Edge of Mercy (A Kate Reid Novel Book 11)

by Robin Mahle

  “Myself included? Is that what you’re driving at?” Whitman shook his head. “Under no circumstances would I help that young man. I gave it my best shot when he was younger, after he lost his father, but there was something in him that frightened me. It frightened his mother was well.”

  Kate glanced at Surrey. “Can I ask what made you leery of him?”

  “I’ll start by saying that he idolized his father. You may already know this, but Dr. Eugene Bishop was the Chief of Surgery at Our Lady of Mercy until he died.”

  “Where you then took over,” Surrey interrupted.

  “Yes. I was, in fact, promoted to the position. I could see Theo had wished to follow in his father’s footsteps, which I supported. The boy had a brilliant mind. It simply needed to be molded; guided by a respected authority figure in the medical field. I had hoped I would be that figure. But when we saw…” He turned away.

  “Saw what, Dr. Whitman?” Kate leaned in.

  “His mother insisted it was nothing and that it was important for Theo to have a clean slate upon entering medical school. So we overlooked it.”

  “Dr. Whitman, please. What did you and Mrs. Whitman see?” Kate pressed on.

  The doctor nervously glanced around the restaurant. “Shortly after his father died, Carol and Theo had been living in the home she had shared with Dr. Bishop. We started to see each other more regularly and it wasn’t uncommon for me to stay the night.

  Theo had gone out for an evening with friends, or so he told us. As Carol and I prepared for bed, we heard a noise, a screeching almost. Something that, well, the sound was just horrendous. It came from the basement. Theo’s father had received various grants over the course of his career which allowed him to conduct experimental procedures in the field of surgery. Things that are today used quite regularly. So the basement was generally off-limits to Theo unless he wished to observe his father, which he had done on several occasions.”

  “What was in the basement?” Kate asked, hoping to jump to the conclusion of this story.

  Whitman closed his eyes and shook his head before continuing. “A dog, a neighbor’s dog, in fact, had been secured to one of the tables. He—he had been sliced lengthwise, his insides…” Whitman choked up. “Theo tortured the poor animal and had injected it, I assume, to put it out of its misery. However, the injection proved ineffective and the animal had survived. Until we found it. I then put the poor creature out of its misery.”

  Kate and Surrey traded knowing glances. She turned back to Whitman. “Theo is under investigation for the murder of 6 people that we know of. Some of the victims had existing conditions that were exacerbated by an injection that ultimately caused their deaths. Others had been denied oxygen or given something that induced a serious medical reaction. Dr. Whitman, why was something so clearly troubling not reported to the authorities at the time?”

  “I am ashamed to say that I respected Carol’s wishes. She had insisted it was merely Theo acting out as his father had only recently passed at that point. We didn’t see any sort of similar behavior from him after that. I suppose we thought it had gone away. So when you say that someone is helping Theo escape justice, I can say with certainty that it is not Carol nor me.”

  Kate stood up. “Thank you for your time, Dr. Whitman. If you or your wife do hear from Theo, please, it’s imperative that you reach out to us.” She handed him a business card. “Sorry to have interrupted your meal.” Kate pushed in her chair and headed toward the entrance.

  Surrey followed and neither said a word until they reached the car when Surrey began, “What the hell was that about?” He opened the car door. “Torture? The kid tortures a dog and no one says a goddam thing?”

  Kate stepped inside and turned the engine. “Dr. Bishop died from a heart attack at the age of 45. Seems a little young, doesn’t it?”

  “What are you saying?” Surrey asked.

  “I’m saying, maybe these rescued victims weren’t his first kills. Given what we know now, don’t you think it’s possible he could’ve killed his own father?”

  “You heard what Whitman said back there. Theodore Bishop idolized his father,” Surrey replied.

  “Okay. Say he put his dad on a pedestal. None of us is perfect. What if Dr. Eugene Bishop did something to make Theo reconsider who his father was?”

  Surrey peered through the passenger window. “If that’s the case, then we’re dealing with a man far more dangerous than you might’ve originally thought.”

