Chapter 20
KARA SAT ON THE windowsill across from a classroom in the medical building of the University of Rochester, which was right across the street from the hospital. It looked like any other college campus, with lounges tucked in hallways, students and staff sitting on sofas having study sessions.
Shane leaned against the wall directly across from her, next to the door. She’d successfully snuck out of his house at five-fifteen and made it back just in time to have breakfast with everyone. However, it seemed that both Theresa and Kevin were under the impression she’d spent the night.
Well, she had, but wasn’t sure how they knew it. And she wasn’t sure how she felt about them knowing. Not so much Theresa, but Kevin. All through breakfast Kevin stared at her, spilling his juice because he wasn’t paying attention to what he was doing while giving her sideways glances. It wasn’t an accusatory glare, but more of a questioning one. She cared for Kevin deeply. If she ever hurt him, she’d never forgive herself. It was bad enough she’d hurt Shane, but hurting his son would be a hundred times worse.
She checked her watch. The door should be opening at any moment. Two of the three students they wanted to talk to were in that classroom.
The wood door flung wide and students filed out like a swarm of bees. Kara held up the photo of the student she was looking for, while Shane went looking for his. Five students walked past before a blonde haired, blue eyed, six-foot-two white male stepped from the classroom. Kara called his name and he looked her way.
“Yes?” he asked.
She flashed her badge. “Special Agent Kara Martin. I need to ask you some questions about the cadavers you put into the hallway.”
“I thought that was all settled.” His pupils dilated as he frowned.
“It was,” she said, noting Shane had found his man. “Not sure if you heard, but one of the missing cadavers was found.”
The man nodded. “I feel really bad about that. I just did what I was asked.”
“By whom?”
“Someone from the hospital. She said it was a tradition. That each year she and some of the other staff played a prank on each other.”
“What kind of prank?”
“I didn’t really ask. She said she’d be keeping an eye on everything, so not to worry.”
“What was her name?”
“I don’t recall,” the boy said. “But I do remember she had a proper ID. I did look at the badge hanging around her neck. And she wore full scrubs.”
“What do you mean full scrubs?” Kara asked.
“Like she was going into surgery. Head cover, booties. She gave us each fifty bucks. If I could go back in time, I would have told her to do it herself. It was pretty stupid.”
“Remember anything else about this woman? What was her build like? Could you estimate her age?”
“I wouldn’t dare estimate her age. But she was thin. Maybe a little shorter than you, but not by much.”
“Did she wear makeup?” Kara asked.
“Not that I recollect.”
Kara pulled out her card. “If you can think of anything else that can help us, please give me a call.”
“I will,” he said. “I truly am sorry.”
She nodded and then watched the medical student walk down the hallway, scuffing his heels.
“Anything?” Shane asked as he approached her. His student was walking in the other direction. “Says a woman paid him and his friends.”
“Same story I got. Didn’t know who she was. Said her hair was covered, she wore scrubs, mask, the whole thing.”
“That’s what mine said, too.” Kara let out a long breath. “The doctor blames the students, the students sort of blame themselves, but say they were paid to do it as a prank.”
“We need to find this female doctor or nurse,” Shane said. “And we could narrow it down by left-handed doctors.”
“Good point,” Kara said. “But I think we need to widen it to other hospital staff.”
“Agreed,” he said. “The woman could have posed as a member of the medical staff. My guy said he didn’t get a good look at her ID tag, only said she had one.”
“Same thing here.”
“Why don’t we head over to the Transplant wing. There isn’t a nurse or doctor over there who doesn’t know me; we might be able to find something useful.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“There is this one nurse,” Shane said. “She’s new to the transplant unit. I think I remember her saying she worked in the ER, which means she’d know about patients being put on life support waiting to donate. Maybe she’s on duty. She seemed like the talkative type.”
“Sounds like you want to flirt with a nurse for information.”
“Why, Kara Martin, are you jealous?”
“Maybe a little,” she said, holding up her forefinger and thumb. “You actually sound excited to go talk to her.”
“Not excited to talk to her,” he said. “But I feel like we’re finally making progress.” He pointed to the exit sign of the medical building. “Across the street and then red elevators to the seventh floor.”
As soon as they stepped through the doors, the wind blew her coat open. She felt Shane’s warm hand on the small of her back. She glanced over at him and arched her brow.
“Seriously? No one’s around.”
“It’s not professional.”
“Neither is making out in a parking lot with each of us having a gun on our hip. And by the way,” he winked, “my mother’s Bunco friends saw us.”
“Wonderful,” she said. “Speaking of being caught, I think—”
“Kevin got up to use the bathroom and saw you heading out the door. I’ll have a talk with him tonight. See how he feels. But you owe him another NHL battle. He’s not going to let you off the hook.”
“I hate it when you do that.” She pushed the button on the metal post, waiting for the light to change so they could cross the street. The sun was bright, which was rare, but it was still biting cold.
“I’m not redirecting the conversation,” he said. “I’m not going to lie to my son about my feelings for you. He has a stake in our relationship, and just because he saw you leave doesn’t mean he won’t want to see you. It just means I need to talk to him and see how knowing you spent the night made him feel.”
