Mercy

CHAPTER 30

Julie headed in the direction of the parking garage with her head lowered to shield her from the cold, biting wind. Early afternoon, and it was dark as midnight already. She missed the autumn even though the official start of winter was still several weeks away. The shorter days and longer nights made everything harder, including making phone calls outside. Julie needed to reach Sherri Platt, right away, but doubted she could get a cell signal down in the garage. The wind was making the outdoors incredibly unpleasant.

Julie took shelter in a store alcove and dialed White Memorial’s main number from memory. An operator patched her through to oncology, where Sherri had transferred after Donald Colchester’s death. The duty nurse checked the shift schedule: Sherri was off and would not be back until morning. Julie pulled the doctor card, said it was important, and got Sherri’s cell phone number. Home numbers these days were anachronistic.

What Julie needed now was a place to make her phone call. Eventually, she found a warm place inside Emmet’s Irish Pub. The noise level made it hard to hear and the smell of Irish coffee proved more than a little tempting. Julie could use a drink, just one, to settle nerves frayed from three intense back-to-back encounters-the stranger, the trooper, and the legislator. She found a quieter nook at the back of the bar and made a call that went straight to voicemail.

“Sherri, it’s Dr. Julie Devereux. I’m sure you remember me from the other day. Listen, I know what happened to you. At least I think I do. William Colchester forced you into testifying against Brandon, didn’t he? You never overheard Brandon speaking to Donald Colchester. I’m not saying you took a payment or anything, but I suspect the representative used some sort of intimidation. He did so with me. I was nearly attacked at a roadside stop earlier this afternoon. We need to stand together on this, Sherri. I need your help setting right what I think is wrong. I believe now there’s a real possibility Brandon is an innocent man, and Donald Colchester’s death may be linked to the same thing that killed my fiancé. We need to talk. Please, Sherri. You have to do the right thing here.”

Julie left her number. Had she said enough? Brandon’s life might well depend on it. The next stop Julie made was to the bar, where she ordered an Irish coffee. She’d had three sips of a truly magnificent beverage when her phone rang. Julie’s heart leapt. It had to be Sherri calling back.

She glanced at her phone’s display and wondered what reason Lucy might have for calling.

“Hey there,” Julie said, blocking her left ear with her hand so she could hear over the noise.

“I figured out the identity of Brandon’s secret admirer. He’s my diener, Jordan Cobb.”

“Your diener?”

“Yeah, I don’t have a full story just yet. He was being a little cagey about it, because he was definitely looking at medical records he had no business looking at.”

“But-but-he’s a diener. The guy who contacted Brandon had to be an M.D. I’m sure of it.”

“I tested him,” Lucy said. “And trust me, this kid knows his stuff.”

“Well, let me talk to him.”

“I would, but he’s gone. Said he had to get home to sit for his siblings. I wasn’t about to hold him hostage, but I wanted you to know that you got your man.”

“Can you give me his address?” Julie said.

Lucy had it on file. Julie was certain she had never been to Jordan Cobb’s neighborhood before.

“What are you thinking?” Lucy asked.

“I’m thinking I’m already in Boston and it’s not that far a drive from here to Dorchester.”

PARKING IN Dorchester was no better than parking in Cambridge. The only difference was that the cars here were generally older models and a lot more street-hardened. Julie found a space in front of a boarded-up Laundromat and a tailor. Even though this was a vibrant neighborhood, with plenty of vehicle and pedestrian traffic, Julie was a fish out of water. The men fixed hostile expressions on her.

It did not help matters that Julie appeared to be completely lost as she tried to figure out if 48 Norton was on the other side of the street. Many of the stores were closed and the front entrances secured by metal roll-down doors, tainted by graffiti. There were no chain stores here. No Starbucks, no Hannaford’s. Instead Julie walked past stores like Check Cashing, JP Wireless, and Peguero’s Market.

A police car, siren blaring and lights flashing, zoomed by. Julie jumped a little as it passed. By the light of the strobes, she noticed a kid on a fixed-gear bicycle riding toward her. The kid, who looked to be about Trevor’s age, wore a stiff-brim baseball hat and puffy down jacket. He slowed as he approached and circled Julie as if she were carrion to his buzzard.

“Yo lady, yo lady, whazzup? Whatchu doin’ here, lady? Who you looking for?”

Julie stopped walking. This seemed to surprise the boy. Maybe he was accustomed to strangers picking up the pace, never making eye contact.

“Forty-eight Norton Street,” Julie said. “Jordan Cobb. Do you know him?”

The kid laughed. “Yeah, yeah, I know him. Whatchu looking for him for? He in any trouble?”

“No. He’s not, but I’m cold and I would like to get inside.”

The kid seemed to appreciate Julie’s straightforward approach. His bravado retreated a little as he pointed to a building on the other side of the street.

“He lives over there,” the kid said. “Night, lady. Careful out here.” The kid rode away.

Julie crossed the street and buzzed apartment number three. She waited. On the drive over, she’d thought about calling first, but what Lucy had said about him being cagey changed her mind. Better to catch Jordan by surprise. She waited for the intercom, but instead heard a young girl’s voice call down from the apartment above.

“Who is it? Intercom’s broken.”

Julie stepped back and looked up at the silhouette of a girl leaning too far out the open window for Julie’s comfort.

“My name is Julie Devereux. I’m a doctor at the hospital where Jordan Cobb works. Is Jordan home?”

“He’s home.”

“May I come up and speak with him?”

The girl poked her head inside, but reappeared a moment later.

“Look out,” the girl said.

Julie stepped back as something dropped from the girl’s hand. It hit the pavement with a clank. Julie looked at the ground and saw the girl had tossed down a ring of keys.

“Buzzer’s broken too,” the girl said.