Faye Kellerman - Decker 06 - Grievous Sin

by Grievous Sin(lit)

  'Do we have something to say?'

  Hannah turned her face toward the sound of his voice, eyes slowly opening.

  'Good morning. Did you have a nice nap?'

  The baby didn't answer and continued to focus through sleepy eyes. Decker felt something on his arm and looked at his jacket sleeve. A damp spot had darkened the material from gray to black. 'I'll make a deal with you, Hannah Rosie. I'll change your diaper if you don't give me any surprises.'

  The baby continued to stare.

  'Yeah, as if you give a hoot. Your clothes don't have to

  be dry-cleaned.' He gently placed her in the Port-a-Crib and changed her soaked diaper, tickling her tummy when he was done. 'Feeling better?'

  The baby let out a sudden howl. Quickly, Decker swooped her up. 'We certainly do have opinions.'

  Nora walked in. 'Tell me the truth, Sergeant. Did you wake her up?'

  'Absolutely not. She woke up of her own accord. I just changed her diaper and was slow to pick her up. That didn't set well with her.'

  Nora held out her hands. 'Go get some breakfast.'

  'Boys get off to school okay?'

  'Sure did. Your big girl made them breakfast and left with them in the car 'bout a half hour ago. There's a box of cornflakes on the counter, milk's in the fridge.'

  'Thanks.'

  The front door opened, and Cindy waltzed through. She threw her arms around her father's neck and kissed his cheek. 'Good morning, paterfamilias. May I offer you some victuals for your daytime fare?' She noticed Nora holding Hannah. 'Well, look who's up?' She plucked the baby from the nurse's arms and started walking toward the kitchen. 'How's the sanest person in the family? Would you like your sugar water?'

  Decker's eyes went from Cindy to Nora. 'She's in a good mood.'

  Nora laughed and began clearing up the living room. 'Between your wife and Cindy, I don't have to do a thing. Easiest money I ever made.'

  'Don't complain.'

  'Who's complaining?' The nurse laughed again.

  Decker followed his daughter into the kitchen, took out a knife and halved one of the grapefruits he'd picked last night. It was pink and juicy. 'You're certainly chipper this morning.'

  'I got sleep.' Cindy poured bottled drinking water into a four-ounce bottle and added a teaspoon of sugar. 'When I'm rested, I'm invincible.'

  'How's your memory, Superwoman?'

  'Uh oh.' Cindy sat down and began to feed the baby. 'Something's on the sergeant's mind.'

  Decker was silent. Cindy said, 'Really, Daddy. Do you need to ask me something?'

  'When you were in the nursery, Cindy, do you remember any black women hanging around Marie Bellson?'

  'Black women?'

  'Or just maybe a specific black woman. Don't confine yourself to nurses. She could be a doctor, an orderly, a janitor, an administrator, a medical-supplies salesperson

  - just as long as she's big and black.' 'Why?'

  'I'll tell you in a moment, after you've answered the question. But take your time. Think sequentially, Cindy

  - take it day by day.'

  Cindy was quiet as Hannah happily downed her sugar water. 'You may be asking the wrong person. I tried to avoid Marie as much as possible.'

  Decker cut wedges of his grapefruit. 'Do you remember any black women loitering around the nurseries period?'

  Cindy thought for a long time. 'I think I remember a black cleaning woman.'

  'You know, I remember one, too,' Decker said. 'I'm going to have to go over my notes inch by inch.'

  'And, of course, there was Lily. But she belonged there.'

  Decker looked up from his grapefruit. 'Who's Lily?'

  'One of the neonate nurses.' ,

  'What?'

  'What's wrong, Daddy?'

  'This Lily is black?'

  'Last time I saw her she was.'

  'Don't be cute. Do you know her last name?'

  'No, but Darlene would. I think Lily was one of her trainees.'

  'Why the hell don't I remember the name?' Decker dashed out of the kitchen and opened his briefcase, quickly sorting through his notes. Cindy followed, babe in arms, and took a seat at the dining-room table.

  'What is it, Daddy?'

  'Just a sec, okay?'

  'What are you looking for? Maybe I can help?'

  'It's not what I'm... Just hold on, please.' Decker sat down and began to examine his notes more carefully. 'I don't have any Lily written down for Nursery J. Just a Christine Simms.'

  'What about Christine? She isn't black.'

  'I know that. Do you remember seeing Christine the night Caitlin Rodriguez was taken?'

  Cindy furrowed her brow in concentration. 'Yes... yes, definitely.'

  'How about this Lily person?'

  Again Cindy thought a while. 'I don't remember if I met her the night of the kidnapping or the night before. But like I said, Darlene would know if Lily was on duty.'

  'According to my notes, Darlene didn't mention Lily, and I asked her about all the people under her care.'

  'Then probably Lily wasn't on that night. All that hospital time blurs for me, Daddy.'

