28. Aubree
28
AUbrEE
THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE
“ T his is Doctor Aubree Emeri, stepping into Autopsy Room Three to follow up on the Bayside Murders. DBs Three and Four were Doctor Flynn’s patients, but Chief Mayet has requested a second-round opinion.” I reach back and tie my apron, slowly wandering past a silent Minka who only watches me watch the dead.
She leans against the floor to ceiling window, her hands behind her back, and her focus entirely and intrinsically centered on me.
She became the youngest and most revered Chief Medical Examiner in the country for a reason.
Maybe she doesn’t understand it yet. Perhaps no one else does either, but I know. It’s because she speaks for the dead. She speaks to the dead. She does it with her heart, her gut, and at the end of the day, her actions.
“DB Three is Diego Dominguez. Thirty-seven-year-old male.” I check his toe tags to confirm, then I move to the next. “DB Four is Castiel Terry. Also thirty-seven, also male.” I drag on a pair of gloves and snap down my plastic visor to cover my eyes. Finally, I stop between both tables and consider who to go to first.
“What do you see, Doctor Emeri?”
Instantly, I look at Castiel’s forehead. “I see two men with bullet wounds to their skulls. Single shots, close range. Probably nine-caliber rounds. Diego’s skin was burned by the muzzle of the gun. Castiel’s wasn’t.”
“Which implies? ”
“Castiel was shot before Diego. But Diego was shot at closer range.” I drag Castiel’s sheet down to expose his Y cut, then brush my pointer finger along the sutures Flynn put in. “This was reported as a drive by shooting.”
Pleased, Minka drops her chin. “Yes, it was.”
“Can’t be a drive by, and also close-range shots. My two DBs caught their bullets from a distance. These men were executed.” I draw a heaving breath, filling my lungs and preparing myself for more. More information. More horror. Then I take his hand in mine and nibble on my bottom lip. “Booth was at the warehouse with his men the day they died.”
Curious, Minka brings her hands around to her front. But she doesn’t reach out, though I know she wants to. She doesn’t push away from the window, though I know she’s begging to take over.
She does, however, take the recorder and switch it off. She makes a production of hitting the button and showing me the device. “How do you know Booth was there?”
“Because he just…” I swallow. “He was.”
“Why wasn’t he killed?”
“Because he set the trap for his own men.” I place Castiel’s hand down again, unimpressed with what I glean from his touch, only to turn to Diego and repeat. But this time, it’s like a bolt of electricity bursting into my veins, stinging every nerve ending it passes through. “Ah! Shit!”
“What?”
I toss his arm down, a fire-able offence, probably. But I let it fall, then dangle over the side of the bed, while in my mind, I see Felix Malone. Dying. Dead. Bleeding from the corner of his mouth, and with eyes that stare. Seeing, but not.
“Aubree?”
“I’ve gotta go.” I spin on my heels and peel my gloves off on the run, skidding through the autopsy suite door and tearing my apron off while I move. “Oh god. Oh god, oh god, oh god.” My heart thunders, an aching, burning pain as I sprint to my desk.
Minka stomps out of the autopsy suite. “Doctor Emeri!?”
I slam my thigh against the corner of my desk, crying out at the blinding pain that ricochets up into my hip and out again in the center of my chest. Right where Felix is shot. Right where he bleeds from and soon after, dies.
“I have to call Felix!” I drop into my chair and yank my drawer open, searching for my phone and shouting my frustration when I can’t find it. “Where is it?” I slam the drawer and move to the next. “Where is it? ”
“What?” Minka stomps, when I ran. She growls, while tears stream down my cheeks. “What are you looking for?”
“My phone!” I pounce from my chair and snatch hers from her back pocket, tapping the screen, swiping, tapping again, only to be met with passcode requests. “Dammit!” I shove the phone in her face and bypass the code when the camera picks up her face recognition, then I jump to the call log and find Felix’s name, three calls down. Hitting dial, my hands shaking, I drag the device to my ear and swipe beneath my eye. “I don’t even like him,” I choke out. “I can’t stand his egotistical self-importance and narcissistic?—”
“Archer’s gonna have a coronary if he finds out about the affair we’ve been having,” he teases. Smooth and ridiculous. “Business hours? That’s naughty.”
“Felix!” I burst out loud enough to draw eyes from my colleagues as they pass by. “It’s Aubree. Where are you?”