  Kate and her shadow-partner arrived at the Vital Records Department in Providence.

  “We know the father died from a heart attack, Reid. What are you hoping to gain by pulling his death certificate?” Surrey asked.

  “I want to see the name of the doctor who called it. The physician who completed the death certificate. Then I want to find him.”

  “Fair enough.” Surrey followed her inside the building.

  “Hello, I’m FBI Special Agent Reid.” Kate approached the information desk. “I’m looking to pull a death certificate from 2004.”

  The hefty, older woman behind the desk appeared boorish and rolled her eyes after noting Kate’s badge. “Name?” She pulled toward her monitor.

  “Dr. Eugene Bishop. Died in September of 2004.”

  “One moment.” Her fingers sped across the keyboard as if she’d done this a thousand times. She probably had. “Dr. Eugene Bishop.” She looked at Kate. “You want me to print this up for you? I’ll have to charge you $5 for a copy.”

  “That’s fine. Yes, I would like a printed copy. Thank you.” Kate pulled out a five from the wallet inside her coat pocket. When the woman returned with the copy, she looked at the money Kate had placed on the counter.

  “Sorry, no cash. Apparently, they don’t trust us with cash. Credit or debit only. Swipe your card right here.” She pointed at the card reader.

  “Okay.” Kate again pulled out her wallet, returned the cash, and inserted her card.

  A receipt printed from below the desk and the woman ripped it away. “Here you go, ma’am.”

  “Thank you so much for your help. Have a nice day.” Kate walked toward the double doors. “Nice lady.” She whispered to Surrey.

  “Yeah. A real gem,” he replied.

  As they made their way outside, they stopped beneath the overhang of the building.

  “So? Who was the doctor?” he asked.

  Kate held the copy of the death certificate so they could both see it. “Um, oh, here it is. Dr. Phillip Hilgard. Our Lady of Mercy.” She looked at Surrey. “There sure are a lot of connections to this hospital.”

  “Well, Dr. Bishop had been the Chief of Surgery. It shouldn’t be too surprising he was brought there. Or maybe he had gone there when he experienced chest pains.”

  “It’s something I’ll bet Dr. Hilgard can help us out with.”

  “There’s something else to consider, here, Reid. Like the fact he may no longer work for the hospital. The father died in 2004.”

  “You know what? You’re exactly right.” Kate retrieved her phone. “Let’s find out if he still works there.” She peered at him. “I guess there was a reason for you to be here.”

  The line answered. “Our Lady of Mercy Hospital. How may I direct your call?”

  “I’d like to speak to Dr. Phillip Hilgard. I’m with the FBI and it’s important I speak to him.”

  “One moment please.”

  The operator placed Kate on hold. “He must still work there. They put me on hold.” The line answered again. “Hello?”

  “Yes, this is Dr. Hilgard. How can I help you?”

  “Doctor, I’m Agent Reid and my partner and I would like to talk to you about Dr. Eugene Bishop. He passed away from a heart attack in…”

  “I know who he was,” Hilgard replied. “What do you need to know?”

  “Well, I’d like to review his medical records with you and discuss the circumstances surrounding his death.”

  “I’m sorry. Do you have a warran
t, Agent Reid? Permission from the family? I’m sure you understand that medical records are confidential, even in the event of a patient’s death.”

  “I do not have a warrant.” Kate shot a look to Surrey. “It wouldn’t be difficult for me to get one, but I thought you might be able to share some insight into Dr. Bishop’s medical condition.”

  “What is this about, anyway?” Hilgard asked. “He died more than 15 years ago. What could possibly be relevant to you today?”

  “His son, Dr. Theodore Bishop, is wanted in connection to multiple homicides, Dr. Hilgard. That is why I’m looking into the death of his father.”

  “I’m sorry. I can’t help you.”

  The line went dead and Kate pulled the phone from her ear. “He just hung up on me.”

  “That sounds like an invitation to pay him a visit,” Surrey replied.

  The sun dipped below the horizon and only the fiery glow remained. Kate peered at it through the window of the restaurant while sipping on a glass of iced tea. “I thought we’d be on our way home by now.”

