Golden in Death(18)

“It’s helpful to have any information. Anything else like this? Any time Dr. Abner had words with someone, or was angry with someone?”

“A few years ago he reported a parent for child abuse.” Sarah Eisner, one of the other nurses, looked over at Seldine. “He was angry—who wouldn’t be? The mother brought the little boy in for a routine, and he had all these bruises. She tried to say he was just clumsy, but she broke down, told Kent—I was in the exam room—her husband got angry and hit the boy.”

“Yes, Thomas Thane. I remember. He was … three?”

“That’s right,” Sarah confirmed. “And when Kent managed to get through the fear, he told us about his father getting mad because he broke something. And it wasn’t the first time.”

“There would be a police report?”

“Yes,” Seldine said. “Dr. Kent talked to the police. I know he spoke to the mother about taking the boy to a shelter, or getting counseling. But they didn’t come back. I don’t know what happened.”

“We’ll find out. Is this the only time Dr. Abner reported on an abused patient?”

“Only two others since I’ve worked for him. So three that I know of in twenty years.”

“We’ll need names, dates, any information. We will be taking Dr. Abner’s electronics, and—”

“Oh, but the patient data.”

Seldine looked at Rendi. “It is Dr. Kent. It is for him.”

“I understand, but there are laws and privacy issues. We—”

“We have a warrant,” Eve interrupted. “You can separate out private and confidential patient records, but we take the rest.”

“I can do this,” Seldine assured her. “It will be done by midday if you would give me that time.”

“That’s fine. We’ll need to look at his office now. If there’s any confidential patient information in there, you need to separate it now.”

“I will do this. If you would help?” she asked Rendi.

“Sure.” She rose. “I—I want you to know that I want you to find who did this. But I have a duty to our patients. Kent always put the patients first.”

“Understood. Peabody, contact EDD, let them know they’ll need to come in here at, say, thirteen hundred.” She looked around the table at those who remained in the room. “You can contact me through Cop Central at any time if you think of anything else. Another person Dr. Abner had words with or trouble with, another time there was something out of the ordinary.”

“You get this son of a bitch,” the male nurse said. “You get him. I swear when he goes on trial, I’m going to be there every damn day until they put him away. Kent and Martin are two of the best people I know. Things like this shouldn’t happen to them. It shouldn’t happen to anyone.”

Eve left them in the conference room, walked back down to Abner’s office.

She found Seldine in tears, and Rendi trying to comfort her.

“I am sorry.” Seldine swiped at her face. “We … I found in his calendar … He had planned a party for me, next month. Twenty years, you see. He had—he had already ordered a cake. I loved him. He was a father to me.”

“Please, can I take her out? I closed off the patient records. Can I take her upstairs for now?”

“Yes.”

“Please.” Seldine fought for composure. “If I can help in any other way, please tell me. And please, would you please tell Martin we are all here for him when he is ready? We send him love and comfort. Would you do that?”

“Yes.”

“You’ve been very kind. Please be vigilant in your duty.”

When they went out, Eve looked at Peabody. “The odds of finding anything in here are slim to none. But let’s be fucking vigilant in our duty.”

When they left, Eve drew in the noise, the chaos, the clashing colors of New York like breath, and found herself grateful she’d parked blocks away.

“Morgue next, then the lab. Meanwhile let’s pin down this Dr. Ponti or Ponto from Unger, and get the sheet on the abuse reports.”

“On that.” Peabody pulled out her PPC. “You know how just a couple weeks ago we’re looking for who killed a rapist asshole fucker?”

“I recall.”

“I think we’ve got what you could call his opposite in Kent Abner. And as hard as it was to push through a rapist asshole fucker’s murder, this is harder.”

“They’re all hard. They’re supposed to be. We’re going to stop in this bakery just up here.”

“Oh, come on, man. Apple turnover. Loose pants.”

“Louise said Abner would sometimes bring pastries or flowers into the clinic. Let’s check and see if there’s anything there. We’re going to need to hit the clinic, too, talk to the staff, go through his records.”

“Yeah. Dr. Milo Ponti—resident at Unger, in ER. Early forties, married two years, no offspring. Wife’s a surgical nurse at Unger. Went to Columbia Medical, lives Lower West. No criminal.”

“We’ll make him another stop. Bakery.”

“We could split a turnover. If you split one, you’re basically not even having one. Because it’s half. When you cut calories in half, it’s a good thing. In fact…” Peabody warmed to the theme. “It’s an admirable thing.”