Without Her Consent

by McGarvey Black

  ‘It’s a big waste of time,’ said David angrily, ‘but if it puts an end to all this craziness, I’ll do it. While you’re jerking around with me, the real criminal is wandering free, maybe attacking other women.’

  McQ made a call and a technician was dispatched to the Crawford residence. Thirty minutes later, they had David Crawford’s DNA on route to the lab.

  ‘Thanks for helping us out,’ said McQ. ‘You did the right thing. If it’s like you said, this test will rule you out and we can focus our investigation on other people,’ said McQ.

  ‘Like my nephew?’ asked David. ‘My sister said you took his DNA, too.’

  ‘The kid said he had nothing to hide and willingly gave it to us. We’re just covering all our bases,’ said McQ.

  Outside, as the detectives got in their car, McQ scratched his head and stared off into space.

  ‘Was it me,’ he said to his partner, ‘or did you notice that little Eli is a carbon copy of David Crawford.’

  ‘They have the exact same face. It’s hard not to miss.’

  When Angela got home that night and found out the police had asked for her husband and nephew’s DNA she was furious.

  ‘Why did they want your DNA?’ she demanded. ‘Why was I not informed? They’re trying anything because they’ve come up with nothing and now they’re harassing me—us. I know what they’re doing. They’re getting back at me for being in their face every day, just for doing my job.’

  ‘You’re being paranoid. Forget about it,’ said her husband. ‘Everything will be fine. My DNA will clear me. We both know I’ve never been inside your building.’

  64

  Day 148

  ‘How are things going?’ asked Angela’s therapist. ‘You and David adjusting to being parents?’

  Angela looked at Virginia and smiled. ‘Being a mom is the greatest thing I’ve ever done,’ she said, digging into her bag and pulling out a few photos of Eli and handing them to Virginia.

  ‘He’s gorgeous,’ said Virginia, examining the pictures. ‘You know this is weird, and I’ve only met your husband once, but Eli kind of looks like him. Does anyone else think that?’

  ‘I don’t think so,’ said Angela, ‘at least no one’s said that.’

  ‘Definitely, Eli looks like David. Your husband’s a handsome guy so that’s not a bad thing,’ said Virginia, laughing while handing the photos back to Angela.

  ‘Okay, so tell me what’s going on,’ said Virginia, getting back to business. ‘Have things simmered down at work now that your boss has come back from South America?’

  ‘Yes and no,’ said Angela, looking at the chipped red nail polish on her hands. ‘I’m back in my old job as assistant admin. A lot of the responsibilities including dealing with the board are off my shoulders, so that’s positive.’

  ‘What’s the “no” part?’

  ‘The police investigation into Eliza Stern is ongoing and it affects everyone,’ said Angela, wringing her hands. ‘Staff are unnerved, people look at each other funny in the hallways wondering if the person they are talking to is “the one.” Families of patients are suspicious and nervous and the building still has a persistent police presence.’

  ‘How does all that make you feel?’

  ‘Like I want to run away,’ said Angela. ‘I’d like to pack up the car with David and Eli and just move to California or Arizona and start afresh. I could start practicing medicine again, open one of those little walk-in clinics. I thought hospital administration would give me balance in my life, but it’s been the furthest thing from that. It’s been awful.’

  ‘Running away doesn’t solve anything,’ said Virginia. ‘Maybe you should go back to medicine but you don’t need to move across the country to do that. We need good doctors here, too.’

  ‘It feels like South Florida has become too toxic for me,’ said Angela, getting upset. ‘I don’t know what I think anymore. I just want to enjoy my son. There’s been all this weird stuff happening.’

  ‘Like what?’

  ‘I can’t talk about it right now.’

  ‘That’s why we’re here. To air things out and shine a light on them.’

  ‘I’m not ready to do that yet.’

