Vortex (SAI Book 1) (2 page)

Peeling her eyes away from the dead body, she shook her head. “Me too. We are not doing the neighborhood much good if we remain at the center point of two gangs feuding.”

Gideon walked away from the CSI team and stepped up to the desk. “We should be done in about an hour, so you all should be able to open up after lunch.”

“Thanks,” Trinity replied. “Are you done with the prescription locker?”

“Yes. We collected all the prints we could.”

“I’ll start on the inventory and let you know what was stolen. I better make sure that we have enough for the immunizations that we’ve scheduled this afternoon.” Turning, Trinity strode down the hall and disappeared around the corner.

“Where did Vivi go?” Gideon asked.

Ruby studied the detective before responding. “She’s in her office. Doing paperwork and hiding from you.”

“From me?” Tipping back on his heels, he let out a snort. “If only that were true. She has no interest in rekindling our college affair. Believe me. I tried to relight the flame, and she definitely wasn’t interested.”

Patting his arm, she tilted her head and studied him. “She doesn’t believe that she has a fire left in her. Not after losing Matt.”

“That was three years ago. I hope that she gives herself a chance someday. Vivi deserves to have a full life, and I would hate to see her give up.”

“You and me both,” Ruby replied.

One of the techs called Gideon, and he excused himself and returned to the body. “Are we almost done here?”

Vivi stepped out of her office and studied her old friend as he conferred with the techs. He was six feet of gorgeous. And she felt nothing. If a decent man like Gideon couldn’t get her motor running, then it was probably broken for good. Squaring her shoulders, she shook off her thoughts and went to see how much longer the investigation was going to take. They had kids to take care of, and that was what she was going to focus on. Not her broken dreams. Or the dead man lying on the floor.

***

Vivi opened the front doors to the clinic and saw a line of patients wrapped around the building. “It seems that we’re going to be here late tonight,” she muttered to herself. Smiling at the crowd, she shouted a greeting. “Sorry about making you all wait. There was a bit of trouble last night, and we had to let the NOPD do their job before we could open. We’re going to take care of every single child today, so you all come on in and enjoy the air-conditioning.” After gathering her hair up in a ponytail, she then took the hand of a small girl who was the first in line with her mama. “Come on, Eva, let’s see how your heart sounds today.”

Eva’s mama Marie patted Vivi’s arm as they walked inside. “Dr. V, we’re so sorry to hear about your troubles.”

“Thank you. We’re not sure why we’ve become the target, but I expect we’ll find out soon enough.”

“What’s a target?” Eva asked.

Swinging the darling child up in her arms, Vivi tweaked the little girl’s nose. “It means that we have become really popular with the wrong people.”

The little girl scrunched her nose and let out a little breath. “Well, I suppose that there are a lot more nice people that like you than not-nice ones.”

“From your mouth to God’s ears,” Vivi replied. They walked into the first exam room, and Vivi settled the little girl on the bench. This was her favorite part of her job. Taking care of small children was what she loved best. As she waited for Marie to get her daughter ready for the exam, she felt a pinch of pain in her heart. The phone call that she had received this morning made her realize that a long-held dream might not be possible. Shaking off the gloomy thoughts, she pulled herself up straight and focused on the patient in front of her. It was the only way to get through any of this.

“Are we ready, ladies?” Eva sat up straight, crossed her legs, and saluted her. “I’ll take that as a yes.” She lowered herself in front of the small cherub and winked. “I have some new stickers, and I think you’re going to love them.” A solemn nod was the only response she received.

***

Three hours later, they still had a waiting room full of families. Ruby handed Vivi a water and then checked her sign-in sheet. “We have another twenty patients to see. Do you want me to reschedule some for tomorrow?”

Vivi glanced at her watch and then shook her head. “Let’s try to see them all today. I promised Nana Boo that I would go over tomorrow and help her with the garden.”

Ruby nodded in agreement. “Works for me. I have a lunch date, and I don’t want to put him off.”

Vivi raised her eyebrows and waited. “I can’t believe that you haven’t said anything yet. What’s with the secrecy?”

