Exit Wounds - J. A. Jance [72]
How come nobody’s protesting that? Joanna wondered.
Jaime Carbajal came in a few minutes after Frank’s departure and handed Joanna a computer-generated printout. “What’s this?” she asked.
“It’s a tentative list of last night’s victims,” he said. “The ones with hospital notations are still hospitalized, or were the last time we heard. Several of the less seriously wounded have already been released.”
“To whom?” Joanna asked.
“What do you mean?”
“If they were released, who took charge of them? Does Border Patrol have them in custody?”
“I doubt it,” Jaime returned. “INS doesn’t want to get dinged for anybody’s hospital bill. If they’re taken into custody, that’s what’ll happen.”
Joanna recalled the officers she had heard arguing the previous evening. Joanna had thought the medical-bill buck-passing had been limited to that one Department of Public Safety captain. Clearly the problem was far more widespread than that.
“So Border Patrol just let them go?”
“That’s right. That way the hospitals don’t get paid, and the illegals are granted free entry to disappear into the wilds of the good ol’ U.S. of A.”
“What about the driver? You’d better not be telling me that somebody turned him loose.”
“Don’t worry, boss. We’ve got him and his bill both. He’s in the Copper Queen Hospital. I’ve been assured that they’ll only release him into our custody.”
“Fair enough,” Joanna said. “If I have to, I’ll pay his bill out of my own pocket. That guy’s going to jail.”
She studied the list Jaime had given her until she located the name of a woman. Maria Elena Maldonado had also been admitted to the Copper Queen Hospital. Then she cross-referenced that name with the list of fatalities. Finally she found a name that matched—Eduardo Xavier Maldonado.
“Eduardo?” Joanna asked. “That’s the name of the little boy who died?”
Jaime nodded.
“What about the mother? Is she going to be all right?”
“I talked to Dr. Lee about her,” Jaime answered. “Her internal injuries are more extensive than they thought. She’ll be transferred to TMC for more surgery later on this afternoon.”
“Is she going to make it?”
Jaime shrugged. “With the injuries she has, the doc tells me her chances are about fifty-fifty,” he said.
“What about the other victims?” Joanna asked. “How serious are their injuries?”
“Five of them are still in ICUs.”
Joanna went back to studying the list. “What are your plans for the day, Jaime, and what’s Ernie up to?”
“Ernie’s back out at Silver Creek working with the DPS accident site investigation team. They’ll be interviewing locals who were on the scene. As for me, the woman you interviewed, Suzanne Blake, is due to show up any minute. After I talk to her, I’m not sure what I’ll do next.”
Joanna put down the two separate lists. “Here’s the deal, Jaime,” she said. “It sounds as though, as soon as these patients are well enough, INS will let them walk out of hospitals free as birds, just like they did the others. When you’re finished with the Blake interview and after Frank finishes with his press conference, I want the two of you to hit the trail. I want you to find and interview as many of those hospitalized UDAs as possible. Explain to them that we need their help so we can find the coyotes who did this. I want to put those guys out of business before any more people die. Wherever possible, I want taped sworn statements.”
“I don’t understand,” Jaime objected. “What’s the point of doing interviews, boss? As you said, once the injured UDAs are released from treatment, they’ll disappear. None of them will stick around long enough to testify against the driver.”
“Of course they won’t,” Joanna returned. “That’s why I want you to interview them now—today!”
“But if they’re not here to testify at the trial, the tapes won’t be admissible.”
“True,” Joanna agreed. “And much as I’d like to nail that bastard,