Shoot Not to Kill Read online

  “That looks like something I can manage,” Michelle said, truly brightening up.

  “Good, I’ll print the cases,” Marvin said as he typed for a moment, then took a pen and touched his screen. The sound of a printer gathering steam was heard somewhere in the back of the office, and Marvin reached back and pulled up a piece of paper and handed it to Michelle.

  ”Okay, Michelle. Let me know if I can be of any further help.”

  Michelle gathered up the sheet and smiled, “You’ll be the first.”

  Back at her desk, there was a cartoon marching across her monitor.

  “Please come to see me when you return!” The cartoon had the name of Ms. Danielle Borden. Michelle slumped, wondering what she had been caught doing. The first thing was budget. She’d run up some small change debts on some of the work she had been doing on the Acozil case. She worried that the manufacturer might have called with questions. She thought she might be in trouble for being behind the standardization workload so she pulled that up, only to be surprised that there were entries by Colin and Geech that were certainly her machines to check. They had been covering for her as she had been playing investigator.

  Michelle had to go several corridors down to find Ms. Borden’s office, into the higher-rent district. She went though the gopher village and saw no one that she could ask to see if they had been summoned as well. She continued to Ms. Borden’s door. Barbara looked up at her with what seemed some element of familiar distain, as if to say, “I have to know you, but do I have to see you in my space?” Michelle ignored it and said, “I’ve been summoned. Any ideas, Barbara?”

  “No clue. You can wait there,” Barbara said as she pointed with her pen. “I’ll let her know you are here.”

  Michelle just turned to sit when Ms. Borden called, “Michelle, do come on in.” The accent was thick, from Tennessee, and sounded like it had to come through all that deep red lipstick.

  “Ms. Borden,” Michelle said as she stepped into the office.

  The phone on Ms. Borden’s desk rang as soon as Michelle stepped in. Michelle felt very strongly about privacy, so she turned to step out of the office, and heard, “Psst. Psst.” She turned, and Ms. Borden was waving her in with a warm smile.

  “I know you’re leaving tomorrow. I can have the data to you as you leave today. No … yes, we’ll go over it. We usually run a full presentation. Why don’t we say 3:00? OK, we’ll be there.”

  “Sorry, Michelle. Please sit,” Danielle said as she stood to close the door behind Michelle.

  This is going to be a real chewing out, thought Michelle.

  “Michelle, you’re doing some work on the side, aren’t you?” Ms. Borden said as she sat.

  Michelle’s stomach felt like it had liquid mercury running loose in it as she said, “I can explain that, Ms. Borden. I’ve been working on a sample that came from a case and I’ve used it in lieu of a wild type unknown. I didn’t contaminate any files or machines with it.”

  Ms. Borden’s brow wrinkled up slightly as she said, “What ever are you talking about, girl? We’re pulling projections for budget and your budget line went from 72 percent expended for the quarter to 120 percent, and I looked it up. Your account is being billed for your tuition to the American Spectrographic Association’s annual meeting, and their tuition jumped up considerably more than we budgeted. I can see that the analytic calibration had some runs in departments that it usually does not get involved with, like Mr. Whistler, but what on earth is it you’ve been doing that you’re so worried about?”

  Michelle slumped into the chair feeling oddly comfortable telling all, “I had a sample that came from a case. It was a vial of something called Acozil, and I’ve been doing some analysis on it. That is what I thought killed my budget, so I thought I’d better confess and beg forgiveness,” Michelle said.

  “Lordy, girl, the account will right itself after we move the meeting funds in, and I did not say that I saw any activity out of the ordinary. Why are you so curious about this vial?”

  “Maybe it is just that I am getting pretty tired of calibration, and this represents a challenge. I do like my work, but two hundred machine runs a year. Most of them are simple runs, but there are some real buggers. I guess it takes my mind off the mundane,” Michelle admitted.

