Page 85 of Bad Blood

Jessie Belmont.

She was with me a few days ago, working on a case. There has to be a reasonable explanation. What’s the likelihood our team is being picked off one by one? I shudder at the thought. There’s no way it was her. Not making it to the meeting doesn’t mean imminent death.

I open the hospital directory and peruse through the departments. I find Jessie’s photo under an explanation of what we do here at MSW Oncology Department below a Meet the Bone Cancer Team heading. I’m not sure what I expected to find. It’s her—all smiles, exactly as I remember her from a few days ago. Dark hair, hazel eyes, white lab coat. I didn’t know she was a runner.

There’s a pang of regret that I haven’t ever tried to connect with her on a deeper level.

What is wrong with me?

This is absurd. I’m not sure if she is the victim or if she’s a runner. And the easiest way to put myself at ease is to find her.

She is the only J contact I have on my phone. I tap on her name and the phone icon. It rings and rings and rings to voicemail. This doesn’t mean anything. She could be with a patient. I’m probably overreacting and she’s fine. I close my phone and stuff it in the front pocket of my scrubs. I’ll see if she’s on the floor in a minute.

I gather the pens and pile them in the center of the table and my eyes dart to where Kline snatched the paper from. Why does he want it? It’s not like none of us knows what it says. Maybe Luca didn’t read it all. Or perhaps Kline intends to go over it on his own. But why would he act sneaky and pocket it? It’s not like he couldn’t get his own copy from HR. Or maybe he doesn’t want them to know he’s taken a bigger interest in the lawsuit.

“Do you have a second?”

I yelp and jolt in surprise, the coffee from the mugs I’ve collected splashing down my scrubs and onto the floor. “What the heck?” I shriek, grabbing at my chest.

Luca chuckles. “I’m sorry I scared you. Can I talk to you for a minute?” He closes the door behind him, turns his face away, and lowers his head. “Did he take it?”

“Take what?” I set the mugs in the sink and run a paper towel under the water, wiping it across the front of my scrub pants to get the coffee stain before it sets in.

“The paper? The one I left.” He gazes at the head of the table. “Over there.”

I drop to the floor and wipe up the splashed coffee remnants. A small part of me wonders if Luca expects me to explain Kline’s actions—as if I know what he’s thinking or why he’s acting as strange as he is—but I couldn’t justify what he’s doing if I tried.

Luca walks to the other side of the room and places a hand on the table before stooping to look underneath it. “It’s not here. I presume he took it, right?” He stands and smooths a hand down his white button-down shirt.

If I agree, will Kline be in more trouble? Did he do something wrong in taking the paper? Was he set up?

I plaster a smile on my face and lift an eyebrow.

“You don’t need to cover for him.”

“I’ve already told you what I know.” Most of it.

“Depositions are at the end of the month. Explain what you saw, what happened.”

The muscle in my jaw twitches; I’m sure it’s a dead giveaway. The longer I’m silent, the more it looks like I’m covering for Kline. Which I’m not. I have no idea why the stupid piece of paper means so much to the two of them.

Tara peeks in the doorway after a brief knock, smiling, saving me from whatever I was about to bite the bullet for.

“There you are. Dr. Matthews said you hadn’t come out of here yet. Is the ride home an open-ended offer? I’m going to be late tonight and won’t need a ride until next week.”

“Yeah, no problem. Whenever you need, you’ll just need to remind me.”

“I’ll keep you posted.” She smiles and disappears, the door creaking to a close. I take this as my cue to escape and grab my laptop.

Recognition dawns on Luca’s face, and his expression hardens. “You could fix this.”

“And I will. I need to find more charts, see where this started and why.” He already has Collins’ case to keep me quiet. I need to figure out why he’s roping me in on these cases too.

“You have enough evidence.”

Without thinking, I double-check that the USB is safely tucked in my breast pocket. I can’t bring myself to hand it over because something tells me I’m the only one I can trust. What if Kline’s not doing this alone? And how deep does this betrayal go?

I glance up at Luca, hating that my thoughts take me there, but until I sort this out, everyone is a suspect. “But that doesn’t explain why he’s doing this on the cases I’ve worked with him. Do you have any ideas?”

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