Page 30 of The Drowned Woman
His vehemence surprised her—not at all like the Luka she’d come to know over the past month. That Luka loved brainstorming every possible angle of an argument. Although, in a way, that was what he was doing, playing devil’s advocate. He didn’t have to be so damn good at it, though.
“She’s not faking her stalker.”
“How can you be certain?”
“Because she hired Ian to try to trace him.”
They both went silent at that. Finally, Luka glanced up. “I’m sorry. If Risa Saliba made an official report, I’ll follow up, open an investigation, get our cyber squad on it.” He made it sound as if Risa’s willingness to involve the police was a test of her veracity. “Could you get me Ian’s records of what he did? They’d be helpful.”
“I guess they’re at the house.” The house—as in, her and Ian’s home. The one Leah hadn’t stepped foot inside since that night. She swallowed. “I can look for them.”
“And I’ll have another chat with Ms. Saliba.”
Registering his tone, she glanced up. “You think she made up meeting Ian, don’t you? You think she heard my name, and is using Ian’s murder to suck me in.”
“You’re a sympathetic audience, a respected physician, you’ve been in the news lately. If you believe her, that gives her story credence.”
“You didn’t read his letters. I believe her, Luka. She hides it well, but she’s genuinely terrified.”
“All the more reason to make this official, open a real investigation.”
“So you’ll read the files she shared with me—I promised her you would at least take a look.”
“Send them my way. I’ll try to skim them during the autopsy. It’s Tierney, so—”
“You’ll have plenty of downtime.”
“Unfortunately, yes.” He paused, his gaze focusing on the rainy window beyond her. “About this morning.”
Leah knew what Luka was going to say. “I had it handled—”
“No. Leah. I know this is all new to you, but you can’t be rushing in like that. Every scene poses potential danger. And all this talk about serial killers—”
“I’m not saying Risa’s stalker is an actual serial killer. Just that we should look into him as possibly killing Trudy. Maybe start with Cliff, the building manager.” She’d already forgotten Cliff’s last name; he really was the invisible man. “He was hanging around Risa’s apartment, asking about her. I definitely got a stalkerish vibe from him.”
“He’s on my list. But that’s not the point and you know it. You can’t treat everyone as if they’re a patient under your protection.”
As usual, he’d nailed her dilemma. She fussed with stacking her dirty dishes on her tray, avoiding eye contact. “I know, I know. Honestly, I feel like such a fraud, taking this job. If I’d known Toussaint only hired me because the grant funding required a physician as medical director—the money they’re paying me would be better used to help hire more psychiatric social workers. They’d be able to save a lot more lives out on the street than I ever could, preventing more deaths and injuries by intervening right away.”
“If the pilot program is successful, we can get more money and do that.”
“They’re already doing it out in Oregon. It has saved the city millions of dollars. Not to mention civilian lives—”
“And the police officers saved as well,” he added. “I know, I’ve read about it. But first—”
“We need to make this program work.” She crumpled up her napkin and threw it onto her tray. “Which, I guess means that I take orders from you.” The words tasted bitter. One of the great things about being in the ER was that while she listened to the opinions of everyone on her team, in the end, she was in charge.
“And my first order is no more armchair sleuthing. I appreciate how people open up to you, but don’t go looking for trouble. Understand?”
“So you don’t want me to go back and talk to Risa again? I’m not sure she’s comfortable talking to you and, besides, she also asked me to look into her medical case.”
He arched an eyebrow.
“I know, I know,” she hastened to add. “You think I’m getting too involved. But besides her stalker and medical problems, Risa is also a key witness. No one knew Walt and Trudy better than she did. It would be good for her to trust me.”
“Okay,” he relented. “I’ll review the information Risa gave you. In the meantime, you can speak to her about the Orlys and her medical issues. But,” his tone underscored the word, “only as a prelude to her coming in for a more thorough formal interview first thing tomorrow and also opening a case on her stalker.” He glanced at the clock on the wall then pushed back his chair to stand. It was almost two o’clock, the time Trudy’s autopsy was scheduled to begin, and they both knew how punctual Ford Tierney was.
Leah mirrored his movements. “Hey, is something else going on? Other than Nate getting into trouble? You just don’t seem yourself today.”
