Shoot Not to Kill Read online

  The older lady walked over while cleaning out the pockets to her scrub shirt. She inspected the locker to her satisfaction and said, “Sure enough. That happens sometimes, usually to the anesthesia nurses. It’s the druggies. They are looking for drugs the girls might have brought back with them. Where are you working, honey?”

  “I’m following the anesthesiologists right now,” Michelle replied.

  “Well there you go, honey. It was someone looking for a buzz from your pockets. Hope you didn’t lose nothing,” the lady said as she started taking off her scrub top.

  Colin looked at Michelle wide-eyed and pointed to the door. Michelle smiled and nodded. She then turned and took whatever was left in the locker. The pile included a sweater and a small bag of makeup that had been in her purse. Her ID purse fell from her sweater, having been tucked into the corner when she hurried to work. A wave of relief swept over her as she recalled rolling the sweater around the small purse, and it appeared to fall out of the sweater in the perfect sequence. She closed the locker, pulled her name tag off, and walked past the older nurse.

  “See ya, honey. Keep your money in your shoes here, why don’t ya,” the older lady said as Michelle walked by.

  “I sure will, from now on. Looks like I still have my wallet, though,” she said as she turned and left.

  Another figure stepped from the shower area and walked out behind Michelle. This figure wore a loose lab coat over her scrubs, and her scrub hat was pulled low over her forehead. The older nurse did not appear to take much notice.

  Chapter 4

  Bishell Follows Colin and Michelle

  Colin and Michelle walked back toward the control room in silence. As they went down the stairs, Colin moved to continue down another flight of stairs. Michelle looked over at Colin and saw an odd expression and a very slight nod of his head.

  “You off this weekend?” she asked casually.

  “Nope. Got the duty for another week. What about you?” he asked as they passed several doctors going up the stairs.

  “Same. Been trying to get to the valley for a weekend, maybe even out to Las Vegas,” Michelle said as they exited the stairwell at the floor below the control room’s floor.

  As the door closed, Colin said, “Watch the door in the mirrors on the ceiling. There’s a gal who’s been following us since we left the locker room.”

  Michelle felt a wave of dread wash over her as she fished in her pockets for something to do. The door opened, and a figure stepped out in scrubs and a hat. The floor they had stepped out onto was a medicine floor. The physicians were mostly dressed in shirts and ties, the rest of the staff was in casual work uniforms. Michelle and the person following them seemed to stand out somewhat because they were the only ones wearing scrubs. The figure in the mirror seemed to shy away from the physicians and retained her mask. Leaving the mask in place was not uncommon for a surgical technician who might have been dispatched to grab a drug or a tool, quickly to return to the surgery suite. This figure did not appear to be in any hurry, though.

  “I need to check on a patient here,” Colin said as they approached the nursing station. “Can you wait for a minute or two?”

  Michelle crossed her arms on her chest and explored Colin’s expression as she said, “Sure.”

  Colin walked behind the windows at the nursing station and immediately realized he did not know what to do. He saw a physician looking at her pager and holding on a phone line, so he walked over to a phone and picked it up. He pulled his pager off his scrub pocket and looked at it, dialed the number for the control room, and waited. While holding the phone, he idly looked out the nurses’ station window and noticed the person in scrubs was pacing in front of a doorway near the stairs, looking at her watch.

  “Three-C, can I help you?” said Geech’s voice over the phone.

  They had picked Three-C from a movie they had watched. Three-C was the psychiatric ward in the hospital featured in that movie and the crew decided to call their temporary headquarters in the hospital Three-C.

  “Geech, where’s our mark’s last entry point?” Colin asked.

  “No change from his last entry, why?” Geech asked.

  “I’m one floor down. Shelly and I went to retrieve her stuff and found that someone had forced her locker. Looks like her clothes had been searched. She had her IDs in her sweater, so we may be secure there, but since we left the locker room, there’s been a lady following us in scrubs. I’m watching her now. We may need to get backup if we confront her.”

  “I’ll tell the boss; we’ll be on our way. Which wing of the hosptal are you in Colin?”

