boom. We think it’s a front. You haven’t seen him in a long time?”
“He was my patient when he was a teenager.”
“He’s twenty-seven, now,” she said. “So, ten years?”
“Give or take.”
“No contact since then? Even on the phone?”
I said, “I have no ongoing relationship with him or anyone else in the gang.”
“Well, looks like
Effo
thinks you have a relationship. If he didn’t, Doctor, you wouldn’t be part of this conversation. Because Effo’s not shy about homicide. Like I said, he’s suspected in five and I’m sure there’s a whole bunch of stuff we don’t know about.”
“In those five was he the triggerman or a contractor?”
“Does it matter, Doctor? The point is when he decides people are going to die, they tend to do just that. We’ve been trying to nail him for a long time. He’s integral to the organization and taking him down will be a big deal. Unfortunately, because of
your
situation we have to treat him like he’s a good person and that means backing off. Until we resolve
your
situation.”
“Sorry,” I said. “Next time I’ll try to be saved by Batman or the Green Lantern.”
She blinked.
Milo hid a smile behind a hand.
I said, “How
are
we going to resolve my situation?”
Rivera said, “By wiping the slate clean of Dr. Sykes.”
“What do you want me to do?”
Milo said, “You do nothing, Alex. We’re here to protect and serve.”
Rivera said, “This—us notifying you—is part of the protecting. Butyou don’t talk to anyone about this, okay? Specifically, you
don’t
contact Efren Casagrande.”
I smiled. “Not even to maintain clinical support?”
Milo said, “His ego’s doing just fine. Charming little weasel that he is.”
Rivera said, “Doctor, you need to take this seriously: Everything stays buttoned up until Sykes is taken care of. Speaking of which, you need to educate us: Is she crazy, or what?”
I summed up my impressions.
“I’m hearing cold bitch rather than outright loony-tuney,” said Rivera.
I had a grab bag of diagnostic labels to dip into. Said, “Fair enough.”
“She one of those compulsives, Doctor? One try fails, she doesn’t give up?”
I said, “When did she solicit Guzman?”
Milo said, “Four days ago.”
“Six days after she showed up here.”
He nodded.
Rivera was puzzled by the exchange.
Milo said, “Woman takes her time, Millie. Premeditation, not impulse.”
She said, “Smart criminals. Hate ’em.”
I said, “She’s about organization and planning, so sure, she could persevere. What’s the plan?”
Milo said, “Far as Sykes knows—far as Ramon Guzman’s telling her—the hit’s on and ready to go. We’re gonna work with that.”
“Guzman’s cooperating.”
Rivera said, “Guzman, there’s another winner. Sociopath like Effo but minus fifty IQ points. Yes, Doctor, he’s
cooperating
but only because he has no choice. We can bust him for conspiracy anytime we choose but we’re holding off because his arrest could tip off Sykes andleave her untouchable—the word of a lowlife against a rich doctor. Instead, we had Effo bring Guzman to a meeting and then we popped in. At which time Effo informed Guzman he needed to play nice.”
She ground her teeth. The fist on her thigh gathered fabric and maybe some skin. “Not that we routinely take the word of people like your prize patient. But we needed Guzman totally submissive and Effo had him over-the-top terrified. Genuine fear, Ramon’s too stupid to put on a convincing performance. But stupid can cause problems so everything needs to be kept strictly under wraps.”
I said, “After Sykes threatened me, I warned Judge Maestro.”
Rivera frowned. “You did that because …”
“She wrote the order dismissing Connie Sykes’s suit. I figured she might be in jeopardy.”
“You informed her, but not the police.”
“It didn’t seem to reach the level of—”
“It reached a level where you warned a judge.”
“I
“He was my patient when he was a teenager.”
“He’s twenty-seven, now,” she said. “So, ten years?”
“Give or take.”
“No contact since then? Even on the phone?”
I said, “I have no ongoing relationship with him or anyone else in the gang.”
“Well, looks like
Effo
thinks you have a relationship. If he didn’t, Doctor, you wouldn’t be part of this conversation. Because Effo’s not shy about homicide. Like I said, he’s suspected in five and I’m sure there’s a whole bunch of stuff we don’t know about.”
“In those five was he the triggerman or a contractor?”
“Does it matter, Doctor? The point is when he decides people are going to die, they tend to do just that. We’ve been trying to nail him for a long time. He’s integral to the organization and taking him down will be a big deal. Unfortunately, because of
your
situation we have to treat him like he’s a good person and that means backing off. Until we resolve
your
situation.”
“Sorry,” I said. “Next time I’ll try to be saved by Batman or the Green Lantern.”
She blinked.
Milo hid a smile behind a hand.
I said, “How
are
we going to resolve my situation?”
Rivera said, “By wiping the slate clean of Dr. Sykes.”
“What do you want me to do?”
Milo said, “You do nothing, Alex. We’re here to protect and serve.”
Rivera said, “This—us notifying you—is part of the protecting. Butyou don’t talk to anyone about this, okay? Specifically, you
don’t
contact Efren Casagrande.”
I smiled. “Not even to maintain clinical support?”
Milo said, “His ego’s doing just fine. Charming little weasel that he is.”
Rivera said, “Doctor, you need to take this seriously: Everything stays buttoned up until Sykes is taken care of. Speaking of which, you need to educate us: Is she crazy, or what?”
I summed up my impressions.
“I’m hearing cold bitch rather than outright loony-tuney,” said Rivera.
I had a grab bag of diagnostic labels to dip into. Said, “Fair enough.”
“She one of those compulsives, Doctor? One try fails, she doesn’t give up?”
I said, “When did she solicit Guzman?”
Milo said, “Four days ago.”
“Six days after she showed up here.”
He nodded.
Rivera was puzzled by the exchange.
Milo said, “Woman takes her time, Millie. Premeditation, not impulse.”
She said, “Smart criminals. Hate ’em.”
I said, “She’s about organization and planning, so sure, she could persevere. What’s the plan?”
Milo said, “Far as Sykes knows—far as Ramon Guzman’s telling her—the hit’s on and ready to go. We’re gonna work with that.”
“Guzman’s cooperating.”
Rivera said, “Guzman, there’s another winner. Sociopath like Effo but minus fifty IQ points. Yes, Doctor, he’s
cooperating
but only because he has no choice. We can bust him for conspiracy anytime we choose but we’re holding off because his arrest could tip off Sykes andleave her untouchable—the word of a lowlife against a rich doctor. Instead, we had Effo bring Guzman to a meeting and then we popped in. At which time Effo informed Guzman he needed to play nice.”
She ground her teeth. The fist on her thigh gathered fabric and maybe some skin. “Not that we routinely take the word of people like your prize patient. But we needed Guzman totally submissive and Effo had him over-the-top terrified. Genuine fear, Ramon’s too stupid to put on a convincing performance. But stupid can cause problems so everything needs to be kept strictly under wraps.”
I said, “After Sykes threatened me, I warned Judge Maestro.”
Rivera frowned. “You did that because …”
“She wrote the order dismissing Connie Sykes’s suit. I figured she might be in jeopardy.”
“You informed her, but not the police.”
“It didn’t seem to reach the level of—”
“It reached a level where you warned a judge.”
“I
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