Dead Certain

without the benefit of disinfectant.
    I hated to leave Claudia’s father there, but he said he didn’t want to inconvenience me any further. Besides, he pointed out that the police would almost surely want to talk to him alone. I left him reluctantly, pressing my office number upon him along with instructions to call me when he was ready to be picked up. From my car phone I dialed Joe Blades, only to be told, just as I’d expected, that he was on his way back from the medical examiner’s office. I left a message that I’d called. Then I dialed Joan Bornstein’s office.
    Fortunately she was in. After I told her that Claudia had been murdered, I waited while she cycled through the normal shocks of incredulity and dismay. But when she started in on the dangers of Hyde Park, I cut her off.
    “I don’t think she surprised a burglar,” I informed her. “I think this is all tied into what is going on at Prescott Memorial.”
    “You mean the malpractice suit?”
    “That or her old boyfriend or the bid by HCC. I’m not sure which, but her death advances too many people’s agendas for it to be a coincidence.”
    “What do the police think?” I could tell from her tone of voice that she thought I was crazy.
    “They’re doing their job, which is to find physical evidence, interview witnesses, and chase down leads. In the meantime, there’s something that I need you to do.“
    “Anything.”
    “I’m going to have copies of the patient files that Claudia was reviewing, the patients whose deaths were suspicious, brought over to your office. I want you to get a couple of doctors working on going through them right away.”
    “What do you mean by right away?” she demanded.
    “Immediately. Right now.”
    “Today? Do you have any idea what I’d have to pay to get a physician to just drop what he’s doing and tackle this?”
    “I don’t care. I’m willing to pay the earth.”
    “That’s good,” replied Joan Bornstein, “because that’s pretty much what it’s going to end up costing you.”
     
    When I arrived at the firm, I bumped into Jeff Tannenbaum in the reception room. He’d just come from a meeting with the Icon lawyers. The documents had been approved by both sides, and they would be ready for signatures in a couple of hours. According to Jeff, Gabriel Hurt was not only flying back for the closing but insisted that it take place at Prescott Memorial in Bill Delius’s hospital room.
    Back at my own office Cheryl seemed surprised to see me. Surprised as well as uncertain. I could see the flicker of wariness behind her eyes, the distance that my grief now put between us. I could also tell she hadn’t made up her mind about how to handle this, to handle me.
    “I didn’t think you’d be coming in today,” she said, getting up from behind her desk and following me into my office. “Mr. Tillman just came by to offer his condolences, and I told him that I thought you’d be at home for the day.”
    “That’s the last place I’d want to be,” I said.
    “I’m sorry, I didn’t think... ,” she stammered.
    “That’s okay. I ended up spending the night at the new apartment last night. I’m going to get the rest of my things moved in over the weekend.”
    “Elliott just called. He said you’d be coming in. He’s on his way over. He said he’s bringing something you’d want to see—something important.”
    “Anything else?” I asked.
    “A Detective Peter Kowalczyk just called. He wants you to call him back.” Cheryl picked the pink message slip out of the pile and handed it to me. I punched in the number. Apparently he was sitting by the phone, because he picked it up on the first ring.
    “Kowalczyk,” he said.
    “This is Kate Millholland, returning your call.”
    “Joe’s in with the vic’s—I mean, Dr. Stein’s father, but he wanted me to call you and let you know some of the preliminary autopsy results.” I could tell from his voice that he didn’t much like the idea of sharing information with civilians, especially high-priced lawyers.
    “It looks like cause of death was due to a single stab wound through the neck, which severed the carotid artery. No evidence of sexual assault. She didn’t have alcohol or opiates on board. We’re still waiting for hair and fiber results, not to mention toxicology, but the doc said they’d be releasing the body to the family later in the day.”
    “Don’t you think there’s something funny about the fact that it was a single