After leaving the pharmacy, LeJeune, Blackstone, and Georgia stopped in the administration office on the lobby floor, where Georgia spotted the same woman who’d greeted her so coolly the first time she’d come to Mercy. The woman, at her own desk rather than the reception area, did a double take. LeJeune caught it.
“That’s been happening a lot recently,” Georgia laughed.
He smiled. He took out his badge and let the woman see it. “This is Georgia Davis.”
“We’ve met.”
“She’s working with me on a case that involves one of your employees. We need everything you and HR have on Ryan Brown, ASAP. She’ll wait for it.”
“Of course, Agent…” her voice trailed off.
“LeJeune.”
She inclined her head. “Creole or Cajun?”
“How’d you know?”
“You don’t sound French.”
He laughed out loud. Apart from his smirks and sarcastic cracks, Georgia had never heard a hearty laugh like this from him.
“I’m Cajun, ma’am, from the Bayou country. Lafourche Parish.”
“My people are from Natchez.” She grinned.
“Creole, eh? We’re practically neighbors.” He favored her with one of his slow, sexy smiles.
She blushed.
A tinge of envy passed over Georgia. Just as quickly, she realized LeJeune’s flirting would likely produce everything the hospital had on Ryan Brown in record time. Good for him.
“What’s your name, Creole?” LeJeune asked
“Joyce Morel.” Her smile broadened.
“Well, bonjour, Ms. Morel. You’ll get that info to my associate, Ms. Davis?”
“I surely will.” Her smile even included Georgia.
Now that was something.
LeJeune called his office to have a couple of agents get a search warrant for Brown’s apartment in Arlington Heights. He also asked them to case the apartment building exterior and let him know what they found. Then he, Georgia, and Blackstone ascended to Blackstone’s office on the fourth floor of the main building. Blackstone was senior enough to have his own secretary, who sat in a small reception area. Down a short hall behind her was an examination room and across from that his office. The secretary, a blowsy woman with a bad dye job, exclaimed, “I heard a rumor you were back! How was your vacation?”
Georgia wondered if she really was that clueless, or was she just trying to act that way?
Blackstone introduced them. “Jerrilyn, these are FBI agents. Nick LeJeune and Georgia Davis.” Neither LeJeune nor Georgia corrected Blackstone’s mistake.
Jerrilyn studied Georgia. “You look familiar.”
“That’s been happening a lot recently,” she said.
LeJeune grinned, then turned to Blackstone. “Let’s go into your office.” Once they were settled, LeJeune said, “It will be better if you come downtown with us so we can record your statement, Dr. Blackstone.”
“Right after I call my lawyer.” Back on familiar turf behind his desk, Blackstone seemed to be regaining his confidence. “May I have some privacy for this call?”
“Nope.” LeJeune said. “You’re still under our protection. Once your lawyer agrees to represent you, that’s a different matter.”
“So first you rob me of my liberty and now my civil rights.”
“Make the call.” LeJeune paused. “On speaker.”
His lawyer was on another call but whoever answered said he’d get back to them.
A knock on the door was Jerrilyn, who carried with her a pile of pink message slips in an open box. “These are calls, patients mostly, who said they needed immediate callbacks as soon as you returned.”
“Thanks.” He shot them a smirk, as if they could see what an important man he was.
“Dr. Blackstone,” LeJeune said. “You realize you let Ryan Brown get the upper hand, right?”
Blackstone didn’t reply.
“He can expose your illegal scrips any time he wants. Especially if you suspected he was into foul play. Like tampering with a vaccine.”
Blackstone kept his mouth shut.
“When did the opioid sales start?”
“If I tell you, what’s going to happen to me?”
“That’s up to you. Depends how much you know about Brown. We may be able to help you.”
“Will I stay out of prison?”
“Who knows?” LeJeune smiled for the first time. Now he had the upper hand. He was toying with Blackstone.
Men, Georgia thought. They couldn’t resist the game of one-upmanship.
“Before my lawyer calls me back, I’m going to the men’s room. That allowed, Agent?”
“Sure. I’ll go with you.”
Blackstone got up from the chair, followed by LeJeune. “Hold down the fort, Davis.”
They all went out the front door, past Jerrilyn’s desk.
Georgia had an idea. She turned to Jerrilyn. “Were there any calls from the pharmacy while he was gone?”
“That’s private information.”
“Actually, it’s not. I’m working with the Bureau on those vaccine deaths, which are being investigated as homicides. If you have information and decline to share it with us, you could be committing a felony. You probably don’t want that to happen, do you, Jerrilyn?”
Jerrilyn pursed her lips and started sorting through the message slips. There had to be at least thirty or forty. Georgia waited impatiently. All she needed was one.
There it was. Jerrilyn pulled it out and set it aside.
“Is that the only one?”
“I’m not finished.”
“Sorry.”
Finally, Jerrilyn separated three slips from the others. Georgia picked them up. The names of the callers were unfamiliar to her. She was about to ask who each person was when Jerrilyn said, “Oh, and there was one call this morning.”
“Today?”
“Right before all of you tromped in here.” She fake-smiled.
“About what time?”
“Maybe nine or so.”
“You have a message slip?”
“The caller didn’t leave a name. Said he’d call back. There have been a few of those.”
“Thank you. That’s very helpful.” She wheeled around. LeJeune needed to know that. Maybe Brown was still hiding someplace in the hospital. “Which way is the men’s room?”