Page 61 of Girl Lost
Corbin rolled his eyes but lifted his shirt to show the white bandage. “How many, Doc?”
“Sixteen,” the doctor replied, tossing the bloody gauze into the biohazard bin.
Blade shrugged. “Just a scratch.”
“A bleeder, though.” Dr. Payne smiled. “It’s the bruised ribs that will be the real bugger.”
“I’m not worried about that.” Corbin waved a hand at his blazer hanging on a hook. “That’s the second suit I’ve ruined.”
“Yes, by all means, focus on the things you can easily replace.” Dr. Payne shook her head as she headed for the door. “I’ll be right back.”
Blade pulled up a chair. The earlier levity evaporated. “I really dropped by to make sure you’re both okay.” He glanced between her and Corbin. “So, any idea who those guys were? The kidnappers?”
“Not sure,” she said. “We might have prints on Corbin’s gun.”
“I turned it over to Officer Pierce, who met us here.” Corbin eased his legs off the exam table and let them dangle. “Told her to run the prints through the military and criminal databases. Thoseguys were too well trained to be regular thugs. They were professionals.”
“This, on top of everything else.” Blade’s expression softened. “I heard about Carlie and the other girls. I’m sorry you’ll have to face the commissioner now.”
Corbin’s jaw tightened. “Yeah, well, he was already threatening my job. I’m preparing for the worst.”
“Stay positive. You’re not to blame for this,” Blade said. “We’ve got a few deputies out there, and they said this has been going on awhile.”
“Dr. Santos texted. We’ve got five graves so far, but they’re still looking. We’ll meet her at the morgue in the morning to hear her findings.” Corbin looked at Luna for approval, and Luna nodded. She’d be there with him, no doubt about it. “What about you? Where are you with Stryker’s case?”
Blade stood and leaned against the counter beside Luna. “DeLuca is a dead end. Literally.” He lifted the metal lid off the jar of cotton balls and looked inside. “I got a call earlier to inform me he’s dead.” The lid clattered back down, and Blade faced them.
Luna’s breath caught in her throat. She saw Corbin tense, and his hand unconsciously moved to cradle his injured side. “How?”
“Turns out, he’s been in lockup the past three months on a manslaughter charge,” Blade said. “Someone shanked him in the shower.”
Corbin ran his thumb and forefinger around his mouth. “I knew Abercorn was lying. But who did he sell those Tasers to? If he sold them at all.”
Luna started to speak, but the doctor returned then, handing Corbin his discharge papers and a prescription for pain medication and an antibiotic. “I’m serious about taking it easy,” she warned.
“Yeah, yeah.” As soon as she left, Corbin said, “We need to get back to my office.” He tried to stand, sucked air between his clenched teeth, and leaned against the exam table.
“What about taking it easy?” Blade asked.
Corbin shot him a “yeah right” look.
Luna crossed her arms. “What time did you say we’re meeting Dr. Santos tomorrow?”
“Six.”
She could see the restlessness in his eyes, the need to be doing something, anything, to move the case forward. It was a feeling she knew all too well. The drive to keep pushing, to find answers, even when your body was screaming for rest.
She felt torn. Part of her wanted to dive deeper into Trinity’s disappearance, to follow up on the leads or question Abercorn again. But another part recognized their need to recharge if they were going to be effective tomorrow.
“Let me drive you home tonight,” she found herself saying.
Blade shot Corbin a look.
Okay, that came out wrong. She tried again. “You shouldn’t be behind the wheel with those pain meds.”
Corbin looked like he wanted to argue, but exhaustion won out. He nodded.
The case wouldn’t be solved in one night, no matter how much they pushed themselves. But tomorrow...
