Hangman. Faye Kellerman

him out…although I think Marge said something about his being out of town. Did you contact Mrs. Blanc’s husband?”

      “Yes, I did. I didn’t tell him what was going on, but he knew it concerned Adrianna because Kathy had called him several times.”

      “Where does he work?”

      “Law offices of Rosehoff, Allens, Blanc, and Bellows. Mack Blanc is a senior partner. He’s on his way here from downtown L.A.”

      “We should send a car to pick him up. He shouldn’t be driving.”

      “Didn’t get a chance to tell him too much of anything. He hung up on me as soon as I told him his wife was here.”

      “Give me the number. I’ll see if I can reach him. You go into the restroom and make sure that Mrs. Blanc is okay. Well, she’s not okay, but make sure she doesn’t need medical care. If she does need care, call an ambulance. Have them take her anywhere but St. Tim’s.”

      “THE MOTHER MADE an ID with the pictures,” Decker told Marge over the phone. “That means the car is part of an official crime scene. Are the crime techs there yet?”

      “Any moment now. Are you coming down?”

      “I’m waiting to talk to Adrianna’s father. I’ll come down after that. Have you talked to anyone at St. Tim’s about Adrianna?”

      “Oliver’s trying to get a time frame. It appears she completed her shift. That would mean she left the building around eight in the morning. Things go blank after that. We did find a nurse named Mandy Kowalski who knew Adrianna Blanc for six years. She’s on break in about a half hour and has agreed to speak with us. We’re trying to locate a good spot to talk. It looks like the cafeteria is winning the election.”

      “Who else have you talked to at the hospital?”

      “A little of this, a little of that. People are on shift and seem reluctant to talk.”

      “The hospital isn’t cooperating with you?”

      “The administration’s been all right. We’ll see what happens once they find out it’s murder. Oliver is getting a list of names of the security officers on duty. There are always a couple of guards roaming the parking lots.”

      “What about video cameras?”

      “We’re working on getting the tapes for all the entrances and exits. I don’t know if there’re video cameras in the parking lots, but I’ll find out.”

      “Has the hospital had trouble with crime in the past?”

      “I don’t know. We’ve still got a lot of searching to do. As soon as we get information, we’ll keep you in the loop.”

      “As long as the loop ain’t a noose around the neck.”

      “WE WENT TO nursing school together.”

      Eyes on the tabletop, Mandy Kowalski was staring at bad coffee. Oliver knew it was bad because he was drinking the same swill.

      A cute little thing, he thought, dressed in blue scrubs, with a pixie face, bright red hair, and hazel eyes. A dozen moons ago, he would have asked her out despite the forty-year age difference. But a lifetime of bad choices had finally made him realize that sometimes it was best to keep things on the professional level. He was currently dating a middle-school teacher named Carmen who was much too good for him. By the grace of God, she was able to deflect his neuroses and shenanigans with a knowing look and a laugh.

      “You’re sure she’s gone?” Mandy’s eyes were still downcast. “Sometimes people just leave without telling anyone.”

      Marge and Oliver exchanged glances. Marge said, “Mandy, we got a recent update, and unfortunately, the news isn’t good. It appears that Adrianna has been murdered.”

      “Oh God!” Mandy gasped and knocked over her coffee cup with shaking hands. She covered her mouth. “Oh no! Oh my God! How horrible! Oh no!” She looked up and tears had sprouted from her eyes. “That can’t be!”

      “We got a positive ID from her mother,” Marge told her.

      “Oh, that poor woman. Poor Adrianna.” She buried her face behind her hands. “I’m sorry. I can’t…”

      “That’s okay,” Marge told her. “Take your time.”

      Oliver stood up. “I’ll get you a glass of water.”

      Marge tried to distract her. “I noticed you’re wearing scrubs. Are you a surgical nurse?”

      “Thoracic.” She wiped her eyes with a napkin. “Anything to do with the chest.”

      “Is that what Adrianna did?”

      At the mention of her friend’s name, Mandy let go with a fresh set of waterfalls. “She’s in the NICU. Neonatal intensive care. She’s a…she was a pediatric nurse. She was great at her job. We used to call her the baby whisperer. But even when she worked with older kids, they loved her.”

      “I see.” Marge took out her notepad. “And you’ve known Adri-anna for six years?”

      “Around six years.” Oliver came back with water and a new tissue box. Mandy thanked him for both items. “I was just telling your partner that I knew Adrianna for around six years. We went to nursing school together.”

      “Where at?” Oliver asked. “C-SUN?”

      “No,” Mandy said. “We went to the Howard Professional School. Originally Adrianna was just going for an LVN, but I told her that she was smart enough to go all the way for an RN. It was a lot harder, I’m not going to lie, but I convinced her that it would be worth it.”

      “Wow, that was awfully nice of you,” Marge told her.

      “It was partially for selfish reasons,” Mandy said. “We met the first day of orientation and hit it off right away. I figured it would be easier if I had company. I helped her over a couple of rough patches, but she took her own tests and did well.”

      “You sound like a good friend,” Oliver told her.

      “At that time, we were very good friends.”

      “But not so much anymore?” Marge asked.

      “You know how it is…” Mandy’s eyes darted back and forth. “Things change.”

      “Like what?” Oliver said.

      “We drifted apart,” Mandy said. “Aside from work, we stopped hanging out.”

      “What happened?”

      “Nothing really…just lifestyle issues. Adrianna has…” Mandy licked her lips. “She has a lot more energy than I do. She likes to have a good time.”

      “She’s a party girl?” Marge suggested.

      “That’s making her sound cheap,” Mandy said. “She liked her fun. I mean, I do too, but I guess I need more sleep than she does.”

      “Did her fun include drugs?” Marge said.

      Mandy hesitated. “I guess she’d be like a recreational user.”

      “Did it ever interfere with her work?”

      “Never!” Mandy was adamant. “She was a miracle worker with those babies.”

      “What do you know about her boyfriend?” Marge checked her notes. “Garth Hammerling. What do you know about him?”

      “He works here at St. Tim’s. He’s a radiology tech.”

      “How well do you know him?” Oliver asked.

      “Casual acquaintances,” Mandy told him.

      But her eyes were elsewhere. Marge said, “Would you know where he lives?”