Page 8 of Cross That Line

"I'll keep you posted. Like I said, he may have just decided he didn't want to be there."

"The fact that you're thinking it could be something else suggests you have reason to believe otherwise."

"The doctor was concerned. She's not the type to look beyond the medical chart in front of her. She doesn't get involved. She follows rules and protocol. It seemed out of character for her to come and find me, so…"

"How do you know the doctor?"

He wasn't quite sure how to answer that question, because he and Rachel had a history that had started long before Jack disappeared. "I met her years ago in Germany. She treated someone in my unit."

Jason's mobile phone vibrated on his desk. "That’s Alisa. I need to get this."

"No problem. Tell her I said hello."

Jason's professional and usually guarded demeanor evaporated as he said hello to the woman he was living with, Alisa Hunt, who'd come to New York with him from LA as their romance continued to burn bright.

As he headed back to the bullpen, Zane McDougal tossed him a soft football as he leaned back in his desk chair. A former college football quarterback turned Wall Street exec turned FBI agent, Zane looked relaxed and ready to be in weekend mode, wearing dark jeans and a polo shirt.

He tossed the football back. "Why do you look so much better than me when we both got the same amount of sleep last night?"

"I was going to ask you the same question," Zane said. "You want to get lunch later, maybe a few beers?"

"I have something to do after the meeting."

"Something you want to do?" Zane queried, giving him a speculative look.

"Something I have to do." He paused as two men entered the bullpen: Damon Wolfe, with his dark hair and piercing blue eyes, and Diego Rivera, a dark-haired, olive-skinned agent, who had joined Damon at 26 Fed a week ago. Apparently, they'd known each other since their days at Quantico. He'd met Diego when he'd worked for Flynn in LA and had been impressed with his work. "Looks like it's time to debrief." He was ready to get that over with, because his brain was already moving on to a new problem, one he had no idea how he was going to handle.

The meeting with Damon and Diego took longer than expected, and it was after one when Tyler arrived at the East River Veterans Hospital. While he wanted to talk to security, he headed first to Rachel's office suite on the fifth floor. After giving his name to one of the women at reception, he was ushered through an interior door off the waiting room and taken down the hall to her office.

When he stepped inside, Rachel immediately jumped up from behind her desk. She'd pulled her thick dark hair into a bun and wore a short white doctor's coat over her slacks and top. She might not be seeing patients today, but she'd definitely upped her professional look since he'd seen her this morning.

As he approached her desk, he was reminded of the last conversation they'd ever had, which had taken place in her medical office in a hospital in Germany. Hopefully, this one wouldn't go as badly as that one.

"I wasn't sure you were going to make it," she said tightly.

"Sorry I'm late. My meeting ran long. I didn't have your number, or I would have sent you a text. Have you learned anything more since we last spoke?"

"I went over the initial toxicology screen. There was no sign of alcohol or any of the usual drugs we test for, but we've asked for a more thorough workup, because it definitely appeared that Jack was under the influence of something." She paused as a knock came at her door. "Excuse me, Tyler. Come in."

A man stepped into the office, wearing a long white coat. He was a good-looking guy, who appeared to be in his mid-forties with light-brown hair and brown eyes that were both confident and curious as his gaze moved from Rachel to him. "Am I interrupting? You asked me to stop in, but I can come back."

"No," Rachel said quickly. "Dr. Ethan Hollander, this is Tyler Brennan. Tyler served with Jack Barrone."

Ethan nodded, his gaze shifting. "Nice to meet you."

"Dr. Hollander also saw Jack when he came here in February," Rachel added for clarification. "He's a neurologist."

"So, Jack had neurological issues?"

"Yes," Ethan said, leaving it at that. Then he turned to Rachel. "I went through my notes as you requested, but nothing stood out."

"Okay. I wasn't sure if Mr. Barrone might have mentioned anything to you about problems or issues in his personal life that he might not have shared with me." Her gaze darted to him, then back to Ethan. "We can also talk privately later today."

"I'm always happy to meet privately with you," he said with a slick smile. "But I have to say, there's really nothing to discuss, Rachel. My two appointments with Mr. Barrone were short, and nothing personal was discussed. However, he did have a follow-up chat with Naomi Randall, my physician's assistant. She's out today, but she'll be in on Monday."

"I'll follow up with her."

"I hope you find Mr. Barrone, and that he's all right. Keep me posted."