“If we didn’t have a vet in the cooler who was missing a kidney, and a city ME whose dad had a penchant for illegallyharvesting them to make half a billion dollars, it wouldn’t be an issue. The sins of the father are not those of the son, but in this case, a defense attorney will research the team, and the second they see during discovery that we found those skulls because a man showed up dead and he was missing his one organ…”
Chris closed his eyes.
“I’m tired.”
Yeah, she could see that.
They all were, to be honest.
“I’m sorry. I know how excited you were, and you can still hire him, but not until we figure out if he’s involved. Between you and I, this person knows a lot about forensics, and yesterday, Alexi left right around when we did. That night, we had a body. I need to prioritize you,” she admitted.
He lifted his head off of the back of the couch and looked at her.
“Why me?”
She told him what Ethan said.
“He’s playing with me, and to rattle me, and run experiments on how I react, he might come for people I care about. You’re here in the morgue. I want Alexi out of here, just to make sure our bases are covered. All the techs here have been vetted, and we know you’re safe, but I can’t risk it.”
He palmed her cheek.
“I get it, my love,” he said. “He can’t be here if his family compromises an investigation. I’ll keep him on the back burner.”
She was to the point.
“If you need backup, get one of the doctors back home to come here temporarily. I know that if you ask Dalia, she’ll come for a case or two.”
He might have to do that because he was older, and battling his health, and running another office was wearing him down.
“Okay, Sweetness. We’ll tell him together. Call him in.”
When she went to the door, she stuck her head out.
“Doctor Redmond, can you come here?” she asked, getting the man to head her way.
When he came into the room, she closed the door behind her, and had him sit down. Elizabeth stood behind Chris, watching the man to see how he reacted.
“Doctor, we need to talk,” Chris said.
The man didn’t look worried.
“Sure. What’s going on? Do you need me to cover for you? I’m refreshed from a good night’s sleep. I can take over, Doctor.”
Oh, he wished.
Chris shared what they knew.
“We found out about your father, and the second you saw a victim with a missing kidney, you should have told me and recused yourself from this.”
It caught him off guard.
Elizabeth saw his face.
Oh, he hadn’t seen that one coming.
“When this goes to court, this opens a door for the defense to question our investigation. I work damn hard to make sure all the holes are closed, and nothing slips through to damage a case my wife builds for the prosecution.”
He sighed.
