“Your daughter disappeared and you’re not sure what the exact date is?”
“My daughter ran away. She washed her hands of her family, so her family is washing their hands of her. You may not understand our beliefs, Detective, but family is everything. You don’t walk away from family.”
Dani stepped in again. “Is that how you feel, Mrs. Sasaki?”
When she looked at her husband again, Dani spoke up. “Mrs. Sasaki, is that how you feel? Did you wash your hands of your daughter?”
She shook her head as tears started. “No. I want my daughter back. I want her found.”
“Ellen, enough,” Mr. Sasaki yelled.
“Wilson, take Mr. Sasaki to the car.”
She turned to Jake. “Give him one of those kits.”
Jake handed over one of the DNA kits and turned back to Mrs. Sasaki. “What’s the date of her disappearance?”
“January 8th.”
“What makes your husband think she ran away? Did she leave a note?
“No, no note. Kim and Eric had an awful fight the night before. She was yelling at him. She said if he didn’t start listening she was going to run away.”
“What were they fighting about?”
“Since she turned sixteen she’s been wanting to start dating. Eric insists her studies are more important than dating. He told her there would be plenty of time to date after she graduated college.”
“After college? That would be another five years.”
“No, ma’am. Kim is in her third year of college now.”
“How smart is she?”
“Last time it was check her IQ was 162.” She smiled. “Between you and me, I think she dropped a few points on purpose.”
She looked over at her husband and Wilson. “What is he doing to Eric?”
“He’s taking a DNA test.”
Mrs. Sasaki started to walk toward them. “Why? He didn’t do anything. He didn’t hurt Kim.”
Dani lightly touched her shoulder to stop her. “No, ma’am. That’s not why we need the test. Actually, we’d like you to take one also.” Dani nodded to Jake to get the test ready.
“Why?”
“Mrs. Sasaki, by some chance did you have help conceiving Kim?”
She looked over to her husband and back to them. “What makes you ask that?” She clasped her hands tightly in front of her.
Dani motioned them back to the bench. As they sat, Dani answered her question.
“The girl you saw in there is not the only teenager that has been murdered recently. We have two others. Both of them have also been confused with another person. Another person that could be their twin.”
Mrs. Sasaki put her hands to her mouth and gasped. “Are you saying their parents had twins and gave one of them up?”
Jake took a step back. That statement hit a little too close to home. He squeezed his eyes closed and slowly opened them to regain his composure before stating, “No, ma’am. We believe the parents had no idea that another child existed.”
“But how can that be?”
Dani asked again, “Did you have help with conceiving, Mrs. Sasaki?”
She nodded slowly.
“Please explain what happened.”
Mrs. Sasaki cleared her throat and wiped the tears from her eyes. “We tried for two years. It just wouldn’t happen. Finally I begged Eric to get tested. We found out it was both of us. They said it would most likely never happen. They also said I wouldn’t have any problems carrying to term. He recommended we inseminate. Eric didn’t want to do it that way. He said it wasn’t natural and that if it was meant to be we would get pregnant.” She wiped her tears away again.
“It’s okay. Take your time,” Jake encouraged.
“After two months of me crying myself to sleep, Eric finally agreed. We went to a clinic and three weeks later I was pregnant.”
“What clinic did you use?”
“The Family Way Clinic.”
“What state was that in?” Their research on the clinic has found out the Family Way Clinic has branches in every state. Dani asked the question and held her breath. If they used another clinic in another state they would be screwed. The case gets more complicated than it already is.
“Right here in New York. Eric was just finishing his first year as a professor at Columbia University. I was just starting out as a nurse practitioner. We had decided we both only wanted one child before we got married. I thought it would be best if we had it before I got too involved in my career.”
“Do you remember the doctor’s name?”
“Of course. How could I forget the doctor who gave me my daughter?”
Jake cleared his throat. “Um, can you tell us his name?”
She brought her hands to her mouth. “Oh, sorry. His name was Dr. Oberman. Dr. Carson Oberman.”
Dani motioned with her head to the DNA kit in Jake’s hand.
“Mrs. Sasaki, would you mind if we take the DNA test?”
She looked over toward her husband. Since he took the test she couldn’t see how her taking it would be a problem. But she still wanted to know why.
“I don’t mind, but can you tell me why? If you don’t think we had anything to do with Kim’s disappearance why do you need our DNA?”
“We can’t tell you the whole story, but I can tell you we have reason to believe the clinic may have used the eggs and sperm of their patients for unorthodox research.”
Again she gasped. “Are you saying the child in there may be our daughter?”
“I’m sorry, but she may be.” Jake lifted the swab. “May I?”
When she nodded, Dani went over to Mr. Sasaki. She explained what she could, telling him he might want to give some thought on whether he wanted to write off his daughter or not. She made sure he had doubts about her being a runaway. As she walked away she heard him ask Wilson if there was anything else they could do to help with the case. She headed back in to talk to Peter.
CHAPTER 31
“Tell me something new, Peter.”
“The only thing new I can tell you you’re not going to like.”
