Blindsight

“She’s not here anymore,” Vi

“What do you mean?” Angelo asked.

“She was fired this morning,” Vi

“Then we need her address,” Angelo said. “Could you get that for us? And remember, this is just between us. I’m sure I don’t have to spell it out for you.”

“I understand,” Vi

Angelo sat back down, but he didn’t have to wait for long. Vi

Relieved to be leaving the morgue, Angelo nearly jogged back to his car.

“What’s the plan?” Tony asked once Angelo had started the engine.

“No time like the present. Let’s go to the broad’s apartment now. We’re even in the neighborhood.”

Fifteen minutes later they had parked on Nineteenth Street and were walking toward Laurie’s apartment building.

“How are we going to handle this?” Tony asked.

“We’ll try the usual way,” Angelo said. “Use our police badges. As soon as we get her in the car, we’re golden.”

In the foyer of Laurie’s building they got her apartment number from her mailbox. The i

They went directly to Laurie’s door and pressed her buzzer. When there was no response, Angelo hit it again.

“She must be out looking for another job,” Tony said.

“Looks like quite a set of locks,” Angelo said, studying the door.

Tony’s eyes left the door and roamed around the tiny hall. His eyes instantly locked onto Debra Engler’s. Tony tapped Angelo on the shoulder and whispered, “We got one of the neighbors looking at us.”

Angelo turned in time to see Debra’s probing eye through her narrowly opened door. As soon as his eye caught hers, she slammed the door shut. Angelo could hear her locks clicking in place.

“Damn!” Angelo whispered.

“What should we do?” Tony asked.

“Let’s go back to the car,” Angelo said.

A few minutes later they were seated in Angelo’s car in full view of the entrance to Laurie’s building. Tony yawned. In spite of himself, Angelo did the same.

“I’m exhausted,” Tony complained.

“Me too,” Angelo said. “I’d expected to sleep all day today.”

“Think we should break into the apartment?” Tony asked.

“I’m thinking about it,” Angelo admitted. “With all those locks it might take a few minutes. And I don’t know what to do about that witch in the other apartment. Did you catch her face? How would you like to wake up with that in bed with you.”

“This chick’s not bad looking,” Tony said, gazing at the picture of Laurie in the paper. “I could go for something like that.”

Lou helped himself to another cup of coffee. He was waiting in Manhattan General Hospital’s surgical lounge, where he’d surprised Jordan on their last encounter. But that time Lou had had to wait for only twenty minutes. Already he’d been there well over an hour. He was begi

Just when Lou was thinking about leaving, Jordan entered the room. He went directly to a small refrigerator and pulled out a carton of orange juice.

Lou watched Jordan take a long drink. He waited until Jordan came over to the couch to look through the newspaper lying there. Then Lou spoke up.

“Jordan, old boy,” Lou said. “Imagine ru

Jordan frowned when he recognized Lou. “Not you again.”

“I’m touched you’re so friendly,” Lou said. “It must be all the surgery you’ve been doing that’s got you in such an affable mood. You know what they say, make hay while the sun shines.”

“Nice seeing you again, Lieutenant.” Jordan finished the juice and tossed the carton into the wastebasket.

“Just a second,” Lou said. He got up and blocked Jordan’s exit. Lou had the definite impression Jordan was being even less cooperative than he’d been during their previous meeting. He was also more upset. Beneath the brusque facade the man was definitely nervous.

“I have more surgery to perform,” Jordan said.

“I’m sure you do,” Lou said. “Which makes me feel a little better. I mean, it’s nice to know that not all your patients scheduled for surgery meet violent deaths at the hands of professional hit men.”

“What are you talking about?” Jordan demanded.

“Oh, Jordan, indignation becomes you. But I’d appreciate it if you’d cut the crap and come clean. You know full well what I’m talking about. Last time I was here I asked you if there was anything these murdered patients of yours had in common. Like maybe they were suffering from the same ailment or something. You were happy to tell me I was wrong. What you failed to tell me was that they were all scheduled to undergo surgery by your capable hands.”

“It hadn’t occurred to me at the time,” Jordan said.

“Sure!” Lou said sarcastically. He was certain Jordan was lying, yet at the same time Lou was not sure of his objectivity in judging Jordan. As Lou had recently admitted to Laurie, he was jealous of Jordan. He was jealous of the man’s tall good looks, of his Ivy League education, his silver-spooned past, his money, and his relationship with Laurie.

“It didn’t occur to me until I got back to the office,” Jordan said. “After I looked at their charts.”

“But even once you did realize this co

“I can’t,” Jordan said. “As far as I can tell, it’s extraordinary coincidence. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“You don’t have the slightest idea why these murders were committed?”

“None,” Jordan said. “And I certainly hope and pray there are no more. The last thing I want to happen is see my surgical population decreasing in any form or fashion, particularly in such a savage way.”

Lou nodded. Knowing what he did about Jordan, he believed this part.

“What about Cerino?” Lou asked after a pause.

“What about him?”

“He’s still waiting for another operation,” Lou said. “Is there any way this murder streak could be related to Cerino? Do you think that he’s at risk?”

“I suppose anything is possible,” Jordan said. “But I’ve been treating Paul Cerino for months and nothing has happened to him. I can’t imagine he’s involved or specifically at risk.”

“If you have any ideas, get back to me,” Lou said.

“Absolutely, Lieutenant,” Jordan said.

Lou stepped out of the way and Jordan pushed through the swinging doors and disappeared from view.

Laurie decided that even if nothing pa

Inside an hour, Laurie hit pay dirt at Kendall Fletcher’s apartment building, and it all sounded familiar. Fletcher had gone out to jog but had returned very soon after-with two men. The doorman never saw the two men leave the apartment. Several hours after Fletcher had returned, an u