  “Are you getting tired of your work, Michelle? The reason I ask is that I have three pods, and your pod is the best performer. I should really be talking to the technicians in the poor performing pods, but that is not reward. I have a list of positions that would be coming open in the next few months. You and Colin are the two that should look at it very carefully. Everyone will see it eventually, but you two need more for your talents. I wish I could convince Geech he has more in him, but he seems happy. Here is the list; the job cycle will start next month, so get your resumes in soon,” Ms. Borden said as she passed a folder across her desk. “Technicians apply here by the dozen. I need talented people to move on.”

  Michelle took the folder and looked at the first page for a moment, and said, “Ms. Borden, I really appreciate your confidence and interest. I’ll let you know.”

  “Let me know by letting me see your name on the interview list. Go now.”

  Chapter 14

  Ticket out of Analysis

  Michelle paged Colin.

  “Colin, Chop Stix tonight? I’ve got something you will be interested in.”

  “Coupons for a new car?” he asked.

  “Maybe. What time?” Michelle queried.

  “I’m in class at seven. Can you make it by five?

  “I’ll be there.”

  Michelle looked the list over. The seniority system in the department was complex, but she knew it was fair. She would have some seniority for an application. There were perhaps seven hundred jobs throughout the Los Angeles Police Department. The support analytical section had over one hundred, ranging from department chair to entry-level clerical. Her job was not listed, meaning there was no demand for filling it. She recalled Ms. Borden telling her there was no shortage of applicants for technical-level jobs, not a flattering thought. One job she had never heard of before:

  Crime Scene Archeologist-CSI 44F200-300.

  The computer listed job titles and descriptions. This entry read:

  Criminal investigator with experience in reconstruction of crime scenes to relevant condition prior to event. Requirement is a degree in criminal justice or equivalent, two years experience, and ability to use relevant computer software programs. Salaried position, depending on experience in 200–300 level placements.

  The computer beeped, announcing an incoming e-mail. Michelle looked up to see a message from Colin that said, “Bet I know what the surprise is. Just out of Ms. B’s studio with poop sheet. See you tonight.”

  Michelle smiled, and then noted another e-mail from Marvin the miner. It asked, “Any luck?”

  Michelle pulled the paper from her desk drawer and realized she had not run any of the names of victims from her research with Marvin. Access to files was tricky. Some files were protected from casual review. It turned out all of the files were accessible, likely because there was no pattern. Two homeless, two drive-by shooting, one domestic, two drug related, and one suicide. The rest were routine as well. As routine as a homicide could be, Michelle added in her own thoughts. This search took an hour, and then she e-mailed Marvin the miner back stating there was no gold in that lot.

  Calibrations. She pulled up the list for that week and found over half were self-calibrators that would be a snap, and several required detailed sample preparation. In hopes of seeing Colin later, she pulled off the list of self-calibration instruments and headed out to nick off the easy calibrations.

  Geech was working on the first instrument she was to calibrate. “What are you doing, Geech?” she asked.

  Geech looked at her as if he had never met her before, then turned and looked over his shoulder, then turned back. “I am stealing the damn power supply, if you must know, OK? This machi
ne has a good one, and I need it to fix the unit in another shop. This place never uses it. Look at the sample access port. It is so dusty it would never run anyway.”

  “Geech, I have to run a cal on this thing, and if it doesn’t make standard, I have to fix it. You can’t run calibrations on a machine that’s just been gutted. Why don’t you send your unit to maintenance? They can fix your unit,” Michelle argued as she pulled Geech’s hand from the insides of the unit.

  “Buggers, it takes them a month. OK. I’ll do it. So, what you been doing lately? Colin has asked me to do more stuff for him, but I think it is stuff really for you.”

  “Geech, you shouldn’t ask. I might tell you, and then I’d have to shoot you,” she said as she cleaned the input port.

  “Try me.”

  “I had to do an inventory on a couple months ago that stumped me. He had an empty vial of a chemical on him that I can’t figure. It seems the drug was in him, too, and it is not a recreational drug, as far as I know. It may have been a date rape that went out of hand, but it just has me curious. You sent me to Marvin, and that’s what I’ve been up to lately,” Michelle answered.

