Robin Cook - Crisis

In the family room, Manuel was dutifully standing over Meghan and Christina. Meghan was silently crying, as evidenced by her tears and the intermittent trembling of her torso. Christina was still wide-eyed with terror.

"Nice work," Manuel said as the naked Tracy was led over to the couch. He couldn't help eyeing Tracy as Renaldo had done.

"Sit the two up facing either end of the sofa," Renaldo commanded.

Manuel yanked the two preteens up and rotated them as Renaldo had directed.

Renaldo directed Tracy to sit on the sofa's edge with her back to her sisters. When she was in place, he wound tape around all three. When he was finished, he straightened up and checked his handiwork. Satisfied, he handed the tape to Manuel and told him to gather up their stuff.

"Listen, sweeties," Renaldo said to the girls, but mostly to Tracy, with whom he made direct eye contact. "We want you to deliver a message to your parents. But first let me ask you something. Do you know what an autopsy is? Just nod your head if you do!"

Tracy didn't move. She didn't even blink.

Renaldo slapped her again, further opening her split lip. A trickle of blood ran down her chin.

"I'm not going to ask you again. Nod or shake your head! Whatever is appropriate."

Tracy nodded quickly.

"Good!" Renaldo said. "Here's the message for Mommy and Daddy. No autopsy! You got that? No autopsy! Nod your head if you got it."

Tracy dutifully nodded.

"Okay. That's the main message: no autopsy. I could write it for you, but I don't think that's wise under the circumstances. Tell them if they ignore this warning that we will be back to visit you kids, and it won't be pretty. You know what I'm saying? It will be bad, not like this time, because this is just a warning. It might not be tomorrow and maybe not next week, but sometime. Now, I want to know you understand the message so far. Nod your head if you do."

Tracy nodded. Some of the brashness had disappeared from her eyes.

"And the last part of the message is just as simple. Tell your parents to keep the police out of this affair. It's just between us and your parents. If they go to the police, I'm going to have to visit you again somewhere, someplace. It's pretty clear. Are we on the same page about all this?"

Tracy nodded again. It was now obvious she was terrified just like her younger sisters.

"Great," Renaldo said. Then he reached out with his gloved finger and tweaked one of Tracy 's nipples. "Nice boobs. Tell your parents not to make me come back."

After a quick visual sweep around the room, Renaldo motioned for Manuel. As quickly as they had come in, they left, picking up the canvas bag on the way and taking off their masks and gloves. They closed the door behind them and followed the same route back to the street. En route to the car, they passed a couple of kids on bikes, but it didn't bother them. They were just two handymen returning from having done some work. Back in the car, Renaldo looked at his watch. The whole exercise had taken less than twenty minutes, which wasn't bad for a thousand bucks.

Randolph took longer than usual to get up from the defense table, organize his notes, and situate himself behind the podium. Even when ostensibly prepared, he eyed Leona Rattner long enough for her to briefly look away. Randolph could be intimidating with his powerful, paternal aura.

"Miss Rattner," Randolph said in his refined voice. "How would you describe your choice of apparel at the office?"

Leona laughed uncertainly. " Normal, I guess. Why?"

"Would you label your usual attire conservative or modest?"

"I never thought about it."

"Did Marlene Richardt, who is the de facto office manager, ever suggest your attire was inappropriate?"

For a moment, Leona looked like the fox caught in the hen-house. Her eyes darted from Tony to the judge and then back to Randolph.

"She said something to that effect."

"How many times?"

"How should I know? A number of times."

"Did she use terms like 'sexy' or 'provocative'?"

"I suppose."

"Miss Rattner, you testified that Dr. Bowman was giving you 'the eye' about a year ago."

"That's correct."

"Do you think it might have had anything to do with your choice of apparel?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

"You testified that at first it made you embarrassed, because he was married."

"That's true."

"But a year ago, Dr. Bowman was officially separated from his wife. There were strains in his marriage that were being addressed. Wasn't that common knowledge in the office?"

"Maybe it was."

"Could it be that you were giving Dr. Bowman the eye rather than vice versa?"

"Maybe subconsciously. He's a good-looking guy."

"Did it ever go through your mind that Dr. Bowman might be susceptible to provocative clothing, considering he was living alone?"

"I never thought about it."

"Miss Rattner, you testified that on September eighth, 2005, you were living in Dr. Bowman's Boston apartment."

"I was.

"How did that happen? Did Dr. Bowman invite you to move in?"

"Not exactly."

"Did your moving in ever come up in a conversation so that the benefits and the disadvantages could be discussed?"

"Not really."

"The reality was that you decided to move in on your own accord. Is that correct?"

"Well, I was staying there every night. Why pay rent on two apartments?"

"You did not answer the question. You moved into Dr. Bowman's apartment without discussing it with him. Is that correct?"

"It's not like he complained," Leona snapped. "He was getting it every night."

"The question is whether you moved in on your own accord."

"Yeah, I moved in on my own accord," Leona spat. "And he loved it."

"We shall see when Dr. Bowman testifies," Randolph said, consulting his notes. "Miss Rattner, on the evening of September eighth, 2005, when the call came in from Mr. Jordan Stanhope about his wife, Patience, did Dr. Bowman ever say anything about the Newton Memorial Hospital?"

"No, he did not."

"He didn't say it would be better to go to the Stanhope residence than the hospital, because the Stanhope residence was closer to Symphony Hall."

"Nope. He didn't say anything about the hospital."

"When you and Dr. Bowman arrived at the Stanhope residence, did you remain in the car?"

"No. Dr. Bowman wanted me to come inside and help him."

"I understand you were carrying the portable cardiogram."

"That's right."

"And when you got to Mrs. Stanhope's bedroom, what happened?"

"Dr. Bowman started to work on Mrs. Stanhope."

"Did he act concerned at that point?"

"He sure did. He had Mr. Stanhope call an ambulance right away."

"I understand he had you breathe for the patient while he did what he had to do."

"That's right. He showed me how to do it."

"Was Dr. Bowman concerned about the patient's condition?"

"Very concerned. The patient was very blue, and her pupils were big and unreactive."

"I understand the ambulance came quickly to take Mrs. Stanhope to the hospital. How did you and Dr. Bowman get to the hospital?"

"I drove his car. Dr. Bowman went with the ambulance."

"Why did he go in the ambulance?"

"He said if she has trouble, he wants to be there."

"You did not see him again until much later, after Mrs. Stanhope had died. Is that correct?"

"It is. It was in the emergency room. He was all blood-spattered."

"Was he discouraged because his patient had died?"

"He was pretty down."

"So Dr. Bowman made a strenuous effort to save his patient."

"Yes."

"And he was despondent when all his efforts were unsuccessful."