Wanted: Parents for a Baby! by Laura Iding Page B

connection, remember that we weren’t able to find this alleged doctor anywhere,” Trammel said dryly. “If you recall, the address of his so-called doctor’s office turned out to be nothing more than a vacant building at the end of a strip mall outside Madison. And therewas no one listed in the state of Wisconsin by that name.”
    Ryan scowled. “Yeah, I remember. But at least you know this young man’s prescription is fraudulent, too. There has to be some sort of group coordinating getting these scripts into the hands of people who are willing to pay for them.”
    â€œMaybe, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to have an easy time tracking down the source of the fraud,” Trammel argued. “This could be a legit pain doctor who happened to move to a different office building or it could be someone who has stolen this physician’s DEA number.”
    His brief satisfaction evaporated quickly, because Trammel was right. Ryan found himself leaning toward a stolen DEA number, but how on earth would they prove it? “I could help,” he began to offer, but Trammel lifted up his hand to stop him.
    â€œI understand your personal interest in this case, Dr. Murphy, but since I don’t tell you how to take care of sick babies, I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t tell me how to run my investigation.”
    There wasn’t a rational argument againsthis request, so Ryan forced himself to nod before turning away.
    â€œDr. Murphy?” Trammel called.
    He turned to face the detective. “Yes?”
    â€œI will let you know the outcome of our investigation,” Trammel assured him, “once we have proof.”
    â€œThanks,” he murmured. Ryan knew he’d never be able to find closure related to Victoria’s and his unborn son’s deaths until he could help bring the perpetrators to justice.
    But right now the best way to do that was to allow the detective to do his job. After all, he himself wasn’t a cop. Ryan understood that Trammel had resources he didn’t.
    Ryan carefully made his way back around to the other side of the room to where Gloria was watching the resuscitative efforts being performed on her brother. The fact that she was here at all was unusual, but obviously being a nurse in the ER worked in her favor.
    â€œIs there someone I can call for you?” he asked, his tone full of sympathy.
    She slowly shook her head. “No, my parents are outside in the waiting room, but I can’t talk to them yet. Not until I know more. Not until I know if Trey’s going to be all right.”
    â€œWhat happened?”
    Gloria sniffed and swiped at her tears. “He plays sports, football and baseball. I knew he hurt his shoulder late in the football season and was seeing one of the orthopedic surgeons, but he never had surgery, so I thought he was fine. But then one of his friends mentioned how he reinjured that same shoulder playing baseball last weekend. I think he must have been taking pain meds all along without any of us knowing.”
    Ryan’s gut twisted. Trey’s story was all too familiar. “Which surgeon?”
    â€œDr. Francowitz,” she said.
    Not the same orthopedic surgeon Victoria had used, which wasn’t surprising, since orthopedic surgeons who worked on shoulders didn’t normally also do Achilles tendons. He glanced back at the young man in the trauma bay, silently willing him to make it.
    He couldn’t bear the thought of losing another young life to an overdose of narcotic pain medication.
    * * *
    Cassie found a nurse to cover her two patients so she could dash briefly down to the ER to see Trey. When she arrived in the trauma bay it appeared the staff were finishing their resuscitation efforts. The rhythmic beat ofTrey’s heart on the monitor over his bed was reassuring. She swept her gaze over the room, finding Gloria standing well out of the way, with Ryan at her