  Geech raised his eyebrows and smiled, “You still playing with that one? You told me about that case weeks ago, remember? I sent you to Marvin. Do we have any ideas?”

  Michelle wished she had something that would impress Geech, but was pleased he had said “we.” “No, I ran the samples, got the control, and verified it was the same chemical. There’s another contaminant that I need to research, and I’ve even gone to your bud to help get a pattern, but there’s no pattern of other deaths. So, I’m pretty well stymied. I know you and Colin have been keeping me up on my calibration list, and I have nothing to show for all your help. That’s all I have.”

  “What was the drug?” Geech asked as he started taking the back of the instrument Michelle had just calibrated.

  “What are you doing?” Michelle asked as she pulled his hand from the box.

  “Hey, you got your calibration, logged it. Now I can take the frigging power supply, and no one’s the wiser, ’eh.”

  “Geech, get the other one fixed.”

  “So what was the drug?” Geech asked again.

  “Acozil. It is supposed to put someone out for a couple hours.”

  “Sure, so why did you do a kill search. If the killer wanted to kill the poor son of a bitch, he or she would have been using arsenic or something. Instead he or she was trying to put them out. Why don’t you see if there’s a pattern of rapes or thefts. That would fit the evidence better. What about this? We’re looking for shooting. Maybe he wasn’t supposed to die. Maybe it was just a stickup, and his dying wasn’t the idea. Maybe he just likes shooting people.”

  Michelle squinted her eyes down for a second, then said, “That’s sick. Why didn’t I think of that? Good idea, Geech. What’s a smart guy like you doing in a place like this, anyway?” she asked.

  Geech pulled Michelle’s hand off of the instrument and said, “Stealing the only power supply in the building that has the proper levels to run my firewall. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m in the middle of an acquisition.”

  Michelle walked to Marvin’s office only to find him busy with several other people. He looked up, smiled, and said, “Ten minutes, max,” as he looked back to the two at the table. “Right?” he asked.

  “Yeah, we’re almost done,” one said.

  Michelle mulled over the idea that the patterns for rapes would be the most logical. Rapes and maybe thefts would help, but still, there was something that just didn’t wrap this up like it should. That still might be a big number. She walked back to her cubical and had just started tossing junk from the in-box when Marvin came in.

  “Quicker than I thought. What can I do for you?” he asked, sitting in the yellow chair. “Nice chair.”

  “The chair’s been claimed. Marvin, Geech had a good idea. He said I’m looking for the wrong event with the Acozil. He said if it was killings I wanted, I would have found arsenic in the vial. I need to do another pass at the miner and this time use parameters that would fit Acozil. I figure rape, theft, kidney’s removed. That sort of thing.”

  “Urban legend, otherwise we’d see more of it. On the kidney’s being removed, I mean. OK, I’ll run those lists, too, but you’re going to get thousands of hits. I would suggest running attempted homicide. That would fit, trying to knock the guy out to mug him, maybe. But running thefts, carjackings, and the like will get you a pretty long list. Anything else? Easy to tie them in.”

  Michelle thought for a moment and said, “No, I can’t think of anything. Run the attempted homicide first and see what you get. It’s your nickel.

  “No, girl,” Marvin said. “It is your nickel. Do you know what the diamond digger costs per run?”

  “No, and don’t want to know. I’ll go to an ATM machine to pay for it if we get somewhere. Run the attempted homicide, and if there is nothing there, we’ll drop the whole thing.”

  Marvin cringed and said, “I hate it when someone says that ‘ATM machine’ thing. Literally that means automated teller machine machine.”

  Michelle laughed and said, “You geeks rule!”

  Chapter 15

  Anesthesiology Medications

  Dr. Price cleaned up the anesthesia station behind the locked doors to the surgery suites. His shift was nearly over, and he had no call for the weekend. He called his wife and asked if she was doing well, and started to leave when he recalled the request that he had received from his sister-in-law for a list of common medications. The anesthesia cart sat next to him, but he decided he would cheat and do it the easy way.

