Pieces of a Whole
by: Betsy J. Bennett
CHAPTER 17
She named the child Veronica. Kimble wasn’t sure if it were after the Catholic nun who helped him once, if she liked the name or if there were some other reason, but he considered this seven pound six ounce child a miracle and an angel. Although little and red, the name Veronica seemed to fit her perfectly.
Her brothers were not happy. They wanted another boy to torture, and eventually play soccer with, but the parents were ecstatic. It seemed Len and definitely Donna had been secretly hoping for a daughter. It was Kimble’s opinion everyone needed a daughter to spoil.
The labor went quickly, at least the part of the labor that took place in the hospital, the young infant making her official appearance twenty minutes after Richard and Donna arrived, barely enough time to get her into a delivery room. They were fortunate that a doctor was on hand. On the freeway, he had started wondering if he needed to pull off the side of the road and assist in the delivery in the back seat of his old car.
“At least it’s clean,” Donna had said, but insisted she could make it to her doctor.
He babysat the boys so Len could spend the evening with his wife and new addition, and it was there he got the call from his medical school that they wanted to speak with him. He had been throwing grounders to the boys, when the call came in, trying to show them there was more to life than soccer. At least they had gloves and a baseball, and were not totally incompetent when it came to throwing the ball back. In an odd fit of regret, he grieved that he’d lost so much time that he could have been spending with his nephews.
He hadn’t forgotten the med school, but had set it aside, not needing the distraction. Anticipating only bad news, he told them he could be there in a few days. There were still loose ends here that he had to see to.
Donna, Len and Veronica were home by eleven the next morning, leaving Kimble free to meet Gerard at Reistling’s office.
Gerard had seven uniformed officers with him. “He’s in there?” Kimble asked.
“Yes, according to his wife. He’s packing what he needs for the Senate confirmation hearings.”
“Hearings he’s not going to get to?”
“I’m afraid not. I’ve got an arrest warrant.”
“DA give you any trouble about it?”
“No. Seems like your juror was not the only one who was convinced he was up to something hinky. And Dr. Kimble, if you had come directly to me, and told me you suspected Judge Reistling, I probably would have thrown you out of my office.”
“Yeah, I thought as much. I never liked him, but then, that was a personal feeling, and I never once thought him guilty or complicit in Helen’s murder.”
“And a whole lot more. Seems he bought a large parcel of land, wanted to build a new prison here in Stafford. He needed Council approval, and Helen’s murder and your arrest fell right into his arms. Lawless community, we need newer, better jails.”
“Did it ever get built?”
“No. But the lead architect turned up missing, presumed dead and Helen’s patient, Roger Saltino, victim of a random mugging, had been a reporter for the Chronicle. No one knew what he was working on, but his car and wallet were found at the building site for the jail. According to his wife, he had thoughts that permits were getting pushed through awfully quickly, and that Reistling was strong-arming contractors with kickbacks. I’ve a task-force working on more, and it looks like there is a lot more to come.”
“And you and I, our four years of playing cat and mouse was exactly what he needed.”
“For the most part, he kept quiet about his involvement in the jail. It was an open secret, that I certainly would have found earlier, had I been looking. There were rumors that things were not right on the project that I never had time to thoroughly investigate.”
“You’re a homicide detective. Would you have been investigating? I’m sorry, I didn’t think to ask earlier.”
“Of course. This is a small department and we don’t get a lot of murders. I do just about everything but parking tickets. No, the murders come to me, and anything that takes more than a superficial investigation. Back to Reisling, no matter how hard I looked nowhere did I find his name on the paperwork, although once I had his name, the whole thing started unraveling. Extortion, money laundering. There’s a lot here.”
“And there’s enough to hold him? To keep him from Washington?”
“Yes. More than enough. I can’t charge him with Helen’s murder, however much I’d like. It wouldn’t have been more than second-degree, but even that, unless there’s a clear money trail and a confession, isn’t going to happen.”
“It’s enough that he sits in jail. Yeah, I was happy we got Johnson for Helen’s murder. I can live with this. Thanks for inviting me to witness the arrest. I’ll stay out of the way now and let you do your job.”
“You know this will get national attention.”
“You’re used to it.”
“Yeah, and there will be a trial, but I hope that will be the end.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant.”
