:VI:
The Politics of Cook County
General
The entire ER staff sat in a meeting room.
Tuesday and Nick stood at the front, a tape player and several tapes sitting on
a table in front of them.
"Dr. Kovac has been found," Tuesday said in
a hollow voice.
"Where?" Kerry asked.
"In a autopsy drawer in the Las Vegas CSI
offices. Luka Kovac is dead and his body was slipped into the coroner's office
during the night of May 15th."
Several gasps filtered through the room and
Abby's eyes filled with tears.
"However, we also know who is responsible
for Dr. Kovac's death," Nick said. "Tuesday, take the floor."
"Thank-you." Tuesday stepped forward. "This
story begins long before Dr. Kovac's disappearance. Correct Abby?"
Abby's eyes flashed dangerously. "What the
hell are you talking about?"
Tuesday smiled. "In September, your husband
quit paying your tuition to medical school, forcing you to drop out. Is that
correct?"
"Yes," Abby muttered, her eyes narrowing.
"You wanted nothing else but to go to medical
school. But, your revenue inhibited you from actually doing anything about it.
"Meanwhile, Dr. Romano found himself moving
into quite a situation. After firing several members of the hospital staff, the
hospital board of trustees began to look into the cases of these people. And,
it was discovered that every single one of these people were some sort of
minority. Homosexual, Hispanic, African American, Native American, Jewish..."
"You can't prove anything!" Romano fired,
glaring at Tuesday.
Tuesday's expression was almost brash. She
truly loved playing the part of the devil's advocate. "I can, Dr. Romano, I
can." She held up several tapes. "Each of these contain the testimonies of the
those who lost their jobs. You can that the board for these, we borrowed them
from the CEO."
Romano's red face paled and he glared at
Tuesday. He tried to speak, but couldn't.
"You knew that Abby was hard pressed for
money and you were made uncomfortable by Dr. Kovac's presence in the ER. You
wanted him gone, but knew if you tried to fire him, you would lose your own job
faster then you could fire someone else. So you played your trump card. You
promised Abby you would pay for her tuition if she got rid of Luka.
"So, Abby, you followed Luka to Vegas and
kidnapped him from the MGM Grand. But, when you returned to Chicago, your
conscience got the better of you and you called me. Classic, really. The
culprit calls in the detectives and acts so worried. In your case, Abby the
worry was genuine. You truly loved Luka and you worried about him. You began to
rethink all of this.
"Romano was getting into even deeper water
with the board. They refused to be silent any longer. That is, most of the
board. You talked to the CEO and promised him one and a half million dollars if
he kept quiet. And he did. The only problem was that you didn't have the money.
You barely had the money to cover your promise to Abby. So you arranged for the
kidnap of John Carter, knowing he had millions of dollars. All it would take
was a ransom. At that same time, you arranged for Luka to be killed in Vegas,
because you were afraid that Abby might break." Tuesday finished and sat down,
Nick taking her place.
"You have no proof!"
Nick smiled slyly. "Oh no?" He signaled to
Tuesday who in turn flipped on the tape player.
"You do, an I will see to it that Kovac
never sees you or anyone again."
Tuesday hit the stop button and the voice
was cut off. Another wave of gasps passed through the room.
"Abby Lockheart, you are under arrest for
the kidnap of Luka Kovac. Robert Romano, you are under arrest for the murder of
Luka Kovac and the kidnap of John Carter."
Two police officers entered the room,
handcuffed the two and led them from the room. Nick and Tuesday sighed and
exchanged a glance.
-----
Tuesday slammed the case record file shut
and leaned back in her chair, putting her feet on her desk.
"Can I come in?"
Tuesday looked up to see Catherine standing
in the doorway. "Sure." She sighed. "It's great to be back home," she said.
"You and Nick made the papers," Catherine
said handing the paper to Tuesday. There in bold print read:
Tuesday sighed. "I'm glad it's all over.
That hospital is just weird."
"Did you see anyone about your attack?"
Tuesday nodded. "Twice in Chicago and I'm
going to see someone here for a couple weeks."
Catherine smiled. "That's great. Good
luck."
"Thanks." Tuesday winked. "I couldn't have
done any of it without friends like your guys."
~*~ EL FIN ~*~
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