  The night pharmacy crew stocked the anesthesia carts. Each cart had a list of medications that had to be checked. Some carts were for code response, some for OB procedures, some were for neurosurgical cases. Each was essentially the same but different level of some drugs. Hank walked to the general surgery cart and pulled off the inventory clipboard. He then pulled off the list that would be used to restock and took it to the main surgery desk, copied the list, and then replaced the list, taking the copied list to his backpack. He closed up and went home.

  Home was a small house that was more than he could afford. That seemed to be the story of all Portland, but he had little choice. Oregon was growing too fast.

  “Hey, girl, I’m home. Hello the house, anyone here?” he called.

  “I’m in the bedroom folding clothes. Can you check the stove, see if we’re burning up supper?” drifted the muffled voice of his wife.

  “Yeah, what’s new?” he called.

  “Nothing. Got a call from sister Michelle. She said she’d been talking to you. What’s going on there?” she asked as her voice became more distinct and closer.

  “Your sister is on a goose chase and wanted a list of medication in our department. I have it. Did she perhaps leave a fax number I could use? The rice looks pretty good, but the other stuff suffers.”

  “I’ve got her cell phone. You would need to call for the fax. That other stuff is supposed to look pretty dead, it’s stir-fry.”

  Sally Price was a tall woman, obviously with child. She had sweats on, and her hair was jet black with an odd wave of brown twirled in. She leaned on the door and watched Hank half-heartedly stir the mix.

  “Where’re the kids?” Hank asked as he started adding spices to the mix.

  Sally would seldom get irritated with Hank, but his random spice adventures were a sure send-off.

  “Stop that. Kids are with my Mandy tonight. We’ve got the evening to ourselves, and I didn’t know if you were coming home soon, so I didn’t plan anything, but we are free for the evening. Are you covering or otherwise on call?” she asked.

  “Clear and free. Wanna go to the bookstore? Hank asked as he set the spoon down. “I’m looking for something to read for next weekend when I’m on trauma.”

  “I’m not in any shape for bookstores today, maybe tomorrow. We have a movie to watch, if you want, and
I’ve got a good merlot for you, toot.”

  “You win. I’m pooped from the week, still. You can have a nip and not hurt the baby. Did a case today that didn’t make it. Was a real risk going in, but the old guy insisted we try and fix his heart valve. All of them just want to be fifty again. That scares the hell out of me, because fifty is still a long way off. When do we eat? Do I have time for a shower?”

  “Dinner in thirty minutes, and yes, you have time to shower. No, I won’t have a nip, for the baby. Then the show. I’m looking forward to just being the two of us for a while,” Sally said as she stirred the rice.

  “Where’s Michelle’s number? I’ll call her and fax that list before I forget it.”

  Sally looked at the wall, and finally said, “Look in the bedroom on the side table. She called while I was keeping my legs elevated for ten minutes. I think I left the number there.”

  Chapter 16

  Geech Jumps Too

  “Geech, now you know where Colin and I hang out. Are you gonna steal keys and haunt the halls here forever, or what are your plans?” Michelle asked as they sat at the Chop Stix.

  “No plans. Just do my work and keep busy at home,” Geech answered as he awkwardly attempted to use his chopsticks.

  “They say it helps if you put a rubber band on the chopsticks. Colin and I have a plan, but we though you might be interested, too. What do you do at home? Wife and kids?” Michelle asked.

  “No, been busy with my hobbies, and I play on computers and stuff.”

  “So you’re a hacker by night, are you?” Colin asked.

  “No way; tried that gig. Was NetWaspDog online for a few years, then got close to getting into something that was pretty important, got my stripes with the gang, and someone contacted me with an offer that I realized would lead to jail, so, changed my ID and dropped out. Now I just play role games. There are a couple of sites that you can get pretty lost in, so I do that and make stuff. Got a patent out for an electric device that is likely to end up in a lot of cars, and I’m trying to convince the geeks at the Chrysler Research and Development Park it is safe and foolproof. So far they have me on retainer, and if they can keep the box working in all conditions, it’s a go. That will leave me a few bucks to play with.”