  65

  Day 150

  David prepared a special dinner for him and Angela that night. He bathed and fed Eli early and the baby was playing in his crib. He went downstairs to the kitchen to check on the meal that was simmering on the stove. He looked in each pot and pan and decided the Mexican mole chicken was simmering the way it was supposed to and went back upstairs to Eli’s room. The five-month-old was still awake but blinking his eyes, a sure sign he was getting sleepy. David turned on one of the music boxes and soft twinkling sounds gently started to play. The air in the room smelled like baby lotion and David felt a sense of overwhelming joy and gratitude.

  At fifty-three, he had never imagined he’d have a baby in his life or that being a parent could have added so much to his entire outlook. A door had been opened to his soul and sunshine was streaming in. The dark cloud that had hung over him for so long was gone and life was full of new and wonderful surprises. In the mornings, he practically jumped out of bed to pick up the baby. He relished the hours walking, feeding and reading to Eli. His relationship with his wife had returned to the way it had been when they first got married. They were playful and silly again and touched each other frequently, something they had rarely done over the past couple of years.

  The biggest surprise of all was how parenting Eli had somehow ended his decade-long writer’s block. He hadn’t anticipated that. Words now poured out of him, almost too fast for his fingers to type and get them all down on the page. Though Eli had only been with them for five months, David had finished his new novel and reconnected with his old agent, Corbin Rotero. Everything was different for the better. David saw Eli’s eyes close and tiptoed out of the room. He closed the door halfway and went downstairs to check his cooking dinner.

  Ten minutes later, while still in the kitchen, David heard the front door open and close, followed by the familiar sound of Angela’s keys being tossed with a thud onto the bookcase in the living room.

  ‘I’m home,’ she called from the front of the house.

  ‘In the kitchen.’

  A moment later, Angela stood in the kitchen doorway.

  ‘Something smells good,’ she said with a raised eyebrow, noticing the table was set with their good dishes and candles were burning. ‘What’s going on?’ she asked with a curious half smile.

  ‘We’re having a party,’ said David. ‘Actually, it’s technically a fiesta because I’m serving Mexican food. Olé.’

  ‘What are we celebrating?’ asked his wife, curious but puzzled.

  David flashed a grin. ‘I finished the third draft of my book. It’s all done.’

  A smile spread across Angela’s face as she crossed the room and wrapped her arms around her husband, giving him a big hug and a kiss on his neck.

  ‘I told you that you could do it,’ she said, holding him tight. ‘I’m so proud of you. No more writer’s block.’

  ‘Ever since Eli arrived, the words have been spilling out,’ said David. ‘It’s the weirdest thing.’

  ‘Don’t you see?’ said Angela. ‘He was what was missing in our lives. We weren’t a family before he got here. We were just a couple going through the motions. Eli made us whole. He’s our miracle baby on so many levels.’

  ‘You’re right, he is our miracle. Who would have guessed that such a terrible beginning would bring so much joy?’

  Angela smiled. ‘Smells good in here. Let me change and look in on the baby before we eat.’

  She went up the stairs directly to Eli’s room. He was asleep and Angela gazed down at the softly snoring child and adjusted his blanket. She put her hand near his mouth and felt his warm breath with each exhale and thought that her heart would burst.

  ‘You’re exactly what I always dreamed of. I love you, my sweet baby,’ she whispered a
s she leaned over and kissed the sleeping child on his head.

  66

  Day 152

  It had been more than four months since Jenny died and Danny Laffan had not been able to pack up her personal effects that still lay scattered around his apartment. Her notebooks, hairbrush and other items were sprinkled in every room and made him feel like she was still with him. The day before, his mother had been over and begged her son to box up Jenny’s things and return them to her family.

  ‘It’s not healthy for you to keep all her stuff around. It’s time to let Jenny go,’ his mother had said. ‘You can’t have a relationship with a dead girl.’

  Danny wasn’t sure that it was time, but he had promised his worried mother that he would return Jenny’s possessions to her parents, so he did. He got a cardboard box and systematically walked around his small apartment putting each of Jenny’s belongings into it. Each time he found something he’d stop and stare at it, remembering the exact moment when Jenny was holding it.

