Chapter Three
Paula Gyson became a psychiatrist for several reasons. One, which she freely acknowledged, was that she didn't like hospitals. And she outright hated emergency rooms. She could handle the sight of blood and gore; it was the chaos that got to her. She appreciated the irony. As a psychiatrist, she dealt with the chaos of mental illness every day.
This ER was especially chaotic, particularly, as far as she could see, Bobby Goren was the only serious patient on this early Sunday evening. She realized it wasn't that early any more. There were uniformed police everywhere, and many people she suspected were cops in plainclothes. Aside from the two uniformed cops who were first at the scene at the alley, she hadn't spoken with any of them. The two shared a look of shock and skepticism when she first told them that Goren reported that his attackers were cops and ex-cops. She took a deep breath and hoped that Detective Eames would arrive soon. Eames had taken the news of Goren's attack with an air of sad resignation. Apparently it wasn't as shocking to cops—or at least this cop—to learn that cops and ex-cops attacked their one.
Eames warned her. "Don't tell anyone anything beyond describing the guys who attacked Bobby. Wait until Captain Hannah or I get there. And don't go with anyone anywhere. Even if Mayor Bloomberg wants to take you to Gracie Mansion. Don't go with them."
Gyson readily agreed. No one was going to get her away from her patient for any reason.
She stared down the ER cubicles. She'd managed to get this close to them by inching forward and sheer gall. The nurses occasionally gave her a suspicious or even hostile look, but she apparently hadn't crossed the invisible line where they would force her back. She strained to hear what was going on in the second cubicle on the right where she'd seen the EMTs wheel Goren. She felt eyes bore into her back, and then their sudden departure. There was a buzz behind her, and she turned to see a petite, athletic, determined blonde woman striding though the crowd. It wasn't so much that she pushed through the crowd as the crowd parted respectfully and fearfully before her.
"Detective Eames," Gyson thought, and a great weight lifted from her. She was still afraid for Goren and of the police, but she now had a friend, and one that appeared to be a formidable one.
The woman reached her. "Dr. Gyson?"
"Yes. Detective Eames?"
"Yes." Eames' practiced eyes studied Gyson. She blinked when she saw the blood on Gyson's clothes, but she remained calm.
"How is Bobby?" Eames asked as she subtly guided Gyson to a row of chairs.
"I don't know. They haven't told me anything." Gyson sat heavily on one of the plastic chairs. Now that there was someone to help her fight, she felt as if she could afford to show some of her exhaustion.
Eames looked at her with sympathy. "Have you talked to any cops?"
"Just the first two who came to the place where it happened. Only a couple have tried to talk to me since I got here. I did what you asked. I haven't talked to anyone else. Do you think Detective Goren is in danger?"
Eames sat in the chair next to Gyson. "Possibly. And I don't mean to frighten you...But you may be too."
Gyson stared at her. "You mean...Because I saw them...But a lot of people saw them..."
"I know," Eames said. "But you saw them clearly. Heard them."
Gyson's head spun and hurt. "But...Detective Goren...They attacked him...They...They weren't really cops?"
"You said one of them called another "Cope". There was a cop..." Eames sighed. "Named Patrick Copa. Goren revealed that he lied about seeing a drug dealer kill his partner. And Goren revealed tha Copa left his partner alone so that Copa could have a quickie with his girlfriend, and that partner was killed because he was left alone. And Goren revealed Copa suffered from night blindness. He was a danger to other cops and civilians. Copa was thrown off the force. But there were a lot of cops who thought it was Bobby who should've been thrown off the force."
Gyson stared again at Alex. "But...Detective Goren...He did the right thing...This Copa...He's the one..."
Alex nodded. "Most cops would agree with you. But there's enough that don't. And then...You know about Bobby's suspension? After he went undercover?"
"Yes..."
"You now how he got back?"
Gyson sensed this wasn't a subject Detective Eames was eager to discuss. "Yes," the psychiatrist said. "It's in the files, of course, but he...We..." Gyson wasn't she how much she could or should reveal. She and Goren were just beginning to go into the details about his undercover work at Tates Prison or the subsequent undercover work that brought him back to the NYPD. Gyson felt she'd accomplished a great deal when Goren touched on these things in their last session. She realized with a shock that whether because of his physical or mental state or both of them, she and Goren might never discuss this or any other subject again.
"The operation that brought him back," Eames continued. "Bobby found two very bad cops. After he got his badge back. He found a dead rat in his desk."
Gyson stared at her in shock. She knew enough of the world of cops to know what this meant.
"I...I knew he was at...At odds with the Department...Other cops..." Gyson swallowed. "I didn't realize it was that bad."
Eames studied the cops wandering the waiting room. "Yea. Right now I can see several candidates for the position of that rat handler."
"You never found out who did it?"