Waving her hand in dismissal, Ruby studied her row of pencils and carefully straightened them out. “I was saving it for tonight. I don’t think anything is going to come of it, but I figure I should at least try.”

Squeezing her friend’s shoulder, Vivi beamed. “I’m especially proud of you. Trinity and I would do well to follow your example.”

Ruby’s eyes crinkled up in amusement. “Yeah, being part of a widows’ club isn’t how I saw spending my thirties. I have to do something to shake things up.” Tilting her head, she laid her hand across her chest. “I miss how a man smells. Isn’t that sad?” Shoving a hand in her pocket, she sighed. “The other day when I was at the market, I followed a guy down two aisles just because he smelled good. I’ve gone crackers, and I need to do something about it.”

“Admitting it is the first step to recovery.” Vivi pulled the chart for her next patient and walked toward the waiting room.

“Feel free to join me,” Ruby called after her. All she got in response was Vivi waving her hand behind her head.

Trinity strolled up to the desk and laid the folder down for her last patient. “What was that all about?”

“Change,” Ruby said.

Picking up a patient folder, Trinity laughed. “That’s not something any of us are good at.”

“But we’re going to learn how. We can’t be widows forever.”

Before Trinity could respond, the phone started ringing, and Ruby’s attention was torn away. “I think we can be widows forever.” Checking the folder, she called out next patient’s name. She passed Vivi in the hall and high-fived her. “We’re almost done.”

Vivi glanced over her shoulder and made sure that the twins were following her. They were twelve, and their grandmother had brought them by today so that she could discuss the changes that they were about to experience. Granny Nell thought that Vivi could provide them with a much better picture than she could. Also, it would be less embarrassing for the girls to hear it from a doctor than from their grandmother. At least that was what Nell thought, and Vivi agreed to give them the
talk
. Though she was pretty much sure that they knew everything already. Hell, the new twelve was like the old twenty. “Come into my office, girls. I have some information to share with you.”

***

The waiting room was finally empty. Trinity glanced up at the big wall clock and rolled her shoulders. “It’s seven and time for a drink.”

Uncle Buck came in through the front door and called a resounding hallelujah. “I couldn’t agree more.” He slowly walked toward a chair, carefully lowered himself, and let out a huff. “I can’t believe that no one called me this morning. I missed out on all the excitement.”

Vivi walked down the hall and shook her finger at her favorite uncle. “Where have you been, old man?” She sat next to him and checked his pulse and then studied his eyes. “You and Mr. Stewart were doing a lot more than playing pinochle.”

“We had a drink at five just like every other red-blooded American. I’m not one to break with tradition and neither is he. We are civilized human beings.”

Smoothing her hand over her uncle’s bony arm, she grinned. “Having a bourbon at five does not make you civilized.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, young lady.” He patted her hand and winked. “I had to drown my sorrows after losing all my money to that old scallywag. He got me for two hundred today.”

Ruby came in and sat down next to Trinity and faced the two DuMonds. One was seventy and the other was thirty-five, and they couldn’t have been more alike. Uncle Buck came down to the clinic once or twice a week and hung around and offered his opinion on just about everything. He was too old to practice medicine anymore, but being around the clinic made him believe that he was still useful. “Are you having supper with us tonight, Buck?”

“No, young lady. I have dinner plans with an old friend, and I should be leaving. Fred called me a while ago and said he would be here to pick me up. I expect him anytime now.”

Vivi stood and stretched. “Let’s go to my house, ladies, and have a much-deserved drink. Gideon is going to come by later on and fill us in on what he’s found out so far.”

Fred poked his head in and waved to the group. “I’m ready to take him off your hands.”

“Thank you, Fred.” Vivi helped her uncle out of the chair and handed him his cane. “Have fun tonight.”

Uncle Buck waved to everyone and moved slowly toward the door. “I’ll see you girls next week.”

The three women stood together and watched Fred help Uncle Buck to the car. Trinity locked the front door and turned off the lights in the reception room. “I think it will be quiet this weekend. We have nothing left to steal.”

Ruby shut down the computers and made sure that the files were locked away. “I hope to God you’re right.”