  Surrey nodded. “Getting a warrant takes time, but I think you made the right call. The doctor’s behavior is suspicious. Who hangs up on a fed?” He grabbed his glass of water and swallowed a large gulp. “The more we come up against, the more inclined I am to believe you were right.”

  “What do you mean?” Kate turned back to him.

  “I mean about the hunch that someone is helping Theodore Bishop. None of this is adding up. It’s as though everyone in that man’s life has shielded him.”

  “But why? How could they do that?” she asked.

  “The only answer to that is whoever is helping him must wield a fair bit of power. The power to make or break careers, ambitions.” Surrey nodded. “Yeah, it smells pretty bad.”

  “I need to know how far Fisher will go to back me. I thought this would be a quick one-off, get back and piece together what happened.”

  “Did you really think it would be that easy?” Surrey asked. “You’ve been doing this long enough to know better. You’ve been after this guy for what, two, three weeks? Now he’s weaseled his way out of the country. Reid, I don’t think any of this is going to be easy, which is why I’m glad it’s you on the job.”

  A half-cocked smiled played on her lips. “Kissing up to me won’t guarantee you this job, Surrey. I’m not the one who will make the call.”

  “First of all, I wasn’t kissing up to you. What I said, I said based on my experiences. Secondly, I haven’t decided if this is the right move for me in any case. Between the relationship you and Scarborough have, the fact that the Senior Unit Agent is also dating another agent; it all feels very swampy to me. I’m not sure I want to step into that muck.”

  Kate chuckled. “I can’t argue your point. But what I can say is that Fisher is objective almost to a fault. Yes, he is in a relationship with Eva Duncan, but you know how hard it is to meet people outside of our line of work? Are you married?”

  Surrey shook his head. “Divorced. And you might be right about meeting people. Still, I do my best to keep away from the political bullshit. As much as I admire what you did for our office and what you’re doing on this investigation, I’m not sure I’m convinced this is the right move for me.”

  Kate nodded and reached for her phone. “Hang on.” She peered at the caller ID. “Looks like we might’ve just gotten our warrant.” She swiped to answer the call. “Reid here.” Kate nodded. “Perfect. That’s exactly what we need. Can you also send a copy to Agent Cameron Fisher at Quantico? Thank you so much. Goodbye, sir.”

  “You got it?” Surrey asked.

  “Sure did. You don’t mind if I step outside for a moment, do you? I need to call Fisher and get him up to speed. I’m sure no one in here wants to listen to me on my phone.” Kate excused herself from the table. “I’ll be right back.”

  “Take your time,” Surrey replied.

  Kate pushed through the door and walked outside with the phone at her ear. “Hey Fisher, it’s me. Listen, I just got the warrant we discussed. They’re sending you a copy as well.”

  “It’s getting a little late to serve it tonight though, don’t you think?” He asked.

  Kate checked the time on her phone before continuing. “Looks like it’ll have to wait until first thing in the morning. I know I promised we’d be back by tonight…”

  “Don’t sweat it. Do what you have to do. If you believe this is the right path, then keep at it, but let me know how things go in the morning. Oh, by the way, what do you think of Surrey?”

  “He seems very capable,” she replied.

  “Capable? That’s it? Doesn’t sound like he’s made much of an impression on you.”

  She sighed. “Don’t get me wrong, he’s a good agent. I can see that. And to be honest, he’s offered helpful insight today. It just takes time to get to know people.”

  “But you’re not ruling him out as a candidate for Quinn’s replacement?” Fisher asked.

  “I wouldn’t rule him out. No.”

  “Good. Keep me up to speed on your progress. And Reid, try to get some sleep.”

  “I will. Good night.” She pressed the end call button, but before going back inside, she wanted to update Nick. Call it a habit, or an obligation, it was just what she had to do. He quickly answered the line. “Hey, it’s me.”

  “Hi, how’s it going? Still there, I see,” Nick replied.

  “We hit a little bit of a snag but now that we got our warrant, we should be able to wrap this up tomorrow morning. I just wanted to give you a call before it got too late.”