  “Hell, I don’t know. Looks like the charts in the rack here start at 3340, if that helps.”

  “Got it, we’re on the way,” Geech said as he hung up.

  Colin looked back into an empty hallway. The pacing figure had disappeared.

  Chapter 5

  Calling in Detective Doreveck

  “Michelle, we went over all the exit plans we could think of and didn’t plan on your dropping your handcuffs. OK, we’re playing a different game now,” Mark Ashley said as he paced in front of the group. “Colin, you said you and Michelle were followed out of the locker room by someone in scrubs. Was it Bishell?”

  Colin scratched his forehead and said, “It could have been, but I’m just not sure. The person was heavyset, it seemed to me. Had a surgery cap over what I thought was a head of hair that looked pretty thick. Never got a good look, though. I’ve only seen Clinker once in real life, and that was in a meeting full of medical students, and I sat in the back while he pranced back and forth in front. It could have been him.”

  Geech was watching the screen on his computer for evidence of key entry. He talked while his head was turned to the screen. “Mark, we dropped it on our end, too. We were supposed to be stationed outside the surgery entryway. We were supposed to be there in five minute to pick up the patient coming out of surgery and follow Clinker, but we never expected Clinker to come out that soon. I know that’s no excuse, but we blew it there, too.”

  “Well, I took this up to the next level. My control is the chief of the watch, and we need to get a good idea of where to go. Clinker will know something is amiss. By the way he’s been acting, we’ll need more horsepower on this one. My boss, Derek Doreveck, is here now doing a deposition on the surgery crew, and you can only imagine what kind of stir that will cause,” Mark said as he started writing on a board behind him.

  “If they are deposed, it will be a serious matter if they talk,” Michelle ventured. “I need to talk with the anesthesiologist, Dr Pengill. She is likely in trouble now, too. Damn, this will get very complex, I can see that now.”

  There was a knock at the door, and Mark opened it. Senior Detective Derek Doreveck, known throughout the department as “The Door” walked into the room. His nickname came from the fact that he had won a silver medal in wrestling for America in an Olympic games many years before by only letting one get past him. He was Derek The Door to everyone who knew him, but only called that to his face by either the most foolish or most confident.

  “Hey, Boss, come on in. We’re just trying to reconstruct the fact that we’re blown, had no exit plan for this operation. Meanwhile Michelle just brought up the fact that she is now known to the surgery suite and to the suspect. She’s blown. Colin is blown because we think they got shadowed by Clinker, and we’ve compromised the anesthesiologist we had recruited, and now she’s blown, too,” Mark Ashley said as he moved away from the front of the board.

  Derek looked the group over and settled on Michelle. First of all, who is Clinker?” he asked.

  Mark answered, “That’s what we call Dr. Bishell, Mr Doreveck.”

  “Okay. Well I’ve talked to the surgery crew. The story is that we’re following a pattern of attempted homicides, and that we are trained to investigate all abnormal behavior. Mark, you have a recording of the operating room. Michelle, you told us pretty much what happened. All of this does
not implicate Bishell directly, but it was enough to tell the operating crew they were under wraps. Not legal yet, but we’ll get a department lawyer on it tomorrow. Where’s Bishell now?”

  “Clinker may have followed Michelle and Colin out of the female locker, as I said. The locker had been ransacked, but it would seem Michelle’s ID and badges were undisturbed,” Mark said.

  “Figuring he did not search the locker is stretching your luck too far,” Geech said. “Clinker looks like he’s a pretty quick thinker, and I would bet if he came across an ID, he’d memorize it and then replace it.”

  Derek nodded, “I think that’s the safest bet, too. Michelle, can I see what your mark could have seen, please?”

  Michelle pulled her ID pouch out and handed it to Derek.

  Derek flipped through it, closed it, and said, “Michelle, you were supposed to keep the personal information out of the same wallet as your badge. You have everything in there, even an ID in there from the analytical branch.”

  “I know, it is no excuse, but the ID from Analytical can get me anywhere without a raised eyebrow, and when I use the police badge to get in, I always get the real formal treatment, and everybody gets real stiff. I’ll dump it all, I know it was stupid, and I know it’s too late now. Am I off the case, Mr. Doreveck?”

