As Tammy moved away, Kevyn leaned her head back and closed her eyes.
Now that she had some new leads, she was itching to get out of here.
Part of her wished she hadn’t decided to use donation as a front to gaining the intel she needed, but she doubted she would have learned as much from a formal questioning.
The information Tammy had given her was gold.
Lorelei Divers was a fake. She faked her intelligence, her true character.
What else was she faking?
₪ ₪ ₪
The morgue wrapped Dak in a cold blanket as he approached the chief medical examiner’s office. Steam rolled from the coffee cups in his hands, a triple shot mocha for him and a watered-down latte for the ME.
He’d learned long ago that arriving with the latte in hand granted him a few extra minutes with the chief ME. It also thawed the man’s tongue a little.
The office door stood open, so Dak stepped to the opening and tapped on the wood. “Knock, knock.”
Percy, a rotund, balding man in his late forties, looked up from the file open on his desk.
“I come bearing gifts.” Dak held up the latte.
A toothy grin crossed Percy’s face. “Agent Lakes. Come on in.”
Dak set the coffee on the desk and sank into a chair on the other side. “How’s life these days?”
“Oh, you know. Work’s a little dead.” Percy chuckled at his own joke. “My staff could stand to keep some livelier company, too. Although I guess the same could be said of me.”
Dak laughed along with the man. “At least you don’t run with a rough crowd.”
“No, no one could accuse me of that.” Percy flipped the file closed and snatched the cup, taking a long sip before focusing squinty eyes on Dak. “So what brings you by? I don’t think I owe you any reports.”
“No, we’re current.” Dak crossed his ankle over his knee. “I’m wondering if you’ve seen any evidence of poor organ transplantation lately. Or bodies that are missing organs?”
“Can’t say that I have.” Percy took another drink. “You suspect a black-market operation?”
“It’s one possible theory we’re working, but I don’t have any evidence to support it at this time.”
“Unfortunately, I don’t either.” Percy shook his head. “Our cases involve the usual suspects. Overdose, gunshots, car accidents. Got a particularly ugly pair in this morning whose car ignited after hitting a tree.”
Ugh. Glad he didn’t have to deal with that all day.
Dak nodded. “Well, if you run across anything, would you mind letting me know?”
“You’ll be among my first calls.”
Rising, Dak reached out to shake the man’s hand. “Always good to see you, man.”
“You, too.” Percy held up his latte. “Thanks for the liquid energy.”
“Any time.” With his rapidly cooling mocha in hand, Dak retraced his steps down the hallway.
He’d known it was a long shot, but it’d been worth the trip down here to ask.
If there was an illegal organ shop operating in the area, Percy would likely be one of the first to know about it. At least now the coroner’s office was on watch.
He wasn’t sure if he hoped the lead panned out or not.
If it did, Jason Boggess, Wes Andrews, and Stacy Cummings were most certainly dead.
Fourteen
Man, was she wiped.
Kevyn pulled out of the drive through, munching the French fries as she drove.
Who knew that donating plasma could leave you so drained?
Tammy had warned her as she left that she needed to get a snack and drink lots of water. Fast food probably wasn’t what Tammy had in mind, but it was quick and convenient.
At least the burger had actual nutritional value.
By the time she navigated downtown traffic and pulled into a parking space in the garage, her fries were lukewarm.
She pulled the burger out and took a few minutes to eat in peace before heading upstairs.
Dak looked up at her as she entered. “That took a while.”
“I donated while I was there. Thought that might be the best way to get information.” She rounded her desk and sank into her chair. “I figured they can’t ask me to leave if I’m donating, right?”
“Did you find out anything helpful?”
“I think so.” She recapped him on everything Tammy had told her. “Sounds like Divers used the same methodology on you when you talked to her.”
He nodded. “She did. I felt like she was maybe putting on a front, but she’s a convincing liar. The big question is why.”
“Tammy thinks she likes the attention.” Kevyn mulled that over. “It’s possible, but I bet it’s because she’s hiding something. Is anyone looking for offshore accounts under her name?”
“I asked the analysts to research that earlier today.” Dak’s lips met in a grim line. “If she’s hiding something, we’ll find out.”
“Did we ever find out blood types on our victims?”
Dak nodded. “Yeah. Felicia learned that Jason Boggess is AB Negative. It’s the rarest blood type, so that might explain why our kidnappers were willing to grab such a high-profile target. Wes Andrews is O Negative, which is somewhat rare, and Stacy Cummings is AB Positive, which is rarer than Andrews but not as rare as Boggess.”
“So it’s possible that our victims are being selected based upon blood type.” She wasn’t sure all the factors that went into organ donor matches, but blood type was a big one.
“Possible. I checked with the ME and he hasn’t seen any evidence–”
“You will never believe what I found out!”
Kevyn jerked as Sid’s voice boomed in the office.
Standing right inside the doorway, Sid’s grin stretched across his face as he bounced on the balls of his feet.
“Guess who gets the gold star today!” The excitement in his voice couldn’t be contained.
Nor
