Save Her Child by CJ Lyons (best historical biographies txt) 📗

exasperated breath. “Perhaps all she needs is a good night’s rest in a safe place. I’ll try again tomorrow morning.”

“There’s not much we could do unless social services think the baby is in danger. Then we could get a court order to force her to give us her identification, maybe also fingerprints. But even that doesn’t mean we’d be able to find out who she is.”

“Yeah, that sounds way too confrontational. If she’s a victim of domestic violence or the like, I don’t want to scare her off. There has to be another way.”

“If you think of anything, let me know. And I might also need your help.” He explained the crime scene he had been at that morning, about Tassi and how scattered she’d been. Not to mention her possible motives for murder. “Could you interview her? See if there’s signs of mental distress or—”

“Or if she’s faking it?”

“Exactly. She might be complicit in her husband’s crimes; she could be trying to hide from any responsibility.” He frowned. “But she did just lose her husband. If she’s innocent, I don’t want to ignore the impact that kind of trauma could have on her mental status.”

Leah’s phone buzzed. “Ruby and the kids are out front. Okay if I bring them back to see you?”

He shrugged, trying to look nonchalant. She left, returning a few minutes later with Ruby, Emily and Nate. Ruby hovered in the doorway, while Emily rushed over and reached up on tiptoe to give him an awkward hug. “Luka, what have you done?” she admonished him, her gaze fixed on the plastic-and-Velcro brace the nurse had sequestered his leg inside.

But it was Nate who had all of Luka’s attention. The boy hung back, his expression blank.

“I’m fine,” Luka told him. “Fell on some glass, is all.”

Nate gave a jerk of his chin in acknowledgment, but his expression remained guarded. Luka remembered the social worker in Baltimore telling him that Nate had once, during one of the brief periods when his mother had regained custody, returned home from school to find the apartment empty. It wasn’t until two days later that he’d even known she’d OD’d and had been in the hospital.

“I should have called you,” Luka said. “I’m sorry.”

Nate considered that. Luka ignored the others to beckon Nate closer. Hesitation slowing every step, Nate moved to Luka’s bedside. Luka wrapped his arm around the boy’s shoulders, drawing him as close as possible. Letting him know that he really was okay. “See, it’s nothing. Only a few stitches.”

“Did it hurt?” Nate asked, his gaze fixed on the thick swatch of gauze visible between the Velcro straps.

“Actually, I didn’t even know I was hurt until I looked down and saw it. Then the doctors gave me laughing gas, so I didn’t feel a thing.”

Ruby handed Leah a set of car keys. “Can you get this lot home? I’ve got a date and these two have about frayed my last set of nerves.” She left before giving Leah a chance to answer.

“Where’s the baby, Mommy?” Emily asked. Then she spun back to Luka. “We had a baby at the fair!”

“Was she okay?” Nate added. “That lady?”

“She’s fine and she had a beautiful baby boy,” Leah reassured him. “And you were a big help, getting the ambulance for me.” Nate’s smile widened and his posture relaxed.

The nurse came in with Luka’s discharge instructions and a set of crutches. The kids happily critiqued his clumsy efforts as he tried them out on the way to the parking garage and Leah’s car.

Once Luka was situated in the front passenger seat, already despising the crutches Leah stowed in the rear cargo compartment, he called Ray for an update. “Anything new on our searches of the Standish house and office?”

“Nothing yet. Sanchez is working the electronics from the office and the widow is still sequestered,” he said, in a tone implying finger quotes around the final word. “Turns out the neighbor is a chiropractor and also her doctor, so he gave her another sedative. As if she wasn’t already loopy.”

As they spoke, Luka noted Nate’s disapproving scowl in the sideview mirror, reminding him that he was supposed to be off duty, doctor’s orders. “I should go,” Luka said for Nate’s benefit. “Need me for anything?”

“Nope. Even Ahearn finished his schmoozing and took off. Only grunt work left until we can get the cell records and financials once the banks are open in the morning.”

“Still no sign of Spencer’s phone?”

“We got the carrier to do an emergency location ping, but nothing. My guess is someone removed the battery.”

Which implied someone trying to cover their tracks, since a GPS ping should work even if the phone was turned off. One more strike against Spencer’s death being a possible suicide, despite all appearances.

“What about the ex-DEA guy, Dean? Did he give you anything more about what Spencer was up to in Colorado?”

“Took off right after you left. Said he’d be in touch, whatever that means.”

What it meant was that Luka was now more curious than ever about the former fed’s involvement. Ray read his mind. “I’ve got Krichek working on a background check.”

“Good. Anything else?” Luka asked. Behind him, Nate’s scowl tightened.

“Get some rest. I’ll call you if we need you.”

Luka hung up as they pulled out of the parking garage. Leah hesitated at the stop sign, but it was Nate who asked the question. “Are you coming home?” His tone was guarded, but Luka heard his undercurrent of need. “Or going back to work?”

Luka twisted in his seat to face the boy. “No more work tonight. I want to hear all about the fair. Did you guys win any ribbons?”

Nate beamed but beside him Emily suddenly scowled and kicked the back of Leah’s seat. “Hey,” Leah told her. “Cut that out, I’m driving.”

“I won’t!” Emily shouted. “How come you’re no fun, not like Daddy? If he were here we could’ve won all the prizes! He would’ve taken time off work to help us win.”

“Calm down and tell