Live Wire
Page 40
“Myron?”
He focused in on Muse.
“Can I see her?” he asked.
“You mean Suzze?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He wasn’t sure himself. Maybe it was a classic case of needing it to be real, of needing—and God, he hated that word—some sort of closure. He thought about Suzze’s bouncing ponytail when she played tennis. He thought about her posing for those hilarious La-La-Latte ads and her easy laugh and the way she chewed gum on the court and the look on her face when she asked him to be the godfather.
“I owe her,” he said.
“Are you going to investigate this?”
He shook his head. “The case is all yours.”
“There’s no case right now. She’s a drug overdose.”
They headed back down the corridor and stopped in front of a door in the delivery wing. Muse said, “Wait here.”
She slipped inside. When she came back out, she said, “The hospital’s pathologist is with her. He, uh, cleaned her up, you know, after the caesarean.”
“Okay.”
“I’m doing this,” Muse said, “because I still owe you a favor.”
He nodded. “Consider it paid in full.”
“I don’t want it paid in full. I want you to be honest with me.”
“Okay.”
She opened the door and led him into the room. The man standing next to the gurney—Myron assumed that he was the pathologist—wore scrubs and stood perfectly still. Suzze was laid out on her back. Death does not make you look younger or older or peaceful or agitated. Death makes you look empty, hollow, like everything has fled, like a house suddenly abandoned. Death turns a body into a thing—a chair, a filing cabinet, a rock. Dust to dust, right? Myron wanted to buy all the rationales, all the stuff about life going on, that an echo of Suzze would live on in her child in the nursery down the hall, but right now it wasn’t happening.
“So do you know anyone who’d want her dead?” Muse asked.
He offered up the easy answer: “No.”
“The husband seems pretty shook up, but I’ve seen husbands who could channel Olivier after killing their wives. Anyway, Lex claims he flew in on a private jet from Adiona Island. When he got there, they were wheeling her out. We can check his time frame.”
Myron said nothing.
“They own the building—Lex and Suzze,” Muse went on. “There are no reports yet of anyone going in or out, but the security is pretty lax in that place. We might look into it more if we feel the need.”
Myron approached the body. He put his hand on Suzze’s cheek. Nothing. Like putting your hand on a chair, a file cabinet. “Who called it in?”
“That part seems a bit unusual,” Muse said.
“How so?”
“A man with a Spanish accent made the call from the phone in her penthouse. When the paramedics got there, he was gone. We figured it was probably an illegal working in the building and didn’t want to get in trouble.” That made no sense, but Myron didn’t want to get into that. Muse added, “Could be someone who was shooting up with her and didn’t want trouble. Or even her dealer. Again, we’ll look into it.”
Myron turned to the pathologist. “Can I look at her arms?”
The pathologist glanced over at Muse. Muse nodded. The pathologist pulled back the sheet. Myron checked the veins. “Where did she shoot up?” he asked.
The pathologist pointed at a bruise in the crook of her elbow.
“You see some old tracks here?” Myron asked.
“Yes,” the pathologist said. “Very old.”
“Anything else fresh?”
“Not on the arms, no.”
Myron looked at Muse. “That’s because she hasn’t used drugs in years.”
“People shoot up in all different spots,” Muse said. “Even in her heyday, what with wearing tennis outfits, rumor has it Suzze shot up in, er, less conspicuous places.”
“So let’s check that.”
Muse shook her head. “What’s the point?”
“I want you to see that she hadn’t been using.”
The pathologist cleared his throat. “There’s no need,” he said. “I already did a cursory examination of the body. I did indeed find some old scarring there, near the tattoo on her upper thigh, but there’s nothing fresh.”
“Nothing fresh,” Myron repeated.
“That still doesn’t prove it wasn’t self-inflicted,” Muse said. “Maybe she decided to do it in one big swoop, Myron. Maybe she was indeed clean and overdid it or overdosed intentionally.”
Myron spread his hands, giving her incredulous. “When she was eight months pregnant?”
“Okay, fine, then you tell me: Who would want to kill her? And more than that, how? Like I said, no signs of struggle. No signs of forced entry. Show me one thing that says it wasn’t a suicide or accidental OD.”
Myron wasn’t sure how much to say here. “She got a post on Facebook,” he began. And then he stopped. A cold finger traced down his spine. Muse saw it.
“What?” she asked.
Myron turned to the pathologist. “You said she shot up near her tattoo?”
Again the pathologist looked toward Muse.
“Hold up a second,” Loren Muse said. “What were you saying about a post on Facebook?”
Myron didn’t wait. He reminded himself again that this wasn’t Suzze, but this time he felt the tears push into his eyes. Suzze had survived so much, had finally come out on the right end, and now, just when she seemed to have everything within her grasp, well, it was time for Myron to step up. Screw the excuses. Suzze had been his friend. She had come to him for help. He owed her.
He pulled back the sheet before Muse could object. His eyes fell to her upper thigh, and yes, there it was. The tattoo. The same tattoo that was in the ‘Not His’ post. The same tattoo that Myron had just seen in the photo of Gabriel Wire.
“What’s wrong?” Muse asked.
Myron stared down at the upper thigh. Gabriel Wire and Suzze had the same tattoo. The implication was obvious.
Muse: “What’s that a tattoo of?”
Myron tried to slow down the swirl in his head. The tattoo had been in the online post—so how did Kitty know about it? Why did she put it in her post? And, of course, wouldn’t Lex know about the same tattoo being on both his wife and his music partner?
Add it up. The words ‘Not His.’ A symbol that adorned the upper thighs of both Suzze and Gabriel Wire. No wonder that post had rocked Lex.