“And if that feeling is negative? What then?” The light changed, and they headed across the street with quick steps.
“Then you don’t spend the night again,” Shane said. “But I doubt that’s the case. The way he casually mentioned to me that he saw you leaving so early—”
“What did he say?” Her pulse went wild with concern.
“He was more concerned about whether you would be getting breakfast and if you were coming back.”
“I see.” It was hard to keep from smiling.
“I do need to talk to him and find out how he really feels about me having a girlfriend, having my girlfriend around, a lot, and make sure his needs are being met…as well as mine.” He looked over at her as he opened the door to the hospital. “He and I are a package deal.”
“I know that,” she said. “I’m concerned about what having me spend the night could do to him.” She followed Shane through the lobby and down a long corridor.
“I don’t think it’s done anything negative to him. I heard him say something to Theresa about it and he was giggling. I couldn’t hear everything, but I did hear him say how much he liked you. Then you showed back up and we didn’t have time to discuss it further. I will tonight. Right before the epic hockey battle.”
“Your son is as irresistible as you are.”
Shane pushed the elevator button. “That’s twice you’ve told me I’m irresistible in twenty-four hours. I’m going to remember you said that later tonight.”
As soon as the elevator doors closed, and he and Kara were alone, he grabbed her, shoving her up against the back wall, and meshed his mouth with hers. It wasn’t a pretty kiss. But it was effective.
“What the hell was that about?” she asked, wiping her swollen lips. Her breath was raspy. “Not that I’m complaining.”
He shrugged. “Making sure I’m really irresistible.”
The elevator dinged and jolted to a stop. The doors opened and no sooner did Shane step foot in the hallway than he saw Tina, the new nurse, standing at the other end. She smiled. “What brings you by?”
“I was hoping you could answer a few questions for me,” he said. “This is Special Agent Kara Martin.”
“I’ve seen you on the news.”
“Is there someplace we can sit down?” Kara asked.
“Sure.” Tina pointed to an empty lounge, which looked like it had a coffee machine and some snacks along with a table. “Do you want some coffee?”
“That would be great,” Kara said.
Tina poured three cups, placing them one by one on the table off to the right side of the room.
“How difficult would it be,” Shane started, “for someone to find out which deaths led to organ donation?”
“Well, medical records are private, but most people tell their family, friends, co-workers. We protect the rights of all our patients, but as you know it’s the donor who remains completely anonymous, except in some rare cases.”
“What would those cases be?” Kara asked.
“Mainly kidney transplants from parent to child, sibling to sibling, friend to friend,” Tina said. “But some people want to know, or their families want to know, and then extensive counseling is done. It’s rare that the information is given out.”
“Do you keep donor records at the hospital?” Shane asked.
Tina leaned across the table. “You’re not seeking information on Kevin’s—”
“No,” Shane said. “We’re working on a couple of homicides and trying to find out how someone might obtain information about transplant recipients and donors.”
“Ah, the Butterfly Murders.” Tina leaned back in her chair. “United Network for Organ Sharing keeps all the records, and they’re sealed.”
“Nothing remains in the hospital?” Shane asked.
“We keep records, but donor records are duplicated and then assigned numbers. That’s how we reference them.”
“Do you ever teach or do anything at the medical school?” Kara asked, noting Tina seemed to be left- hand dominant when she stirred her coffee.
Shane gave her a sideways glance.
“No,” Tina said. “Why?”
“Did you hear about some cadavers going missing?” Kara asked. “A few months back.”
“I saw on the news that one was recovered,” Tina said. “What does that have to do with your murder case?”
“We don’t know,” Shane said. “Just checking all angles.” He stood. “Thanks for your time.”
“Glad to help,” she said. “Let me know if you have any other questions.”
* * *
The last thing Shane wanted to do was have Kara spend the night at the hotel, but he needed to talk to his son, alone. Kevin was happy she’d come over for dinner and played video games, and he did seem disappointed she’d left relatively early. Shane took that as a good sign.
He sat in his small makeshift office between the dining room and living room, while Kevin was upstairs finishing his homework. Shane filled out the paperwork for more warrants, specifically the names in the last year of organ recipients and donors in the Rochester area. He also wanted to know who had died on a Thursday in the last year. Not all of them would be donors, but it would help the search. Deaths were public records, so obtaining them would just be time-consuming.
His phone buzzed. A text from Kara.
u r being unreasonable
He laughed and texted back.
told u, not talking to u until I get a pic
He set the phone down and opened Kara’s email about the FBI profile, which listed the perp as being male, between 35 and 50. A professional. Held a good-paying job. A bit of a loner, but mastered social situations. Possibly married. A recent trigger set him off, but the tendencies were always right under the surface. Of course, the profile now needed to be tweaked since they were possibly looking for a woman; female serial killers were an entirely different kind of murderer.
The floorboard at the top of the stairs creaked. Shane closed his laptop and moved to the family room.
