Page 16 of Fifty-Fifty

said Kate.

She could tell he was seething at being jettisoned from the interview to go on donkey work. He stepped into the street, hailed a cab and went off in pursuit of another one of Levy’s whims.

Kate locked the car with the fob, the files safely in the trunk, and was about to walk into the station when she heard an ambulance roar around the corner. It stopped outside the precinct with a jolt. A man in a black jacket and jeans came out of the station. He carried a young woman in his arms. She wore a jailhouse

jumpsuit, she was dark-haired and her chest and neck were covered in blood. It

was Sofia Avellino. She recognized her from the photos in the file. Behind him

came two plain-clothes detectives, a desk sergeant and another uniformed officer.

The rear doors on the ambulance were flung open. Two paramedics bounced a gurney onto the blacktop and ran over to the man carrying Sofia. Kate saw a huge bandage on Sofia’s wrist and noticed she was only semi-conscious. The man in the black jacket laid Sofia gently on the gurney. He leaned over, put his hand on top of her head and with his thumb he gently stroked her forehead, dislodging the hair that had stuck to her skin with sweat and blood. All the while he spoke softly. His voice was gentle, comforting.

‘It’s going to be okay, Sofia. I’m going to help you. I promise I’ll do my best,’

he said.

The woman seemed to smile, weakly, and closed her eyes.

One of the detectives stepped forward, brandishing a pair of handcuffs. He snapped one cuff onto the bar of the gurney.

‘If those cuffs touch her I’ll make you swallow them,’ said the man in the black jacket.

‘Tyler, leave her alone. She’s in a bad way. One of my officers will ride along,’ said the man in the sergeant’s uniform.

‘Back off, Bukowski, I’ll go with her,’ said the detective with the cuffs, Tyler.

‘No, you won’t,’ said the man in the black jacket. ‘Bukowski’s man will take her. He’s not on the case. He won’t be tempted to question her while she’s in the back of the ambulance.’

Tyler pursed his lips flat, took his handcuffs off the gurney and stepped away.

The uniformed officer took one end of the gurney, helped the paramedics load her into the ambulance. Sergeant Bukowski continued to argue with the detectives as they marched back into the precinct.

Kate stared at the scene, her eyes wide.

One of the paramedics said to the man in the black jacket, ‘Are you coming with us?’

‘I’ll meet you at the hospital,’ he said.

‘You can follow us,’ said the paramedic.

‘Nah, it’s okay. I got a friend coming to pick me up. The way she drives, I’ll be there before you guys.’

The paramedic snorted, said, ‘Yeah, right.’

The ambulance doors closed, the sirens sounded and it pulled away. Kate heard another car coming around the corner fast. It was a black Dodge Charger.

For a second Kate didn’t think the car would be able to stop, but it turned and slid into a space outside the precinct, its tires squealing. A woman with short brown hair got out of the car. She wore dark jeans and a tight-fitting, brown leather coat. She skipped to the man in the black jacket, and they hugged each other.

‘What took you so long?’ said the man in the black jacket.

‘Blow me,’ said the woman.

They smiled at each other, then both of them froze and turned toward Kate, suddenly aware of her presence.

Kate closed her mouth, said, ‘Was that Sofia Avellino in that ambulance?’

‘You a reporter?’ said the man.