“Tell me anyway.”
“It seems we are back to having no idea who these kids are.”
“What do we do about that?”
“I’m running the fingerprints. I’ve X-rayed every bone in their bodies and I’m trying to match medical records. That’s going to take at least a few weeks. Of course I’m running them through CODIS. No match yet. I’ll keep plugging away.”
“Anything else on the ‘J’ we found in the tattoo?”
Peter gave her a skeptical look. “Didn’t I tell you about that?”
“Didn’t you tell me what?”
“There is not just a ‘J.’ Next to it there is an ‘R.’”
“Junior?”
“That would be my guess.”
“It’s on all of them?”
“Yes. It’s in a different spot on each wing of the angel, but it’s there on all of them.”
Dani looked at Jake. “Is Oberman a Junior?”
Jake took out his phone to access the information Katie dug up on Oberman. “No. Father’s name was Keith, but he has a twin brother named Keith.”
“Okay. It means something so keep plugging away at that.” Dani headed for the door. “And get me names of these kids.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Peter shook his head.
Jake took a minute to grab a couple of cups of coffee before heading out. He found Dani pacing back and forth in front of the car.
He handed her a cup. “What’s wrong?”
“They are all geniuses.”
“Huh?”
“The three kids that are identical with the kids in there are all geniuses. Or at least above average in intelligence.”
“So?”
“So, Katie is a genius.”
“Yeah, but we know Zach and Jennifer did not have help conceiving her.”
“I know. I’m not going there.”
“Whe
re are you going?”
Dani paced back and forth a few more times before she stopped to lean on the car hood. “What if they knew each other? Not the dead ones, but the missing ones. What if they were all called to New York for some reason?”
She took a sip of her coffee.
“They’re still alive,” she said. “Willy and the other two are still alive.”
“And you know this how?”
“I have no idea. But we have to find them.”
She handed him the keys, took out her phone, and got in on the passenger side.
“Back to the clinic?”
Dani looked at her watch. It was five-thirty p.m.. “It’s after five. I’m pretty sure they’re gone by now.”
She turned her attention to the phone. “Katie, did Willy ever mention why he was in New York?”
“He had some meeting to attend.”
“What kind of meeting?”
“He didn’t say. He did say there were six others there, but the guy who set up the meeting didn’t show.”
“Did he know any of the others?”
“He didn’t say.”
“Damn.” Dani sighed. “Okay. Do me a favor and get me whatever information you can on Dr. Keith Oberman.”
“Carson’s brother?”
“That’s the one.”
“I’ll have it when you get back.”
“What was that about?” Jake asked as he pulled into the parking lot of the clinic.
“Willy was here for a meeting. A meeting that six others were invited to. Six others that he may or may not have known. The person who called the meeting didn’t show up for it.”
“Huh? That’s interesting.”
“Yup.” She looked up from her phone. “Why are we here? They’re not going to be here.”
“I’m thinking since they’re so busy they probably have some late hours.”
Dani laughed. “Even if that’s true, it’s not going to be on Friday.”
“Have a little faith.”
Dani looked at him. “You called, didn’t you?”
He didn’t answer. He was to busy trying to figure out what the meeting the other kids were called to meant to their case. As they got to the door Jake held Dani’s arm to stop her. “Does that mean we have four other possible victims?”
“I hate to say it, but I think we do. We need to find this guy yesterday.”
Jake opened the door and motioned Dani in. She went straight to a chair and sat. Jake went up to the desk.
“Hello, remember me?” He smiled at the receptionist.
“No, should I?”
“I was here a few hours ago with my wife.” He motioned to the chair where Dani was looking at her phone.
“Oh, yes. I thought she found another doctor for you to see. What are you doing back here?”
“Ah, turned out to be something else. We’d like to see Dr. Oberman.”
She grabbed a clipboard and held it out to him. “As I said, Dr. Oberman is very busy. If you’ll fill out the paperwork I’ll see when we can fit you in.”
Jake looked over to Dani. She was now sitting with her legs crossed and a smile on her face. She was enjoying watching him deal with the receptionist. Slowly she got up and walked over to them.
“She wants us to fill out the paperwork before we can make an appointment.”
“I heard.” She took out her badge. “Maybe this will get us in a little faster.”
“Officer, what is this about?”
“It’s lieutenant and we’ll explain what this is about with Dr. Oberman. Now please let him know we are here.”
“I’m sorry, but Dr. Oberman has left for the day. Actually, he’s taken a long weekend. He will not return until Tuesday.”
Dani and Jake looked at each other and sighed. “How about a partner? Is there another doctor we can talk with?”
“That would be Dr. Feinstein. She’s with a patient.”
She motioned to the waiting room.
“As you can see, she is behind already and has three other patients to see today. If you would like to leave your name and number I’ll make sure she calls you when she’s done.”
Now her attitude was starting to piss Dani off. She didn’t have time for this. “Look, I’m only going to say this once. We are investigating the murder of three teenagers. So check your damn attitude, call Dr. Feinstein and tell her we are here.”
