“I think the first test was developed in 1989, 1990, but let me check.” She turned to her computer and started typing. “Looks like we started using it in 1992.”
“On newly donated sperm or all of the sperm?”
“All of it.”
“So sperm used to conceive a child in 1994 would have been subject to CF testing?”
“Yes. Where are you going with this?”
Fina reached into her bag and pulled out Renata’s file. She scanned it until she found the pages detailing donor medical history and testing. “Show me where the CF test is.” She handed the pages to Ellen.
She studied the page and pointed to a line. “Right here. It was negative.”
“You said yesterday that this report is a condensed version of the testing that’s performed. Does Heritage keep all of the documentation in its files?”
“Yes, we keep all the documentation.”
“What kind of documentation are we talking about?”
“Notes from the doctor, receipts from lab tests that are done off-site. Keep in mind, files that are twenty years old are still in hard copy, not on the computer.”
“Can we take a look at Renata Sanchez’s complete file?”
Ellen wrinkled her nose. “I’m not supposed to show you a patient’s file.”
“What if she gives her permission?”
Ellen bit off a piece of carrot. “I’d need it in writing.”
“I’ll have it faxed over by the time you find the file,” Fina said, pulling out her phone.
Ellen got up from her desk. Fina started dialing as she left the room.
“I don’t understand why you need this, Fina. Didn’t you just pick up the rest of the file from the house?” Renata asked after Fina had made her request.
“Oh my God, Renata! Just do it!” Fina exclaimed.
“You don’t need to be short with me,” she said.
“Apparently, I do! Please just fax over a release right away.” Fina gave her the number, and two minutes later, Ellen’s fax machine started purring. Fina retrieved the hastily penned release from the tray and placed it in the middle of Ellen’s desk, happy she had made good on her promise.
After five minutes, she began to wonder what had become of Ellen. Ten minutes went by, and Fina stuck her head out of the office and looked down the hallway. She was about to find the receptionist when Ellen came back into the room with an odd look on her face. She picked up the release and studied it, then sat back in her chair.
“I can’t find the file,” she said. Frown lines had emerged on her forehead.
“Could it have been misfiled? Lost someplace?”
“Sure, but we had an intern here over the summer, and she did an amazing job organizing the files.”
Fina thought for a moment, the wheels turning. “Can you look for another? I don’t need to look in the file itself. I just want to know if you have it.”
Ellen looked puzzled, but got up once more. “What’s the name?”
“Marnie Frasier.”
Ten minutes later, she was back, empty-handed.
Fina called Renata and asked for the names of women from the SMC group who had used Heritage sperm around the same time as she and Marnie. She handed Ellen a list of eight names, and Ellen returned to the file room.
Ten minutes later, she was back.
“I can’t find any of those files, Fina,” Ellen reported.
Fina looked at her and then out the window, contemplating. “How big were the boxes you saw Walter putting in his car?”
“They were standard banker’s boxes. But why would he take those particular files?”
“Do me a favor, don’t tell anyone about this. Not yet.”
There was a glint of excitement in Ellen’s eyes. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“I’m not sure yet. Promise me you’ll keep a lid on our file search?”
“Yes. I promise.”
Fina took back Renata’s file and slipped it into her bag.
“But don’t keep me waiting too long,” Ellen said. “The anticipation might kill me.”
Fina grinned and left the office.
• • •
She knew she should go see Risa, but Fina couldn’t muster the courage for that conversation, not yet. Instead, she decided to head home to recharge and regroup.
Her hands had healed enough that a shower wasn’t a completely masochistic exercise. The energy she got from being clean outweighed the discomfort. She put on some jeans and a V-neck sweater and pulled her hair into a bun. Her reflection in the mirror was thoroughly unsatisfactory; the area between her eye and her temple was a slice of the spectrum from purple to yellow, although most of the swelling had gone down. Time might heal all wounds, but it never worked fast enough for her taste.
Fina called down to the concierge, hoping there was a package from Emma or Hal. Nothing had been delivered, so she put calls in to both of them, and they promised her updates on Denny Calder and anything new on Brett Linder by the end of the day. Great. More waiting.
