hospital equipment,” he said. “Had I been aware of the crime wave, I would not have been so quick to choose the room where the new spirometry equipment is being housed. I’m rather mortified to admit that I was in there for a late-night dalliance with a member of the nursing staff, whose name I shall not reveal unless I am remanded to do so by the courts.”
“I assure you that won’t happen,” Howard said, speaking on behalf of the entire criminal justice system. “Just tell the detectives what you can.”
“It was shortly after midnight. They opened the door, and I must say, they were as surprised to see the two of us as we were to see the four of them. They were all wearing scrubs, so I assumed they were staff, but then one of them pulled out a gun.”
“Did you see their faces?” Kylie asked.
“Yes, and my first thought was,
Now that I can identify them, they’re going to kill me.
But upon closer inspection, I could see that they were wearing masks. Not your typical Halloween fare, but skintight Hollywood-quality silicone. Ingenious disguise, actually.”
“And then what?” I asked.
“The one with the gun spoke. He was very calm, very polite—had a bit of a Texas accent, a little like Tommy Lee Jones. He assured us that we wouldn’t be hurt if we complied. Then two of them bound our hands and feet and covered our mouths with duct tape while the other two put the equipment on a gurney and covered it with a sheet. They were in and out in less than two minutes, but it was six in the morning before my companion and I were found.”
Lucky for us, someone found him. If he had managed to get out on his own, we wouldn’t have had a witness. We thanked him, and he left in a hurry.
“Even though they wore masks,” I said to Howard, “we’d like to check the security footage to see what vehicles they used.”
“There is no security footage,” he said. “They wiped the hard drive.”
“These guys are ninjas,” Kylie said. “Do you know if the hospital backs up their video to the cloud?”
“I’m afraid they don’t. From what I understand, an upgrade is scheduled for next fiscal year, but I’m not on the board here. I only stepped in because the mayor and I are personal friends of the doctor and his wife.”
“Do you want to tell us Dr. Richard’s real name?” Kylie asked.
Howard smiled. “No. Like they used to say on
Dragnet
, the names have been changed to protect the innocent.”
“Is there any chance we could get to interview his
companion
, this member of the nursing staff?” Kylie said.
“I certainly can’t help you there, Detective,” Howard said. “
I
don’t even know her name.”
“Based on the doc’s choice of words and his avoidance of pronouns,” Kylie said, “I don’t even know if it’s a
her.
”
CHAPTER 28
“SO WHO DO you think wound up with the necklace?” Kylie said as soon as she started the car. “Teddy or our phantom buyer?”
It was a simple enough question, but something about the offhand way she asked it set me off.
“Wait a minute,” I said. “Are we back on our primary case now? Because my head is still jammed up with this drop-everything hospital mission you decided was so critical, and I’m having trouble keeping up every time you change gears. It would really help me if you handed out a schedule first thing in the morning to let me know how you plan to orchestrate my day.”
She turned off the engine and swiveled her body around to square off with mine. “You got a problem with me, Zach?”
I hardly ever get in Kylie’s face, and with her husband running wild, this was definitely not the best time to vent. But it was too late. I lost it.
“Yeah. You’re not my boss. You’re my partner. I understand you can’t always say no to city hall, but next time, check in with me before you say ‘I’ll be right there’ and then drag me along like I’m your pack mule.”
“I did try to call you,
partner
, but you were too
“I assure you that won’t happen,” Howard said, speaking on behalf of the entire criminal justice system. “Just tell the detectives what you can.”
“It was shortly after midnight. They opened the door, and I must say, they were as surprised to see the two of us as we were to see the four of them. They were all wearing scrubs, so I assumed they were staff, but then one of them pulled out a gun.”
“Did you see their faces?” Kylie asked.
“Yes, and my first thought was,
Now that I can identify them, they’re going to kill me.
But upon closer inspection, I could see that they were wearing masks. Not your typical Halloween fare, but skintight Hollywood-quality silicone. Ingenious disguise, actually.”
“And then what?” I asked.
“The one with the gun spoke. He was very calm, very polite—had a bit of a Texas accent, a little like Tommy Lee Jones. He assured us that we wouldn’t be hurt if we complied. Then two of them bound our hands and feet and covered our mouths with duct tape while the other two put the equipment on a gurney and covered it with a sheet. They were in and out in less than two minutes, but it was six in the morning before my companion and I were found.”
Lucky for us, someone found him. If he had managed to get out on his own, we wouldn’t have had a witness. We thanked him, and he left in a hurry.
“Even though they wore masks,” I said to Howard, “we’d like to check the security footage to see what vehicles they used.”
“There is no security footage,” he said. “They wiped the hard drive.”
“These guys are ninjas,” Kylie said. “Do you know if the hospital backs up their video to the cloud?”
“I’m afraid they don’t. From what I understand, an upgrade is scheduled for next fiscal year, but I’m not on the board here. I only stepped in because the mayor and I are personal friends of the doctor and his wife.”
“Do you want to tell us Dr. Richard’s real name?” Kylie asked.
Howard smiled. “No. Like they used to say on
Dragnet
, the names have been changed to protect the innocent.”
“Is there any chance we could get to interview his
companion
, this member of the nursing staff?” Kylie said.
“I certainly can’t help you there, Detective,” Howard said. “
I
don’t even know her name.”
“Based on the doc’s choice of words and his avoidance of pronouns,” Kylie said, “I don’t even know if it’s a
her.
”
CHAPTER 28
“SO WHO DO you think wound up with the necklace?” Kylie said as soon as she started the car. “Teddy or our phantom buyer?”
It was a simple enough question, but something about the offhand way she asked it set me off.
“Wait a minute,” I said. “Are we back on our primary case now? Because my head is still jammed up with this drop-everything hospital mission you decided was so critical, and I’m having trouble keeping up every time you change gears. It would really help me if you handed out a schedule first thing in the morning to let me know how you plan to orchestrate my day.”
She turned off the engine and swiveled her body around to square off with mine. “You got a problem with me, Zach?”
I hardly ever get in Kylie’s face, and with her husband running wild, this was definitely not the best time to vent. But it was too late. I lost it.
“Yeah. You’re not my boss. You’re my partner. I understand you can’t always say no to city hall, but next time, check in with me before you say ‘I’ll be right there’ and then drag me along like I’m your pack mule.”
“I did try to call you,
partner
, but you were too
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