  He found her Batman Pez dispenser on a shelf, and remembered the day Jenny bought it and proudly offered him a piece of candy.

  ‘You’re the only adult I know who has one of those,’ Danny had said, teasing her.

  ‘When I was a little girl, I desperately wanted a Pez,’ Jenny had replied. ‘All the other kids at school had them and I asked my mother if I could get one, too. It was the cool thing to have in the fourth grade.’

  ‘I had one.’

  ‘Exactly my point. I begged my mother but for some reason, she wouldn’t get me one,’ said Jenny. ‘I think it permanently scarred me. I promised myself when I grew up and had my own money, I was going to buy a new Pez dispenser every year. I have quite a collection now.’

  Tears filled Danny’s eyes as he remembered random moments with Jenny. He brushed the droplets away with his fingers and continued with his task. He found a half-eaten bag of skittles, a couple of hair clips and untold numbers of ponytail bands and wondered why there were so many of them. He picked them up and threw away most of the little things. He found a brown leather tote bag, it was the one Jenny used to take everywhere. Inside the satchel, was a small makeup pouch, a copy of a book Jenny had been reading, 34 Days by Anita Waller, three blue pens, a water bottle, a Spiderman Pez dispenser and a notebook. The bag had been sitting untouched in the corner of his bedroom ever since Jenny died. Until this point, he couldn’t bring himself to look in it—too painful.

  He put the trash bag down and sat on his couch with the notebook and opened it. Pretty quickly, he realized the contents were not just notetaking from school but it was essentially Jenny’s private journal. Shaking, he started to read from the first page which was started nearly a year earlier. Most of the entries were Jenny’s simple musings on things in her daily life; what she ate for lunch, how a meeting went, how a patient was doing—nothing major. Danny raced ahead to the dates that corresponded with the time that he and Jenny first got together.

  August—I met this cute guy named Danny at a barbecue this past weekend. He was really nice. We talked the whole time and he asked me for my phone number. I hope he calls.

  November—Danny and I went to his cousin’s wedding in Miami together. It was the first time I met his whole family. I think everyone liked me, at least they acted like they did. I think I’m falling in love with him. Is that possible after only nine weeks?

  Danny read all the pages of short little blurbs Jenny had written about their romance and before long he found himself sobbing. After allowing himself a good cry, he went back to the notebook.

  February 15—Found some old strange records having something to do with E. S. Was going through the files and saw that someone had placed orders for E.S. to start getting special vitamins. There was also a change in the food order for her, starting in early May of last year bumping up her daily calorie intake and her nutrients cocktail. I googled the vitamins that were ordered and they’re the same ones used in pregnancy, prenatal vitamins. Did someone know she was pregnant? Also, while I was in her room, I found a bottle of Pitocin. At first, I thought that maybe the person who sexually assaulted her was trying to abort the baby to get rid of the DNA evidence after they realized she was pregnant, but now I don’t know. The vitamins shoot a hole in that theory.

  Danny didn’t understand what it all meant but thought Jenny might have been onto something important and he called Detective McQuillan.

  67

  Day 153

  After Danny Laffan showed McQ and Blade the entries in Jenny’s journal, the detectives drove back to police headquarters in silence, each trying to work out the convoluted evidence. McQ made an unexpected left turn and Blade looked at him.

  ‘That’s not the way back to the office,’ said Blade.

  ‘No, it’s not.’

  ‘Where are we going?’

  ‘Something is on the tip of my tongue. I need to think, Anita,’ said the older detective. ‘It feels like all the pieces of the puzzle are right in front of us but we’re not putting them together right.’

  ‘So, where are we going?’

  ‘Taco Bell,’ said McQ matter-of-factly. ‘You know I think better when I’m eating a taco, it helps my neurons connect.’

  McQ ordered the Crunchwrap Supreme with nachos. Blade had water.