“You wanted to talk to me?” Kevin asked, already in his pajamas. He had his mother’s eyes, her smile, and her gentle soul. It was hard not to look at him and see his late wife, and all the things Shane had loved about Janet.
“All your homework done?”
Kevin nodded. “Also took my meds.”
“Have a seat.” Shane sat in the recliner while Kevin plopped himself on the sofa. There were moments that Kevin seemed like a little boy, and other times he carried himself with an air of maturity that even a thirty-three-year-old detective didn’t possess.
“This sounds serious.” Kevin sat crossed-legged, his elbows on his knees, fists holding up his face, scrunching his cheeks. “Am I in trouble?”
“No.” Shane didn’t know where to start. He and his son had many serious conversations over the last two years, and Shane had always tried to be as honest as he could without giving the boy more than he could handle. “What do you think about Kara?”
Kevin bolted upright, dropping his hands to his lap, and smiled. “She’s cool. I like her.”
“So do I.”
“Duh,” Kevin said. “That is soooo obvious it’s almost gross.”
Shane smiled. “I want to have her around a lot more.”
“You mean like stay over again?”
“How did you feel when you saw her this morning? Did it upset you in any way?”
“No,” Kevin said. “You’re a lot less uptight when she’s here, which makes things easier.”
Shane laughed. “I like having her with us, but when this case is over I’m afraid she has to go back to D.C. How does that make you feel?”
Kevin’s smile faded. “I’d miss her.”
“I’ll want her to come visit. Maybe come up for a holiday or two. I’d like us to go visit her on long weekends. Some vacations. Maybe take a vacation together. Would you like that?”
“So, you’d have a girlfriend who lives seven hours away?”
“I like her so much that I’d be willing to try that, but only if you’re willing to try it, too. We’ve never talked about me dating someone. I didn’t expect I would be any time soon, but then Kara showed up.”
Kevin continued to sit up tall, his face somber and serious. He held Shane’s gaze like a man. “I like Kara, too.”
“I promised you I’d be honest,” Shane said as he moved swiftly to the sofa, putting his arm around Kevin. “You and I are a team, and no one will come between us.”
Kevin rested his head on Shane’s shoulder. “I miss Mom.”
“I’ve been thinking a lot about Mom lately,” Shane said. “She’d be so proud of you. You’re a lot like her, you know?”
Kevin nodded. “I like Kara so much I feel bad that when she’s around it makes not having Mom here a little easier.”
Shane could hear the tremble in his son’s voice. “I feel bad sometimes, too. No one can replace your mom. There is nothing we can do to bring her back. But we can honor her by living our lives. Being happy. Because, at the end of the day, all she wanted was for you to be healthy and for us to be happy.”
Kevin looked up, water welling in his eyes. “Kara makes you happy?”
Shane swallowed his breath and it felt like someone had just sucker-punched him. “There isn’t anyone in the world who could ever be more important in my life than you. Not even Kara, but I do feel a bit happier when she’s around.”
“She makes me happy, too.”
“I care very much for Kara. She understands that you come first in my life. Before her. She also cares a great deal about you, and if she didn’t I wouldn’t bring her around. She’s got to be able to put you first, and I believe she can.”
Kevin wiped his eyes. “I like being with Kara. She’s easy to talk to. Fun. And you’re a lot less neurotic when she’s with you.”
“That’s a big word.” Shane chuckled as he ruffled his son’s hair. “I suppose I am.”
“So, she coming back tonight?”
Shane shook his head. “I’ll see if I can get her to stop by for breakfast before work.”
“That would be nice.” Kevin wrapped his arms around Shane’s shoulders. “I love you, Dad.”
“I love you, too. Now let’s both shut off all the lights and go to bed.”
Shane made sure all the doors were locked while Kevin turned out all the lights but the one going up the stairs. Kevin was beyond being tucked in, so Shane said his goodnight and then closed Kevin’s door. He pulled his phone out of his back pocket. Only one text from Kara.
I’ll meet u in ur dreams…
“You’ll see me now.” He closed his bedroom door, and clicked on the TV as he propped himself up on his pillows. He opened Facetime, calling Kara.
He could barely see her face when she answered.
“I hate this.” She was lying on her side, her head resting on a pillow.
“What are you wearing? I can barely see you.”
“Because all the lights are out, and no, I’m not turning any on. I’m tired.”
“Still haven’t told me what you’re wearing.” A light flashed across behind her and he heard noise in the background. Her beautiful face filled his screen.
“If you must know, a T-shirt and your boxers.”
“That’s hot.”
She smiled. “How’d things go with Kevin?”
“He’s a very insightful young man.”
“You’re just figuring this out now?”
“He wants you to come over—”
“For breakfast. I know. He texted me right before you called. I told him only if he turned his phone off and went to bed. He hasn’t texted back.”
There were so many thoughts floating through Shane’s brain. But the one that struck him the hardest was that if Janet were still alive she and Kara would really like each other.
“We’ll make this work,” Shane said.
“One thing at a time,” she said. “Sleep well.”
“Only if you join me in my dreams.”