“So Trombley is going to try for self-defense?”
“Or manslaughter at the worst. He’s slick. He thinks he can cut a deal.” She smiled faintly. “Right now, he doesn’t know that we have evidence George was collapsed backward, holding his head with both hands after the blow to the temple. That makes a claim of self-defense a little bit thin.”
She linked her arm through her husband’s and sighed. “It’s not going to be any fun,” she said. “Not for you.”
Francis shrugged. “Padrino and I talked about that. Louis is cooperating?”
“Sure. Frieberg swears that Herrera had nothing to do with the scheme itself. They offered him the drugs, and he took them. And that’s that. The district attorney is leaning toward fraud charges at the most. If Louis handed out a fake prescription and collected less than a hundred bucks, it’s a petty misdemeanor.”
“Not so petty,” Francis muttered. He held the front door for her.
“That’s before the state pharmacy board is done with him,” she said. “On top of that, I’d expect civil actions taken by the patients who think their health was jeopardized.” She turned as he closed the front door, keeping her voice down. “And that’s what is going to be hard on you guys. On you and Alan.”
“We’ll weather it,” Francis said. “We’ll pull in every patient involved and make sure they’re all right-and do whatever it takes to make it so.” He reached out and pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. “One step at a time. Right now, you look like you could use about thirty hours’ uninterrupted sleep.”
Estelle closed her eyes. “I told Louis that I didn’t want to see him on the clinic property ever again,” she said. “I shouldn’t have said that. That’s not my call to make.”
“But you’re right,” Francis said. He took her by both shoulders, his gaze searching. “You did the right thing, querida. If he was willing to give patients fake meds, then we don’t know how far he’d go, given the temptation. Don’t lose any sleep over it. You did the right thing. As far as Alan and I are concerned, Louis Herrera is history. I’ll do everything in my power to see that he doesn’t practice pharmacy again. Ever. Anywhere.” He turned her away from the doorway. “Right now, you need some rest, querida. ”
“Sleep,” she repeated. “What a concept.”
“At least until Los Dos wake up in an hour,” Francis laughed.