Watch Your Back by Rose Karen

Author:Rose, Karen
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Headline
Published: 2013-11-07T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

Baltimore, Maryland, Sunday, March 16, 6.15 P.M.

Sam Hudson hated the morgue on a good day. This was not a good day – for him, for the department, or for the MEs. Especially not for the cops lying inside with tags on their toes.

He’d been aware that cops had been shot. It was all over the news, but he’d been in a fog all day. The deaths of his fellow cops hadn’t seemed real, but that changed the moment he stepped into the morgue. There was a level of tension he hadn’t felt on any of his prior visits.

He stopped at the front desk, manned by a security guard. ‘I’m Officer Hudson,’ he said, showing his badge as he was dressed in street clothes. ‘Can I speak with Dr Trask?’

The guard looked mildly surprised. ‘She’s on maternity leave. Won’t be back ’til next year.’

Sam frowned. ‘I knew she’d gone out, but I thought maternity leave was only eight weeks.’

‘She’s taking unpaid leave so she can be home with the baby until his first birthday. She’s brought him in a time or two.’ The guard smiled. ‘He’s a cute one.’

‘I’m sure he is,’ Sam said, trying to sound . . . normal. ‘Is Dr Mulhauser here, then?’

‘He’s retired. New chief’s named Quartermaine. He’s in the back with all the assistant MEs.’ The smile faded to a sad kind of fury. ‘They’re all doing exams. We got a full house.’

‘I heard,’ Sam murmured. ‘I need to pull an autopsy report. It’s really important. Is there anyone here who can help me?’

‘I’m sorry, but the person who pulls reports has gone home for the evening. If you leave the information, someone can pull it for you when the hubbub goes down.’

‘I can help him.’

Sam turned to find a dark-haired, very curvy Latina beauty in her late twenties walking down the hall from the back. She was zipping her jacket, a gym bag slung over one shoulder.

The security guard’s smile returned. ‘Ruby, you’re off the clock aren’t you?’

‘Yeah. And it’s about time,’ she said with grim relief. ‘This has been one of the longest days we’ve had in months. What can I do for you, sir?’

‘This is Officer Hudson,’ the guard said.

‘It’s okay,’ Sam said quietly. ‘You’ve put in a full day. I can wait.’

He didn’t mind waiting. He’d waited for over an hour in the parking lot outside, trying to convince himself to come in. He could wait a little longer to read what was sure to be very bad.

‘I’ve retrieved the bodies of four cops today,’ she said, ‘and I feel like shit. Helping a live cop will make me feel better. Come with me.’ She led him back to one of the offices, pointed to a chair while she dropped into the one behind the desk. ‘ID number?’

Sam slid his badge across the desk. ‘My ID.’

She studied it for a moment. ‘Who do you need to look up, Sam?’

‘I don’t have a name. He’s a John Doe. But I have the police report number.

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