Calculated in Death

looks like he’s been through the wringer.”
    Eve watched an attendant roll up a wheelchair, and the man—walking cast, pale, drawn face—maneuver from the passenger seat into the chair.
    “Jim!” Gibbons pushed forward. “How ya doing? How do you feel?”
    “Been better.” Jim took the hand Gibbons offered. “And believe me, a coupla days ago I was worse. I’m so damn glad to be back.”
    “It’s good to have you back. They’re going to take good care of you and Chaz. I don’t want you to worry about anything. Anything you need, you just let me know.”
    “I just want to get checked out and go home.” His gaze shifted to Eve, crossed over Peabody, and back again. “Police?”
    “Lieutenant Dallas,” Eve said, “Detective Peabody.”
    “Marta.” His eyes watered up. “I can’t believe it. I don’t know what to think or do. I didn’t tell Chaz,” he said to Gibbons. “I don’t know if I would’ve known how even if you hadn’t told me not to—and the doctors said that was best, too. I don’t know how he’s going to take it, Sly. He’s a hell of a lot more hurt than me. He really took the brunt of it. Where is he?”
    “He’s not here yet.”
    “They left before we did.” With obvious concern he tried to swivel in the chair, look around. “My wife and I just sat in the car for a few minutes, but they took him off in the ambulance right away. I guess they hit some traffic. Came a different way?”
    Uneasy, Eve signaled Peabody. “We have a few questions,” she began as Peabody hurried off.
    “We really need to get the patient into exam,” the attendant said.
    “I want to wait for Chaz. Honey.” He reached out to a woman, eyes pink from weeping, when she came in. “The ambulance with Chaz isn’t here yet.”
    “They must’ve gone another way.” She crouched down beside him. “Don’t worry now. Don’t. He’s fine. Everything’s going to be fine.”
    “Lieutenant.”
    Peabody’s tone, her face, told Eve the news wouldn’t be good. She stepped over. “What have we got?”
    “They can’t reach the ambulance. They don’t answer the dash ’link or the emergency call.”
    “I want the names of the medicals sent to pick him up.”
    “Got them. Communication’s trying their personal ’links. They have LoJacks on all emergency vehicles. They’re tracking it.”
    “Keep an eye on these people,” she ordered, and strode off to Communications. She heard the angry voices before she reached the station.
    “And I’m telling you, I got shifted to nine. So did Mormon. Ask him!”
    “You’re on log, right here, for the transpo station pickup.”
    “I
was
on the pickup, until I got the schedule change.”
    “When did you get the schedule change?” Eve demanded.
    “Who the hell are you?”
    In answer she pulled out her badge.
    “Jesus, now a schedule screwup’s illegal? I got the tag about six this morning. Instead of seven on, and the pickup, I’m nine on and standard rounds. Look.” He yanked out his ’link, pushed incoming, shoved it at Eve.
    She read the message. “Where’s this Mormon?”
    “We were in the eatery, catching some breakfast. He ran out to get some of that fancy coffee from the van when it showed up. He’ll be back in a minute.”
    “Have you located the bus?” Eve asked.
    “I’ve just got it. It’s way off route,” the woman said with a frown. “And I don’t know who the hell’s driving it because we’ve clearly got Mormon and Drumbowski on that run, and Drumbowski’s standing right here.”
    “It’s not my screwup,” Drumbowski insisted.
    “No,” Eve said, “it’s not. Give me the location. Now!”
    “What the hell’s going on?” Drumbowski threw his hands in the air.
    But Eve just took the location, sprinted away. She already knew Chaz Parzarri wouldn’t be transported to the hospital. But she was damn sure he’d be transported to the morgue.

EVE EXPECTED TO FIND CHAZ PARZARRI DEAD. A dirty accountant, she concluded, could be replaced. Still, she had Peabody call in for uniform response to the GPS location as she ran hot across town.
    “Two units responding,” Peabody told her, squeezing the chicken stick in a death grip while she prayed the safety and maneuvering features in her partner’s DLE were all they were touted to be.
    Her heart did a flip into her throat when they shot vertical, skimmed over the bright yellow snake of Rapid Cabs with a couple of layers of paint to spare. She decided her heart might