Bone of Contention: A Medical Thriller With Heart (The Gina Mazzio Series Book 4)

by Bette Golden Lamb

  He sat at his desk and looked around the office he shared with four other Inspectors. Right now, only Pepper Yee was there, with her ever-present piles of wandering papers covering her desk.

  “Hey, Yee, when are you going to clean up that mess you call home? Probably a rat at the bottom, feeding off an old moldy hamburger you misplaced weeks ago.”

  She gave him her usual smart-ass retort, “Fuck you, Mulzini,” and accompanied it with a digital salute. “The day you and Marcia take me to Hawaii instead of just running off and dumping your difficult cases in my lap, I’ll have it spic and span for you.”

  He liked the Inspector – a lot. He was sorry to hear that she and her husband were calling it a day.

  He seemed like a nice guy ... but what do I really know about anyone?

  He turned away from her and continued his computer search for Katt’s Apartment Management, the name Dirk thought he had seen on the door of the truck the guy had used to kidnap Gina, then dump her in Golden Gate Park. There were several Kats’ with one t – none with a double t.

  He thought he’d finally grabbed a break for Gina, but it was all ending up in a blind ally, with her ex hidden somewhere behind a trash bin.

  She’s going to go ballistic when she finds out Colletti’s gone missing. Someone upstairs ought to give that nurse a break. Trouble always has a way of finding her.

  Now, like it or not, Mulzini had to accept that it could have been her ex who cut the Fiat’s brake line. Really not too hard to believe.

  One thing Mulzini knew for sure: it didn’t take much for someone to go off the deep end. The human mind was a dark and vengeful place. People held onto the smallest of slights and would do anything to even a score. Steal. Torture. Murder.

  He looked back at the computer screen and the long list of apartment management providers. Maybe the kid got it wrong. After all, it was dark out when Dirk read the name of the maintenance company on the truck door.

  He thought about Dirk.

  Marcia had immediately fallen in love with the boy. Mulzini had to admit he liked Dirk, too, liked having him around. He and Marcia rarely saw either of their sons, who were busy with their own lives. It was nice to be appreciated for doing nothing more than providing a bed to sleep in and food to eat. Too many take simple things like that for granted.

  Yeah, we all take too much for granted.

  Mulzini went back online and went through the Property Management directory again. He decided to start at the beginning of the K’s instead of picking up alphabetically at Katt-. When he came to Karsh, he stopped. Three listings.

  Why is that name so familiar?

  He sat back in his chair and brought his feet up onto his desk.

  “Better watch it, Mulzini,” Yee said with a laugh. “The big guy says no feet on the desk. Too unprofessional.”

  “This is what I have for the big guy.” Mulzini provided his own version of disdain; a two handed birdie. Both he and Yee laughed.

  Chapter 48

  Amory Mason was lodged in his favorite chair, trying to catch up on his book reading. It wasn’t going well. He’d been jumpy every since that nonsense with Marvin Karsh. He hoped it would all pass by without his having to get involved in it.

  He’d recently started Dickens’ Great Expectations and had been enjoying it ... until Karsh kidnapped that damn nurse.

  He ran his hand across the book’s leather binding and sighed. The information age, with all its technology, was something he had no trouble comprehending, but who had the time to keep up with it? Dickens’s world, though, had greater depth, with real characters, people whose motives and actions were far more understandable.

  He ran a finger behind the bookmark and opened to the page where he’d left off reading. Before he got half way through the first sentence, someone started pounding on his front door. He was startled, then angry, then up and out of his chair in an instant.

  “For cryin’ out loud! Ring the bell! That’s what it’s there for.” He walked up to the door, flung it open. “What the hell is the matter with...”

  His heart skipped a beat. The Karshes stood there, their faces a mixture of anger and determination. No one said anything for a long moment until Thelma finally broke the silence with a terse, nasty demand. “We need to talk, Amory. Now!