Eames shook her head. "Too many suspects. Friends of the the bad cops Bobby brought down. Friends of Patrick Copa. Friends of and cops he's made look bad over the years." Eames laughed bitterly. "For all I know, it could've been Kenny Moran."
Gyson digested this information. "I've heard that he was vindictive enough."
"More than enough," Eames said. "The good news is that Moran and a lot of his friends are gone now. And there's some of the Brass who may not understand or like Bobby, but they like his results. And it may be a small group, but there's some cops who get and like Bobby. Our captain—Captain Hannah—is one of them. He's who I want you to talk to." Eames scanned the crowd. "And there he is."
In the next few minutes, Gyson was introduced to a blur of police officers. She watched for Eames' reactions to them. If Bobby Goren trusted Alex Eames, Gyson decided she could trust the people Alex Eames trusted. Gyson immediately liked Captain Hannah, who, in spite of his great control, was clearly furious about what had happened to Goren. Eames was uncomfortable with another captain named Massa, but not overtly hostile. Gyson gave a brief statement to two detectives selected by Hannah and Massa; Eames stood by.
"You're sure," one of the detectives asked. "You heard one of the men call another, "Cope"?"
"Yes," Gyson said.
The two detectives shared a look that was a combination of anger, resignation and sadness. The second detective pulled out a photo.
"That's him," Gryson said. "That's the man the others called Copa. He led the attack."
"Thank you, Doctor," the first detective said. "You've been very helpful. We'd like you to come to our station house when you can to make an official statement."
"Of course," Gyson agreed. "But I need to stay with my patient."
The detective nodded. "We'll be in touch." He turned to Eames. "I'm sorry, Eames. Nobody deserves anything like this. But especially Goren. We'll get these guys."
"Thank you," Alex said.
As the two detectives moved through the crowd, a doctor appeared from Goren's cubicle. Gryson stood, and Alex followed her example. Both women tried not to stare at the spots of blood on the woman's scrubs.
"Dr. Gyson?" the doctor asked.
"Yes," Gyson said. "This is Detective Alex Eames, Detective Goren's partner and friend."
"You must be the Alex Mr. Goren spoke about," the doctor said.
"How is he?" Alex asked, her voice finally betraying some of her feelings.
"A lot of soft tissue damage," the doctor said. "He managed to protect his head some, but there are some nasty bruised and cuts on his face and head. He's got two black eyes, and he's not going to be able to see out of one of them for a day or so."
Alex and Gryson winced.
"Does he have any internal bleeding?" Gyson asked.
"We didn't find that, but we're going to keep him a day or so to be sure. He's got bruises all over his body, but we didn't find any broken bones. What worries me..." the doctor paused.
"I'm his psychiatrist," Gyson said. "And Detective Eames is his partner and best friend. We know him as well as anybody does."
"I have his power of attorney," Alex said. "Just to make it official."
The doctor nodded. "He's barely speaking. Now, he's on some powerful medications, but even allowing for that, he's very quiet."
"The people who attacked him," Alex said. "Were cops and excops."
The doctor winced.
Captain Hannah approached the group. "Doctor, if I could speak to you. We need to establish a guard for Detective Goren. And Doctor Gyson and Detective Eames."
"Me?" Gyson stared at him.
Hannah and Alex shared a look that said "Civilians. What can you do with them?"
"I'm afraid so," Hannah said. "You're a witness. A very important one."
"I'll be easy to find," Gyson declared. "I'll be here with my patient."
"And I'm staying with my partner," Alex said.
"Going to make it easy for us, Detective," Hannah said. "All right."
The doctor turned towards the cubicles. "Mr. Goren's ready to be moved."
A large hospital bed rolled out of a cubicle. A muscular young man pushed it, and two nurses hovered on either side. Bobby lay motionless on the bed. A white bandage covered the right side of his head, and both of his eyes were swollen nearly shut. Bruises covered his face. Alex stepped closer to the bed.
"Bobby," she said gently.
He turned towards the sound of her voice. "Alex...Eames..."
The orderly eased the bed to a stop.
"Mr. Goren," the doctor said. "Take it easy. Relax. Let your medications work."
Bobby paid no attention. "Eames...You gotta be careful. You...You..."
"Bobby." Alex leaned over him. "I'm safe. I'm here with you. I'm safe. Dr. Gyson is safe."
Gyson watched the two detectives. Even with Goren badly beaten, and Eames tired and worried, there was a psychic link between them. She anticipated his fears, and he visibly relaxed as she spoke with him. Gyson knew that Eames was why Goren finally allowed himself to give way to his pain and exhaustion. As Eames followed the bed, Gyson felt a small spark of hope.
"If anyone can save him," Gyson thought. "It's her. If anyone can help me save him, it's her. And maybe we can all save each other."
END CHAPTER THREE