Code Blue

by Debra E Blaine

  Troy had parked himself in the breakroom with his laptop and was doing foundation work, answering emails and talking to donors and politicians. His current project was to protect hibernating bears. Not a climate issue, but he was completely incensed, and if Tobi had had the luxury to look beyond her own predicament right then, she would have joined him in that sentiment. It was bad enough the government wanted to legalize killing the endangered species, but they were doing it while the bears were sleeping in their caves, and killing the cubs too! Could you get any more cowardly than that?

  Chapter 56

  Ismar Rufini drove his Mercedes down the long, curving eighty-foot driveway toward his garage. The mansions in Centre Island were all recessed for privacy, and he enjoyed the thick array of evergreens that accented a stone-lined path, which circled the manor and went around the back. The sun set very early in January, and the house was in shadows, except for the timer light. His wife was supposed to be home, cooking his dinner. If she were out with her friends again … these American women! They didn’t know their place.

  His knee was inflamed and stiff and he wasn’t wearing a brace because he couldn’t drive with it on, so he limped inside with his cane and shook the snow off his shoes as best he could in the long foyer. The kitchen was completely dark down the hall. He kept a warm, fluffy pair of slippers by the door and donned them slowly as he called out her name.

  “Jennie?”

  No answer. He hobbled through the house, puzzled and frustrated. He was hungry and in pain, and there were no enticing aromas coming from the kitchen. He really just wanted to put his leg up and have her wait on him. A nice glass of wine and some hummus and pita while waiting for dinner would have been nice. He shuffled past the living room, dining room, and sitting room, where the fireplace was cold and drafty. No fire, either! She was probably out shopping with his money. The outside light was on in the backyard. That was strange. It hadn’t been warm enough for Jennie to be outdoors in months now. He walked over to the glass doors and peered out from behind the curtain and caught his breath.

  There was an oddly shaped but somehow familiar, macabre silhouette lying across the steps leading down into the snow-covered, manicured backyard and the inground pool, which was now closed up for the winter. He looked more carefully, and saw blonde strands covered with dirty snow, or something … he opened the door and hobbled out.

  The cold bit into him immediately without his coat, and a gust of wind pushed him back until he nearly fell over. His fluffy slippers were no match for the ice underfoot. He inched tentatively forward with the cane and felt himself wretch. He turned to the side and lost his lunch in the flower bed.

  Jennie was lying across the path, her head still and lying on the stone, blonde hair tossed aside and covered with blood. Her body looked crumpled and broken, her neck twisted to the left and her legs extending in directions her joints shouldn’t be capable of attaining. Her eyes were wide open.

  Rufini gasped and grabbed his chest in pain. He told himself he was too young to have a heart attack—he was only thirty-eight years old. He looked around several times before he tried to creep quietly down the steps, but he slipped on the icy stoop when he couldn’t bend his knee and landed on his butt. Cautiously, he reached over to check for her carotid pulse, but he was already sure he would not find one.

  Chapter 57

  By the time she was done for the night, Tobi was completely exhausted, and still imagining Ismar, or some other faceless, sinister foe jumping out at her. Troy suggested they go out to eat, but she was too tired, so he ordered from the Japanese restaurant. She told him about the Lenmans’ situation as they drove to pick up the food.

  “I understand why you did that,” said Troy, “but it wasn’t smart. You’ve just made it personal for them to get you out of the way. Until now, it’s been ‘strictly business.’”

  “How could I not tell them? The whole thing is ridiculous. The Lenmans are in their eighties, how can they pay off a second mortgage? Their grandson is not getting on any transplant list with less than one year sober, and if he does get on the list, he’s a dead man when his name comes up. So now they’re creating anxiety over potential future costs to get patients to invest instead of just going after imminent procedures. You would have told them!”

  Troy did not deny it.

  “Makes sense. This way, they can get money out of their clients for longer,” he said.

  “We have to do something!”

