L.A. Dead

Chapter 58

Stone looked in the bathroom mirror; he did not much like himself this morning. Watching Dolce being sedated had shaken him badly, and later, explaining to Eduardo what had happened had not improved his state of mind. He had not slept much, and he was due at Marc Blumberg's office to prepare for tomorrow's hearing. He got into a hot shower and let the water run. The phone was buzzing when he got out.

It was Eduardo. "I saw her early this morning," he said.

"How was she?"

"Still sleeping; I just sat and looked at her. Her own doctor will be here today."

"Is there anything I can do, Eduardo?"

"Everything is being done that can be done. Later, if her doctor thinks you could be helpful, perhaps you could see her."

"Of course."

"I would like to take her to New York as soon as she is able to travel. Dr. Judson said he would consult with her doctor about that. If possible, I will take her home to Brooklyn and have her treated there."

"Perhaps she would be happier there," Stone said, not knowing what else to say.

"Stone, there is something else I must tell you about."

"What is it, Eduardo?"

"When I was at your house in New York we talked about the blood tests you took when Arrington's child was born."

"Yes, I remember."

"The tests were conducted by a laboratory here, in Los Angeles, called Hemolab."

"Yes, I think so."

"I think you should know that tests conducted by this company have, in the past, been known to be… manipulated. I cannot go into any detail about this, and I cannot discuss my reasons. Suffice it to say that this information is not just my opinion, but more substantial."

Again, Stone didn't know what to say.

"I don't know if, in your case, the results were accurate or not, and I have no way of investigating. You might wish to have the tests repeated by another laboratory."

"Thank you, Eduardo; I'll give that some thought." He would certainly do that.

"I must go now."

"I'll call you tonight to hear about Dolce."

"Thank you; I'll be in my suite all evening. Good-bye."

Stone hung up and sat on the bed, rattled by what Eduardo had said. He looked at the bedside clock: nearly eight; he was due at Marc Blumberg's office at nine to prepare for the hearing the following day. He shaved and dressed, then he called Dino.

"How you doing, pal?" Dino asked.

"I've been better."

"What do you need?" Dino could always read him.

"I'd appreciate it if you'd do something for me."

"Name it."

"Wait until midafternoon, then call the office of a Dr. Lansing Drake, in Beverly Hills. Tell him Arrington recommended him, that you're having abdominal pains, and that you'd like to see him late this afternoon. Then call me at Marc Blumberg's office and tell me what time he'll see you."

"You want me to go and fake it with this doctor?"

"No, no; I just want you to make the appointment, so that if he calls back to confirm who you are, he won't get me on the phone instead."

"Okay, I can do that. Dinner tonight?"

"Sure, if I don't have too much homework to do."

"Talk to you this afternoon, then."

"Bye." Stone was about to leave when the phone buzzed again. "Yes, Louise?"

"Brandy Garcia is on one."

Stone picked up the phone. "Yes, Brandy?"

"Stone, what's going on with Felipe Cordova? He called me last night, and he was upset."

"I subpoenaed him to testify at a hearing, that's all. He's at no risk by doing that."

"Yeah, but yesterday afternoon, he got another subpoena for the same time and place, this one from the D.A. And they searched his house, too. He didn't know what they were looking for."

Stone thought about that for a moment. "Somebody's got his wires crossed, that's all. There's nothing for him to worry about."

"He doesn't like this, Stone. I think he might bolt."

"Brandy, there's a thousand bucks in it for you if you can see that he shows up for that hearing."

"What am I going to tell him?"

"Tell him nobody's going to put him in jail; tell him anything you like, just have him there. Lead him by the hand."

"Okay, I'll do it for the grand. What are you going to give him?"

"I've already told him that I can't pay him to testify."

"I could give him a couple hundred, though?"

"Sorry, I didn't hear that; must be trouble on the line. Have him there, Brandy."

"You got it."

Stone sat in Marc Blumberg's office.

"I don't like this much," Marc was saying.

"What's the difference who he's testifying for? We know what he's going to say."

