Blood Work

by Michael Connelly

  “I’m not sure. But I think you stand a better chance of getting information out of BOPRA than us.”

  “Why don’t you just go to the police? They have the best chance. Why are you involving me?”

  “I can’t go to them. Not yet. I go to them and I’m out of it, off the case. Think about what I just told you. I’m a suspect.”

  “That’s crazy.”

  “I know that. But they won’t. Besides, that doesn’t matter. This is personal. I owe it to Glory Torres and I owe it to Graciela. I’m not going to sit on the sidelines on this one.”

  A small bit of silence slipped by.

  “Doctor?”

  Graciela had come up behind them. They turned to her.

  “You have to help. If you don’t, then all of this-everything you do here-means nothing. If you can’t protect the integrity of the system you work in, then you have no system.”

  The two women stared at each other for a long moment and then Fox smiled sadly and nodded.

  “Go to my office and wait for me,” she said. “I have to see Mr. Koslow and one other patient. It will take me a half hour at the most. After that I’ll come to the office and make the call.”

  31

  THE COORDINATOR’S OFFICE.”

  “Glenn Leopold, please, this is Bonnie Fox calling.”

  They were in Fox’s office with the door closed. Fox had the phone speaker on so McCaleb and Graciela could listen. They had waited for her a half hour before she had come in. Her demeanor was different. She was still going to help but McCaleb noticed that she was more agitated than she had appeared when they had gathered in the empty patient room in the north tower. They had gone over a plan McCaleb came up with while waiting, Fox had taken a couple of notes to refer to and then placed the call.

  “Bonnie?”

  “Hi, Glenn, how are you?”

  “I’m fine. What can I do you for? I’ve got about ten minutes before a meeting.”

  “This shouldn’t take long. I’ve got a slight problem here, Glenn, and I think you might be able to help me.”

  “Tell me.”

  “I performed a transplant here February ninth-it was BOPRA file number ninety-eight thirty-six-and a complication has come up. What I’d like to do is speak with the surgeons who performed transplants with the donor’s other organs.”

  There was a brief silence before Leopold’s voice came up on the speaker again.

  “Uh, let’s see… I mean, this is kind of unusual. What sort of complication are we talking about, Bonnie?”

  “Well, I know you have your meeting. To make it as brief as possible, the recipient’s blood group was type AB with CMV negative. The organ we received through BOPRA matched that-according to the protocol. But now-what are we, nine weeks or so post-op-our recipient has developed CMV virus and we are showing rejection in the blood work from the latest biopsy. I am trying to isolate how this has happened.”

  More silence.

  “Well, I think it would have come up before now if it came in with the heart.”

  “That’s true but we weren’t looking for it before. We assumed based on the protocol that there was no CMV. Don’t get me wrong, Glenn, I am not saying it came in with the heart. But I have to find out where it came from and I want to cover everything. Best place to start is with the heart.”

  “Are you trying to isolate this, as you say, at the request of attorneys? Because if that’s what you are doing, then I think I need to get my-”

  “No, no, Glenn, this is just me. I need to know if the virus came in with the organ or there was-is-a problem right here.”

  “Well, what blood did you use?”

  “That’s just it, we only used the patient’s own blood. I have the file right here. He stored eight units long before surgery. We only used six.”

  “And you are sure you used his six?”

  Leopold’s voice was now showing some agitation. Fox was looking at McCaleb as she answered and he saw how uncomfortable it was for her to be deceitful with the BOPRA organ coordinator.

  “All I can say is that we followed procedures and I personally double-checked the bag labels before surgery. They were his labels. I have to assume it was his blood.”

  “What do you want from us, Bonnie?”

  “A list. What organ went to what patient, and the attending surgeon I can call.”

  “I don’t know. I think maybe I should-”

  “Glenn, listen, it is nothing personal, but my patient is having this problem and I need to check this out for myself. I have to be satisfied myself. I will keep it contained, if that’s what you are worried about. No one is talking about lawyers or malpractice. We just need to find out how this happened. For all we know, you are right, it’s a blood mix-up. But I am sure you would agree that the place to start with something like this is with the new tissue that’s been introduced to the patient.”

  McCaleb held his breath. They were at the pivotal point. Fox needed to get the names herself. She couldn’t let Leopold say he would check it out himself and get back to her.

  “I suppose…”

  Leopold trailed off and Fox leaned forward, folded her arms on the desk and put her head down. In the silence McCaleb heard a sound from the phone that he identified as computer keys being tapped. He felt a slight charge as he realized that Leopold was probably calling up the file on his computer.

  McCaleb stood up and leaned over the desk and gently tapped Fox on the elbow. She looked up at him and he made a circular motion with his hand, signaling her to keep going.

  “Glenn?” she said. “What do you think?”

  “I’m looking at it right now… Harvest occurred at Holy Cross… There is nothing here on the donor profile indicating CMV. Nothing. This person was a long-time blood donor. I think it would have come up before if she-”

  “That’s probably true but I need to double-check. Even if just for my own peace of mind.”

  “I understand.”

  More sounds of the computer keyboard being played.