Dani stared at the receptionist for a long moment before she picked up the phone. Jake turned to the three couples in the waiting room and held up his badge.
“We’re sorry to do this, but as the lieutenant said we are investigating the murder of three teenagers. We promise to make this as fast as possible.”
Dr. Feinstein came out of the back with a couple. “Come back in three days and we’ll see where we stand.”
She turned to the receptionist.
“Lisa, please show the Campbells to my office. Detectives, please follow me.”
Dani and Jake fell in behind her. She rushed down the hallway and into an office.
“I hope you don’t mind that we use this office. I’m running behind and all the other rooms are full.”
“No problem. I’m Detective Santos and this is Lieutenant Castello. How long have you been a doctor at this clinic?”
“Seven years. Can you tell me what this is about?”
Jake looked at Dani. When she nodded he continued while she took in her surroundings.
“We are investigating the murders of three teenagers. Maybe you heard about it on the news.”
“Yes, terrible thing. I feel for their families, but that’s what happens when you do drugs.”
“See that’s the problem, Dr. Finestein. None of these kids did drugs. That’s why we are calling it murder.”
“Oh, I see. What I don’t see is what this has to do with me?”
“Actually we are here to see Dr. Oberman, but we understand he has left for the weekend.”
“That’s right. He’s been taking some long weekends. He’s been stressed out lately. He needed some down time. We’re too busy for him to take a full week off, so he’s been taking a few days here and there.”
“What has him so stressed out?”
“Can’t say for sure, but he has been having a problem with one couple. They’ve been in four times and still have not been able to conceive. There is no medical reason why, so it’s been driving him nuts.”
“Is that rare? I mean not being able to help someone conceive?”
“Yes, it is rare. We have a 99% success rate. That’s why we’re so busy.”
Dani stood in front of the bookcase as she asked her first question. “Whose office is this?”
When Jake heard the question he turned to her. She motioned with a slight nod of her head for him to check out the shelf.
“It’s Dr. Obermans. I have clients in my office.” She looked at her watch. “I need to get back to them. If there is nothing else…”
She headed for the door.
“What can you tell us about Dr. Oberman?”
She released the doorknob and stood taller as it dawned on her why they were here. “You don’t think Carson has something to do with those murders, do you?”
“Doctor, unfortunately we do not have many leads on this case. But the one we do have leads us right to the Family Way Clinic. Our research shows that Dr. Oberman is in charge of the clinic. Since he is not here for us to interview, it falls on you. Please tell us what you know about Dr. Oberman.”
Dr. Finestein folded her arms across her chest. “I think you need to talk to Dr. Oberman. I am not authorized to discuss this clinic or it’s staff with anyone.” Again, she reached for the door. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I really need to get back to work.”
Dani and Jake looked at each other and headed for the door. Dani asked one last question. “What does Dr. Oberman do on his long weekends?”
“I have no idea. It’s none of my business.”
Dani and Jake bot
h handed her a card and headed out. They were halfway down the hall when Dr. Finestein called to them.
“Hold up a minute.” She walked up to them. “Listen, Carson and I are not really friends. Actually, we don’t see eye-to-eye on most things. He’s a great doctor. I do respect what he has built here, but that’s as far as it goes. As a man, I think he’s an ass.”
Dani smiled. “Most men are.” She chuckled. “Why do you put Dr. Oberman in that category?”
She shrugged. “Just a feeling I get from him. He thinks he’s God. That’s why the client that can’t conceive is driving him nuts.”
“Okay, thanks for your time. We’ll get with Dr. Oberman on Tuesday. Please don’t tell him we were here. Please make sure Lisa keeps her mouth shut.”
“You think he has something to do with the murders?”
“Probably not, but we’d rather not tip him off if he does.”
CHAPTER 32
THEY WERE BARELY OUT THE door when Dani issued an order to Jake. “As soon as we get back to the precinct I want to know if he’s home. If he’s not, find him. There is no way we are waiting until Tuesday to talk to this guy.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Jake grinned.
Dani grabbed the keys from Jake and got in behind the wheel. She could have yelled at him or made some snide remark, but what would be the point? For the most part, he’d been doing what she asked. He’d come up with some stuff she hadn’t thought of or had the time to check. So what if he found her amusing? She laughed to herself. Sometimes she found him amusing also. Though she’d never let him know that.
When they walked into the squad room, Dani headed to Katie and stuck out her hand. Katie handed her the printouts she had of the information she found on Dr. Keith Oberman. Dani continued to her office without saying a word. Jake laughed as he sat beside Katie.
“How did it work out with Tyron and the sketch artist?”
“Good. We came up with six people. Michaels is running them through CODIS but hasn’t come up with anything yet.”
Jake looked around the room to see if anyone was close enough to hear their conversation. When it was clear he asked, “Listen, Carson Oberman took a long weekend. No one in his office knows where he went. We don’t want to have to wait until he gets back on Tuesday to talk with him. Can you find out where he is?”
Fatally Linked Page 24
