“Tell me that’s not the cheating wife file,” he said, pointing at the folder.
“If I do the insurance, I’m not doing this. I’ll do one or the other, not both, as they’re boring,” I replied.
Slaughter laughed. “Give the cheat to Kaiser; he loves shit like that.”
I nodded. Kaiser loathed cheats.
“Yup, okay. Guess I’ll do the insurance fraud and the Rogers’ case. I’ve got a gut feeling about that.”
“A bad one?”
“Yeah, you too?”
“Yup. A pretty girl doesn’t randomly disappear off the streets. Check into everything, Harlequin, we need to find her,” Slaughter said with a frown.
“What are you working on?” I asked, seeing paperwork scattered across his desk.
“A missing child. Mother thinks the father ran off with the kid. The boy is nine years old, so I’m tracking him down,” Slaughter replied.
“Jesus. Okay, I’ll keep you updated on the Rogers case.”
I headed out, dialled Mr Rogers’ phone number and made an appointment. Christ, I hoped my gut was wrong, but I had a bad feeling about this.
April
The monitors beeped consistently. The patient in the bed was barely alive and, by rights, should be dead, but she was a fighter.
“What do you think?” Teagan murmured.
“This is assault and battery, I’m betting even attempted murder. A rape kit needs to be done as well,” I suggested.
“Rape?”
“Possibly,” I replied. I noted the marks on her wrists and ankles. They were different shades of colour, indicating they were both old and new. “Maybe trafficking; she’s been held a while.”
“Is Simmons calling the cops?” Teagan asked.
We glanced at the ER doctor in charge. Dr Simmons was on the phone, looking agitated.
“Yeah. This poor woman, she’s barely legal,” I whispered and gently touched her fingers.
“Who called it in?” Teagan inquired as we headed out of the cubicle.
“That guy there, he followed the ambulance in too. Poor guy’s very distraught,” I said, nodding at a middle-aged man. He had a horrified expression on his face and was clutching his chest. I studied him carefully and decided I didn’t like his pallor and approached him.
“Are you okay, Mr…?”
“Yes, no, I’m having a few chest pains, no doubt from finding that poor girl,” he replied.
“Okay, let’s check you over. What’s your name?” I said as I helped him stand up.
“It’s Darren Rogers. Nurse, I’ve got a daughter that age. Julie’s missing, and I was looking for her when I came across…” Mr Rogers broke off, and his voice hitched.
“The police are on their way. Can you remove your clothing and put on this gown? Sir, I’m worried about how you’re holding your chest,” I said gently.
Darren nodded, and I pulled the curtains across the window and left him to change. I approached Dr Simmons, who’d just got off the phone.
“Doctor, I’ve taken in Mr Rogers. He’s having chest pains,” I said, and he nodded.
