Read Online The Angel Maker - 2 by Ridley Pearson - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Ridley Pearson
Tags: Fiction, General, Mystery & Detective, Police Procedural, Seattle (Wash.), Transplantation of Organs; Tissues; Etc
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inner sanctum which, as it turned out, was through door B-just to the left of the Coke machine. He helped steady his son's bottle and found his way down a narrow corridor flanked by several workers tending computer work stations. Was the database of their donors available to any one of them? Was one of these persons directly or indirectly involved in the harvests? With this the only plasma bank in the city and a policeman's knowledge that something connected the four runaways, Boldt experienced the electricity of anticipation. He didn't believe much in "sixth-sense" phenomena, but there was no denying the quick beating of his heart and the internal sense that there was evidence to be uncovered here.
He put questions to a Ms. Dundee, a two-seater black woman with no neck and huge breasts. Her hands were swollen like some corpses Boldt had seen, and she wheezed when she spoke. She guarded all her explanations, and smiled in the same contrived manner as a used-car salesman. Her face was so bloated he could barely see any eyes and so round and wide that she seemed more a caricature of herself. Miles didn't like her either. On first sight of her he started crying and became a pest. He pushed his bottle aside demanding Boldt's repeated attention. An ever cautious Ms. Dundee requested Boldt's police identification.
Boldt went through the ruse of pretending to search for it, realizing at that moment that events had led him to the inevitable. Would she call downtown and ask after him? Whether she did or not, Boldt now had no choice but to pay Lieutenant Phil Shoswitz a visit. Technically, he was impersonating a police officer. It seemed ludicrous to him, but he could be arrested for it. "Just answer me this, please," he said to the huge woman. "Is Cynthia Chapman in your database or not?" She nodded reluctantly. Boldt felt a flood of relief. Curiosity surged through him. So many questions to ask. Could the harvester have selected Cindy from this database? Had he kidnapped her, or was a child desperate enough to sell her blood also willing to sell a kidney? Were the names of Dixie's other three "victims" in this database as well? "Does Bloodlines keep an active database of all its previous donors?"
he asked.
She viewed him suspiciously. Their eyes met. "This can all be done formally," he informed her. "Warrants, subpoenas.
Attorneys. Press. Have you ever been to our city police department, Ms. Dundee?"
"There is a database of all our donors, yes."
Boldt withdrew his notebook from his coat pocket. "I have three other names I'd like to check," he said. He supplied her with the names of the three runaways-Julia Walker, Glenda Sherman and Peter Blumenthal-all of whom had been missing an organ at the time of death. Ms. Dundee entered these names into her computer terminal.
A moment later she said, "Nope. None of them."
"Damn it all!" he protested in disappointment. Then a thought occurred to him: "How far back do your records go?"
"A donor is kept active twelve months. The database is swept monthly."
"Swept?"
"Cleaned up.- "And what happens to those records?" he asked.
"Our data processing department in our home office maintains a complete donor list. That's required by the federal government in case health problems arise in the blood supply." She added, as a way of showing off the care they took, "You can't donate without a social security number, a current address and a phone number."
Boldt, having witnessed the street person in the reception area, wondered how careful they were in obtaining accurate identification, but he didn't press the issue. "Can you check these three names with the home office?"
Another expression of disapproval. Boldt's patience was running thin. How much could he tell her? "This isn't about traffic tickets, Ms. Dundee. A little cooperation now could go a long way toward protecting your company's image later. This branch's image."
"Just what kind of trouble are you talking about?"
"Why don't you
He put questions to a Ms. Dundee, a two-seater black woman with no neck and huge breasts. Her hands were swollen like some corpses Boldt had seen, and she wheezed when she spoke. She guarded all her explanations, and smiled in the same contrived manner as a used-car salesman. Her face was so bloated he could barely see any eyes and so round and wide that she seemed more a caricature of herself. Miles didn't like her either. On first sight of her he started crying and became a pest. He pushed his bottle aside demanding Boldt's repeated attention. An ever cautious Ms. Dundee requested Boldt's police identification.
Boldt went through the ruse of pretending to search for it, realizing at that moment that events had led him to the inevitable. Would she call downtown and ask after him? Whether she did or not, Boldt now had no choice but to pay Lieutenant Phil Shoswitz a visit. Technically, he was impersonating a police officer. It seemed ludicrous to him, but he could be arrested for it. "Just answer me this, please," he said to the huge woman. "Is Cynthia Chapman in your database or not?" She nodded reluctantly. Boldt felt a flood of relief. Curiosity surged through him. So many questions to ask. Could the harvester have selected Cindy from this database? Had he kidnapped her, or was a child desperate enough to sell her blood also willing to sell a kidney? Were the names of Dixie's other three "victims" in this database as well? "Does Bloodlines keep an active database of all its previous donors?"
he asked.
She viewed him suspiciously. Their eyes met. "This can all be done formally," he informed her. "Warrants, subpoenas.
Attorneys. Press. Have you ever been to our city police department, Ms. Dundee?"
"There is a database of all our donors, yes."
Boldt withdrew his notebook from his coat pocket. "I have three other names I'd like to check," he said. He supplied her with the names of the three runaways-Julia Walker, Glenda Sherman and Peter Blumenthal-all of whom had been missing an organ at the time of death. Ms. Dundee entered these names into her computer terminal.
A moment later she said, "Nope. None of them."
"Damn it all!" he protested in disappointment. Then a thought occurred to him: "How far back do your records go?"
"A donor is kept active twelve months. The database is swept monthly."
"Swept?"
"Cleaned up.- "And what happens to those records?" he asked.
"Our data processing department in our home office maintains a complete donor list. That's required by the federal government in case health problems arise in the blood supply." She added, as a way of showing off the care they took, "You can't donate without a social security number, a current address and a phone number."
Boldt, having witnessed the street person in the reception area, wondered how careful they were in obtaining accurate identification, but he didn't press the issue. "Can you check these three names with the home office?"
Another expression of disapproval. Boldt's patience was running thin. How much could he tell her? "This isn't about traffic tickets, Ms. Dundee. A little cooperation now could go a long way toward protecting your company's image later. This branch's image."
"Just what kind of trouble are you talking about?"
"Why don't you
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