Some people cleaned when they had time to kill, but Fina didn’t see the point. Everything just got dirty again. There was a service that came in every couple of weeks to keep the place from degrading into frat house conditions, but she never felt the need to supplement their work. Instead, she sat down at her computer and got her paperwork up
to date. There were receipts to scan and file, time sheets to update, and invoices to generate. Any small business owner or independent contractor knew that if you didn’t stay on top of your paperwork, it would come back to bite you.
Plus, the rote tasks freed up her mind to wander, which never hurt a case. Fina was fairly certain what Walter Stiles had been up to, but she wasn’t sure that it was motive for murder. She needed a little more information before reaching a conclusion.
She was searching through her bag, looking for a receipt, when there was a knock on the door. Still wary after her beat-down, Fina grabbed her gun and padded over to the door. She looked through the peephole and gripped her gun tighter when she saw who was on the other side.
“I know you’re in there, so you may as well let me in so we can get this over with.”
Fina unlocked the dead bolt and opened the door, gun in hand.
“You’re going to shoot me?” Rand asked.
Fina shrugged. “You said we should get this over with.”
Her oldest brother was handsome like all of the Ludlow men, but he didn’t have Scotty or Matthew’s warmth. Standing five feet eleven with thick, wavy hair, he had full lips, like the other Ludlows, but didn’t smile often.
Rand walked into the room and looked around as if he owned the place. He examined the pictures on the wall and ambled over to the windows overlooking the harbor. Fina stayed close to the door.
“What do you want, Rand?” Her pulse had quickened and her stomach flip-flopped.
“Why don’t you redecorate the place? It looks the same as when Nanny was alive.” He was wearing a light gray suit and a dress shirt, but no tie. He was tan, his dark skin contrasting with his straight white teeth.
“What do you want, Rand?”
“I want to come back. I want my life back. Miami has been fun, but
I’m getting a little tired of the sun. I miss the seasons. I love New England in the fall.”
“You’re lucky you’re not in prison.”
He glared at her. “I was never going to prison.”
“Well, you need to go back to Miami.”
Rand chuckled. “No, I don’t think so. I talked to Dad, and he wants me back in the firm up here. I’m being wasted on our clients down south.”
“You don’t like the satellite Ludlow and Associates that Dad created for you?”
“I want to be here.”
“I don’t care what you want. I don’t want you anywhere near Haley—or any child, for that matter, but right now I can only take care of Haley.”
Rand walked over to her. He stood so close, she could feel his breath on her face. “Looks like you got in another fight.”
For an instant, she thought she might actually throw up on him, so intense were her feelings of anger, disgust, even fear. She took a deep breath and leaned closer to him.
“Go back to the beach.”
He stepped around her and reached for the doorknob. “I don’t know what trick you have up your sleeve, but it’s not going to work.” He opened the door and was gone before she could respond.
Fina dead-bolted the door, walked to the couch, and dropped down onto the cushions. She wiped at the sheen of sweat that had broken out along her hairline, and after a moment, she placed the gun on the coffee table.
Now all she needed to do was conjure up a trick.
• • •
Fina pushed Rand to the back of her mind, to the compartment labeled
Nasty, Immoral Criminals
, and pored over the materials from Emma and Hal, which arrived shortly after Rand’s departure. She could only
hope that the information might yield a lead, and after almost two hours of reading, her efforts were rewarded.
“Can you meet me somewhere?” she asked Cristian over the phone.
“I’m in the middle of something.”
“It’s important, and it won’t take long.”
“Is Haley okay?” There was giggling in the background.
“Yes, she’s fine. This is about Denny Calder.”
“Why don’t you give Pitney a call? I think she’s at the office.”
Fina held the phone away from her face and took a moment to try to swallow her annoyance. It didn’t work.
“I don’t want to talk to Pitney,” she said loudly into the phone. “I want to talk to you. Since when has a woman gotten in the way of your job? You never let Marissa do that.”
There was a bumping noise on the other end and a pause before Cristian came back on the line. “Calm down.”
