Chapter 1

he was a dark and stormy knight. at least, that's how gavin cardigan liked to think of himself: taller than most, with thick black hair and deep-set grey eyes that, in his opinion, deserved immediate respect and complicity from those he interviewed. unfortunately, dr. millie sheffler was apparently farsighted and didn't know she was in the presence of such an imposing private investigator.

"dr. sheffler, can you tell me why your patient, james livermore, scheduled an appointment with you last week?"

she waved him away, clearly annoyed. "that is between the patient and his doctor, mr. cardigan. surely, you must know that."

"yes, but this particular patient has been missing for 6 days--in fact, he missed his appointment with you, so technically he wasn't even your patient yet. i'm only asking you what his symptoms were, not for a diagnosis." he affected a look of genuine concern. "it might help us locate him. he may need medical attention."

he may as well have appealed to water not to be wet. "i don't see it that way, mr. cardigan. when he made that appointment, he chose me as his doctor. he made a commitment to me, and i intend to honor it. now, please get on with your work and let me get on with mine."

she led him out to the front door, not giving him a chance to speak to her receptionist. he held out a couple of his cards to her. "if you think of anything that could help, please let me know." as he walked out into the slanting rain, cardigan's mood soured even more. two days into searching for the missing chef, and he didn't know one thing more about him than before he started. who the hell was this livermore guy, and why had he disappeared?