  ‘That looks disgusting,’ said Blade, shaking her head as she watched her partner gleefully unwrap his meal.

  ‘Have you ever tried a Crunchwrap Supreme?’ said McQ after taking a big bite and smiling as he chewed.

  ‘No, and I never will.’

  ‘You don’t know what you’re missing,’ he said, grinning and wiping red sauce from the corner of his mouth. ‘Already I feel my brain starting to put the disparate pieces of this case into a better order.’

  ‘Seriously?’ said Blade with a raised eyebrow.

  ‘Let’s look at this whole thing from a different perspective. The way I see it, we’ve got conflicting data points,’ said McQ. ‘Someone changed Eliza Stern’s food and vitamin regimen around the same time she got pregnant. That could mean that someone knew she was pregnant and was concerned about the health of the mother and baby so they added extra supplements.’

  ‘Or, on the flip side,’ said Blade jumping in, ‘the person got Eliza pregnant, didn’t want anyone to find out and was planning to abort the baby using Pitocin.’

  ‘Correct,’ said McQ, ‘and this is where it doesn’t add up. The Pitocin points to someone wanting to get rid of the baby but the vitamins indicate someone wanting to protect the baby.’

  The two detectives stared out the window into the parking lot as McQ finished his meal. ‘What if it isn’t one person?’ said McQ. ‘What if there are two players, each with a different agenda?’

  ‘And they don’t know about the other one,’ said Blade. ‘Two people operating independently with completely distinct but opposing objectives.’

  ‘Maybe a nurse or an aide realized Eliza was pregnant but didn’t want to get involved in the drama or lose their job,’ said McQ, ‘but they still wanted to make sure the baby would be healthy so they surreptitiously changed the food and vitamin orders.’

  ‘What if that person also knew who impregnated Eliza, but had a thing for the father and didn’t want to get him in trouble,’ said Blade.

  ‘Now you’re getting complicated,’ said McQ, wrinkling his chin.

  ‘And the baby daddy’s plan was to go into Eliza’s room, induce labor and abort the baby before anyone found out,’ said Blade. ‘That person would have to be a trained nurse or doctor.’

  ‘You mean someone like…Steve Horowitz?’ asked McQ.

  ‘Horowitz fits the profile,’ said Blade. ‘All the girls at the hospital had crushes on him and he apparently regularly returned their admiration.’

  ‘Except, Horowitz’s DNA clears him,’ said McQ. ‘He’s not our father.’

  ‘Maybe another doctor?’

  McQ took the last bite of his Crunchwrap and licked his lips. ‘I’ve got a compl
etely different thought,’ he said. ‘We screwed up. We missed something, Anita. There’s one person’s DNA we never checked.’

  ‘Who?’

  ‘Eliza Stern.’

  68

  An hour later, McQ requested a police technician accompany him to Oceanside Manor to get a DNA sample from Eliza Stern. When they got to the reception desk, McQ asked to see Frank Farwell and was told to go on up to the administrative offices.

  Farwell was waiting outside of his office in the hall when the detective and the technician got off the elevator. McQ instructed the technician to sit in the waiting area while he met privately with Farwell.

  ‘Are you here because you have good news for me?’ asked Farwell. ‘Did you find out who did it?’

  ‘Not yet, but things are moving again,’ said McQ. ‘I’m here because we’d like to do a DNA swab on your patient, Eliza Stern, and I need your permission.’

  ‘Why do you want her DNA?’

  ‘It should have been checked from the beginning,’ said McQ. ‘We’ve taken samples from half the population of Oceanside. Ms. Stern’s DNA should have been part of the original mix. It’s just routine stuff.’

  Farwell shook his head. ‘When is this going to end, McQuillan? Hasn’t the woman been violated enough? We need closure on this, until that happens, things are never going to go back to normal.’

  ‘Ms. Stern’s DNA?’

  ‘Fine. You have my permission.’