“Doctor Derrière?” His chuckle turns to a salacious snigger. “Hell, it’s my lucky day. What’s up?”
“Where are you?” I push away from my desk and stomp into Minka’s office for privacy.
“I’m in the car, cutie. Need something?”
“In the car, where?” I snarl. “Where are you, Felix? Who are you with? Paint me a friggin’ picture and stop screwing around.”
“That’s Aubree?” Tim’s voice in the background has the air backing up in my throat. Panic turning to fire in my veins. His voice, right beside Felix’s, is enough to bring my blood pressure painfully high.
“Tim?”
“Go away,” Felix grumbles. “She called me, not you.”
“Give me the fuckin’ phone.” Tim snatches the device and brings it to his ear. The calm in every storm. The sense, when not much else makes sense. “Aubree?”
“I need you to listen to me, okay? I know you’ll want to brush me off, but I’m asking you to take my word for it? This is really important.”
“I trust you,” he croons. “Always. What’s wrong?”
“Where are you? Why are you with Felix?”
“He flew in. Frank and I just grabbed him from the airport.”
“Why’s he in Copeland?”
“Because I asked this weak ass dipshit to take care of business while I was away,” Felix teases. “He passed, because he’s a bitch with a secret vagina tucked away in his shorts, so here I am. This dude owes us money, and now I’m back from my thing with Christabelle. It’s time to collect. ”
“Turns out Felix’s pal is Jada’s pal. Who is probably Booth’s pal, too,” Tim adds. “I tracked her back to this house a couple of hours ago. Didn’t go in yet, because Felix called. But seems we’re heading in the same direction.”
“Two birds,” Felix jokes, “one handgun. Are you done checking up on him yet, Doc? You’ve been married for five minutes. Be cool with the obsessive, controlling stuff. It’s hot, but only in moderation.”
“Shut up, Lix!” Tim pushes his brother away, his growl rolling along the line and soothing my frayed nerves. Because Felix annoying Tim means he’s alive. Annoying, but alive. “Aubree, what are you trying to tell me?”
“I need you to turn the car around. Right now,” I rasp, my eyes coming up to Minka’s when she silently sits down on the edge of her desk. “Don’t go to that house.”
“Sorry, cutie pie. It’s time to collect,” Felix taunts. “If I don’t chase down those debts, motherfuckers think they get to screw with us.”
“Tim,” I groan. “You said you would trust me.”
He swallows, the sound audible and rolling through the line. “I trust you.”
“So turn the car around. Call in an anonymous tip to the cops. Tell them there’s something going down and they need to search the place. But you and Felix can’t go there.”
“Babe—”
“I told you, didn’t I? Everyone has a journey, and the roads that stretch out ahead of us change when we step left instead of right.” I press my free hand to my pounding chest. “I’m asking you to step left. Both of you, right now.”
“We’re two minutes out, Boss.” Frank’s voice cuts through the air. “Streets are pretty clear. No tail.”
“Tim,” I plead. “Don’t go there. Turn around and come to the George Stanley.”
“The bar,” Minka inserts quickly. “Take it to the bar. We can meet them there.”
“Please,” I whisper, fresh tears welling up and rolling along my nose. “If you love me, if you trust me, if you see a future for us at all, keep driving and come back to the bar.”
“And just for clarities’ sake…” He hesitates. “You don’t work for Booth or his boss, right? Because you’re starting to sound a little knowledgeable on someone else’s business, and I don’t wanna be that guy, but…”
“No,” I choke out. “I promise.”
“One minute, Boss. ”
“Tim…” I swallow and bring my hand up to brush stray hair off my face. “If you go into that house, Felix won’t come out again. And the fact you’re with him means your path is shifting, too. He wasn’t supposed to be in the city today. He was in New York! But now he’s here, and Jada was placed at Sarge’s to draw you in.”
“Hang on.” Minka’s eyes darken. “You’re still riding Jada? Aubree?—”
“Sarge’s?” Tim cuts in, his voice turning dark in an instant. “How’d you know where I followed her from?”
“That’s what I’m trying to tell you! Listen to me. Trust me. Leave that place and come to the bar. I’ll tell you everything when you get there. All of it.”
“Boss?” Frank’s voice is like a ticking time bomb in the back of my brain. Aching. Demanding. Panic inducing. “We’re approaching.”
