“That’s when Annya called again. She asked me just how stupid I really was.” Taylor shook her head. “She told me about the set up. The word on the street was if you needed an abortion, you could go to Dr. Murray. He would do an abortion without parental consent for only a hundred dollars a pop. There was one catch. You had to bring an over the counter decongestant known as pseudoephedrine hydrochloride with you. One hundred dollars and a pack of Sudafed? It was the deal of a century for these girls.
“Recognizing a possible criminal enterprise, I brought Annya on board as a confidential informant. With her contacts, I started seeing a trend. It wasn’t just the poor black girls going to Dr. Murray. It seemed every one who Vice would have interest in was seeing him as well. Strippers, prostitutes, drug addicts—all of them were being funneled to Dr. Murray for abortions.”
“Which in itself is not necessarily illegal, is it, Lieutenant?” The foreman smiled at her gently. The grand jury knew all of the details of the case from their summary documents. For legal purposes, they needed to hear it from Taylor’s own mouth.
“No, sir, it isn’t. Incredibly unethical, but not illegal. I had a better chance of busting Dr. Murray for doing abortions on underage girls, but even that was tricky. If they show him an ID saying they’re sixteen, he’s covered.
“Something felt wrong to me. Rumors were swirling. Word on the street was there were other people involved, people in the police department, and drugs were playing a role. I didn’t want to make any unfounded accusations, but I needed to separate the truth from the rumors.
“I set up a loose surveillance on Dr. Murray’s office. It quickly became apparent that he had a very successful practice. Almost too successful to be handling a patient load that large. If I hadn’t been clued in about what he was doing I would have assumed he was just a very popular neighborhood doctor.”
“That’s when I was contacted by Detective David Martin.”
The knock on the window of her unmarked vehicle made Taylor jump a mile. She looked out to see the grinning face of David Martin, one of the detectives in homicide. He was blowing her cover, damn it. She put down her window in annoyance.
“What’s up, David?”
“What’s up with you, Taylor? Sitting on a house?”
She just smiled. “What can I do for you?”
He smiled back. “We need to talk about what’s going on with the esteemed Dr. Murray. I know you’re looking at him, and there’s something going on that may involve the department. I’ve got some information for you. Let’s go get something to eat and talk about it.”
Taylor’s first impression was that David had gotten information and was there to help her bust who ever was involved. She couldn’t have been more wrong.
She followed him as he drove to the Shoney’s across the bridge from police headquarters. Taylor noted that they were well away from Dr. Murray’s office.
They went inside. Martin ordered coffee and eggs from a robust waitress. Taylor asked for Diet Coke. Her appetite had left her back at the stakeout.
Martin leaned back in the booth and gave her a lazy grin. “So, Taylor. Whatcha been up to lately?”
“David, I just want to talk about what’s happening at Dr. Murray’s. What information do you have?”
“Ah, c’mon now, sugar britches. Tell me you don’t want to catch up with me.”
Taylor started to fume. “I told you never to call me that. What the hell is your problem? You think being condescending is going to win you any points with me? You’re an asshole, you know that?”
He started to laugh. “Oh, struck a nerve, did I? You need to lighten up, Miss Loo-tenant.”
“I get it. You’re still pissed I got promoted and you didn’t. Tough shit, David. I earned this job.”
“Whatever you say, sassafras.”
That was the last straw. Taylor stood up and threw a dollar on the table. “Fuck you, Martin.” She turned to leave but he grabbed her wrist.
“Oh, c’mon now. Sit back down. I know you’re pissed at me, but you need to forget about it for a while. We need to talk about the doctor.”
Taylor yanked her wrist out of his hand. Turning slowly, she sat back down. “Talk,” she spit out.