Lifeblood (Rachel Chavez Mysteries, 2)

Rachel Chavez, a recovering alcoholic, owns and lives in an apartment on the top floor of a parking garage in downtown Los Angeles. She leases parking space and the use of the rooftop helicopter pad to nearby businesses. Tough but vulnerable, she is struggling to stay sober and keep her business financially afloat. Horrified when she discovers two unconscious young Mexican boys locked in an apparently abandoned van in the garage, she rushes them to the emergency room. Doctors declare one dead on arrival. The other, dehydrated but alive, is admitted to the hospital. But when Rachel checks back the next day, the Medical Center has no record of either child. Wary of the police because her own checkered past includes a DWI and arrest for drug possession, Rachel’s determination to find an explanation becomes an obsession that meshes with a search for her own Mexican roots, creating a problem in her relationship with her fiancé. Hank, a workaholic water quality engineer, wants to marry her when his divorce finally comes through. But now Rachel isn’t certain marriage is for her. She relies on emotional support from her friends, an eclectic band of misfits and outsiders: Irene, a homeless fortuneteller, Goldie, the big-hearted leader of the late-night cleaning crew of mentally handicapped workers, and Rachel’s dad Marty, a compulsive gambler. She’s delighted when the hospital leases parking space for staff, relieving her of financial worries. But her life doesn’t become easier. It quickly becomes very complicated. And dangerous.