“I’m calm, but I have a lead on the guy who attacked me, and I’d appreciate a little more interest on your part.”
“I know this is an adjustment for you, as much as you deny it.”
“What? You’re changing the subject.”
“I know you like having my full attention, but maybe things are changing.”
“I can’t have this conversation with you right now,” Fina said.
“Fine. Tell me about the lead. Either that or we can meet up later.”
Fina exhaled loudly and rested her head against the back of the couch. “I can’t meet up later. Denny Calder’s sister-in-law used to work for MetroWest Janitorial Services.”
“And?”
“And up until eighteen months ago, MetroWest held the contract with Heritage Cryobank.”
Cristian was quiet for a moment. “How’d you get this?”
“I just did a really deep background on Denny and his nearest and dearest.”
“You know we don’t have the resources. Not on an assault case.”
“I know, I know, but now that you know, could you look into it? Maybe do something about it?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Thank you.”
“What are you going to do in the meantime?” Cristian asked.
“Nothing you need to worry about,” she said. “Go back to enjoying your afternoon delight.”
He snorted. “Bye.”
“Bye.”
Fina disconnected the call. What was her problem? Did she want Cristian for herself? Or maybe she just didn’t want anyone else to have him. Christ, she was turning into a Lifetime movie.
She stowed the files from Emma and Hal in her bag, grabbed her shoes, and rummaged in the kitchen for a snack. A cold soda paired with a couple of Nutter Butters would hit the spot.
Her to-do list seemed to be packed with possible confrontations, and she wasn’t looking forward to crossing them off her list.
• • •
Fina was tired of driving, but she didn’t have a choice. Things were unraveling—or falling into place, depending upon your point of view—and she couldn’t afford to take a break.
It was around dinnertime when she got to Juliana’s house in Swampscott. Fina rang the bell and rocked from one foot to the other while waiting.
“I’m surprised to see you,” Juliana said, leaning on the door. She was dressed down in jeans and a fitted T-shirt. Her bare feet showed off her pedicure.
“Can I come in? I’ll be brief.”
Juliana shrugged. “Sure.”
Fina followed her to the kitchen, where some vegetables sat on the counter, a peeled cucumber on a cutting board. Juliana picked up a large glass of white wine and took a sip. She didn’t offer Fina a glass.
“I assume you’ve heard Danielle’s announcement,” Fina said.
“Haven’t we all?” Juliana chopped the cucumber quickly and efficiently into thin rounds.
“You don’t want her to be a philanthropist? It will be great for the city.”
Juliana used her knife to guide the cucumber pieces into a bowl. She picked up a red pepper and ran it under the faucet. “I would like her to show a little respect. That’s what I would like.”
“To whom?”
“To me, and to the other women who have been running the charities in this city for years.”
“Why does that matter?”
The knife made a crunching noise as it dug in around the stem of the pepper. “I don’t know,” Juliana said softly.
Fina watched her work for a moment.
“I know that Hank was calling you to tell you about his insurance physical and the genetic tests that were done,” Fina said.
Juliana stopped midchop.
“I’m not sure why he’d be talking to you instead of his current wife, but I think he got some alarming news and was confiding in you.” Fina tapped her fingernails on the countertop. “How am I doing?”
Juliana put down the knife and took a long pull from her wine. “I don’t know as much as you think I do.”
“Tell me what you do know. He had the routine physical and what?”
“He got back test results and he thought they were wrong, so he had the tests run again.”
“And got the same results?” Fina asked.
“Yes.”
“What tests?”
“He didn’t tell me.”
“C’mon, Juliana.”
“I swear. He did not give me the details. He was upset, though, and
had scheduled appointments with some specialists. And he was extremely angry.”
“Why angry?”
“I don’t know, but my sense was that heads were going to roll.”
“Why would he tell you some things and be so evasive about others?”
“I don’t know, and who says I wanted the details?” She shrugged.
“But why listen at all?”
“Because you can’t be married for twenty-four years, share a child, and then just detach from each other. We were entangled. We always will be.”