Gun Games - Faye Kellerman [107]
“So let’s start with your mother. She has to know what’s going on.”
“Can I see the lieutenant?”
“He’s busy right now.”
“Please let me see him!”
Wanda’s heart went out to her. “Yes, you can see him, but first I need to call your mother.”
Reluctantly, Yasmine gave her the number.
The call was not an easy one. The woman fluctuated between gasping and screaming, demanding to talk to her daughter who refused to take the phone. After the conversation, Wanda noticed that her own head was throbbing.
Yasmine was still shaking. “Can I talk to the lieutenant now?”
Wanda said, “I’ll see if I can find—”
“Oh, please don’t leave me alone.”
“Okay, let’s go out together.”
Wanda helped her up and managed to flag down Decker. “She wants to talk to you, Lieutenant.”
“That’s fine, but take her back to the ladies’ lounge. I don’t want her seeing anyone else that we brought in.” Decker’s cell phone rang. “It’s Rina; I have to take this.”
Yasmine burst into tears. “I wanna see Gabe!”
To Rina, Decker said, “What’s going on?”
“I think I’m gonna faint,” Yasmine cried out.
Wanda eased her into a chair. “I need some juice ASAP!”
Decker ran to the refrigerator while holding the phone. “I’m sorry, I can’t hear well. It’s pandemonium down here. Can you shout?”
Rina said, “Gabe’s stabilized. He’s fine. He’s going into surgery in about an hour. He keeps on asking about Yasmine. He wants to talk to her. Can I have him call your phone and you can put her on?”
Decker looked around for Yasmine, but she was gone. “I think she went back to the bathroom. I’ll have her call Gabe’s cell when I see her.”
“He can’t use his cell phone in a hospital,” Rina told him. “That’s why I asked if he can call her before he goes into surgery. He keeps calling her cell, but she’s not answering.”
Decker took the carton of orange juice from the refrigerator. Scott Oliver was waving him over. Decker put out a finger to wait, then spotted Yasmine, sitting with her head between her legs. “Hold on, Rina, I found her.” He gave the carton and a paper cup to Wanda. “Do you have your cell phone, Yasmine?”
Slowly, she lifted her head up and checked her pockets. She pulled it out. “Here.”
“Drink,” Wanda told her. “Sip slowly.”
Yasmine complied. Decker said, “Gabe’s going to call you. You need to go with Detective Bontemps back to the ladies’ room. I’ll be there as soon as I can come.”
“When can I see Gabe?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Decker told her.
“C’mon, sweetheart.” Wanda helped her up.
“I want to see Gabe!”
“He’s going into surgery, Yasmine. Go to the ladies’ lounge with Detective Bontemps, and he’ll call you, okay?”
The girl nodded, tears streaming down her check. She squeaked out, “Thank you for all your help.”
“You’re welcome, honey. I’m sorry I can’t do more right now.” He nodded to Wanda, who once again led her away.
To Rina, Decker said, “Yasmine has her phone. Tell Gabe he can call her.”
“Thank you, Peter.”
“Happy to help. I gotta run.” He hung up and walked over to Oliver. “Who’s your interview?”
“Kyle Kerkin.”
“Perfect. He’s the one over eighteen with the Glock, right?”
“Right. The Glock belongs to his father, but here’s the kicker. Dad reported it stolen eight months ago. So we’ve got a stolen weapons charge on top of the drug charges. Kyle is barely dog-paddling in the soup.”
“See if you can pull him under. Let’s find out who he blames when he goes down.”
Oliver said, “Kyle wants to talk to you, and he’s willing to do it without a lawyer.”
“Me?”
“Yeah, he asked for the lieutenant in charge. He’s just waiting to pop. We can’t blow this opportunity.”
“I can’t do any interviewing, Scott. I’ve got an obvious personal involvement.”
“He knows Gabe lives with you.”
“He does?” Decker was floored. “How?”
“Because Gabe told him that he lived with a police lieutenant.”
“He did? When?”
“I don’t know when, but he’s aware that Gabe has a foster dad who’s a cop.”
“There’s some background story that I missed,” Decker said. “Okay, let’s do this. You do the interviewing,