Resuscitation (18 page)

Sami made her way over to what used to be her desk. Whoever sat there was nowhere in sight. She had never seen the desk so neat and orderly, unlike when she had occupied this space. She was overwhelmingly tempted to sit in the chair just to see how it felt, but Captain Davidson just happened to pop his head out of his office, yelling for D’Angelo, and he fixed his gaze on her.

Davidson marched over to Sami and extended his hand. “Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in.”

She grasped his hand and pumped his arm. “You’re looking well, Captain.”

“That’s good, ’cause I feel like shit. Blood pressure’s through the roof.” He motioned to D’Angelo.

“I’m a bit early,” she said, “so I’ll wait until you’re free.”

The captain displayed a rare smile. “Shouldn’t take more than five minutes for me to nibble on his ass.”

“Nice to see that some things never change,” Sami said with a big grin.

“And some never will. Make yourself comfortable.”

D’Angelo didn’t say a word, but waved and smiled at her as he followed the captain, looking like a kid on his way to the principal’s office. Oh, how she remembered those closed-door thrashings. Not able to resist it any longer, she plopped down on her old chair. Whoever sat here, she thought, must be a tall one. Her toes barely touched the floor.

Preoccupied with her old desk and the familiar surroundings, she hadn’t noticed the man standing to her side.

“Sami Rizzo?” the young man said.

“In the flesh. And you are?”

“Detective Osbourn. Call me Richard.”

“Pleased to meet you, Richard.”

He folded his arms and leaned against the desk. “I’ve heard a lot about you, Ms. Rizzo.”

“My mother is Ms. Rizzo. I’m Sami. And a word of caution: Don’t believe what you hear. People around here have a tendency to exaggerate.”

“Even when they say good things?”

“Particularly when they do.”

“Detective Diaz thinks you’re the best detective this precinct has ever seen.”

“Does he, now?” Obviously, Detective Osbourn wasn’t aware of their relationship. “That’s only because I’m sleeping with him.”

Osbourn laughed. “He also told me you have a great sense of humor.”

“Anyone sleeping with Al has to have a sense of humor.”

Osbourn still didn’t get it.

“How long have you been in homicide, Richard?”

“Nearly two years.”

“So you started shortly after I left?”

“Actually, I replaced you—in a manner of speaking.”

“I see,” Sami said, easing out of the chair. He seemed way too young to be a homicide detective. He looked like he’d just graduated from high school. “So, this is
your
desk?”

Osbourn nodded. “You’re more than welcome to sit there. I’m on my way out anyway.”

“Thank you, Richard.” Sami extended her arm. “Can you keep a secret?”

“Sure.”

“I really am sleeping with Al.”

Sami took a few minutes to gather her thoughts, then headed for the captain’s office. Except that his desk looked even more cluttered than Sami remembered, not much had changed in his office. She did notice that the stench from cigarettes seemed even more overpowering, and the mountain of cigarette butts piled in his ashtray was worthy of a call to the people at Guinness.

“I see you haven’t quit smoking, Captain.”

“You sound like my wife.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Have you seen her recently?”

The door squeaked open and in walked Police Chief Larson. “Nice to see you, Sami.” He nodded to the captain.

“Likewise, Chief,” Sami said.

Larson sat next to her. “What’s the good word?”

“I’m not going to beat around the bush and share pleasantries or small talk,” she said. “I’ve given the situation careful thought and I want to be reinstated as a homicide investigator.”

The room was as quiet as a mortuary. “After two-plus years out of this place, you want me to snap my fingers and rehire you?” Larson said.

“I understand that there’s red tape and protocol, but—”

“
Protocol
? I need approval from the City Council to buy a fucking roll of toilet paper these days.”

“Then let’s talk to the City Council,” she suggested.

“Our budget is for shit,” Captain Davidson said. “We can’t hire anybody right now. Not even a part-time janitor.”

“So you’re telling me that even faced with the second serial killer in little more than two years, you boys aren’t going to pull out all the stops to get this guy? How’s Mayor Sullivan feel about that?”

Davidson and Larson locked eyeballs.

She leaned toward Larson. “Look, Chief, who else in this place has experience dealing with serial killers?”

“No one,” Larson shot back. “You had fucking dinner with the son of a bitch, and didn’t even call for backup. That little stunt could have put you in the morgue. The last thing I need is some reckless loner going off half-cocked.”

He blindsided her with that comment. But she deserved it. “You don’t have to remind me, Chief. Do you have any idea how many times I lie awake at night and wish I could go back and relive that day? Considering that I almost died and made my daughter an orphan, do you honestly think I would ever do such a foolish thing again?”

“I sure hope not,” Larson said.

Captain Davidson stood up and parked his hands on his hips. “Any idea when Al might be back?”

Sami shook her head. “His sister is still in a coma and there’s no way of telling if or when she’ll snap out of it. I can tell you this, though, he’ll stay with his sister as long as necessary.”

The three of them sat quietly, staring at one another. Chief Larson stood up. “Let me run it by the mayor. Give me a day or so. But to be honest, it’s more than a long shot.” He shook her hand. “If by the grace of God we do get a thumbs up, how soon are you available?”

She thought about that for a minute. The hospital would discharge her mom in a few days and Emily had already started moving her things. And of course, she had to deal with dropping out of college. “Is immediately soon enough?”

“Sorry it’s such late notice, Nicole,” Julian said. “But Doctor Hastings got the flu at the last minute, so I have to go in his place.” Lately, Julian was finding it painfully easy to lie to his wife, but he had his priorities. He could tell by the look in her eyes that she was not pleased.

“Who the hell is Doctor Hastings?”

“He started at the hospital only a couple of months ago. He relocated from Chicago General. Real sharp guy.”