  “We have to expose them without putting you at further risk,” Troy said. “Who can you absolutely trust?”

  “Hopefully, Daniel Comet. But, do you really think B. Healthy would get involved in something like this?”

  “Unlikely. Sounds like they’re a hundred percent capitalists, so if there were money to be made … but if they got caught, it would ruin them, and they’d lose everything. Too many risks. I’d say they’re probably not aware. Guys like these are heartless money mongers, but their business isn’t generally murder, not actively, anyway. People may die from negligence, but they don’t count that the same way.”

  Troy parked the car at the restaurant and looked at her meaningfully. “We go in together. From now on, you’re not going anywhere without me until this is all over.”

  Tobi did not argue, but preceded him dutifully into the restaurant, so no one could sneak up behind them. Troy’s hand rested on her shoulder, but she still glanced behind them constantly. Troy stuck to her like glue, which was both comforting and annoying, and contributed to her fatigue as she fought the impulse to succumb to feelings she hadn’t had in almost two decades.

  He insisted on buying and she let him, and they headed home. She was acutely aware of how different her house felt now. No longer the safe oasis among the trees, she found herself peering behind every bush and every parked car, and once they were inside, she wanted to check all her rooms, closets, and windows before relaxing. Pantelaymin attached herself to Troy’s legs and purred loudly until he shared some of Tobi’s white tuna with her. Traitor, she thought.

  Ellie called.

  “Tobi! Did you hear? Ismar’s wife is dead!”

  Tobi nearly choked mid-swallow. “What? What do you mean? How do you know?”

  Tobi started shaking and Troy sat up, on full alert. She put the phone on speaker but placed a finger to her lips, eyes glued to the screen.

  “You know my husband is Director of EMS Services, and they responded to a call at his house. Ismar found her—she’s dead!”

  “How did she die?” Tobi asked, afraid to hear the answer.

  “Right now it looks like she might have slipped on some ice in the back of their house and hit her head on their stone steps. Must have been a super hard fall or maybe she’s been taking aspirin, I don’t know, she was dead on arrival. Could be a crazy random accident, but why would she even go out in this sub-zero weather? And she wasn’t even wearing a coat, so I think they’re looking at Rufini as a potential murder suspect! I don’t think he’d kill his wife and then call the police, do you?”

  Tobi’s throat was constricted and she couldn’t speak. “I … I don’t know, Ellie. I gotta call you back.” She hung up the phone and brought her knees to her chest and then wrapped her arms around them. She started rocking back and forth.

  Troy came over and enfolded her in his arms. “It’s alright, you’re going to be alright. I won’t let anything happen to you; I swear it.”

  Tobi felt ashamed. She was supposed to have implacable strength, it was how she had survived all her life. But right now, she was falling apart. Some disconnected part of her brain was saying that Ismar had quite enough to deal with right now, he wasn’t coming for her, but her blood felt like ice in her veins.

  “Rufini won’t come here now, right?” she asked Troy. “He’s got to be too busy with the police and his wife, and everything … why would he kill her anyway?”

  “
He probably didn’t.” Troy clipped his words.

  “Why would they kill his wife?” she asked.

  A moment went by and Troy said nothing.

  “Oh. Because he didn’t kill me,” she murmured.

  Troy looked at his watch. “It’s nine-thirty, that means it’s ten-thirty in the morning in Port Douglas.” He pulled out his phone, tapped the screen several times, and put the speaker on once he was connected.

  “Good morning, inspector. It’s Troy DeJacob. Do you have a moment?”

  “Yes, Mr. DeJacob. How can I help you?”

  “I found my friend, and she is in danger. There was an attempt on her life, but it’s been difficult corroborating the facts with the police.”

  “I am so sorry! Is she okay? How can I help?”

  “We are going to have to go to the FBI. Is there any way you can help us validate what has been happening, both in Port Douglas and with this insurance company? We seem to be running up against brick walls. Even the medical institution my friend works for seems to have been, let’s say, ‘influenced.’”

