Vivian Armstrong had been taking an antidepression medication while pregnant. Interesting, but hardly earth-shattering. So why is it highlighted?
Parks speeds through the rest of the file, searching for any other information. He doesn’t find anything, and this is odd. There should be something from the prescribing doctor, at the very least. But Gorman from the grave has nothing more to offer. There are no doctor’s reports, no follow-ups, no more notes. And the evidence list does not show the bottle of medication.
There is a simple explanation—concerned with the immediate problem of finding the child, and the delay in the final toxicology report, a mental illness diagnosis wasn’t followed up on. If they missed this, what else did they miss?
Gorman wasn’t a flighty cop. If he’s marked this, he must have been concerned. It’s worth looking into. In Parks’s experience, psychiatrists keep excellent records.
Where would a military wife go for mental health treatment?
He looks at his watch. He’s been at it all night, it’s nearly 7:00 a.m. Starr should be in. He calls her cell, and she answers on the first ring.
“Are you here?”
“If by here you mean the squad, yes.”
“Good. I’m in the conference room.”
A few minutes later, she knocks and enters, a notebook in one hand and an apple in the other. “You’ve been here all night?”
He rubs his face with both hands. “Yeah. Listen, I just saw something in the autopsy report about Vivian Armstrong being treated for depression. Did anyone ever follow up on that?”
“I did see something, hold on.” She disappears, then comes back with a red folder and a steaming cup of coffee, which she sets in front of him.
“Ah, thank you.” He takes a deep gulp.
Starr flips open the folder. “Yes, she had an antidepressant in her system, but there’s no record of her receiving treatment, no doctor’s bills or anything, so no way to know who was treating her. I was surprised. Do you think this is something?”
“Anything that wasn’t looked at back then is fair game for us now. Gorman highlighted it in his personal file. We should track it down before we leave.”
“Flights a few hours off. You have time to follow this trail. I’m putting together all the files for the Colorado cops. Shout if you need me to run anything down for you.”
“Copy that. Thanks, Breezy.”
He picks up his phone. Vivian Armstrong lived near Vanderbilt—the closest ER to their house. Might as well start there.
53
THE WRIGHTS’ HOUSE
Zack falls asleep without issue after their late dinner, a result of the altitude, he supposes, and is awakened, surprisingly refreshed, at 4:45 in the morning, by Juliet, who is shaking his shoulder.
“Hey, I’m sorry to wake you, but the doctors want to do some testing as soon as possible. Can you get up and come with me?”
“Sure.” He’s awake instantly. He’s always been a morning person, likes the quiet before the dawn when nothing stirs but his memories. He jumps in the shower, dresses, and is downstairs in the kitchen five minutes later. Jasper is there making coffee, and Juliet is feeding Kat, who is gazing at this new goddess adoringly for both taking her for an early morning constitutional and giving her food without asking.
“Traitor,” Zack says to her, rubbing her ears while she scarfs down her kibble.
“Did you sleep?” Jasper asks. He looks like he was up all night, his face puffy and hair standing up in the back.
“I did, thank you. Passed out is more like it. Yesterday was a bit exhausting.” He continues petting Kat. “Do you have a good place for me to leave her? She’s used to sleeping on the couch at my place, but I don’t want her on your good furniture.”
Juliet shakes her head. “No, bring her. Today is going to be rough for everyone, and she’ll be a good buffer. Besides, Mindy won’t forgive you if you show up without her. She loves dogs, and Lauren’s already told her all about Kat.”
“Right. Good plan.”
“We should get going. Here’s a thermos.” Jasper hands him the coffee. He is quieter this morning, thoughtful. So much at stake, Zack thinks. All of our lives are going to change today.
Zack snaps on Kat’s harness, and they troop to the garage. Jasper gets into a silver Audi Q7, and Juliet leads Zack and Kat to her black Xterra. Kat clambers in the back and settles right down. Zack climbs in the front next to Juliet, cracks open the thermos and takes a deep drink.
“Jasper makes great coffee, doesn’t he? I wish he’d show up at my place every morning, carafe in hand.”
“He does.” He takes another sip. “You’re all so very kind. I appreciate it.”
“I don’t know about that. Mindy has been all of our priority for a long time, and especially now. Trust me, once we know how things are going to shake out with her, there will be plenty of drama.”
“I can do without the drama. I’ve had more than enough to last two lifetimes.”
“I don’t know if the media will allow that to happen, Zack. This is going to be a huge story once it gets out.”
“I’d rather it not be. I’m a private person, and with my past...let’s just try to keep things between us for now, okay?”
“I’m fine with that, and God knows Lauren will be, too, but the cops might have another plan. They’re catching a flight this afternoon. I’ve set up an appointment for them later today with my people at the CBI. Now that Mindy’s been found, they’re going to have to look hard at Castillo and her partner, Fuentes, to see how they managed to get her here. Did they have people across the country supplying babies? Was Vivian a casualty of something bigger? We’re going to have to look into everything, Zack. I’m sorry.”
“I want her murder solved as much as everyone else, trust me. But it’s been seventeen years. I don’t see how a few more days will hurt. At least give Mindy and me some time to talk, to get to know each other a little, hopefully.”
“That’s understandable, and I’ll do my best, okay? You’ll be happy to know Lauren told her last night that you were going to be here today. She’s excited to meet you.”
“And I am excited to meet her, too. It feels very strange saying that, I mean that I’m only now meeting my own flesh and blood.”
He stares out the window as they wind down the mountain and cross under the highway into the city of Vail, then take the turn for the hospital. He is surprised by how much he likes the architecture of the small city, the stone and timber buildings, the well-placed evergreens, the high-end shops and walking-only streets. There are already a few skiers strolling around in goggles and boots with skis on their shoulders. He assumes they’re gearing up for breakfast before the lifts open, eager to get a jump on the day. A few cars move slowly around the base of the slopes, but they pass through the stoplight then wind around to the hospital without too much delay, arriving at ten after five.
She turns off the engine. “First things first. Let’s go talk to Dr. Oliver and get your blood work done, then Mindy should be awake and ready to talk. She’s an early bird, we won’t be waking her.”
He feels that odd twinge, another similarity. Like me. Vivian was the opposite, always wanting to linger in bed, read the paper, drink some coffee. Zack had usually taken a run, showered, eaten breakfast and started a book before she even woke up.
Of course, that’s when he was home.
All in all, he figures that out of two years of dating and marriage, he’d actually been with Vivian for about four months over the course of that time.
He barely knew her.
She barely knew him.
But they created a brief life together, and once she got pregnant, he planned to ask for a transfer back to base so he could be home with his family. Then she died, and the baby was gone, and he felt like he’d failed her on every level. He’d loved her. But that hadn’t been enough.