Chapter 4
Mike was still at his apartment when Bobby got home. A look of worry crossed his face. Mike shook his head. "She's fine, she's asleep. The kids were having a good time, Carolyn has to work late. I thought we could get a pizza and watch a game or something."
"Yeah, okay." Bobby went down the hall to his bedroom. With the curtains drawn, it was quite dark already. He tucked his hand into the bathroom and switched that light on providing a low light to the bedroom.
Alex was on her side, her hair and the twisted covers the evidence that she'd been in bed a while. He moved in and sat on the bed beside her, gently placing his hand against the skin of her cheek and her temple.
She stirred. With a sigh, she rolled onto her back.
Bobby kept his hand on her head and stroked her hair back. He was rewarded when she opened her eyes. "Hi," he said with a smile.
"You're home already?" She asked, and checked the clock. "Holy cow, I slept that long? Katie—"
"Mike stayed. She's fine."
Alex sighed and sat up far enough to settle in front of him, resting her head against his chest. Bobby wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her cheek. "We're getting a pizza. Are you up for it?"
"Yeah, I should get up." Alex slid from his arms and got to her feet. Bobby held fast to her hand.
"Don't push too hard, Alex."
She gave him a smile and a nod, and headed off to the bathroom. Bobby went out to say hello to the children.
Bobby let Johnny in and gave him a handshake and a quick hug. All of Alex's family had come by the hospital at one point or another, and her little brother was wanting to check in. It was past midnight, and he was on his way home from his 4 day shift at the firehouse.
"She's asleep?" Johnny asked, and Bobby nodded.
"Go ahead," Bobby said quietly, jerking his head in the direction of the bedroom. "What she doesn't know won't hurt her."
With a smile, Johnny went down the hall, poked his head in the door, and looked at his sleeping sister. Bobby had a left a dim lamp on in the room, so he would be able to find his way around, and Johnny had a clear view of Alex. She was resting peacefully, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Shutting the door gently, he went back out to the living room. "She looks ten times better than when I saw her last week."
Bobby grinned and agreed with him. "You wanna beer?"
"Sure." He waited for his brother in law to bring the bottle, and then Johnny sat down in the easy chair while Bobby sat on the couch. "How's Katie?"
"Fine. Excited about school. Mike and I enrolled the kids yesterday. Your kids?"
"Good. Ben's starting his last year of med school."
Bobby shook his head. "Where does the time go?"
Johnny grinned. "Calvin's getting pretty serious about his girlfriend. I wouldn't be surprised if he popped the question soon. And Lori, we hardly ever hear from Lori. She's having so much fun at Penn State."
"That first year away from home… it's pretty exciting."
"Yeah. That's what my wife tells me. She says I worry too much."
"You've got great kids, Johnny. You don't have anything to worry about. You and Mel did a hell of a job." They sat a few minutes, quietly enjoying their beers. "How's Dad?" Bobby asked, suddenly, realizing he hadn't heard anything about John Senior since Alex went to the hospital.
Johnny shrugged. "He hates it there. He keeps telling us he wants to go home."
Bobby nodded. He went through the same thing with his mother, years ago. "He'll get used to it," Bobby offered.
Johnny took a swig of his drink. "I don't think he's going to last out the year."
Bobby looked up in alarm. "Has something happened?"
Johnny shook his head. "He's just… it's just a feeling I have… Dad's so unhappy, and every time I see him, I think he's a little more frail."
Bobby frowned. "Frail" was not a word he would ever be able to associate with John Eames. "We'll go out and see him. If Alex isn't up for it yet, I'll take Katie."
"The kids are the only ones who manage to pull him out of it for a while. He's just so depressed."
"Look man, I didn't mean to bring you down. I just wanted to stop by and check on Alex. It's getting late. I need to get back home to Melissa." He stood up. "You'll tell sis I stopped by?"
"Of course." The two men hugged and Johnny left.
The new M.E. was much quieter than Elizabeth Rodgers had been. He ran things with a firm but quiet hand. He kept to himself as much as possible, at home as well as at work. Bobby liked him, though. He was very intelligent and was quick to surmise the intelligence of others. He'd shown Goren nothing but respect from the first time they met.
"Find anything?" Bobby asked him quietly.
"OD'd on pain medication."
Bobby screwed up his face in thought. "He have a reason to be on pain medication?"
"Severe gout. It's unusual, but it's possible he may have been prescribed something. Or there may have been some in the cabinet and some compassionate soul gave it to him."
Bobby looked over at his new partner, wondering what he was getting from this.
"His wife had surgery last year," Battista said, and Bobby nodded, relieved that at least the man had a head for details.
"What about this," Bobby moved in and gestured with his fingers at the bruising around the corpse's ear, "abrasion, here?"
"Peri-mortem, I'd say. He could have fallen, or been struck."
Bobby leaned down and looked at the shape of the bruise again. He had photographs from the crime scene, but he couldn't help but look at the source again. "But this, definitely, wasn't the cause of death?"
"It would have hurt, but it wouldn't have killed him."
Bobby returned to his full height and smiled at the M.E. "Thanks, Mitch."
Battista mumbled a goodbye and followed Goren back upstairs. In the elevator, Bobby was reviewing the notes in his binder, and seemed to be lost in thought.
"Maybe it wasn't a murder at all," Battista said.
Bobby looked at him in a distant kind of way, then gave a curt nod. "Maybe." He stared at his notes again. "In case of an accidental death, his wife stands to collect a half a million." Bobby looked over at his new partner, thinking aloud. "That, in addition to his controlling share in the jewelry business, that's pretty good motive."
