“Thank you, Chief. Have a good evening,” she said and waited for the Chief to sign off.
“Have a word with him,” the detective growled and left the room.
“What were you thinking? Disagreeing with the Chief?” Charlie said when the door shut.
“If they think he’s dead, then wouldn’t the dead girls’ families be suspects too?”
“If El Socio is dead, basically everyone in the city is a suspect. She’s going to the missing girls’ families to see if they have more information, which might help them get closure.”
“The other girls don’t need closure?”
Charlie pulled the list toward herself. “The two stabbing deaths were in drug deals gone bad. The other ones were ODs. No one came to claim the bodies in six of them. Yes, El Socio was a bastard for a boyfriend and probably beat the crap out of them, but they were on a downward spiral. If they had families, they weren’t surprised. These two missing girls, someone cares.”
“I hate this. I hate being so powerless. And why do we even care who killed him? I won’t lose any sleep over him.”
“Because we’re the police and we have a duty to all our citizens. Even him.” Charlie gave him a sly look. “Besides, I doubt those families skinned him, but I bet they kept their ears open for who stands to gain if he’s dead.”
One of the harder parts about getting anyone into the Latin Kings since El Socio took charge was how tight knit his family was. Almost anyone who was a possible confidential informant had a blood tie to El Socio or ended up disappearing mysteriously.
“All good points. Are you sure I can’t retire Security Guard Murphy?”
“Not yet. El Socio came to the hospital to find her, so it’s still the most likely place. You’re keeping tabs on her at her place as a bonus. Good part is that you don’t look like Kermit the Frog. I promise the next date won’t be as much makeup.”
“Not as much?”
Chapter16
"He was your last patient of the morning,” Murph told Lillian the Friday a week before Thanksgiving.
She checked her watch. “How am I done fifteen minutes early? I had two double-booked slots. Again.”
Office manager Nicole continued to act on Dr. Gallo objectives of getting blood out of a stone. Usually it put Lillian far behind, making her miss lecture.
Though not today, and Lillian had a suspicion why. She ended up with extra time when Murph was here. She’d spent two extra hours charting last week when he’d been sick after the blizzard.
Murph said through his crooked teeth. “Your nurse is very good.”
“Mentiroso, Digame.” She called him a ‘liar.’
“Diga what?”
“Tell me. Spit it out. What are you doing to help?”
“Not much. Sometimes I clean the rooms while your nurse triages. Other times, I help take heights and weights.”
“I appreciate it a lot, but I don’t think it’s what the hospital and Dr. Gallo brought me a security guard for.”
He shrugged. “I’m guarding you from people who are going to see you, so it gives me a jump on it.”
“Never thought about it like that, but it makes sense.”
“Usually my job is to guard an area and keep an eye on the stream of people going into that place. Since the place is you, your stream of people is kind of small.”
“Still, I’m grateful.” Murph was becoming an integral part of her team, but he’d eventually leave. It might be a good idea to ask for a second nurse or hire a medical scribe to speed her day along.
Then again, she’d be told it wasn’t in the budget.
“It’s no problem.”