“Drive away,” I cry out. “Leave, or you won’t live long enough to argue with me about divorce.”
“But it’s just a flop,” he murmurs. “Jada’s in there. And Felix’s guy. This is about collecting a few dollars and?—”
“This is bigger than that! I’m trying to tell you it’s bigger. Remember last night? When Booth tried to draw you out, but I kept you home? Because killing you would leave a seat open for Booth’s boss to sit in.”
“This isn’t the sa?—”
“He’s going to kill you! That’s how someone becomes king. You kill the one currently sitting.”
“I’m not the king! I’ve said it a million fucking times, Aubree. I’m?—”
“Riding with Felix right now. One of you is the king, the other, the heir. You have the power to choose whichever you want to be. You have more power than Felix himself, because he’d step down if you demanded it. But if you’re both removed, then Booth’s boss slides in, not only to Copeland, but New York too. Turn. The car. Around.” I bring desperate eyes up and lock onto Minka’s. “Call Archer. Have them siege the house or something.”
She pushes off the desk and circles around to pick up the corded phone. “He’s not part of that team, though. No chance I’m sending him in. And if Jada’s there, then Fletch is staying away, too.”
“We’re calling the cops,” I tell Tim. “You’re riding with a known associate in the organized crime world. You’re heading to a house notorious and known to the police for illegal activity.” I see him, in my mind, and the way his face hardens to stone. “I’ll visit you in prison if I have to. I will not visit your grave. This is non-negotiable.”
“Boss?” Frank tries again. “What’s the word? ”
“You’re calling the cops?” Tim snaps. “Are you serious right now, Aubree Grace? You’d have me sitting here with my brother, and you threaten the cops?”
“To save his life?” I firm my quivering lips and nod, though of course, he can’t see me. “I’ll bake fruit cake and visit as often as I can.”
“Aubree!”
“Trust.” I press my free hand to my face and slump in my chair, my elbow on my thigh and my back arched. “You said you would trust me.”
“Boss!?”
“Tim…?”
“Turn it around.” He barks out, despite Felix’s frustrated ‘ what ?’. “Take us home. Watch for a tail. Cops are gonna swarm that house within minutes.” Then back to me. “Get your ass to the bar. Now. We’ve gotta talk.”
“Thank you.” My breath comes out with a burst of relief, my heart thundering and my lungs heaving for fresh air. “I love you. I’ll see you soon.”
“Don’t make me come looking for you.”
I kill our call and crush the heels of my palms against my eyes, while in my mind, I see paths. Winding roads, twirling and knotting, chaotic and dangerous. But some of them straighten out. Some lead out of the craziness and into something calmer.
“Archer’s gonna meet us at the bar.” Minka hangs up the phone with a heavy-handed thud, only to sit again and burn the side of my face with a glare. “You’ve earned a certain amount of credibility within our friendship circle, Doctor Emeri.” She rests her elbows on the sides of her chair and steeples her fingers. “That’s why, without proof, without cause, and without question, I made that call, and Archer subsequently initiated what will become a breach team that smashes a door in.” She raises a single brow. “On your word.”
I swallow and nod. Because that’s all I have the energy for.
“So you’re going to tell me what the hell is going on. Why you’ve left two homicide victims in the autopsy suite without logging them back into their fridge appropriately. I want you to tell me why Felix is in Copeland right now, why Tim was following Jada today, and how the hell you knew all this, when you’ve been with me since this morning.”
I press my thumbs to my eyes until stars burst into my vision.
“Doctor Emeri!?”
“I’ve been keeping a secret.” I rock in my chair and reject the notion of speaking my truth out loud. Of revealing something I’ve told no one except my family and my therapist. “I’ve kept it from you, and Fletch, and Tim, and… literally everyone.” I exhale a shuddering breath that makes my lungs bounce. “I didn’t do it to deceive you. I just… I don’t tell people.”
She pushes up from her chair and comes around to stand over me. “Get up, put the DBs away, then we’re going for a walk.” She places her fingers on my forehead, tilting my head back, and yet, all I see is her worry. Her fear. Even, unbelievably, a large slice of insecurity, as though my secrecy was a slight against her and our friendship. “Then you need to talk. Secrets ruin relationships, and I’m not ready to put this one in the ground yet.”