  'But even if Lily wasn't on official duty, she could have been hanging around Nursery J and you wouldn't have thought anything of it.'

  'No, not at all. But I don't know why she'd hang around the nurseries if she wasn't on duty... unless you think she was involved.'

  Decker didn't answer.

  Quietly, Cindy asked, 'Daddy, why'd you specifically ask about a big black woman?'

  Decker ran his hand down his face. 'The bones in the Honda don't belong to Marie, honey. They belong to a big and heavy woman who's probably black. Was Lily big and heavy?'

  Cindy nodded gravely, then her eyes began to water. Decker felt like a jerk. He should have been more subtle in his questioning, remembering Cindy was his daughter, not just another witness. But once he got into the swing of questioning, it was hard to turn off the cop mode.

  'She seemed like a nice person,' Cindy said. 'Lily, I mean. She was young... not much older than I am.'

  'Princess, we haven't even identified the body yet. This Lily could be safe and sound at home, watching TV and munching Cheetos as we speak. I shouldn't be exposing you to this kind of garbage.'

  'No, it's really...' Cindy forced herself to smile at Hannah. 'Do you actually think Marie Bellson killed Lily?'

  'I won't even begin to speculate before we have an ID on the bones. Right now I'm thinking about Darlene. I don't know if she was holding out on me or if she just made an honest mistake.'

  'Or like I said, maybe Lily wasn't on duty, Daddy.'

  'Maybe.' Decker put down his briefcase and went back into the kitchen. He stared at the grapefruit resting on the counter. His stomach was a knot, but he had to eat if he was going to be productive. He made a pot of coffee, poured himself a bowl of cereal, scrambled some eggs, and forced breakfast down his gullet. Going through his notes one more time, he couldn't understand how this Lily person had been overlooked. About ten minutes later, Cindy came in with Hannah and sat beside him.

  Decker took his daughter's hand.

  'Are you okay, Cindy?'

  'fine.'

  'Honey, I want you to forget about the case, all right?'

  'No, it's not all right. If you need my help, you have to ask me. You owe it to Caitlin Rodriguez.'

  Decker stood. 'I'd better get to work.'

  'You're brushing me off.'

  'No, honestly, I want to get to the hospital and talk to Darlene... if she's even there. I've got to check out Lily. I've got a load of details to work out if I'm ever going to make headway on this case.'

  'Speaking of specific details, did you ever find a box to fit the key we found in Marie Bellson's apartment?'

  Decker shook his head. 'Not yet.'

  'What happened with Tandy Roberts yesterday?'

  'Cindy, please.'

  'I'm curious.'

  Hannah began swallowing air bubbles. Decker said, 'I think
she needs to be burped. Give her to me. I'll do it.'

  Cindy handed him a diaper. 'Cover your jacket.'

  Decker threw the diaper over his shoulder and began walking with his daughter. As he patted her back, her eyes widened, her expression seemingly remorseful for her gluttony. Her stomach was sloshing liquid.

  Decker said, 'You've got good head control, Hannah Rosie.'

  'I told you she was precocious.'

  'Takes after sis.' Decker smiled.

  Cindy smiled back, then looked at the ceiling. 'So what's with Tandy?'

  'Why do you keep asking about her?'

  'Because she was a friend of Marie's. I'm wondering who the heck could be Marie's friend.'

  'Paula was Marie's friend.'

  'Is it the same situation as Paula? Was Marie Tandy's training nurse?'

  Decker didn't answer. He heard Cindy sigh, then said 'I know you're your own person, Cynthia, but I see my obsessive streak in you. It's bad enough when cases eat me up. Why should they eat you up, too? Especially when you're not even getting paid.'

  'So you do it for the money, Dad?'

  'It puts bread on the table.'

  'You do it because you like it. Be honest. If it was just money, you'd have been a senior partner in Grandpa's firm by now.'

  'Yes, I like what I do. But I've been trained and you haven't, and therein lies the rub.'

  'How can I be trained if no one will train me?'

  'This isn't an apprentice job, Cynthia. If you want to be a cop, apply to the Academy.' Decker paused. 'God, what am I sayingl You don't want to be a cop for godsakes! You're way too smart for that.'

  'Implying that you're a cop because you're dumb?'

  'Princess, I applied because I didn't know any better. I was a twenty-year-old kid with no guidance who had just gotten out of the army. I was at a loose end and someone suggested being a cop. Like a dunce, I signed up. Just like with the army. They said sign up, I signed up. You know what, Cindy? I was dumb!'

  'So why did you come back to it even after you passed the bar?'

  'Because being an estate lawyer was worse than being a cop. I did that to please your mother, who wanted me to be just like Grandpa. I should have signed up for the DA's Office.' Decker paused. 'Not that I'm complaining...'

  'I think your work is exciting.'