  “Just call me Door. I’d be a gold door if I was a little tougher, but there was one other Door bigger than me. He is in Romania, last I heard. No, you’re not off the case. You were covered in surgery. Clinker did not get a good look at you there, and your ID is in uniform. That helps. How about in the ER? Did Clinker get a good look at you there?” Derek asked as he wandered over to see what kept Geech so busy.

  “I think so. He was pretty busy, and I kept low, but like Geech said, he’s pretty sharp,” Michelle said. “I do worry for Dr. Pengill. She was our way into surgery, and she may be in danger.

  “OK, you have a good point. Damn, I don’t know what to do there. I’ll look into that now. Mark, what’s your next step?” Derek asked as he started for the door.

  “We were just going to storyboard that when you came in. Geech has not seen Clinker use his passkey, so he’s either left the hospital or gone to ground somewhere. He can’t stay too low, and he really is not certain what was coming down. Where’s he going to run? He has to work here. I think we need to post his house and see if we run him down there. He’ll likely have some stuff he wants rid of real quick.”

  Derek pulled a very ugly cell phone from his pocket and pushed a few buttons. “Central, need you to wake up the barrister on call. Yeah, the lawyer, you ninny. Tell him we need a tap and a search, name of Bishell.” Derek turned to Michelle and held a button down on the side of his phone, “What’s his first name?”

  “Stanley Morris Bishell,” Michelle answered.

  Derek let the button up and said, “Hey, it is Stanley Morris. It’s case IA 3433 on the blotter. I know that because I’m only working three other cases right now, and they are all two digits. Yeah, smart-ass, I’ve been working them for a long while. Yeah, need it an hour ago, and then dispatch my second crew to that address with the search when you get it. No, they need the real McCoy; this may be a big case. No lottery ticket searches. Tell them to go in with armor. Yeah, you too. Thanks.”

  Michelle had been surprised when she first heard the term “lottery searches,” coined because the initial lottery tickets sold in the LA area were advertised in a folder that looked almost identical to a search warrant. Lottery searches, using false papers, were rare, but they were always hinted at.

  “OK, folks. We don’t know where he is. And he does not know where we are. You two are compromised because he saw you in the locker room, yes?” Derek said.

  Michelle blushed and said, “Oh, yes, he sure did,” looking at Colin who simply shrugged his shoulders.

  “Geech, you and Smothers are the next two out. I want you to go to the surgery floor and hang out, see if Bishell shows up. I’m headed out to find the CEO of this place, as I do believe she needs to know what is happening in her hospital. Colin, Michelle, do you want to come with me to talk to the CEO? I’ll likely need your historical input to make it work, and we’ll likely have to either drag the CEO into the hospital or drive out to see her at her LO,” Derek said, using the phone slang for local office, which to every cop on the force meant home.

  “OK,” Michelle said as she started for the door.

  “Got movement,” Geech called. “Don’t know where he is, be a minute, but he’s just checked into something, his ID just came up.”

  “Call me if it’s important,” The Door said as he opened the door out. “Colin, you coming?”

  “On your tail,” Colin replied as he entered the hall. Two of the three cops completed a casual examination of all the doors and accesses around their area. The Door expected his troops to do that; he was looking for a house phone.

  Chapter 6

  The Hospital Chairman Ms. Yost

  “That’s right, Derek Doreveck, detective. Yes, ma’am, I know it is late. I did not call you to disturb you now, but to save you from being very disturbed come Monday morning. No, no, ma’am. Well, yes it can wait, but it will be much more complicated by then. OK, yes, I’ll be here. I’ll … who again, ma’am? No, Ms. Yost, I don’t believe it would be wise to bring in anyone unless it might be the hospital lawyer. No, you are not involved, and I really can’t say much more. You are? In the hospital now? That would work well for me, if you could. OK. Thirty minutes, yes,” Detective Doreveck said as he hung up the phone.