  He wanted to slam the door shut, was disgusted with the pair of them. The mere sight of the Karshes made his stomach roil. These two specimens were the perfect example of the kind of people he’d always tried to avoid throughout his career – ignorant, pushy, crass.

  Unfortunately, they were also the kind of people The Holy Eye seemed to attract.

  Scrutinizing the couple, he realized they were not only aggressive, but homicidal – like too many within the group he’d started simply to keep himself busy following his retirement. He’d begun to think that pushing buttons – computer and telephone – was more in line with his style of protest. It was the smarter and safer thing to do.

  Right now, Thelma and Marvin Karsh were convincing him that perhaps he should be thinking about how to back away and pass leadership of The Holy Eye on to someone else. Certainly not to these two cretins.

  He could see that there was no way he was going to get out of letting them into the house without causing a ruckus. Just the look on Thelma Karsh’s face told him that.

  “Come in,” Amory said, stepping aside. The couple proceeded him, walked into the living room, and, uninvited, sat down.

  Amory ignored Thelma and her fiery eyes and spoke directly to Marvin. “What’s the problem?”

  Marvin said nothing. He seemed tongue-tied. He hadn’t uttered a word since appearing at Amory’s door.

  “The nurse is still alive!” Thelma sat up straighter. “Not only that, she knows what I’ve been doing.”

  Amory held up a hand. “Stop right there! I don’t want to hear anymore about this. I’ve never wanted to be involved in anything illegal – certainly not murder. I told you that the other day, Marvin, when you brought that woman to my doorstep.”

  “You what?” Marvin exploded. “You don’t want to be involved? What the hell does that mean?”

  Amory held up his hand again.

  “Don’t try to put me off again,” Marvin said. “We thought The Eye was supposed to be all about preventing murder, murder of the unborn. You’re involved in that, all right.”

  “That’s different,” Amory said.

  Thelma’s upper lip curled into sneer. “What you mean is, it’s safer ... for you ... keeps your neck out of a noose.”

  “I started this organization with one objective: Stop legalized abortion.” Amory pointed first at Marvin, then at Thelma. “You two are going in a completely different direction. In fact, for the good of the group, I’m going to have to ask you to withdraw from the organization.”

  “You—”

  “—shut up, Marvin.” Thelma pushed her face toward Amory. “You are not going to order us to do anything.”

  “Get out of my house,” Amory yelled. “Get the hell out before I call the police!”

  Thelma unfolded from her seat; she suddenly seemed much taller.

  “Go ahead, you hypocrite, call the police. We’ll tell them it was your idea to kill the nurse, and anyone else whose abortion views and actions go against the teaching of The Holy Eye.”

  Marvin jolted up and stood next to his wife. “Yeah, so keep your big mouth shut. Ya hear?”

  * * *

  Back in the truck, Marvin reached for the beer he’d left in the cup holder. Thelma grabbed it first and threw the can out the window.

  “Hey, what the fuck you think you’re doing?”

  “Just drive!”

  “I’m not taking orders from you, either. I’m the man of the house and don’t you forget it.”

  “Oh, I’m not forgetting anything, Marvin, dear. I’m not forgetting that fat hand of yours beating up on me, your sleeping with every woman—”

  “—I take care of you in the sack, don’t
I?” He swung his arm out and backhanded her in the mouth. “Don’t you poor Thelma me, you bitch. When I hit you, it’s because you deserve it.” He twisted the key, started the truck, and pulled away from the curb.

  Thelma pulled a wad of tissues from her purse, pressed them against her mouth, and caught most of the blood dripping down her chin. She eyed the roll of quarters he always kept in the glove box to feed parking meters, bit back the tears that threatened to gush. She was sure one of her teeth was loose, if not broken. Her face hurt, but she wasn’t afraid of him anymore. Disgusted, she threw the tissues on the seat between them.

  “We need to get that nurse, and we need to get her now,’ Marvin said. “I think she saw my face.”

  “And how do you propose we do that?” Thelma said. “You messed up our one and probably only chance to get her out of the way.”

  “Just like anything that’s broken ... fix it!”