  “Let’s see, transportation was… by MedicAir… The liver was transplanted right there with the heart at Cedars. Do you know Dr. Spivak? Daniel Spivak?”

  “No.”

  McCaleb grabbed a legal pad from his bag and started writing.

  “Well, he did that one. Let’s see, the lungs-”

  “I’ll call Spivak,” Fox interrupted. “What’s the patient’s name?”

  “Um… I’m really going to have to ask you to keep all of this in the strictest confidence, Bonnie.”

  “Absolutely.”

  “It was a male. J. B. Dickey.”

  McCaleb wrote it down.

  “Okay,” Fox said. “You were on to the lungs.”

  “Uh, yes, lungs. No takers without the heart. Your patient got the heart.”

  “Right. What about bone marrow transfer?”

  “You want everything, I guess. The marrow… uh, the marrow we did not do well with. We missed the window. The tissue was flown to San Francisco but by the time MedicAir got up there, they had a weather delay. They were redirected to San Jose but with the delay and the ground traffic and everything, it took too long getting up to St. Joseph ’s. We missed the chance. From what I understand, the patient later expired. As you know, this blood group is tough. That was probably our one chance on that one.”

  That brought another measure of silence. McCaleb looked at Graciela. Her eyes were downcast and he couldn’t read her. For the first time he considered what she was going through. They were talking about her sister and the people she had helped save. But it was all said in such a clinical manner. Graciela was a nurse and was used to such discussions about patients. But not her sister.

  McCaleb wrote “bone marrow” on the page and then drew a line through the words. He then made the keep-it-rolling hand motion to Fox again.

  “What about kidneys?” she asked.

  “The kidneys… The kidneys were split. Let’s see what we’ve got on the kidney
s…”

  Over the next four minutes Leopold went down the list of items mined from the body of Gloria Torres and redistributed to living patients. McCaleb wrote it all down, now keeping his eyes on the legal pad and not wanting to look at Graciela again to see how she was handling having to listen to such a grim inventory.

  “That’s it,” Leopold finally said.

  McCaleb, energized by getting the names but exhausted by the cliff walk it took in getting them, blew his breath out loudly. Too loudly.

  “Bonnie?” Leopold said quietly. “Are you alone? You didn’t tell me you were with-”

  “No, it’s just me, Glenn. I’m alone.”

  Silence. Fox threw an angry look at McCaleb, then closed her eyes tightly and waited.

  “Well, okay,” Leopold finally said. “I thought I heard someone else there, that’s all, and I have to reiterate that this information is highly confidential in-”

  “I know that, Glenn.”

  “-nature. I’ve broken my own rules by giving it to you.”

  “I understand.” Fox opened her eyes. “I will make my inquiries discreetly, Glenn, and… I’ll let you know what I find.”

  “Perfect.”

  After a few more exchanges of small talk, the call was ended. Fox pushed the phone’s disconnect button and brought her head back down on her folded arms.

  “God… I can’t believe what I just did. I… lied to this man. Lied to a colleague. When he finds out, he’s…”

  She didn’t finish. She just shook her head on the cradle of her arms.

  “Doctor,” McCaleb tried. “You did the right thing. There is no harm to him and he’ll probably never know what was done with the information. Tomorrow you can call him and say you isolated the CMV problem and it wasn’t from the donor. Tell him you destroyed the notes on the other recipients.”

  Fox brought her head up and looked at him.

  “It doesn’t matter. I was deceitful. I hate having to be deceitful. If he finds out, he’ll never trust me again.”

  McCaleb just looked at her. He had no answer to that.

  “You have to promise me one thing,” Fox said. “That if your theory proves out, that if you are right, then you get whoever did this. That will be the only way I’ll be able to accept this. It will be my only defense.”

  McCaleb nodded. He came around the desk and leaned down and hugged Fox.

  “Thank you,” Graciela said softly. “You did good.”

  Fox smiled weakly at her and nodded.

  “One last thing,” McCaleb said. “Do you have a copying machine?”

  32

  THE ELEVATOR DOWN was packed and silent except for the music piped in, which McCaleb identified as an old Louis Jordan recording of “Knock Me a Kiss.”

  As they stepped out, McCaleb pointed Graciela in the direction of the doors leading to the tramway that would take her to the parking garage.

  “You go that way.”

  “Why? Where are you going?”

  “I’m just going to take a cab back to the boat.”

  “Well, what are you going to do? I want to go with you.”

  He pulled her to the side of the busy elevator lobby.

  “You’ve got to go back home to Raymond and your job. In fact, Raymond, he’s your job. This is my job. This is what you asked me to do.”

  “I know but I want to help.”

  “You did help. You are helping. But you’ve got to go to Raymond. I’m going out through the emergency room. There are always cabs down there.”

  She frowned. He could tell by her expression that she knew he was right but it didn’t sit well. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the photocopy of the list he had made in Fox’s office.

  “Here, take this. If something happens to me, you have a copy. Give it to Jaye Winston at the sheriff’s office.”

  “What do you mean if something happens?”