Gerard shook his head slightly. “My friends call me Phil. After all the things we’ve been through together, I’d like to think—”
Kimble didn’t let him finish. “Phil, then. Why don’t you arrest a murderer?”
“It’s about time.”
“Is Dr. Olivetti in?”
“Richard!” Dora Ann came from around the small partition that separated the clinic from the waiting room, and wrapped him in her arms. That she was four-foot-zip, and he topped six she barely came to his chest. “You came back.”
“I told you I’d be back.”
“Is Olivia in?”
“Sure. Room 1. Go on back.”
“I’ve this,” he said, handing her his medical license, framed. “If you’ve got a minute, I’d like you to hang it somewhere.”
“You’re a doctor. That was a stupid thing to say. You’ve always been a doctor.”
“Now I can practice in Michigan. Write my own prescriptions.”
“Yes, that was annoying, having to hunt Livi down every time you needed a prescription. I’m glad you’re back.”
“I’ll talk to you later, and I hope, if she’ll have me, you can start sending some patients back my way in a few minutes.”
“Be my honor, doctor.”
The treatment room door was shut, so he waited until the patient left.
She didn’t look up when the door opened, instead concentrated on washing her hands. “Maggi, send the next one in.”
“I’m not Maggi.”
“Richard?”
Her hair was messed, and as expected, she’d lost the elastic tieback somewhere. He kept his hands fisted, for he definitely wanted to touch her, to run his fingers through that glorious mass of hair. He wanted to wrap his arms around her, confess that he missed her every minute of every day. “I missed being here,” he said, going for safety. He felt better, so much better, just in her presence.
“We missed having you, Doc.”
“You’re right. I got my license. I’m legal.”
“And something happened.”
“Yes. Something good. Something great. It’s over, Livi. I don’t have to run anymore.”
“Over?”
“I’ve got all the answers. I’m free, body and soul.”
She took her time to study him, pleased with what she saw, but still concerned enough that she was hesitant before she asked her question. “Are you here to stay?”
“I have to go back to Indianapolis and testify some more. I spent the past week speaking with a grand jury and going up against lawyers, although why, I have no idea, as my interest in this was all indirect. There’ll be a trial. It should be in the papers even this far north, after that, it will be all over.”
“Will it?”
“There might be nightmares still, but that’s all it will be. I can wake up with a clear conscience.”
“And you want to work here?”
“If you’ll have me.”
She couldn’t help herself, she ran into his arms and hugged him. When she looked up, he kissed her, gently at first, then with a rising passion, both of them aware they were in a medical clinic and that patients would be waiting.
“I was so afraid,” she said, wiping tears.
“Afraid? Why?”
“It’s been almost a month. You were gone so long.”
He kissed her nose, as gentle a kiss as one that had been given him to ease a boo boo. She felt right in his arms, perfect. “I never meant to be away that long. I won’t leave again. There are patients stacked in the waiting room six deep. We should get to work.”
She swiped at her tears as if she had no idea when they’d appeared, then dug into her lab coat pocket for another tieback. “I’d like that.”
“Then, this evening, we need to talk.”
“Ok. I bought a house, you could come over.”
“A house?”
“Three bedrooms. Actually my parents picked it out. But it’s close enough to walk here, in good weather,” she clarified, meaning it probably wasn’t all that close. “I bought a color tv.”
“You really are joining the ‘60’s. First a transistor radio, now a house and a tv. What next?”
“Who knows what the future holds. I was going to watch the Wizard of Oz. It’s on tonight. I’ve never seen it. Would you like to come over and watch?”
“Absolutely. I haven’t seen it either. I’ll bring dinner.”
“I’ve got popcorn.”
“Can’t watch the Wizard of Oz without popcorn. We’ll talk later. I’m eager to get to work. And Olivia, I’m sorry if you worried.”
The day was long, but he saw patient after patient with quiet satisfaction, knowing in another exam room Olivia worked. And he was happy. Kimble had not forgotten what he told Gerard, that he wasn’t sure that he knew what happiness was, but that was in the past. He had a clear name now, and a career he would dedicate his life to, and a woman to work beside him, his equal in everything, if she would have him. He touched the small jeweler’s box in his jacket pocket. If she would have him.
Link to EPILOGUE