I sealed the evidence bag that now contained the servers. "Okay, take Gaston and the servers to Headquarters. Full booking for him..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

We repeated the process with Bertram and his vehicle, which was parked in front but near the building to the right of Frost's office. However, we found nothing.

I called Judge Patrick R. Folsom. He asked me to explain what was going on with Gale Gaston, and I did so, including a full account of his arrest for hiding Dr. Frost's servers in the trunk of his car... which made Gaston a full-fledged murder suspect.

"We'll meet in my Chambers today at 1:00pm." said Judge Folsom. "Until then, you cannot access any files, either digital or on paper, that are covered by doctor-client privilege. Dr. Frost died, but his patients didn't..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"How did you know?" Teresa asked as we drove back to Headquarters in my Police SUV. "How did you know those servers were in Gaston's car?"

I said "It was either his or Bertram's, and since Gaston hid his car behind the next building rather than park up front, I went for him first. I also knew that the servers were in place this morning, since Denise had accessed the emails and some files this morning. Ergo... the servers were removed in the time between Denise finding the body and her calling 9-1-1, not at the time of the murder on Saturday."

"Wow. Amazing." Teresa said. "And more amazing, what you did this morning? Our Detectives are good, but they never would've put their asses on the line like you did."

"But you would have, if you had been in charge." I said, very sure.

"Yeah. Maybe." Teresa said. "So... why steal Peter Frost's computer off his desk, but not Denise's?"

I replied "I was halfway expecting to find his computer with the servers, or in either Gaston's or Bertram's car. But it was a no-show. So my going thesis is that it was taken at the time of the murder, perhaps as a blind to the real motive for the murder, -orrrr- it was hidden somewhere, and the perps will try to get it later."

Teresa said "I've already given instructions for round-the-clock coverage, at least four Officers at the site, for at least the next several days until this gets resolved. If the computer is hidden on site, anyone trying to get it will get busted."

"Good." I said. "And having the crime scene protected is good. But I have a little idea in my head that that is not the direction of the murder itself. I observed something else, which will need exploration, and may be the key to the case."

"What's that?" Teresa asked.

"The contents of the medicine cabinet in Frost's washroom..."

Part 5 - Sanctity and Sanctimony

11:05am, Monday, August 23d. I was sitting in my office, typing up my paperwork on the Peter Frost murder case when the heavily pregnant Intel Lt. Mary Milton waddled into my office. I had her sit down, and gave her a bottled water without asking if she wanted it.

Mary began: "I tried to get warrants to get Peter Frost's financial and tax records, for his business and him personally. Stuff that is definitely not protected by any privilege at all. But Frost's lawyers and Savannah Fineman both objected. I called Miriam Walters and asked why her ADA was actively interfering with a murder investigation, and Miriam said that it was in Savannah's hands."

Mary: "And then I found out that Judge Folsom told Judge Doss to not issue any warrants pertaining to any aspect of the Frost murder, but to send the requests to him. He's having a big 'come to Jesus' meeting at 1:00pm, and will decide a lot of that at that time."