"Do we?"

"I think so. It might be more effective to let the D.A. get his story into the record, then bring out our points on cross."

"Okay, I buy that. Now, let's get started."

They worked through lunch, and at mid-afternoon, Dino called.

"Hi."

"Hi. I've got an appointment."

"When?"

"As soon as I can get there."

"Thanks, Dino."

"Dinner?"

"Meet me at the studio at seven."

"See you then."

Stone hung up and turned to Marc. "Are we about done? There's somewhere I have to be."

"Go ahead; I'll see you at the courthouse tomorrow morning."

Stone looked up Drakes address in the phone book.

"My name is Bacchetti," Stone said to the receptionist.

"Oh, yes, Mr. Bacchetti," she replied. "Will you wait in examination room B, down the hall? And undress down to your shorts."

Stone found the room, which contained an examination table, a sink, and a cabinet for supplies. He did not undress; he sat down in the only chair and waited. A couple of minutes later, Dr. Lansing Drake entered the room, preoccupied with a clipboard in his hand.

"Mr. Bacchetti," he said, not looking up. "Just a moment, please." He went to the sink, washed his hands, then turned around. "Now, what seems to be…" His jaw dropped.

"I'm Stone Barrington, Dr. Drake; we met recendy at Lou Regenstein's."

"I don't understand," Drake said nervously, looking toward the exit.

Stone got up and leaned on the door. "I won't keep you long, Doctor. My name will be familiar to you, because a while back, you submitted a sample of my blood, along with one from Vance Calder, to a company called Hemolab, for a paternity test."

"I don't recall," the doctor replied.

"Oh, I think you do," Stone said.

"Vance Calder was my patient," Drake said. "I have to respect his confidence."

"Vance is dead, Doctor, and now you have to deal with me. You can do it here, quietly, or you can do it in court. What's it going to be?"

Drake sagged against the examination table. "If Arrington should learn of this conversation…"

"I don't think that will be necessary. What I want to know, quite simply, is if the tests were run again by another laboratory, would the results be the same?"

Drake gazed out the window. "I honestly don't know."

"Do you deny altering the test results?"

Drake looked back at him. "I most certainly do." He looked away again. "That is, I don't know if the results were tampered with."

"And why don't you know?"

Drake sighed. "Vance came to me and said it was essential that the test prove that he was the father of the child. I conveyed that to someone at Hemolab."

"So I'm the child's father?"

"I said I don't know. I simply made Vance's wishes known. For all I know, he was the father. I suppose it could have gone either way, or there would have been no need for the test."

"Yes," Stone said, "it could have gone either way. I want to see the original test results."

"I'm afraid that will be impossible. At Vance's request, once the report was issued, the blood samples and the records were destroyed. The lab never knew who he was; the two subjects were simply labeled Aand B."

"Then you knew when you saw the results."

"No, I didn't. I didn't care, really. I wrote a letter saying that Vance was the father, that's all. I don't know if he was or not."

"So, the test was just to have something to show Arrington?"

"I suppose. But if you ever tell her that, I'll deny even speaking to you."

"Thank you, Doctor," Stone said. He left the office and went back to his car.

Dino looked across the dinner table at Stone. "Are you sure you want to know?"

"Of course, I want to know; wouldn't you?"

"I'm not sure," Dino replied. "In the circumstances."

"What circumstances?"

Dino shrugged. "The present circumstances."

Stone thought about that. Arrington might still go to prison. In that case, he'd want to raise the boy-if he was the father. But if she were freed, then what? He and Arrington and their son would live happily ever after? That is, if the boy was, indeed, his son and not Vance's.

"If you've got to know, then here's what you have to do," Dino said. "You and Arrington and the boy have to go together to have blood drawn, two samples of both yours and the boy's. She sends one set to a lab, and you send them to another. Then you compare results, and you'll know."

"Yes, I suppose we would."

"But if the news of the test should get out, well, you'd have a tabloid shitstorm on your hands."

"Yes, we would."

"I think you need to do some more thinking."

"I think you're right.