THIRTY-FOUR

DEAD silence filled the shop. Mike held his breath to keep from groaning. Then Lori leaned in for the kill.

“A check of the hospital log has you three”—she stabbed her finger at Esther, Dante, and Madame—“along with your colleague Tucker Burton, signed in as visitors.”

Madame replied with a polite smile. “There is no designation for ‘servers’ on the visitor forms. So, we listed ourselves as ‘visitors,’ even though we weren’t permitted to see Clare.”

“Why the big spread?” Sue Ellen demanded.

“The coffee and snacks were simply our way of thanking the staff for the thoughtful care they were giving to our shop’s manager and master roaster.”

Sue Ellen tossed her dark ponytail. “And while the food was being served, Clare Cosi managed to walk out of the hospital in a disguise and hitch a ride with a passing SUV? That’s one hell of a coincidence, don’t you think?”

“Not at all,” Madame sniffed. “Last year, when my friend Jane Belmore had surgery in that very same hospital, we thanked the nurses for her care with a sumptuous spread of coffee and pastries.”

“And did this Jane Belmore use the distraction to escape the ward?”

Madame’s violet eyes flashed. “Of course not!”

“What about her disguise?” Lori pressed. “Who provided Ms. Cosi with the surgical scrubs and hat?”

Madame blinked innocently. “It’s a hospital, Detective. Aren’t scrubs part of the milieu? Could she not have grabbed them out of a supply closet or obtained them from a member of the hospital staff?”

Lori fell silent a moment, then turned her focus to Esther and Dante.

“Do either of you know who joined Clare on the sidewalk? Any ideas?”

“Why ask us?” Esther loudly blurted, as if offended by the question. “We were there to serve coffee. How would we have time to help anyone escape? I could barely keep up with demand. Those nurses are fiends for caffeine! And free pastries! You should have seen them gulping our Kona Peaberry and shoveling Pistachio Muffins down their pieholes—”

Quinn bit his cheek to keep from laughing.

“What say you, Junior?” Sue Ellen narrowed her eyes on Dante. “You were at the hospital. What did you do after you were done, and before you reported here for work? That’s a couple of hours unaccounted for.”

“It’s no mystery what I typically do when I’m not pulling espressos. I’m at home painting,” Dante said. Then he folded his tattooed arms and stubbornly refused to utter another word.

Though Quinn wanted to stay silent, he knew this crew was in deep. The Fish Squad had placed Madame and her people on the scene. It was only a matter of time before they tightened the snare.

On the other hand, he was willing to bet Lori and Sue Ellen were less interested in slapping cuffs on a couple of baristas than in simply finding Clare Cosi and returning her to the hospital.

Either way, Quinn decided it was time to divert their attention.

“Why not focus on the vehicle?” he suggested. “You traced the SUV’s plates, surely?”

“They’re fake,” Sue Ellen said. “The license number belongs to a retired grade-school teacher in Schenectady. She drives a silver Honda Civic, not a black SUV . . .”

“What about traffic-cam footage?”

“We put in the request,” Lori said. “Traffic should have their route traced for us sometime tomorrow.”

Sue Ellen nodded. “It’s only a matter of time before we catch up to our fugitive.”

Madame nodded her encouragement. “With you two on the case, I have no doubt. After all, everyone here wants what’s best for our dear Clare.”

“Then help us find her,” Lori urged. “Whether you like it or not, she is legally in Dr. Lorca’s care. In his statement to us, he characterized her condition as a danger to herself and others. She must be found and hospitalized.”

Madame took a breath and let it out, giving the impression she was trying to decide whether to share a valuable piece of information. Finally, she said—

“I do have an idea of what might have occurred.”

Quinn didn’t doubt it.