“Why you? Can’t somebody else go to LA?”

“Only Ted Hastings and I are qualified to lecture on this new procedure.” He put his arms around her and hugged her for a minute, rubbing her back and kissing her cheek.

“It’s not fair,” Nicole whispered.

“Do you like your new Range Rover and living two blocks from the ocean?”

“Is that a rhetorical question?”

“I’m merely trying to point out that there is a price to be paid for our upscale lifestyle. It’s not a nine-to-five job, Nicole. Sometimes it requires that I go out of town. It’s only two nights. I’ll be home by noon on Wednesday.”

“I’d rather see you take the train than drive,” Nicole suggested.

“And I’d rather fly, but the hospital’s budget is really tight. I’m okay with driving. It’s only two hours.”

“Two hours if the freeway’s moving. It’s crazy anywhere near LA.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“This really pisses me off, Julian.”

Julian feared that the discussion might escalate. Wouldn’t be the first time, he thought. But before Nicole could sharpen her fangs, their daughters, Isabel and Lorena, rescued him. They came in from outside, sweaty cheeks and out of breath. Each grasped one of his legs and held tight.

“We were playing hopscotch, Daddy,” Isabel said. Only five years old, she was already reading books for children twice her age. “And guess who won?”

“I’ll bet it was your sister.” He winked at Lorena. Unlike Isabel, Lorena, three years older, was not blessed with her sister’s intellect or her physical agility.

“I won, Daddy!” Lorena yelled.

The moment Lorena looked the other way, Isabel cupped her hands around her mouth and spoke as softly as she could. “I
let
her win, Daddy.”

Julian was not surprised that the younger of his two daughters could be so kind and generous at such a young age. During a recent parent-teacher meeting, Ms. Taylor had called Isabel a “gentle soul.”

Julian squatted down and hugged his girls. There was nothing in the universe he cherished more than Isabel and Lorena. The highlight of his day was sitting on their beds and reading them a bedtime story. Shortly after Lorena’s birth, it was obvious that she was a special needs child. The doctors never gave Julian a firm diagnosis. All they could say was that for some reason, she would be slow to learn and never be particularly agile. She didn’t take her first step until she was eighteen months old, and couldn’t put a complete sentence together until she was four. Nicole, devastated by Lorena’s handicap, feeling totally responsible, wanted no part of another baby. But Julian pleaded and begged until finally Nicole gave in. It was tough for Julian to admit, but had he not wanted children so desperately, he might never have gotten married.

“Who wants to go get ice cream?” Julian asked. At their age, the girls didn’t realize that the “ice cream” was actually fat-free frozen yogurt.

“I do! I do!” they both yelled.

Nicole gave him the “look,” and Julian knew from past experiences what was coming.

“Our conversation is far from over,” Nicole said.

At times like this, he wished he was a single parent.

Doctor Templeton discharged Josephine a day sooner than Sami expected. “She’s coming along very well,” he had told Sami.

Aware that Simon would meet his fate with a lethal injection in less than a week, Sami had no choice but to confront her longstanding issues with him despite a profound feeling of guilt for having to leave her mother just a few days after her surgery. And she had to do it quickly. There was no time for deliberation. In spite of her ability to deny the truth, on some issues, she now realized that no amount of therapy or counseling could ever give her complete closure. She had to look him in the eyes and ask the questions that haunted her every night.

The decision had not come easy.

Doctor Janowitz had made it clear that Sami would never put the ordeal to rest until she confronted Simon face-to-face. And Sami, too, now felt certain that in order to live a productive life, she had to find peace once and for all. The idea of actually meeting him, however, seemed beyond anything Sami could imagine. Where would she find the courage and strength to carry out such a daunting feat? How might she react when she was just inches away from him, looking into those steel-blue eyes, and her mind flashed back to her life-changing experience?

She’d spent the last two years struggling to make sense of her life, trying desperately to get it back on track, to feel like a whole woman again. Yes, she and Al were now lovers, and for the most part their relationship was stable. Or was it? His behavior of late puzzled her. But she could not think about this right now. Her focus was Simon. It was a matter of survival. Deep in the pit of her gut, Sami feared that even though Simon lived in a cage awaiting his execution, ironically and pitifully, he had won. She was the one imprisoned. She had learned, painfully, through two years of misery, that death was not always the worst punishment. Sometimes living life with a head full of baggage was the ultimate hell. Her only solace, the thread of hope she clung to, was believing in Doctor J and believing in herself.

Sami felt totally confident leaving her mother with Emily. In fact, Emily was better suited to care for her mother than anyone. Yet if something were to happen while Sami was away, she’d never be able to forgive herself. Doctor Templeton had told Sami that no one could predict if a bypass patient would ever suffer from another heart attack. But he assured her that her mother’s prognosis was favorable. And as long as she was willing to modify her lifestyle, she could live to a ripe old age.

It hadn’t been easy for Sami to get the warden’s approval to visit Simon one-on-one, particularly because she was no longer a detective. But having connections not only with the police department, but also with the corrections community, Sami, through the lieutenant governor in Sacramento, convinced the warden that she, more than anyone in the world, was entitled to visit Simon before the State of California put him to death.

Of one thing Sami felt certain: After confronting Simon, if she could not take control of her life, then dead or alive, he would forever have her in his grip.

Wearing a Chargers baseball cap, Julian met the man at an out-of-the-way coffee shop in a quiet strip mall in La Mesa. Feeling a little conspicuous, he panned the area, looking for a familiar face. Comfortable that no one observed or cared about his activities, Julian pulled out a wad of money and peeled off a hundred-dollar bill. “Here’s a little something for you.” He handed the man the money and a folded piece of paper. “The phone number and specific instructions are written on this paper. Make sure you call at seven p.m. sharp.”