  “It’s never too late to get a call from you. Besides, it’s what? 8 o’clock? What am I, 60?” Nick laughed.

  “Sorry. You’re right.” Kate chuckled. “Anyway, it looks like we’ll be staying here for the night. In the morning, we’ll serve a warrant to the doctor who attended to Theo’s father when he died.”

  “He doesn’t want to cooperate, huh?”

  “He hung up on me if that tells you anything.” Kate peered inside the restaurant. “Hey, um, we’re getting ready to eat some dinner, but I wanted to touch base. I’ll call you later?”

  “Sure thing. Goodnight, babe,” Nick said.

  “Good night.” Kate returned her phone to her pocket and walked back inside. As she returned to the table, their food had arrived, and Surrey had already tucked in.

  “Everything good?” He said with a mouth full of food.

  “It’s all good.”

  23

  Kate turned off the alarm on her phone and pulled up to the edge of the hotel bed. It was 5am and the pace of this investigation had caught up with her. Nevertheless, she was certain this was a means to an end. Understand the family dynamics of the Bishop’s and she would figure out who had helped him slip into Mexico City. What she knew without a doubt was that it had been someone with money and influence. Manipulating national security data was no easy task. The risks alone would warrant a high price tag.

  As she prepared to leave the room, Kate hoped it would be for the last time and staying another night wouldn’t be necessary. That all depended on how cooperative Dr. Hilgard would be.

  Downstairs, Surrey hovered over the vast buffet, snatching up every sugary carbohydrate in sight before tossing on a few sausage links and eggs on the plate for good measure.

  Kate approached him. “I see you subscribe to the notion of a hearty breakfast.”

  He turned to her. “I eat what I want. I don’t have anyone to impress. Morning.”

  She nodded and ladled a heaping serving of oatmeal into a bowl. “Morning. Did you sleep well?”

  “Not really. I don’t like traveling. Working in the Denver office means I don’t usually have to.”

  “Well, that would change if you worked at BAU. Just saying.” Kate filled a paper cup with coffee and took her tray to a nearby table. She emptied a couple of sugar packets into the coffee while Surrey sat across from her. “I don’t know what time Dr. Hilgard will get
in this morning, but I would suggest we arrive as soon as we can. I have no idea if we’ll get pushback or if he’ll just take off.”

  “If he does that, then we have ourselves a real problem. I don’t think he’ll be that stupid.” Surrey sipped on his coffee. “Getting there early means we can get the hell out of here and I can get back to my office.”

  “So that’ll be it? You don’t want to see this through?” Kate asked.

  “I was brought in to observe. I’ve done that. I have nothing to contribute to your ongoing investigation. I wasn’t here at the beginning and the time it would take to get fully up to speed, you’d probably have found him by then.”

  Kate pursed her lips. “I see.”

  “You’re disappointed?” He studied her. “Why? The whole purpose of my being here was to learn your style.”

  “Hey, I don’t care what you do. My job is to find Theodore Bishop and I’ll do that with our without your help.” Kate shoved a spoonful of oatmeal into her mouth.

  He grunted. “Look, Reid, no offense. I’m not one of those gung-ho agents who will stop at nothing to get his man, or woman. I’ve been at this for too long and I’ve learned that those guys? They burn out. They end up losing everything important in their lives for the sake of the one case they couldn’t solve. I already lost a wife and a daughter because I neglected them. I learned the lesson, albeit, too late. I do the job and do my best, but I won’t risk it all for a criminal or some psycho killer. Because I’ll tell you one thing, Reid, there will always be another one right around the corner.”

  Maybe this wasn’t going to be a good fit after all. Kate opened her phone and scrolled through it while she ate so she could end this topic of conversation. Every member of her team looked at investigations as she had. Get the unsub at all costs. At least, she thought they had. Wasn’t it Fisher who initially suggested they leave this in the hands of the FBI international office in Mexico City? If she hadn’t pursued this avenue, she would be sitting in her office working on some consult and reading resumes for Quinn’s replacement.