He focused in on Muse.
“Can I see her?” he asked.
“You mean Suzze?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He wasn’t sure himself. Maybe it was a classic case of needing it to be real, of needing—and God, he hated that word—some sort of closure. He thought about Suzze’s bouncing ponytail when she played tennis. He thought about her posing for those hilarious La-La-Latte ads and her easy laugh and the way she chewed gum on the court and the look on her face when she asked him to be the godfather.
“I owe her,” he said.
“Are you going to investigate this?”
He shook his head. “The case is all yours.”
“There’s no case right now. She’s a drug overdose.”
They headed back down the corridor and stopped in front of a door in the delivery wing. Muse said, “Wait here.”
She slipped inside. When she came back out, she said, “The hospital’s pathologist is with her. He, uh, cleaned her up, you know, after the caesarean.”
“Okay.”
“I’m doing this,” Muse said, “because I still owe you a favor.”
He nodded. “Consider it paid in full.”
“I don’t want it paid in full. I want you to be honest with me.”
“Okay.”
She opened the door and led him into the room. The man standing next to the gurney—Myron assumed that he was the pathologist—wore scrubs and stood perfectly still. Suzze was laid out on her back. Death does not make you look younger or older or peaceful or agitated. Death makes you look empty, hollow, like everything has fled, like a house suddenly abandoned. Death turns a body into a thing—a chair, a filing cabinet, a rock. Dust to dust, right? Myron wanted to buy all the rationales, all the stuff about life going on, that an echo of Suzze would live on in her child in the nursery down the hall, but right now it wasn’t happening.
“So do you know anyone who’d want her dead?” Muse asked.
He offered up the easy answer: “No.”
“The husband seems pretty shook up, but I’ve seen husbands who could channel Olivier after killing their wives. Anyway, Lex claims he flew in on a private jet from Adiona Island. When he got there, they were wheeling her out. We can check his time frame.”
Myron said nothing.
“They own the building—Lex and Suzze,” Muse went on. “There are no reports yet of anyone going in or out, but the security is pretty lax in that place. We might look into it more if we feel the need.”
Myron approached the body. He put his hand on Suzze’s cheek. Nothing. Like putting your hand on a chair, a file cabinet. “Who called it in?”
“That part seems a bit unusual,” Muse said.
“How so?”
“A man with a Spanish accent made the call from the phone in her penthouse. When the paramedics got there, he was gone. We figured it was probably an illegal working in the building and didn’t want to get in trouble.” That made no sense, but Myron didn’t want to get into that. Muse added, “Could be someone who was shooting up with her and didn’t want trouble. Or even her dealer. Again, we’ll look into it.”
Myron turned to the pathologist. “Can I look at her arms?”
The pathologist glanced over at Muse. Muse nodded. The pathologist pulled back the sheet. Myron checked the veins. “Where did she shoot up?” he asked.
The pathologist pointed at a bruise in the crook of her elbow.
“You see some old tracks here?” Myron asked.
“Yes,” the pathologist said. “Very old.”
“Anything else fresh?”
“Not on the arms, no.”
Myron looked at Muse. “That’s because she hasn’t used drugs in years.”
“People shoot up in all different spots,” Muse said. “Even in her heyday, what with wearing tennis outfits, rumor has it Suzze shot up in, er, less conspicuous places.”
“So let’s check that.”
Muse shook her head. “What’s the point?”
“I want you to see that she hadn’t been using.”
The pathologist cleared his throat. “There’s no need,” he said. “I already did a cursory examination of the body. I did indeed find some old scarring there, near the tattoo on her upper thigh, but there’s nothing fresh.”
“Nothing fresh,” Myron repeated.
“That still doesn’t prove it wasn’t self-inflicted,” Muse said. “Maybe she decided to do it in one big swoop, Myron. Maybe she was indeed clean and overdid it or overdosed intentionally.”
Myron spread his hands, giving her incredulous. “When she was eight months pregnant?”
“Okay, fine, then you tell me: Who would want to kill her? And more than that, how? Like I said, no signs of struggle. No signs of forced entry. Show me one thing that says it wasn’t a suicide or accidental OD.”
Myron wasn’t sure how much to say here. “She got a post on Facebook,” he began. And then he stopped. A cold finger traced down his spine. Muse saw it.
“What?” she asked.
Myron turned to the pathologist. “You said she shot up near her tattoo?”
Again the pathologist looked toward Muse.
“Hold up a second,” Loren Muse said. “What were you saying about a post on Facebook?”
Myron didn’t wait. He reminded himself again that this wasn’t Suzze, but this time he felt the tears push into his eyes. Suzze had survived so much, had finally come out on the right end, and now, just when she seemed to have everything within her grasp, well, it was time for Myron to step up. Screw the excuses. Suzze had been his friend. She had come to him for help. He owed her.
He pulled back the sheet before Muse could object. His eyes fell to her upper thigh, and yes, there it was. The tattoo. The same tattoo that was in the ‘Not His’ post. The same tattoo that Myron had just seen in the photo of Gabriel Wire.
“What’s wrong?” Muse asked.
Myron stared down at the upper thigh. Gabriel Wire and Suzze had the same tattoo. The implication was obvious.
Muse: “What’s that a tattoo of?”
Myron tried to slow down the swirl in his head. The tattoo had been in the online post—so how did Kitty know about it? Why did she put it in her post? And, of course, wouldn’t Lex know about the same tattoo being on both his wife and his music partner?
Add it up. The words ‘Not His.’ A symbol that adorned the upper thighs of both Suzze and Gabriel Wire. No wonder that post had rocked Lex.