  There was a volcano inside of Thelma, building, growing hotter, rising. She was through with doing things just because he told her to do them.

  “I told you before, Marvin, I’m not doing any of this anymore. It’s all on you, now.”

  “What are you mouthin’ off about?” He looked away from the avenue, glared at her until a loud continuous blare of a horn behind the truck brought his gaze back to the road. With a yank of the wheel, he turned into a small side street, stopped the truck, and turned to her. “Whadda you mean you’re not doing it anymore?”

  There was a weakness in her knees, but she continued. “I don’t want to rot in prison, you hear me?” She grabbed the door handle, ready to jump out if necessary. “It wouldn’t be that hard to prove what I’m doing is infecting and killing those women. Unless I stop now, that nurse is going to nail me.”

  “So what? They’re murderers. That’s what abortion does, it murders.” He grabbed her by the hair and yanked her head around to face him. “You’ll stop when I tell you to. Ya hear me?”

  She looked at her husband, scrutinized his dirty clothes, unshaven face. Thelma had never hated anyone as she did her husband at that moment.

  “And the men who get the women pregnant? Aren’t they murderers, too?”

  “What kind of bullshit is that? Men want to fuck ... that’s it. The women are the murderers ... they’re the ones who allow someone to have their holy creation destroyed.”

  “I don’t care anymore. Do you hear me?” Thelma deliberately pulled his fingers from her hair, one at a time. She looked him square in the eye for a long moment – then she spat in his face.

  He grabbed for the wad of tissues she’d thrown on the seat, swiped his face. His eyes were murderous; the muscles around his jaw were bunched. Thelma knew she should get out of the car and run. But it all seemed so unimportant now. She just plain didn’t care. All she wanted was for him to kill her. Right here. Right now.

  “You can do anything you want to me, Marvin. Even kill me. That way I won’t get caught, won’t have to die in prison.”

  “Fuckin’ women! Think you can tell me what to do.” He grabbed her arm; his fingers dug in.

  Thelma snatched up the roll of quarters from the glove box, curled her fingers around it, and slammed him in the ear as hard as she could. “Did you think you could push me around forever, you lousy excuse for a man?”

  His eyes filled with pain then morphed into the beady eyes of a cobra – cold, calculating.

  Before he could speak, she said, “Get this through that thick head of yours, Marvin: either kill me here and now or start doing things my way.”

  Chapter 49

  Gina shifted in bed, burrowed deeper under the covers while shadowy figures encircled her, closed in, pushed hard against her. One large hand, then another, reached out for her neck.

  A loud voice screamed at her, Maybe you’ll stop bothering my wife now, bitch.

  She awakened with a start, her hands at her throat. Frightened and disoriented, she covered her mouth to stifle a scream.

  The words continued to vibrate in her throat: Maybe you’ll stop bothering my wife now, bitch.

  She hadn’t been thinking straight. Everything had happened too quickly – erratic, scattered. She’d only concentrated on Dominick and that had messed her up. It kept her from focusing on the bigger picture. Maybe her injuries had affected her more than she was willing to admit.

  She started to reach for Harry, then changed her mind. He was exhausted from working overtime and he had the day off; he needed it, needed to get some rest, needed to sleep.

  The alarm would go off in ten minutes so she decided to get up and start getting ready for work early now. She quietly slipped out of bed and turned the harsh alarm buzzer off before it could do its job and wake Harry. She walked into the living room, tried to make her thoughts come together.

  When the results for the culture came in, she would have another talk with Taneka. Then there would be no denying what Thelma had done.

  Gina wasn’t sure how it was all going to tie together, but maybe Inspector Mulzini would be able to help her work it out. She planned to get in touch with him again as soon as she had the culture test results. She just knew they would be positive. They had to be!

  Back in the bedroom, she tip-toed through the room, trying not to wake Harry, and went into the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash up. Gina looked into the mirror and studied her face.

  What a mess.

