the end of the line was pleasant despite the gruesome words.
“This is Detective Halliday. Is Dr. Flynn there?”
“He’s currently in the autopsy room.”
“Get him on the line, please. This is an emergency.”
“Right away, Detective.”
Rob swallowed. Amos hated being interrupted, but he needed answers yesterday.
“Halliday, this had better be good.” Amos’s voice echoed through the phone, proof he was using the speakers.
“I need you to check all of the victims for scopolamine.”
“Scopolamine?” Amos’s voice rose in surprise. “You suspect they were drugged? That’s not necessarily a safe drug for a pregnant woman, but it would certainly explain why none of the victims put up a fight. Our usual drug test wouldn’t discover that particular poison, but it does leave a metabolite trace in the body. If it was administered to them, I’ll find it.”
“Faye was attacked in her apartment, and I think the doctors will find that drug in her system, too,” Rob said, unable to keep the guilt out of his voice.
“You think the Harvester attacked Faye?”
“I do, and her apartment was searched, just like Lucy Green’s.”
“Wait a minute. Are you saying the Harvester killed Lucy Green? That’s a completely different MO. How the hell does the murder of an old woman fit his methodology? Her throat was slashed, and I can assure you she hasn’t given birth lately.”
“I don’t know how the cases go together, Amos; I’m following my gut here. If the drug’s present in the corpses and in Faye, I’ll have my first concrete link.”
“Well, I may have some good news for you,” the medical examiner said gruffly. “The Harvester’s made a mistake. The latest victim’s body has arrived from Beverly. Mira did a good job. They’ve identified the girl as Meredith Howard, Virginia Congressman Howard’s niece, the missing coed from MIT. The congressman’s a powerful man. He wants the killer, and his brother wants his grandchild. Anything to do with your case is now urgent, so that DNA test we discussed last night has been moved to the top of the pile. This place will be crawling with FBI agents within a few hours. They need to find those babies.”
“They’ve had a team looking for the children from the beginning, and I’m sure with a senator breathing down their necks, they’ll redouble their efforts. Keep me posted. I’ll be at Mount Auburn. Right now, Faye is the only living witness we have. I’m not letting her out of my sight.”
• • •
The trauma unit was full of people rushing from room to room. Rob saw the paramedic standing by the nursing station.
“Where is she?” he asked, no longer able to control his patience. His hand hurt like hell, and his nerves were shot.
“Room four,” he answered. “The doctor’s in there.”
Rob crossed the ER and ignored the nurse who tried to stop him from entering the examination room.
“Who’s in charge?” he barked.
“I am, and who the hell are you?” The small Asian woman in the lab coat was in her late forties. A stethoscope hung around her neck. Her black hair with strands of gray in it was pulled into a knot at the base of her neck. “And unwrap her,” she said to the nurse beside her. “I can’t see anything with her in a cocoon like that.” The nurse nodded and pushed Faye out and down the hall to the examination room.
The woman turned to Rob. “I asked you who you were.”
“Detective Sergeant Rob Halliday, ma’am.” He flashed his badge, trying to pull rank.
She sneered and crossed her arms in front of her. The petite woman seemed to grow taller with every word she spoke.
“I’m not a ma’am, I’m a doctor. We have our own police department in Cambridge as well as campus police for Harvard and MIT. You have no jurisdiction here. What’s a Boston police detective doing in Cambridge?” She stared at him, daring him to lie.
He felt like a kid who’d been caught cheating and had been dragged into the
“This is Detective Halliday. Is Dr. Flynn there?”
“He’s currently in the autopsy room.”
“Get him on the line, please. This is an emergency.”
“Right away, Detective.”
Rob swallowed. Amos hated being interrupted, but he needed answers yesterday.
“Halliday, this had better be good.” Amos’s voice echoed through the phone, proof he was using the speakers.
“I need you to check all of the victims for scopolamine.”
“Scopolamine?” Amos’s voice rose in surprise. “You suspect they were drugged? That’s not necessarily a safe drug for a pregnant woman, but it would certainly explain why none of the victims put up a fight. Our usual drug test wouldn’t discover that particular poison, but it does leave a metabolite trace in the body. If it was administered to them, I’ll find it.”
“Faye was attacked in her apartment, and I think the doctors will find that drug in her system, too,” Rob said, unable to keep the guilt out of his voice.
“You think the Harvester attacked Faye?”
“I do, and her apartment was searched, just like Lucy Green’s.”
“Wait a minute. Are you saying the Harvester killed Lucy Green? That’s a completely different MO. How the hell does the murder of an old woman fit his methodology? Her throat was slashed, and I can assure you she hasn’t given birth lately.”
“I don’t know how the cases go together, Amos; I’m following my gut here. If the drug’s present in the corpses and in Faye, I’ll have my first concrete link.”
“Well, I may have some good news for you,” the medical examiner said gruffly. “The Harvester’s made a mistake. The latest victim’s body has arrived from Beverly. Mira did a good job. They’ve identified the girl as Meredith Howard, Virginia Congressman Howard’s niece, the missing coed from MIT. The congressman’s a powerful man. He wants the killer, and his brother wants his grandchild. Anything to do with your case is now urgent, so that DNA test we discussed last night has been moved to the top of the pile. This place will be crawling with FBI agents within a few hours. They need to find those babies.”
“They’ve had a team looking for the children from the beginning, and I’m sure with a senator breathing down their necks, they’ll redouble their efforts. Keep me posted. I’ll be at Mount Auburn. Right now, Faye is the only living witness we have. I’m not letting her out of my sight.”
• • •
The trauma unit was full of people rushing from room to room. Rob saw the paramedic standing by the nursing station.
“Where is she?” he asked, no longer able to control his patience. His hand hurt like hell, and his nerves were shot.
“Room four,” he answered. “The doctor’s in there.”
Rob crossed the ER and ignored the nurse who tried to stop him from entering the examination room.
“Who’s in charge?” he barked.
“I am, and who the hell are you?” The small Asian woman in the lab coat was in her late forties. A stethoscope hung around her neck. Her black hair with strands of gray in it was pulled into a knot at the base of her neck. “And unwrap her,” she said to the nurse beside her. “I can’t see anything with her in a cocoon like that.” The nurse nodded and pushed Faye out and down the hall to the examination room.
The woman turned to Rob. “I asked you who you were.”
“Detective Sergeant Rob Halliday, ma’am.” He flashed his badge, trying to pull rank.
She sneered and crossed her arms in front of her. The petite woman seemed to grow taller with every word she spoke.
“I’m not a ma’am, I’m a doctor. We have our own police department in Cambridge as well as campus police for Harvard and MIT. You have no jurisdiction here. What’s a Boston police detective doing in Cambridge?” She stared at him, daring him to lie.
He felt like a kid who’d been caught cheating and had been dragged into the
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