  “I’m not sure how much help it would be,” Bent said, “but I can try. There’s an FBI field office in Canberra; I will give them a call. I’ll need your address in New York and your friend’s name, as well as the name of the organization she works for. I’ll tell the FBI everything we have so far. Unfortunately, we’ve made no further headway on the murders of Marcus and Freddie, but it’s looking like your Robain’s—Reuben’s—death was a true accident.”

  “You have my deepest gratitude.”

  “No worries. I’ll call you back when I know something.”

  Troy gave him Tobi’s name and address and spelled out B. Healthy, LLC.

  He hung up and Tobi looked at him. His eyes were soft but intense, more blueish brown today than green, and a few strands of grayish hair kept falling onto his face. The left side of his forehead was still purple and swollen, but he didn’t seem to notice it.

  “You need to call your former medical director,” he said.

  Tobi glanced at her watch. It was late, but not horribly so. She looked at Troy’s face and then picked up her phone again. It seemed like it rang forever, but Daniel picked up just before it went to voicemail.

  “Hey, there, how are you? It’s been a while.”

  “Hi, Daniel,” Tobi said, trying to keep her voice even. “Did you hear about Ismar Rufini’s wife?”

  His voice became suddenly serious. “Yes, I did. What a fluke accident. Horrible.”

  “Daniel—” Tobi froze. What if he didn’t believe her either?

  “What is it, Tobi?”

  “I don’t think it was an accident.”

  There was silence for a long minute. “I’m listening,” he said.

  Troy nodded at her and she continued.

  “Daniel, I think she was murdered.” She swallowed hard. “Rufini followed me home two nights ago. If it weren’t for a friend of mine who stopped him from messing with my car, and then from breaking into my house ….”

  The line was still quiet. “Are you still there?”

  “Yes, I’m here.”

  “Steve doesn’t believe me … he’s been acting strange, and the police don’t believe it was Rufini because his wife vouched for him, but now she’s dead, and I’m really frightened.”

  “Do you think Rufini killed his wife?”

  “No, I think whoever Rufini is involved with killed his wife. And I think Rufini has been stealing patient information from B. Healthy. I need your help.”

  “You know I’m here for you, Tobi, but why me? What can I do?”

  “Hospitals for Health can look at our patient records,” Tobi said. “You probably think I’m crazy, but I swear I’m not making this up.”

  “Tobi, I take what you say seriously, you know that. Why don’t you start from the beginning?”

  “Okay, so a month or so ago, Rufini swapped my tablet in the office, and Ellie told me he was doing the same thing on the south shore with Monica.”

  Tobi told Daniel everything, including the details of Amelia’s father, Antonio’s, car accident and the Lenmans’ intention to mortgage their house.

  “They’re all using an insurance company that covers only high risk patients, called Kordec—”

  “Yes, we’ve been looking at them.”

  “You have?” Tobi felt like a hundred pounds had been lifted off her back.

  “Yes, their stats are questionable,” Daniel said in his usual unruffled voice. “Their premiums are large, but their scheduled payouts are very small. We try to accept it anyway since those patients have to pay such high premiums and we don’t want to leave them high and dry. We’re still owned by physicians, you know, and we try to give back to the community. I think we’re one of the last hold-outs. So far, we haven’t had to put in a claim for anything really big. Which is strange, given the types of conditions they insure.”

  “Why do you think that is, Daniel? Do they all die first?”

  Silence.

  “I’m not really supposed to discuss this, but yes, they seem to. But this population is by definition at high-risk for mortality.”

  “But what if that’s not it? What if it’s by design? Are they dying from their disease or from something else?” Tobi tried to keep her voice as level and tempered as Daniel’s. She envied how unflappable he was, always steady as a rock. A rock with a heart.

  “Where are you going with this, and how did you become involved?”

  “Because … it looks like my brother wrote their original software.”