  'Mostly my job is paperwork and legwork, but yes, it can be exciting. And it can also be dangerous.' He started

  to pat the bullet scar on his shoulder, but stopped himself. Last thing he wanted to do was to traumatize his daughter any further. 'You've conveniently left, out dangerous, Cynthia.'

  'What am I doing that's dangerous? Asking a few questions?'

  'Cindy, someone presoaked a body and Marie's Honda with gasoline and pushed them both off a hundred-foot drop.' Decker suddenly lost patience. 'We're talking desperate people. Stop arguing with me and just stay put.'

  'Can you at least tell me if Tandy's a nurse? Last question, I promise.'

  Decker bit his lip. 'Yes, Tandy might be a nurse.'

  Hannah let out a big burp.

  'Attagirl, Han, you take after your old man.'

  Cindy said, 'I never remember you belching.'

  'You've never seen me in my rowdier days after a couple of six-packs.'

  'You were once rowdy?'

  'Before your time. 'Bout a century ago.'

  Cindy smiled. 'I'll take the baby.'

  Decker gave his little daughter to his big one and studied them both with pride. Two girls with two boys in the middle. A beautiful and bountiful family. All he had to do was make sure no harm befell any of them for the rest of their lives.

  'So what did Marge think of Tandy?' Cindy asked.

  'You promised last question. Now, forget about the case. Leave it up to the police.' He kissed her cheek. 'I'm going to say goodbye to Rina. No more talk about joining the Academy, okay?'

  'I wasn't intending to drop out of college, Daddy.'

  'Thank God one of us can think!' He kissed his daughters, pinched both of their cheeks. 'Bye.'

  'Bye.' Cindy sat back in her chair, waiting for her

  father to leave. Having studied him as he talked, she had recognized that look in his eyes - trying to be casual, but he had been concerned. She knew why. Her questions were good ones, but he didn't want her to know that. Tandy was involved. Since old Dad wasn't about to help her out, Cindy decided to check out Ms Roberts by her lonesome.

  She rocked Hannah in her arms until her father called out another Bye. She answered him, breathing a sigh of relief when the door closed. In the distance, she heard the motor to the unmarked kick in, then recede in Dopplerian fashion.

  She thought. They'd located Tandy at a gym. But she didn't remember the name of the place.

  How in the world would she ever be an ace detective if she couldn't remember simple things like names of places? She sighed. Holding Hannah firmly in the crook of her right arm, she pulled out a phone book with her left hand. Under the yellow pages, she found two columns' worth of listings under Gyms. She studied each name carefully, stopping when she hit the name Silver's.

  That was it.

  Security was still tight and visible, but the extreme tension brought on by yesterday's crisis had dissipated. Within a few months, Decker predicted, Sun Valley Pres would return to its normal lackadaisical self, more concerned with budgetary issues than with medical problems. The administrative offices didn't open until nine, leaving Decker with forty-five minutes to track down Darlene Jamison and the duty roster for the night of Caitlin Rodriguez's kidnapping.

  Although he had no problem getting through the front door of the hospital, the nurseries were still under microscopic scrutiny. Even after he showed his ID, he was

  met with suspicion by Techwatch's body for hire. Finally, the guard let him pass through the maternity halls. All the nurseries had guards posted outside the entrance doors. Decker showed his badge to the sentry outside Nursery J and was allowed to step inside the glass station. A blond nurse turned around. She was young and slim with a round face and saucer blue eyes, but the ingenue effect was ruined by a face weathered with stress. Her name tag said 'C. Simms, RN'. Decker showed her his ID.

  'Can I speak to you for a moment, Christine?'

  Christine smiled wearily. 'Have a seat. I have to check the lines on the premies. That can't wait, Sergeant. But it shouldn't take too long.'

  'Is Darlene Jamison on duty this morning?'

  Christine looked pained. 'Darlene's on temporary leave of absence. I suppose it was inevitable, but I feel bad for her.' She looked down. 'Susan Altman is with the babies in the back. If you need anything, page her. But please don't cross the yellow line - contamination.'

  'Is Darlene at home?' Decker called out.

  'Probably,' Christine answered.

  'Do you have her phone number on hand?'

  Christine didn't answer as the door closed behind her. Decker opened his briefcase and checked his notes. He found Darlene's number and used the wall phone to get the hospital operator and an outside connection. Darlene's machine kicked in after two rings and Decker left his message slowly, giving the woman time to interrupt the call and come on the line.

  She never did. Either she wasn't home or she was avoiding him.

  He stuck his hands in his pockets, then noticed the door to the nurses' area. Much to his surprise it was open, so he went inside. The glass room held three identically sized desks that were typical institutional issue - sturdy and

  ugly. Two of the desks held nameplates - Marie Bellson, RN and Darlene Jamison, RN. Staring at the letters so intensely, Decker found the names undulating like waves of heat. Like the ghosts they were. How many victims did the case really have?