  “OK, gang, she’s in the hospital and wants us in the conference room in the administrative wing in thirty minutes. I’ll do the talking until we know how she’s going to react to this, then I’ll decide if I want you folks to jump in. If she seems hostile, I’ll take the heat. If she’s cooperative, we’ll work together. I need a cup of Joe; where’s the cafeteria?” Doreveck asked as he started off for a sign that indicated stairs.

  The hospital occupied six floors. Each floor had a special purpose, but the top four held patients. They were on the third floor.

  “Hey, Boss, we have a choice of two coin cafeterias at this hour. One is just under us a floor. The other is on the penthouse floor. I like the penthouse, but the admin wing is somewhere way down the stairs, so I suggest we go down,” Colin said.

  “Suits me; you lead. Michelle, I need to know something. We picked Bishell up here in ER. Where did the ambulance pick up this patient?”

  “Geech is trying to get those data now,” Michelle said as she started through the door.

  “That sounds like you’re back in Analytical, Michelle. Do you miss it, I mean, being in Analytical? You wanted something different. Are you sorry you came over to our beat? OK, other question, how did you know this was a trauma, and why were you here?” The Door asked as they turned the first corner. The stairs seemed deserted.

  “I’ve been on call with the trauma anesthesiologist, Dr. Pengill, for a month. This was the first case that Dr. Bishell picked up. He was not on call for many of the admissions, so we had to cover it 24/7. Colin’s been splitting call with me, and Geech takes some, but I’m the only one that was planned to go into surgery with Bishell. We weren’t even planning a collar on him, so I had no real reason to have my cuffs anyway. I’m sure worried now that we’ve tipped our hat,” Michelle said as they exited through the door. “Everybody got called in when we knew Bishell was on the case, so that’s why the whole crew is here tonight.”

  “Not certain we have tipped our hat, but it looks tough from here. He’s got some ideas, but still no real clue. We’ve got his car staked out now, and likely as not he’s been into and out of his car already. We’re getting a warrant as we speak. I’ve had his car blocked in the parking spot he’s in, so he can’t run. That might be looked at as entrapment in the future, so better move on the warrants, I’d guess,” Derek said as he shook the coffee machine free of the anchor bolts. Coffee flowed across the cup holder without a cup in place.
“You still didn’t answer my questions, Michelle. You, too, Colin. Do you regret coming over to the dark side?”

  “I am glad I switched. How many drug samples and urine screens can you do before you are convinced there is a better life? I liked the people at the analytical branch and still do some weekend work for them, but this is more rewarding,” Michelle said.

  Colin spoke as he put his money into the coffee machine and watched the same results, “I’m not sure, still. So far it has only really been this one case, so I reserve judgment until I’ve more time on the field, Mr. Doreveck.”

  “Door will do, OK?”

  The conference room was well lit. An attractive lady sat on the table with her feet swinging. Blond hair was tied in a ponytail, and her face seemed inscrutable. She had a tank top on and faded blue jeans.

  “I’m Lynda Yost, the present chief executive officer of this hospital. I must know immediately if there are charges against me, this hospital, or anyone on my staff.”

  Michelle had been somewhat disarmed by the soft hairstyle and warm colors of Ms. Yost’s outfit. She had learned more of Ms. Yost and knew a tactician and an aggressive character lived within her as well.

  Derek spoke up, “Ms. Yost, I’m Derek Doreveck, senior detective on this case. You are not in any way under investigation or suspicion. Your hospital is under no investigation or pending charges. There may be charges against one of your staff, but at this time, there are no registered charges.”

  “Then tell me why I do not need a lawyer.” Ms. Yost said as she slid to the floor, crossed her arms and legs, and leaned against the table.

  “The staff member is potentially facing charges that are from outside of his hospital duties. I have had an undercover team here for many weeks. These agents with me have been here on that investigation, and until tonight, we had nothing that suggested it would eventually lead to an arrest. Tonight things changed. It will be important that your hospital, and potentially your senior medical staff, be aware of the ongoing investigation into criminal activities outside the hospital that have a direct impact on activities inside the hospital,” Door said as he assumed a posture mimicking Ms. Yost.