Page 42 of Heart of a Hero

“Again, it’s hard to say,” said Jeremy. “Several years ago, we had a ring of teenagers that were being used to steal drugs.”

Colt growled. “Fucking hell, don’t remind me. Carrie’s, and nowmyson, was involved in that.” He looked over at the newer members of the staff and quickly added, “He wasn’t involved in any of the thefts but stumbled on the ring and tried to find out what was going on.”

Pete, who was around at the time, said, “Hell, your son almost single-handedly busted up the drug ring, giving us the evidence we needed.”

“Are you sure we can’t talk him into helping us now?” Brad asked.

Colt snorted. “If he decides to go into law enforcement, I’ll be proud. But I have to tell you, part of me wishes he would take a much safer job.”

“I hear you,” Sam said. “Sometimes I think I want my kids to do anything other than law enforcement.”

After bouncing around a few more ideas, Pete and Jeremy left, leaving the other detectives still sitting at the table.

“I want to go back over the cases,” Mark said. “I know finding a common denominator has been difficult, but I want to make sure we haven’t missed anything.”

“Sounds good. Keep me informed on anything you discover,” Colt said.

Aaron and Sam headed out of the station to investigate another case while he and Brad returned to their desks. Brad was staring at him, and Mark knew his partner was hoping for a clue as to what he was thinking. But for now, he just wanted to review the information, allowing his thoughts to settle.

After an hour of staring at the victims' interviews, he leaned back, cracked his neck, and sighed heavily. Looking across the double desks, he found Brad’s gaze pinned on him. Not wasting any more time, he said, “There is one thing that is starting to stand out, and now that I’m looking for it, it seems strange that I hadn’t noticed it before.”

Brad leaned forward and placed his forearms on his desk, his gaze not leaving Mark’s face. “Okay, give it to me.”

“We were looking for similarities, such as neighborhoods, size of houses, day or night, ease of getting in for the breaking and entering, and even what was taken and what was knownto be in each person’s house. Because there were no similarities that matched them all, we began to wonder if it was simply random. But we both know it’s not random.”

“Right. So, tell me what you’re thinking.”

“In every single case, someone had had a medical issue. One victim was at outpatient physical therapy. Another victim was visiting his wife in the hospital. Another victim had recently had a stroke and was now out of the hospital and rehab. Another victim had recently had a hip replacement. Another victim had had a knee replacement. Another had a teenager who had broken his leg and was on crutches. And the list goes on. But every single one had a medical issue or had a family member with a medical problem.”

Brad nodded slowly. “Okay. But they would’ve had different doctors, different pharmacies, different times that they would’ve been going in and out of their house.”

“Home health,” Mark said, feeling the words like a bitter taste on his tongue.

Brad cocked his head to the side. “Isn’t that what Karen does?”

“Yes.”

Brad held his gaze, and then suddenly, his chin jerked back. “You can’t possibly think she?—”

“No, no, I don’t! But I can’t come up with another scrap of similarity in these cases.”

Brad heaved a sigh. “Why don’t we divide them up and give everyone a call? Let’s ask each one if they were involved in the Eastern Shore Home Health Services.”

Mark nodded, both hoping they would find what they were looking for and terrified at the same time.

By the end of the day, Mark felt his jaw nearly crack as anxiety skittered along his nerves. “Everyone on my list is involved with the ES Home Health services.”

“Same here.” Brad sighed. “We need to talk to them.”

Glancing at the clock, Mark knew the ESHH was closed for the day. “Tomorrow. We’ll go by tomorrow. At least to get an idea of how it all works.”

Brad rubbed his chin. “Look, I know you’re thinking about Karen, but…”

“If you’re wondering if I’m going to talk to her tonight about what’s going on, the answer is no. I’m aware that I need to separate my personal and professional life right now.”

Brad lifted his hands. “I don’t anticipate a problem, Mark. Just let us go talk to her tomorrow to see how things work. Then there’s no question of case interference if someone from her office is somehow involved.”

“You’re right.” Mark stood and grabbed the jacket off the back of his chair, just as Brad had done. They walked out of the station and said goodbye, but Mark sat in his SUV without starting the engine. He knew it would upset Karen if one of her staff were involved, but he couldn’t worry about her feelings while interviewing her.Now, to convince my heart.

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