Bone of Contention: A Medical Thriller With Heart (The Gina Mazzio Series Book 4)

by Bette Golden Lamb

  She squeezed out a fresh, smaller glob of jelly for the exam, turned to Frannie Garrity, and said, “Are you all right now?”

  “I’ll feel a lot better when this is over and I’m out of here.”

  Chapter 42

  Frannie Garrity cried throughout the examination; she wouldn’t let go of Gina’s hand the whole time. When it was over, it took Gina a long time to quiet her down. Then, after scheduling her appointments, and assuring her that she would be with her during the procedures, Gina saw her out. She rushed off to the workroom to use the department microscope. She was so excited, so certain she would find something suspicious to that she had trouble getting the door shut

  She took Thelma’s KY jelly from her pocket, used an applicator to smear a thin layer onto a slide, and topped it with a cover glass. Placing it under the scope, she used different magnifications to see if the pathogens she suspected were actually in the specimen.

  But all she saw was a whole lot of artifact, a few stray bacteria, and some strands of yeast.

  She was disappointed, but it didn’t really surprise her. She’d known the only definitive way to see if there was any strep present would be to plate it out. She’d had to try, though.

  “What are you doing?” Thelma’s voice cut through Gina’s thoughts as she strained to look at the slide one more time.

  The medical assistant was standing in the doorway, hands on hips, looking like a gorilla ready to pounce.

  “Frankly, it’s none of your business, Thelma.”

  “Is that KY Jelly you took from the tray I set up?”

  “And what if it is?”

  The woman was fuming. “You embarrassed me.”

  “You embarrassed yourself upsetting a patient so much that she was forced to order you out of the room.”

  “This isn’t over,” Thelma said, her whole body trembling.

  “Damn straight,” Gina said to her retreating back.

  Gina removed the slide and threw it into the waste basket. She took a fresh culture tube and grabbed a sample from the remaining batch of KY Jelly and entered her own patient number and name before shipping it off to the lab.. One way or another she intended to find out if there were any pathogens present.

  Thelma was very smart or very dumb, but either way, Gina was going to get the information. She didn't want to think about what might happen if the KY did carry deadly microbes and she could tie them to Thelma. And what if that was Thelma's husband who had attacked her? And what if Thelma told she told him I was suspicious of her?

  Well, she'd have to deal with all that one step at a time.

  * * *

  “What’s this all about, Gina?” Taneka said, an eyebrow climbing skywards. “Are you accusing Thelma of something unethical?”

  “I think she’s contaminating the KY Jelly ... deliberately.”

  “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.” Taneka was really angry. “Supposing, I mean, just supposing she would do a thing like that. Why? For what possible reason?”

  “It might have something to do with her being against abortion.”

  “Oh, for Gods sake, do you hear yourself? She’s been working here for three years. Why would she even hire on to Women’s Health if she was against abortion? Besides, I think I would have picked up on something like that a long time ago.”

  “Maybe, maybe not.”

  “Thelma has been one of our best workers ... and that includes the RNs who float through here and then disappear like a bad memory.” Taneka tapped her pen with every word. “She’s here reliably, and she works hard.”

  “I’m just saying ... she might not be the person you think she is. We’ve had two post-abortion deaths in a very short period of time. We should be looking at everything, don’t you think?

  “Coincidences do happen.”

  “Do you really believe that, Taneka?”

  “I believe it’s possible. And what makes you think Thelma is against abortions anyway. Have you seen anything to indicate that?’

  “There’s just something about the way she acts with patients ... and they seem to pick up on it.”

  “And I tell you, why would she wait three years to act out if she was a pro-lifer? That simply doesn't make sense to me.”

  Gina had no answer, couldn't come up with a response ... at least not at present.

  * * *

  Thelma saw Taneka and Gina sitting at the desk in the nurses' station as she came down the hallway. They were talking, heads only a few inches apart..

  I wonder what that bitch is saying to Taneka.

  Taneka motioned for her to come closer.

  “Hi, Thelma,” Taneka said in her usual friendly tone. “Come and have a seat.”

  Thelma sat down in one of the chairs. She grabbed a quick glance at Gina – saw her mouth was clamped shut; she looked tense and unyielding.

  “Gina tells me one of the patients was very angry with you this afternoon.”

  Before Thelma could respond, Gina said, “She screamed for Thelma to get out of the room.”

  “What happened?” Taneka asked.

  Thelma knew her job depended on how she handled herself the next few minutes; she also knew it was her word against Gina’s, unless they decided to question the patient, Frannie Garrity. “I don’t know what happened. I’d just roomed her and for no reason she became extremely emotional and began shouting at me to get out.”

  “Why do you suppose the patient felt that way?” Taneka said in a quiet voice.

  “All I can figure is that like most women in her position, she was very emotional. I must have upset her in some way.”

  “What position is that?” Gina demanded.

  Thelma felt herself flush. “Uh ... you know ... someone about to have an abortion.”

  “That have anything to do with your special handling of the KY Jelly?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Gina,” Thelma said with a slight smirk. “That sounds pretty silly.”

  Gina’s eyes bored holes through her.

  “I suppose it does, but you seem to use an awful lot of the stuff.”