Vivi flipped off the lights in the back and waited for her two friends. “Let’s go relax.” Holding the back door, she waited for them to come out. “And hear about Ruby’s hot date tomorrow.”

Ruby pulled out her car keys and tried to smooth her curls down. “It’s not going to be hot. I’ll settle for lukewarm. Anything to keep me from following men around in the market.”

Trinity stood in front of her car and shook her head. “I can see that I missed something today.”

“Don’t worry, all will be revealed after our first drink,” Vivi responded. Before she climbed into her car, she cast a cursory glance around and noticed how quiet it was. Quiet in this neighborhood was never a good thing, and she wondered what else was in store for the clinic.

CHAPTER TWO

Florida

Two weeks later

Joel sat back in his chair and studied the view from his office window. The cloudless blue sky and birds flying overhead toward the ocean shouldn’t make him feel so empty.

Everything he had worked for over the last couple of years was starting to pay off. He had a great team of men, they were doing valuable work, and he was making more money than he ever had. He should be filled with satisfaction. Instead, he felt like he was missing something. The phone buzzed and broke him out of his somber thoughts. Tipping forward in his chair, he answered it. “What’s up, Carly?”

“Ronnie DuMond…I mean Ronnie Bedford called and asked if she could stop by in an hour. She needs a recommendation for her sister.”

“Sure, tell her to come on by.”

“Will do,” Carly replied.

Leaning back in his chair again, he checked his calendar and noticed that he had some free time coming up. Maybe that was the problem. He much preferred to be busy.

Heaving himself out of his chair, he then walked out of his office, and went looking for someone to run with after work. He’d never been a man prone to introspection, and he certainly didn’t want to start now. As he ambled down the corridor, he noted that the offices were empty. Trevor and Kyle were out on assignment, but where was everyone else? As he turned the corner, he saw several men in the conference room. What the hell?

Standing in the doorway, he listened to his men debate who was going to win the upcoming Super Bowl. “Maybe you can ask Ronnie Bedford when she gets here in about an hour. I’m sure she has some ideas about who is going to come out on top.”

Dane, Ben, and Grady swiveled their chairs in his direction and waited. “Don’t forget, she married a three-time Super Bowl winner. And she manages the finances of over one hundred top athletes in the game. I’m sure she has some insight or at least some opinions. Lord knows she has a lot of those.”

Dane was the first to respond. “Why is Ronnie coming in today? Is she having more problems with her clients’ girlfriends?”

Joel slid out a chair and slumped into it. “Carly just told me that she needs a recommendation for her sister Vivi. I’m not sure what’s going on, so we’ll just have to wait and see.”

Ben tipped forward and grinned. “I remember Vivi.” Waggling his eyebrows up and down, he whistled. “She is one pretty doctor. I talked to her for almost an hour at the last party that Ronnie and Chase threw at the house. She was sweet and had a ton of interesting stories about the years she spent with Doctors without Borders.”

Dane sat back and crossed his arms behind his head. “I like that woman. She had a lot of dirty jokes to tell. I laughed my ass off. I’m not sure if it was the joke or hearing it from a woman who appeared so proper, but if she needs help, I’ll fly over to see her and take
real
good care of her.”

“Down, boys,” Joel replied firmly. “Let’s wait until Ronnie gets here, and then we can decide how to proceed. This could be something minor, and we can recommend someone in New Orleans to take care of it.”

Grady stood and grabbed the folder in front of him. “I’m going to meet with the woman who has the trucking company. I’ll check in with you later.”

Before Grady made it to the door, Joel stopped him. “Are they still having their trucks hijacked?”

Leaning his large frame against the wall, he checked his watch. “Yeah. They just had another truck stolen last week. If I can’t solve this for them, then they’re going to lose their contract with the pharmaceutical company. The trucks eventually show up, but the drugs are gone.”

“Let us know what you need,” Joel responded.

Grady tipped his head in acknowledgment and stepped out of the conference room. Joel watched his partner’s retreating figure and felt confident that he would solve the case. There had never been a better tactician. When they were on the Teams together, he’d proven it a thousand times over.