And if anything else was clear, it was that Trent was useless. It was a shame; the zeal Dopp had recognized in Trent at the beginning of the case had plainly evaporated. The evidence had come in the form of Jed’s integrity control report. The report concluded with a paragraph that was painful—and embarrassing—to read:
Trent’s lack of persistence is frighteningly apparent. He confessed that he hoped he was not wasting his time on a dead-end case, and then went on to reveal his own frustration about what he termed a worthless effort. At the same time, when the topic of Arianna’s clinic was broached, she perhaps protested too much about its growing popularity. Together, these conclusions imply an unstable situation for our department, one that ought to be rectified before any serious damage is done.
Dopp reread the report on his computer screen, his agitation escalating with each word. By the time he finished, he could almost feel the rancid breath of Albany on his neck. No, he thought, there could be no more putting it off: the time to act was now.
* * *
Trent’s stomach tightened when his office phone began to ring. He dreaded hearing that booming voice, but answered the call after the third ring.
“Come see me,” demanded the voice. Click.
Robotically, Trent got up, brushed off his suit, and walked to the office he knew too well. The reason for this sudden meeting, and the icy tone, was no mystery: Dopp was frustrated with the case’s inertia. Something had to change. Trent could already hear the words, and in his mind, he practiced his forthcoming lie, one that cast Arianna in an innocent light. Would it forestall the inevitable, if only a little longer? The chances seemed slim: Dopp was determined to find fault with her, even if Trent’s hints appeared to indicate otherwise. And, worse, what if Dopp was frustrated enough to remove him from the case? How could Trent protect her then?
By the time he reached the office, his heart was pumping at the base of his throat. He opened the door, and was surprised to see Jed sitting in one of the two leather guest chairs in front of Dopp’s desk.
Dopp was nodding and muttering something, but when Trent walked in, he grew stern. “Sit down.”
Trent nodded hello and sat. Now, he told himself, spit it out. He smiled, lips stretching to reveal his teeth.
“I was about to come talk to you. I finally made some progress.”
Dopp raised his eyebrows skeptically. “You did?”
“Last night, I asked her point blank where she’s always going after work, since I never followed her anywhere interesting. I’m pretty sure she trusts me by now, so I thought it was about time to get to the point.”
“And?”
“And you would never believe how disappointing the answer was: the doctor.”
“The doctor?”
“She has a specialist in the East Village who she has to see regularly for treatment and monitoring.”
Dopp looked unimpressed. “If it’s as simple as that, why did she never mention it?”
“She doesn’t like focusing on her MS,” Trent replied. “She usually refuses to talk about it at all.”
“I don’t believe her. First of all, if she were sick enough to require such frequent doctor’s appointments, she would not still be going to work, even part-time. Second of all, Trent, you are very gullible. Did you forget that she has lied to your face in the past? She told you she was a Christian, do you remember that? And then she admitted to doing abortions! She is a total manipulator, and you fell for it again.”
“You think so?” Trent said helplessly.
“Give me one good reason not to take you off this case right now. You have done nothing to advance our agenda.”
“I have,” he protested, racking his brain. “I surprised her with piano lessons! To make her think that I really care about her, so she will trust me and open up to me. Even you said it would take time!”
“That did seem like a good move,” Jed said, nodding at Dopp. “She brought it up at our dinner and seemed really happy about it.”
Trent threw Jed a grateful look. “I don’t want to let you down, boss,” he said. “Please just give me a little longer to work on this. I’ll keep following her to the doctor’s or wherever. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
“This is the kind of motivation I should have been seeing for weeks from you, Trent. Not your wishy-washy apathy. I know you’re bored.”
“I’m not! I admit to getting a little frustrated here and there, but that was just my own inexperience, and I realize that now. You’re the boss and you know what to do.”
Dopp’s face relaxed. “Look, Trent. I won’t take you off the case, but I’m not going to let you do it alone anymore either. It’s taking too long. We only have a few weeks until the budget talks start up again, and this case is too important to let slide on what you yourself called inexperience.”
Trent chomped down on his lower lip to prevent himself from protesting. The taste of blood dribbled onto his tongue.
“I didn’t think we would have to resort to this,” Dopp went on, looking from Trent to Jed. “But we have little choice if we want results. I am going to authorize a quiet sweep of all labs within the vicinity of the East Village. No public announcements, because we don’t want to give them time to hide anything.”
Trent felt himself catch his breath.
“But that’s not all. I am instituting a new policy for our bureau, which will cost extra manpower and money, but it’s our last resort and I think it’s a good one. Unless we do something to catch Albany’s attention again, they could cheat us out of a lot of money. So, starting tomorrow, we will begin a quiet new policy of random surprise inspections at any fertility clinic in our jurisdiction—all five boroughs.
