“Interesting you should ask,” Jack said. “It initially confused me, too, because Kevin Strauss had unequivocally signed it out as an overdose. When I asked Lou, he admitted his concern was based more on a gut feeling than a rational one, worried that the death was a homicide gussied up to look like an overdose. But the idea wasn’t based on much.”
“Like what?” she asked.
“The woman’s apartment was in disarray, as if there had been a struggle of some sort, and one tenant thought there might had been a scream. But that was it. Lou admitted his suspicions probably had more to do with his taking personally the uptick in homicides during the pandemic. Halfway through the autopsy, he pretty much had changed his mind to agree with Kevin’s assessment. Everything pointed toward an overdose. One way or the other, though, we will know tomorrow from John.”
“Did Lou say what he might do between now and then?”
“No, he didn’t,” Jack said. “Not specifically. But he did agree to give me one more day to see what I could find out before calling in the cavalry.”
“You mean your upcoming meeting with the nursing supervisor?”
“Exactly,” he added. “I am going to put pressure on him to talk today. If there is time, I’d like him to come here.”
“All right,” Laurie said. “But I want you to promise not to cause any more aggravation with Schechter. Can I at least count on that?”
“Absolutely! Scout’s honor,” Jack said, giving a reassuring smile and a thumbs-up. “There is one administrator who I’d love to talk with, who was apparently Sue’s nemesis. Well, along with two doctors, including the anesthesiologist I mentioned who I did get to talk with briefly, but I will avoid talking with the administrator. If by speaking with the night-shift nursing supervisor again, I get even the slightest hint of an active serial killer, I’ll let Lou and his team take over. He and his detectives can talk to this administrator, who I’d describe as a person of interest along with the two doctors.”
“You said you spoke to Kevin Strauss about Sue’s case. Did you happen to tell him that you’d been over at the MMH making a site visit?”
“Of course not,” Jack said. “I was careful to avoid it. Interestingly enough, Kevin encouraged me to talk with the night nursing supervisor. Kevin was complimentary about the man, saying he’d worked with him on numerous occasions. I can understand why. Ronnie is clinically astute and personable, just how he was described to me.”
“Do you think I should call Bart Arnold and let him know this is a special situation, in case he or one of his MLIs get wind of your visiting the MMH?”
“I don’t,” he said. “I think it is better to let sleeping dogs lie. I’ve been careful to avoid anyone knowing and will continue to be.”
“All right,” Laurie said with a sigh and a wave of dismissal as her line of sight reverted down to the architectural plans. “Keep me informed.”
“Will do,” Jack said. He got to his feet and started toward the door, feeling he was being summarily dismissed.
“Just a minute!” she called out. “Hold up. I’m sorry I got so mad at you. I’m under a lot of pressure. Your seemingly cavalier disregard for one of the explicit rules set me off, especially if you doing so is going to ruin what progress I made yesterday with the mayor-elect. I understand now that wasn’t the case.”
Jack stopped and turned around. “I appreciate you saying that. I’m sorry I got mad at you for getting mad at me. You did, after all, ask me to take Sue’s case. Of course, neither of us had any idea it was going to be so involved, and I truly had to bend the rules to have gotten where I am.”
“I appreciate the effort you are making but want to make absolutely certain you understand the varied pressures I’m under.”
“I do,” he said. “You are trying to keep this variegated ship afloat in the rough seas of New York City politics, which ain’t easy. There are so many competing demands. But for the life of me I can’t understand why you are willing to do it, knowing how much you liked forensics, how much effort it took to become an ME, and how much satisfaction it gave you. I couldn’t do what you are doing, nor would I want to.”
Laurie came out from behind her massive desk, and she and Jack met in a spontaneous and warm embrace, holding each other tightly for a few beats in recognition of the appreciation, respect, and affection that they shared and which had continued to mushroom over the years despite the strains of their children’s medical issues.
As they separated, yet still holding hands, Laurie said, “I do miss being an ME and the opportunity to speak for the dead as you are continuing to do. Medical forensics is a true calling. But now I see this job as speaking to the living, which in many ways is equally as challenging and rewarding. A lot of people in high places in this city do not understand the tremendous service and value of the OCME, which can more than justify its considerable budget. It’s my role to change that misunderstanding while keeping everyone here happy and motivated and working as a team. As you rightly said, all of this ain’t easy. It’s like juggling a dozen balls all at the same time.”
“Touché,” Jack said. “Very well expressed. Being the chief is still not my cup of tea, but I’ll accept it is yours when you explain it so eloquently. Accordingly, I will proceed with my inquiries with the utmost tact to avoid any possibility of making your job more difficult. It was pure coincidence that I ran into Marsha Schechter, and I will make damn sure it doesn’t happen today.”
“Thank you, sweetie,” Laurie said. “And definitely keep me actively in the loop and Lou, too, particularly if anything whatsoever hints a medical serial killer is involved. Promise?”
“Promise!” he said. “One way or the other, I’ll fill you in as soon as I talk with Ronnie this afternoon, and then we decide how to proceed.”
“Be careful,” she advised.
“I’m always careful,” Jack said with a laugh.
“Yeah, right,” Laurie responded with a disbelieving shake of her head.
Chapter 28
Wednesday, December 8, 2:50 p.m.
Ronnie woke up with a start, worried that he’d overslept. He snatched up his phone, clicked it on, and then sighed with relief when he saw the time. He’d not overslept. Tossing his phone back on his night table, he lay back on the pillow and tried to relax while he bemoaned the state of turmoil his life had become because of one meddlesome doctor. At the same time, he had to congratulate himself for having managed to deal with the situation so far with such admirable dispatch, even though the episode with Cherine Gardener hadn’t been as smooth as he would have preferred. As he thought back to the struggle he’d had with the puny nurse, he couldn’t quite believe how strong and defiant she’d been despite her size.
When he’d gotten home the previous evening, he’d been so worked up knowing the problem wasn’t quite over that he had to go out to calm himself down. He’d driven over to a sports bar and had a few beers and mindlessly watched a replay of the Knicks game, all the while thinking about Jack Stapleton and how big a threat he might turn out to be. Ronnie also congratulated himself for having cleverly learned that the medical examiner had been told of Dr. Passero’s serial killer worry but hadn’t been told why. When Ronnie combined that with his mentioning to the man that the MMH’s mortality ratio had been trending downward, he felt relatively confident the crisis wasn’t super critical, just critical, meaning he was reasonably safe as long as he got rid of the man that afternoon. What was going to help was that Stapleton was expecting Ronnie to call today to set up a meeting. It was Ronnie’s plan to arrange the meeting that afternoon.