also called physicians’ assistants or PAs. Janice ran the graveyard
shift and took her job very seriously. She always stayed late.
‘Will you be seeing Bart Arnold before you leave?’ Laurie asked Janice.
Bart Arnold was the chief of the PAs.
‘I usually do,’ Janice said. She was a tiny, dark-haired woman with
prominent circles under her eyes.
‘Do me a favor,’ Laurie said. ‘Ask him to call CNN and get a copy of the
video of Carlo Franconi’s assassination. I’d like to have it as soon as
possible.’
‘Will do,’ Janice said cheerfully.
Laurie and Lou continued on their way.
‘Hey, slow down, you two,’ Jack said. He had to run a couple of steps to
catch up to them.
‘We’ve got work to do,’ Laurie said without breaking stride.
‘I’ve never seen you so eager to do an autopsy,’ Jack said. He and Lou
flanked her as she hurried to the autopsy room. ‘What’s the attraction?’
‘A lot of things,’ Laurie said. She reached the elevator and pressed the
button.
‘Give me an example,’ Jack said. ‘I don’t mean to rain on your parade,
but this is a politically sensitive case. No matter what you do or say,
you’ll be irritating someone. I think Calvin was right. This one ought
to be done by the chief.’
‘You’re entitled to your opinion,’ Laurie said. She hit the button
again. The back elevator was inordinately slow. ‘But I feel differently.
With the work I’ve been doing on the forensics of gunshot wounds, I’m
fascinated to have a case where there is a video of the event to
corroborate my reconstruction of what happened. I was planning on
writing a paper on gunshot wounds, and this could be the crowning case.’
‘Oh, dear,’ Jack moaned, raising his eyes heavenward. ‘And her
motivations were so noble.’ Then looking back at Laurie he said: ‘I
think you should reconsider! My intuition tells me you’re only going to
get yourself into a bureaucratic headache. And there’s still time to
avoid it. All you have to do is turn around and go back and tell Calvin
you’ve changed your mind. I’m warning you, you’re taking a risk.’
Laurie laughed. ‘You are the last person to advise me about risk.’ She
reached out and touched Jack on the end of his nose with her index
finger. ‘Everyone who knows you, me included, pleaded with you not to
get that new bike. You’re risking your life, not a headache.’
The elevator arrived, and Laurie and Lou boarded. Jack hesitated but
then squeezed through the doors just before they closed.
‘You are not going to talk me out of this,’ Laurie said. ‘So save your
breath.’
‘Okay,’ Jack said, raising his hands in mock surrender. ‘I promise: no
more advice. Now, I’m just interested in watching this story unfold.
It’s a paper day for me today, so if you don’t mind, I’ll watch.’
‘You can do more than that if you want,’ Laurie said. ‘You can help.’
‘I’m sensitive about horning in on Lou.’ His double entendre was
intended.
Lou laughed, Laurie blushed, but the comment went unacknowledged.
‘You implied there were other reasons for your interest in this case,’
Jack said. ‘If you don’t mind my asking, what are they?’
Laurie cast a quick glance at Lou that Jack saw but couldn’t interpret.
‘Hmmm,’ Jack said. ‘I’m getting the feeling there’s something going on
here that isn’t any of my business.’
‘Nothing like that,’ Lou volunteered. ‘It’s just an unusual connection.
The victim, Carlo Franconi, had taken the place of a midlevel crime
hoodlum named Pauli Cerino. Cerino’s position had become vacant after
Cerino was thrown in the slammer, mostly due to Laurie’s persistence and
hard work.’
‘And yours, too,’ Laurie added as the elevator jerked to a stop and the
doors opened.
‘Yeah, but mostly yours,’ Lou said.
The three got off on the basement level and headed in the direction of
the mortuary office.
‘Did the Cerino case involve that series of overdoses you’ve made
reference to?’ Jack asked Laurie.
‘I’m afraid so,’ Laurie said. ‘It was awful. The experience terrified
me, and the problem is some of the characters are still around,
including Cerino although he’s in jail.’