“What makes you think he’d be practicing in this state?”
“Because he couldn’t go to any other state without accounting for the time he’d spent in this state. That would make for inquiries. He probably got a court order changing his name, sent a certified copy to the state medical board, and had his licence issued in a new name as a matter of routine. That would be dead simple.”
Bertha Cool looked at me, her frosty grey eyes twinkling approvingly. “Donald,” she said, “you’re a brainy little runt. It’s a good hunch.” After a minute, she went on: “Of course, our instructions were to concentrate on Mrs. Lintig.”
I said, “After we find Mrs. Lintig, no one will ever know how we found her. I need fifty bucks for expenses.”
She said, “You sure do go through money. Here. Try to make this last. You think he knows where she is?”
“Dr. Lintig,” I said, “gave her everything. He probably gave her a secret property settlement.” I counted the money and pocketed it.
“Well, what if he did?”
“If he was going to give her everything, he could have stayed right on in Oakview where he had a practice built up. A court couldn’t have stripped him any cleaner than he stripped himself. He wanted to go away. If there was a secret property settlement, he probably knows where she is now.”
Bertha Cool narrowed her eyes. “There’s something to that,” she admitted.
“Do you have Smith’s telephone number?”