  “I thought your brother died a long time ago.”

  “So did I. Apparently, he just went into hiding, from these people. He actually died a few weeks ago, but he’d been hacking into this Kordec company, and they figured it out, and now they’re after me. It looks like Rufini works for them! And now he’s been trying to get rid of me.”

  Tobi felt like she sounded hysterical, so she shut up abruptly, but then, she couldn’t stand the silence. Troy put a steadying hand on her arm. His blue-hazel eyes held her like an anchor in a violent ocean.

  Daniel cleared his throat. “I believe you, mostly because I can’t imagine you making this up, and no one has been talking openly about Kordec yet. But do you have any hard evidence I can bring to Hospitals for Health?”

  “There are two dead bodies besides my brother’s in Port Douglas, Australia. Then there’s Antonio’s car accident and Rufini’s wife in Centre Island. The Australian police are hopefully getting in touch with the FBI tonight. Can H for H track the charts Rufini has been messing with? I don’t know who else at B. Healthy is wrapped up in this, but it feels like Steve Chagall just went over to the other side.”

  “Steve has been rather distracted this past week,” Daniel said. “We had a meeting regarding protocols that we’d like to see B. Healthy implement if we are going to share a name, and he was not focused at all. Okay, Tobi, I’ll make some calls tomorrow and will check out these Kordec patients. Meanwhile, what are you doing to stay safe?”

  “Oh,” she smiled for the first time. “I seem to have picked up a personal bodyguard.”

  “Male or female? Is this person qualified in the muscle category?”

  “Daniel, how sexist of you! There are plenty of well-muscled, well-trained women out there.”

  “Okay, that’s fine, as long as this one is strong and fast. Do you keep a gun in your house?”

  “No. I thought about it once, but since the only reason to have a gun is if you plan to shoot it one day, I decided against it.”

  “Alright, well keep your eyes open. You and your bodyguard.”

  Tobi got off the phone and slumped in the kitchen chair. Troy put an arm around her and gently nudged her up and over to the living room sofa.

  “You need some rest. You’re a mes
s,” he said softly.

  She didn’t even argue. She had no clever words to come back at him and she was so tired. She sat down next to him, put her feet on the coffee table, and rested her head on his shoulder, feeling his arm behind her back as he enfolded her in warmth. She wanted to weep for all the years she and Ben lost with him and Reuben. And all the years Reuben lived thinking she was angry at him.

  She pushed a strand of hair away from her face. “I wish Reuben and I could have understood each other better. I wish he hadn’t been so angry with me.”

  Troy stroked her hair and his thumb touched a single tear on her face and brushed it away. “He wasn’t angry. He named his dive shop ‘Tobi’s,’” he said, as if that explained it all.

  “It was all so stupid! All those arguments over money!”

  “He felt the same way, you know. He was just trying to get your mother off his back, so he gave her whatever she wanted, but once he’d had some distance, he realized you couldn’t contribute to your mother the same way, not while raising Benny all alone. And he was tormented about not telling you he was alive, but he was genuinely afraid. At one point, I told him I didn’t care about my promise, that I was going home to tell you the truth. But that night we read about the surgeon in London who’d been killed. Reuben had been following him from an internet café in Cairns, and he thought the doctor was trying to expose the scam. When the doctor was murdered, it scared us both. They never found the killer, but the inspector in Port Douglas told me they were pretty sure it was this Tzenkov guy, they just couldn’t convict him.”

  Troy looked at her sideways, and Tobi knew he was checking to see if she were still awake. She let her eyes close completely. Too tired to move, too tired to fight. The soft leather Natuzzi sofa was famous for putting her to sleep. Pantelaymin jumped up and settled into the crease between their bodies and starting bathing herself. Troy stroked the cat with his free hand and Tobi drifted off to the vibration of her purring.

  Tobi woke up stiff and sore. Troy was alert in a heartbeat. She sat up and stretched. “I need to go to bed,” she said.