  She gingerly pressed her head, then her ribs and the other places where she’d been injured. She’d tried to ignore all of her painful symptoms from the car accident and kidnapping. But there was no getting around it: everything was still pretty tender.

  She applied some drops to her reddened eyes and dabbed on some makeup, trying to lighten the dark circles under her eyes. The cuts on her arms from the automobile accident were looking good, well on the way to healing. When she took in the total picture, she saw herself covered with imaginary band aids – the only things holding her together.

  You’ll live!

  She slipped into her scrubs, and stuffed her scissors, clamp, pen, into one pocket, her new cell in the other. She debated whether to kiss Harry goodbye or not, but chided herself – they’d always agreed that life was too tenuous, that each farewell could be their last.

  She leaned over the bed, kissed Harry on the cheek. She didn’t want to wake him since he didn’t have to go in until the afternoon.

  “Hey, doll,” he mumbled. “Time to go already.”

  She looked into his blue eyes, which were at half mast. “Yes. You go back to sleep. I’ll see you later.”

  Harry nuzzled her neck; his hands slid under her scrub top, then under her bra. He laughed. It sounded husky, sexy. “Come back to bed. I promise I’ll be a quick.”

  “Some enticement.”

  She could tell from his voice that he was drifting off again, but he blew soft puffs of air into her ear. “How ‘bout I meet you for lunch, doll?”

  “Call me when you’re fully awake.”

  His mouth was open as though he was about to say something, but instead he fell asleep again, snoring softly.

  * * *

  The Fiat barely gave her a moment’s trouble when she turned the key in the ignition – one little hiccup and that was it.

  She gave it a pat on the dashboard. It was nice to have it back, the windshield and the bumper all repaired, and actually looking better than before the accident.

  Even with all your idiosyncrasies, I love you ... and I know you love me.

  At the hospital, she drove around looking for a parking place. The usual routine. She’d already given up the idea of parking in the garage. While circling the area, she reviewed what she would do after clocking in.

  First thing, she would go to the computer and check for the lab results. She was certain Thelma had contaminated the KY jelly. So she knew in her heart that the lab results would prove her right. She could visualize the culture report on the computer screen – Positive.

  Next, she would take the fin
dings to Taneka and explain what Thelma had done, how she was responsible for Carrie and Elyse’s deaths.

  Gina was going to nail Thelma’s hide to the wall.

  With preparation for the condo construction underway, there was no curb space where she usually parked. She finally found an iffy spot about eight blocks from the hospital and refused to give in to her fears about the distance she would have to walk. She parked and took off at a rapid pace, pulled out her cell, and phoned Inspector Mulzini.

  Might as well while I have the chance.

  He picked up immediately. “I’m glad you called.”

  “Well, that’s a first. I always imagine you rolling your eyes the second your phone window says it’s me on the line.”

  “Not true at all.”

  “So what’s up,” Gina said.

  “You first.”

  “I wanted you to know that I was able to get a sample of the contaminated jelly. I sent it to the lab.”

  “Are the results in?”

  “I’m walking to the hospital now. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  “Okay,” Mulzini said. “So what’s the last name of this medical assistant you think is causing the infections that are killing patients? You gave it to me once, but if I wrote it down, I’ve lost it.”

  “Her name is Thelma.”

  “Last name?” Gina could swear the Inspector was holding his breath.

  “Karsh. Thelma Karsh. But listen, Inspector, there’s more. I think it was her husband who kidnapped me.”

  “I’m beginning to think so, too. And, Gina, I want you to call me the minute those lab results are in, okay? We may have caught a break.”

  “What kind of break?”

  “Later.”

  * * *

  Gina hurried to the nurses’ station, gave a big sigh of relief when she found it empty. She grabbed a chair and, with restless fingers, tapped into the lab results page.

  Nothing yet? Dammit!

  When she turned to leave, she came face to face with Thelma and Taneka.

  “Thelma has made an excellent suggestion,” Taneka said, smiling broadly at Gina. “She thought it might be a good idea if the three of us had lunch together and talked over some of the problems the two of you are having.”