  Thelma forced herself to laugh. “I didn’t know there was a shortage, or a designated amount we were supposed to use.”

  Gina appeared flustered and Thelma could also see that Taneka was not happy with this whole line of questioning. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Gina. I always try to take care of the doctors and give them what they need. What have I done wrong?”

  “Why were you carrying a portable culture tube pack?” Gina said.

  “Well ... I usually carry one in my pocket in case the doctor wants to take a culture ... why else?”

  “Even when they’re stocked in the drawers of every examination room?”

  “That’s enough!” Taneka said. “Okay, Thelma, thanks for being so patient ... go on back to what you were doing.”

  When Thelma turned away, she couldn’t help but smile. Gina sounded pretty lame and she could tell Taneka thought so, too.

  * * *

  “Are you satisfied now, Gina?”

  “Well—”

  “—well, nothing. I felt like a perfect idiot asking those questions of Thelma,” Taneka said. “I did it because you’re a colleague, and I try to be fair when this kind of situation arises. But I don’t like to be made a fool—”

  “—I didn’t,” Gina interrupted.

  “—Thelma has been a valued employee with an outstanding record for the past three years and suddenly you step in and malign her. Why?”

  “I’m just trying to get to the bottom of our contamination problem.”

  “At Thelma’s expense? Besides, I’m not even convinced we have a contamination problem here.”

  “I’m sorry if I embarrassed you. I’m only trying to help.”

  Taneka gave Gina a long, speculative stare. “I must say, I haven’t been totally impressed with you, Gina. If we keep having problems like this, I’m afraid I won’t be able to keep you i
n the department.”

  “But—”

  “—but, nothing! Am I making myself clear, Gina?”

  “Yes, Taneka, you are.”

  Chapter 43

  Inspector Mulzini checked his notes to verify his exact location in Golden Gate Park. Yeah, this was the place where they’d picked up Gina Mazzio.

  Everything looked different in the light of day. At night, the scattered headlight beams had created more eerie, shadowy corridors, but this was definitely the place. Besides, his GPS wouldn’t lie.

  He pulled up to the side of the road and looked around several times, still not convinced that this was the right spot.

  Have to start somewhere.

  He got out of the car and walked to the edge of the tree line. The woods were particularly thick here and he felt an edge of concern again as he walked through the forest with his inner antennae on alert. Last year, one of the Inspectors from his division was found dead somewhere in this same area. He was pretty sure it was in this general area.

  Mulzini remembered the Inspector had failed to call in his location, and no one could figure out what made him go nosing into this particular neck of the park. The guy had been one of those unpopular cops, which led to a lot of speculation that he might have gone rogue. Trafficking in drugs was high on the rumor list. Since no one was ever collared, department gossip had messed up the cop’s reputation in an underhanded way that Mulzini didn’t like.

  Walking through the trees, the pungent odors of eucalyptus, mold, and damp leaves reminded him how he used to spend his free time camping. When he was a kid, his father would take him to all the national parks in the area, always challenging him to walk softly and silently, to become one with the environment. After a while, he could actually sneak up on wandering deer and surprise them. It was spooky how they never bolted, as Mulzini expected. They would majestically glide away and move deeper into the forest.

  From one step to the next, he was out of the sunlight and into the dark shadows of an uninterrupted ring of trees. There wasn’t a sound to be heard, a movement to be seen.

  He found the spot where Gina had been buried in leaves. Signs of the shallow grave were still evident. Not really a grave, more a hasty cover up. Whoever had dumped her here probably was unprepared to deal with a dead body.

  The leaves and pine needles crunched under foot as he circled the area.

  When he stopped and stood still for a moment he could pick up faint sounds coming from deeper into the woods. He moved silently in that direction, trying to blend in with the natural environment. His instincts put him on special alert, mindful again of the unsolved crime of the dead Inspector.

  He pulled out his gun and moved forward, slipping behind tree trunk after tree trunk. Whatever was making the noise was farther away than he’d first thought. It took him a few minutes of stealth walking before he came on two figures arguing. He dropped to his knees and crawled ahead carefully.

  “Get away from me or I’ll stick this knife in you.”

  The speaker was a teenager and about half the size of the man he was threatening, who appeared to be in his thirties.

  “Remember the last time you tried this shit?” the boy said, waving the knife back and forth in front of him.

  “Why don’t you get it, kid? I ain’t gonna hurt ya.” The man took a step closer. “Just gonna warm you up. Probably been freezing your ass off out here.”

  The boy took a step back. His legs were visibly shaking. Mulzini knew how the rest of this was going to turn out if he didn’t step in.

  The Inspector stood up behind the bush he’d been using for cover. “Leave the kid alone!” he yelled and stepped forward.

  “What the fuck do—” The man saw the gun in Mulzini’s right hand, the badge in the left. “Hey, man. I don’t want no trouble over a piece of ass.” He suddenly turned tail and disappeared in the woods. The boy tried to get away, too, but Mulzini latched onto one arm and held tight.

  “Please, sir. Please let me go,” he said, sounding like a character out of Oliver Twist.

