Couples
Chapter 51
Dropping in to Lanie's lab after meeting with Perlmutter, Kate can't miss the dreamy look on her friend's face. "You asked him."
"Mmm. I'd did." Lanie pulls off her glove, revealing her ring. "He chose one with a lot of smaller stones instead of a bigger rock, so I can wear it while I'm working without poking through the rubber. I don't have to take it off if I don't want to – and I don't want to."
"I guess it pays to fall for another M.E.," Kate replies. "And the stones are beautiful. Are those diamond, ruby, and amethyst?"
"That's right," Lanie confirms, "all in a circle of love. So what are you doing here, girl? You could have called to get the story."
"Checking on a case with Perlmutter. He actually seems to be in a good mood – for Perlmutter," Kate reports.
"Uh-huh. Sidney even brought in a bag of bagels this morning. He got a paper accepted into a major forensic pathology journal. It's kind of a big deal. I think he has his eye on moving up when the boss retires."
"Isn't the chief medical examiner appointed by the mayor?" Kate queries.
"That's right," Lanie confirms. "Which means it may be as much about politics as publications, but it never hurts to add to your resume. And I read a draft of Perlmutter's paper. It's about obsessing on treating non-aggressive cancer while a disease that actually kills a patient goes unchecked. He suggested that M.E.s gather more data about C.O.D.s that went untreated while the patient was under medical care for another condition."
"Sounds like medical misdirection. I learned about misdirection when my grandfather taught me magic, and then I found out that recognizing it also applies to murder cases. To solve a homicide, you have to look away from the obvious answer. Rick's taught me that. He's always spotting little clues that don't add up for the apparent suspect."
"The man's got an eye," Lanie agrees. "And speaking of your other half, I need him to tell me where to take my fiancé – ooh, I like the sound of that word – shopping. My man is badly in need of a wardrobe upgrade, but not at custom-made prices. I'm hoping Rick can steer us toward a good deal."
"He does love bargains and great clothes, but they don't always go together. You can call and ask him." Kate checks her watch. "We're right in the middle of what Rick calls Lily's flat-out in the Castle Corral time. And if Belle's there, they'll be keeping each other busy. You can talk to him while he's watching to make sure they don't break out."
Rick regards Lily and Belle in fascination. The parenting books are more right than they know when they talk about parallel play. In perfect parallel to each other, the two girls are shoving their toddler activity centers across the wood floor as fast as their short legs can carry them. That's pretty fast.
Rick's read about experimental systems researchers install beneath floors to capture the energy of people moving about. He guesses that if he put in something like that, the girls could power the whole building – maybe the entire block. Of course, he'd have to get approved as a beta tester and tear up the floor to do it. By the time everything was in place, the girls might be sitting quietly at a table doing puzzles. Lily's already shown a talent for that with her shape sorter. It must run in the family. She did spot the elephant. If Kate ever gets pregnant again, he might think about exploring that quirky form of alternative power. He's just not going to think too hard.
Rick is worn out just watching the girls when he checks the screen of his buzzing cellphone. Why would Lanie be calling him? Shrugging, he pushes accept.
"Hey, writer boy, I need your help."
"You want me to embroider an exciting narrative for an unremarkable death?" Rick inquires.
Lanie rolls her eyes. "No. I want you to tell me where I can find some fine-looking clothes for my fiancé without winning the lottery."
"You're in luck! One of my favorite tailors just went to work for Men's World. He can make anything look custom-made. I can give him a call and wait – fiancé? You and Lorne are getting married? When?"
"I don't know. We just got engaged!" Lanie protests. "And, I don't want to take any attention away from Alexis and Dana. One wedding at a time is enough."
"That is very thoughtful," Rick acknowledges, silently wishing Lanie's consideration was unnecessary. "But there's no reason we shouldn't celebrate. I'll get Lorne set up with the tailor, and he'll have some sartorial excellence to wear to a little party."
"Make it very little, Rick. Lorne's not exactly a party guy."
"What if the activities include a lightsaber battle?" Rick inquires.
"He'll be early," Lanie admits.
"Your husband-to-be," Rick declares, "is a Jedi after my own heart."
It doesn't happen often, but Lana's able to time her break to meet Eli at their spot at the vending machines in the courthouse. He arrives at a trot as she's buying a packet of cookies. She holds up her purchase. "Want to share?"
"I can't. The new judge gets hostile if an attorney dares to show up with even a crumb on his suit. I'll just get coffee."
"Difficult case?" Lana asks.
"Too easy. The defendant has a court-appointed attorney. I think he barely talked to his client before they appeared. He had him plead guilty without even discussing a deal. It was his first offense, and no one got hurt. If defense counsel gave me a reason, I might have been willing to knock the charges down a little, but he didn't even try. I'll recommend a minimum sentence, but that's the best I can do."
Lana tears at the cellophane surround her snack. "That's too bad, but I might have some good news. I got a call from Kate Beckett. She said Rick was wondering if you need any help with the campaign – staff or something."
"I think we're doing all right for people. Evelyn got some of her friends to work the phones and keep up our posts on social media. But what we really need," Eli considers, "is a way to shut up Victor Barron. That man loves T.V. cameras more than most men love their mothers. He keeps repeating the same lie that everything the N.Y.P.D. claims about the raid on the Gaetz Mansion is made up. He also claims that the woman he forced himself on was a willing partner and that the handcuffs were harmless fun. He's not willing to take a plea. We're going to have a hell of a time finding a jury he hasn't contaminated."
"When's his trial?" Lana asks, managing to extract a cookie.
Eli sighs. "Probably not for months, maybe longer. The federal human trafficking case against Gaetz is moving slowly too. It may be years before he ends up in court."
"But his operation is shut down, isn't it?" Lana questions.
"As far as we know, but guys like him are like roaches. You think you've wiped them out, but they're waiting in the walls to come out in the dark. Customs is keeping more of an eye on the shipping containers, but they only have the personnel to monitor a fraction of them. Charlie Purvis has everyone in Vice keeping their eyes open. If they see any signs of activity, they'll come down on Gaetz again like a ton of bricks."
Lana screws an Oreo open and samples the filling. "That, I would love to see."