Read Online Baltimore [3.5] Broken Silence by Karen Rose - Free Book Online Page A

finishing my shopping.’
    Grayson grinned. ‘I guess that’s punishment enough for defying my leave order.’ Then he sobered when Kate sat at the table opposite Amber. ‘Bring me up to speed.’
    Daphne gave him a fast summary of the facts. ‘We heard from Mayo Clinic. Tatiana Smirnov had been a patient, but Amber wasn’t affiliated with them in any way. The Smirnovs hired her through a private nursing agency in Minnesota, primarily because Amber is fluent in Russian. She was raised by a grandmother who’d come over from Russia during the 1940s. Amber had been a nurse at another hospital previous to the private agency, but was let go for stealing from a patient. Because someone didn’t want to “destroy her career” she was allowed to resign instead of being officially terminated and the theft wasn’t on her record. When we started asking questions, one of her former colleagues came forward with the information. But I think you’ll agree that theft is the least of Amber’s crimes.’
    ‘Why was Mrs Smirnov at Mayo?’
    ‘Cancer. It was diagnosed in Moscow, but she was pregnant with Zarya and if she’d had treatment, it would have killed the baby. She chose to wait until Zarya was born to start chemo, but it was too late. Mr Smirnov was rich and desperate. He brought his wife to the U.S. for treatment, but it was a long shot from the get-go. The clinic had told Mrs Smirnov to get her affairs in order. Lana indicated that her father wanted them to return to Russia, but Amber had been entertaining her and her mother with stories about growing up on the Virginia coast, playing on the beach, and seeing the ponies on Assateague Island run. Mrs Smirnov wanted to see the ocean and the ponies before she died. At least Amber let her have that.’
    ‘Mr Smirnov was killed by Brock. Who killed Mrs Smirnov?’
    ‘Probably Brock as well,’ Joseph said. ‘We found a pillow in the back of the Mercedes that was stained with blood. Amber claims that Brock suffocated Mrs Smirnov and pointed out that had she wanted to, she could have suffocated her at any time. But even if she didn’t do it herself, we can still charge her, because she was part of the conspiracy.’
    ‘She definitely terrorized Lana,’ Daphne said. ‘We got video footage from the hospital showing Amber holding Zarya, standing outside of Lana’s room. She’d told nurses that she’d come to visit someone on another floor and was just walking her baby to get her to sleep. She never stayed long – just long enough to scare a six-year-old into silence.’
    ‘Bold,’ Grayson said.
    ‘She had to take the risk,’ Joseph said. ‘Because her attempt to drug Lana was unsuccessful. We found a stain on the Mercedes carpet – turned out to be juice laced with sedatives. We asked Lana about it and she said Amber had given it to her but she’d accidentally spilled it and was afraid to say anything to Amber. Had Lana drunk it, she wouldn’t have been able to run away and we’d never have known who the Smirnovs were.’
    ‘Big consequences for a little juice spill,’ Grayson said. ‘So, why did Amber ditch Brock?’
    ‘That we don’t know,’ Joseph said. ‘Either there was trouble in paradise or she decided she didn’t want to share the spoils. Brock may have been prone to rage. We found needles and a supply of anabolic steroids in the Mercedes and it looked like he was on a high dose. Which explains how he walked through the pain of being shot without slowing down.’
    ‘What about the kids? What was she going to do with them?’
    Daphne’s blood went cold. ‘We found phone numbers in Brock’s wallet. One was a fence – they planned to sell the jewelry to him. One was a lawyer who specializes in “private adoptions,” particularly to wealthy people who can’t pass the background checks for legitimate adoption. That would have been Zarya. The third . . . It’s good I’m on this side of the glass. Amber is evil.’
    ‘Down, girl,’ Joseph