  “It’s okay. Take it easy.” Mulzini holstered his gun. “I just want to ask you a few questions. That’s all.”

  “You’ll let me go then?”

  “Let’s talk first.” Mulzini wouldn’t let go of the arm.

  “What do you want?”

  Mulzini pointed back in the direction from which he’d come. “A woman was found over there recently. Do you know anything about it?”

  The boy’s face drooped. “Did she tell you about me? She promised she wouldn’t say nothin’ to nobody.” He tried to pull his arm free again.

  Mulzini tightened his grip. “Gina didn’t even mention you, kid. I just came back to check things out and heard you with that creep.”

  “Yeah, he’s been tryin’ to get into my pants for a year now. Been havin’ to change my hideout.” The kid turned away. “It’s getting’ harder and harder to get away from the bastard.”

  “That how long have you been on the streets?”

  “I’m not on the streets ... I’m in the park.”

  The kid was getting to him. Mulzini could see he’d been trying to stay clean. But not succeeding too well – his neck was grubby with rings of dirt and while his hands appeared clean, every fingernail was black with grunge. Mulzini looked at his clothes and sleeping bag. They were stained from top to bottom. The only plus was a scattering of books near a small, draw-string tote bag.

  “What’s your story, anyway?” Mulzini asked.

  “What’s it to you? Like, if you’re thinkin’ of taking me in and calling my parents, forget it. I haven’t got no one who wants me around, so do whatever you think you have to do.”

  The kid was putting up a good front, and trying to be a smart-ass, but the Inspector knew there were tears working their way to the surface.

  When did I turn into such a soft touch?

  “Let’s forget about you for a moment.”

  “Dirk.”

  “What?”

  “That’s my name, Dirk.”

  “Okay, Dirk. I’m Inspector Mulzini. If I let go of your arm will you stay put?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “You’re not just jiving me, are you?”

  “No, sir. I give you my word.”

  How many times have I heard that bullshit?

  Mulzini let go of Dirk’s arm, ready for a chase at any moment, but the kid seemed to be a straight-shooter. He didn’t run.

  “Did you see a man drag a woman into this area, cover her up in leaves?”

  Dirk nodded. “I saw Gina, yeah. Gave her a telephone to call the cops.”

  “Yeah, she told me a little bit about you.”

  Mulzini watched the muscles of Dirk’s face contract in anger.

  “Listen, kid, Gina didn’t squeal on you, if that’s what you’re thinking. Didn’t say a word about what you looked like, or in which direction you went after you left her. I found you by accident. She kept her word.

  That seemed to quiet the boy. The Inspector could only guess how many people had let this kid down over the years.

  “Did you see anything else, Dirk?”

  The boy started an in-place walk. His moving feet seemed to warm him up and help him think. “I saw it all.”

  “That so? What happened?”

  “Well, this guy drives up in a white crewcab ... backs right into the woods ‘til he can’t drive no more. Gets out, pulls Gina from the back seat, tries to dig a hole with his hands. But that ain’t happenin, so he gives it up. Then he covers her over with leaves and stuff.”

  “You saw all of that?”

  “Yes, sir. Then I followed him back to his truck. The guy was spooked. You’d have thought ghosts were chasin’ him.”

  “Did you see anything else?”

  “Yeah, he drove out of here like a scared rabbit.”

  Mulzini paced back and forth before he stopped in front of the kid again. The two of them just stood, staring into each other's eyes.


  “Are you looking to get off the streets?”

  “Inspector, you’ve been square with me, so I’ll say right out, I’m not goin’ back to any foster care dump. I mean, you can drag me in and I won’t fight you, but at the first opp, I’ll be gone.”

  “I hear you, Dirk. But suppose I could get you into a place ... a friend of mine runs a home for kids like you.”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  “I’ve sent three kids to him before and if he likes you, he’ll take you in.”

  “Take me in?”

  He placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Let’s just say if you’re not happy there, we’ll make sure you never have to camp out again ... no matter what.”

  The boy sat down on the ground. He was silent until his skinny body began to shake. Soon he was bawling his eyes out.

  “Hey, Dirk,” Mulzini said rubbing the boy’s shoulder. “It’s okay ... let’s try to make things better.” He helped Dirk to his feet. “We’ll stash you at my house until we can get things together. My wife will love having you around ... our kids are grown and gone, and so far, no grandkids.”

  Dirk looked at him. “You mean it?”

  The Inspector smiled, holding back a tear or two of his own. “Grab your stuff and let’s get out of here.”

  The boy ran to his sleeping bag, gathered up his stuff, and rolled it all up together.

  Once they were inside Mulzini’s car, Dirk said, “There’s one thing I forgot to tell you, Inspector.”

  “Hey, call me Mulzini, that’s all anyone ever calls me.”

  The boy smiled at him. “When the man who brought Gina ... you know, like when he turned to leave ... I saw there was some kinda sign on the door of his truck.”

  “A sign? You mean like the name of a business ... something like that?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well? What did it say?”

  “It was hard to read, but I think it said somethin’ like Katt’s Apartment Management, you know?”

  Chapter 44

  When Thelma came home from work, the apartment was shadowy and still. Marvin was obviously out, either working or fooling around.