  Her voice was almost shrill and McCaleb immediately regretted his choice of words. He moved her into a little alcove where there were pay phones. No one was using the phones and they had a small measure of privacy. He put the bag on the floor between his feet and leaned forward so his eyes were close to hers.

  “Don’t worry, nothing is going to happen,” he said. “It’s just that all this work I’ve done, ever since you came to the boat that day, it all has led to this. The names on this paper. I just think it’s better if we both have a copy of it, that’s all.”

  “Do you really think the killer’s name is on there?”

  “I don’t know. That’s what I’m going to think about and work on when I get to the boat.”

  “I can help you.”

  “I know you can, Graciela. You already have. But right now you have to pull back a little bit and be with Raymond. You don’t have to worry. I am going to be on the phone telling you everything that happens. Remember, I’m working for you.”

  She tried a half smile.

  “No, you’re not. All I had to do was tell you about Glory and after that you were doing what your heart told you.”

  “Maybe.”

  “How about if I take you and just drop you off at the boat?”

  “No way. That will take you into rush hour and you’ll be driving for two hours. Go now, while you can. Go be with Raymond.”

  She finally nodded. Still leaning down into her face, McCaleb brought his hands up to her shoulders and gently pulled her into a kiss.

  “Graciela?”

  “What?”

  “There’s something else, too.”

  “What is it?”

  “I want you to think about this, think about if I’m right. I have to think about this.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “If I’m right, if somebody killed Glory for something she had inside, then in a way they killed her for me as well. I got a part of her, too. If that’s true, then can we…”

  He didn’t finish the question and she didn’t say anything for a long moment. Her eyes dropped their focus to his chest.

  “I know that,” she finally said. “But you didn’t do anything. You didn’t cause this.”

  “Well, I want you to think about it and just be sure.”

  She nodded.

  “It’s God’s way of making something good out of something so bad.”

  McCaleb leaned his forehead against hers. He didn’t say anything.

  “I know what you told me and I know that story about Aubrey-Lynn. It’s all the more reason to believe. I wish you would try.”

  He pulled her into an embrace and whispered into her ear.

  “Okay, I’ll try.”

  A man with a thick briefcase stepped into the alcove and went to one of the phones. He glanced at them and did a double take when he saw Graciela’s nursing uniform. He obviously believed it was a Cedars nurse engaging in some form of unprofessional conduct. It ended the moment for McCaleb. He broke the embrace and looked into Graciela’s face.

  “You be careful and say hello to Raymond for me. Tell him I want to go fishing again.”

  She smiled and nodded.

  “You be careful, too. And call me.”

  “I will.”

  She leaned forward and kissed him quickly and then headed off in the direction of the parking garage. McCaleb glanced at the man on the phone and then walked away in the opposite direction.

  33

  THERE WERE NO taxi cabs waiting at the curb outside the emergency room. McCaleb decided to change his plan. He hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast and was growing weak with hunger. He felt a low-grade migraine beginning to throb at the base of his skull and knew if he didn’t refuel, it would soon crawl over the top of him and encase his whole head. He decided to call Buddy Lockridge to come get him, then have a turkey and coleslaw sandwich from across the street at Jerry’s Deli while he waited. The more he thought about the good sandwiches they made over there, the hungrier he got. Once Buddy arrived, they could drive over to Video GraFX Consultants in Hollywood to pick
up the tape and the hard copy of the frame Tony Banks had enhanced for him.

  He quickly stepped back into the ER lobby and over to the pay phone alcove. There was a young woman on one of the phones tearfully telling someone about somebody else who was apparently being treated in the ER. McCaleb noticed that one nostril and her lower lip were pierced with silver hoops connected by a chain of safety pins.

  “He didn’t know me, he didn’t know Danny,” she wailed. “He’s totally fucked up and they’re also calling the cops.”

  Momentarily distracted by the safety pins and wondering what would happen if the woman yawned, McCaleb picked up the phone furthest from her and tried to tune her out. He was about to give up on Lockridge after six rings-on a boat like the Double-Down, you can’t be more than four rings away-when Buddy finally picked up.

  “Yo, Buddy, ready to go to work?”

  “Terry?”

  Before McCaleb could answer, Lockridge’s voice dropped to a whisper.

  “Man, where are you at?”

  “Cedars. I need you to pick me up. What’s the matter?”

  “Well, I’ll pick you up but I’m not sure you want to come back here.”

  “Buddy, listen to me. Skip the bullshit and tell me exactly what is going on.”

  “I’m not sure, man, but you’ve got people all over your boat.”

  “What people?”

  “Well, two of them are those two guys in the suits who were here yesterday.”

  Nevins and Uhlig.

  “They are inside my boat?”

  “Yeah, inside. Also, they pulled the cover off your Cherokee and have a tow truck out there. I think they’re going to take it. I went over there to see what was going on and they almost put me down on the boards. Showed me their badges and a search warrant and told me to get lost. They weren’t nice about it. They’re searching the boat.”

  “Shit!”

  McCaleb looked over and saw that his outburst had drawn the attention of the crying woman. He turned his back toward her.

  “Buddy, where are you, up top or below?”

  “Below.”

  “Can you see my boat right now?”

  “Sure. I’m looking out the galley window.”