Thick as Thieves(57)

“Well, it’s just that…I’ve listened to everything you’ve said, and I would put absolutely nothing past Rusty. He’s a moral cesspool and famous for his machinations.”

“But?”

“But if he were establishing me as an alibi for some wrongdoing that night, why didn’t he take me up on my offer to drive him to the hospital? Why didn’t he parade me through the ER and make certain that we were seen together?”

“You were in place to use on an as-needed basis. The story about me, too. As it turned out, he didn’t need either.” After a strategic pause, he said, “It would be useful to know how Rusty explained his injuries to the ER staff who treated him. I was wondering if…”

Her brow arched suspiciously. “What?”

“If Marty might help me with that.”

“Ledge—”

“I know, I know. Awkward.”

As though on cue, they heard a car pulling into the drive. Ledge checked his wristwatch. “Twenty past eleven. Right on time.” He looked at Crystal. “What about it?”

She sighed. “You can ask. But do so at your own peril.”

They heard the jangle of a key ring, then the snick of the lock. Marty came in, dressed in blue scrubs printed with the Ghostbusters logo. She tossed her purse onto the entry table. “This is a cozy scene. Am I interrupting?”

Crystal said, “Actually, we were just talking about you.”

“I hope it was something salacious.” She crossed over to the sofa, bent down, and kissed Crystal on the lips. “Hello, you.”





Chapter 22



Crystal smiled up at Marty. “Hello back. How was your shift?”

As Marty straightened up, she arched her back in a deep stretch. “Long. Depressing. I hate sick people.”

“Great attitude for a nurse to have,” Ledge said.

“When I chose my career path, I didn’t yet know that I had an aversion to the afflicted. Now, I stick with it for balance.” She weighed one hand against the other. “Misery at work. Happiness at home.”

Crystal smiled up at her. “Pour a drink and join us.”

She did so, then slumped in the upholstered chair adjacent to the corner of the sofa in which Crystal sat. She toed off her shoes and propped her stocking feet in Crystal’s lap.

“You were talking about me? What about me? My pink stripe?” She shook her platinum, pixie-cut hair, showing off the neon strip in her bangs.

“Fetching,” Ledge said. “I’ve thought about having Crystal paint one in my hair.”

“Not your color. It would clash with that bloody cut on your face.”

Ledge merely gave her wry smile. Under her breath, Crystal warned her partner that it would be best not to pursue that topic.

Ledge had come to like Marty Camp. She was one of the few people he was comfortable teasing with, but one had to tease back in order to survive her acerbic jibes.

She had moved to Penton after suffering through a contentious divorce. The root of the marital problem had been Marty’s sexual dubiety. With her impeccable credentials, she had been readily hired by the county’s largest and most reputable hospital, but was still living out of a suitcase in a motel when she’d gone into Crystal’s salon for a haircut.

Meeting Crystal had been the end of her sexual incertitude. In a matter of weeks, she’d moved in with Crystal. Marty had made Crystal more content than she’d been in her life, and for that Ledge liked Marty a lot.

She had a repertoire of salty language, a droll sense of humor, and, while she was a more caring individual than she let on, she also took no shit from anybody. She understood the nature of Crystal’s friendship with Ledge and was tolerant of it. But that acceptance could come to a screeching halt with the request he was about to make.

“Marty, I’m going to put you in a very awkward position.”

“Crystal puts me in awkward positions all the time,” she said, giving him a naughty wink. “But I draw the line at threesomes. Even if I were game, you don’t have the right equipment.”

“My equipment is right enough, thank you.”

They all smiled, but Crystal laid her hand on Marty’s arm to let her know that the subject wasn’t conducive to cracking jokes.

“The hospital keeps records. For how long?” Ledge asked.

“Patient records? I’m not sure. Since I’ve been on staff, the ones I’ve had to access were fairly recent.”

“How far back was the oldest?”

“Hmm, two, three years.”

“Could you do some sleuthing in the records department?”

Crystal said, “Without getting into trouble or crossing your personal ethical line.”

“How far back?” Marty asked.

Ledge gave her the month and date. “Easter Sunday of two thousand.”

She raised her eyebrows. In contrast to her hair, they were stark black.

“He would have come in shortly before dawn.” He went on to tell her Rusty’s full name. Crystal gave her a general description of the injuries he had suffered, then Ledge picked back up. “There must be a chart detailing his injuries. Can you get it?”

Marty pursed her lips. “You’re asking me to violate patient privilege?”