by L. T. Ryan
“What about the uncommon ones?”
“Some of them almost fit the criteria, but there’s nothing that’s a perfect match.”
“Something new?”
“New fifteen years ago,” McKinnon said. “You’d think we’d be aware of it by now.”
“You’d think.”
There was a beat of silence. Both took a sip of their drinks and stared off into the distance.
“There’s another problem,” McKinnon added.
“I think we have enough to worry about at the moment.”
McKinnon didn’t laugh. She didn’t even crack a smile. “The reason I left the other day is because my neighbor’s daughter was just diagnosed with cancer. Inoperable. Untreatable. She’s going to die within the next six months to a year. She’s fifteen.”
Bear finished his drink. He didn’t know what to say.
“I think she was poisoned.” McKinnon met his gaze with watery eyes.
“Poisoned?” Bear failed to keep the disbelief out of his voice. “With cancer?”
“She was fine six months ago. Not a care in the world. Bubbly, outgoing. Good kid.” McKinnon rolled her glass between her hands, watching as the liquid sloshed up the sides. “Then she started getting sick. Slowly. Weakness, nausea, vomiting. Muscle cramps. She started wasting away. Getting paler and thinner. She had no interest in anything anymore. Quit sports. Quit doing art. She loves horseback riding. One day, she just decided she didn’t want to do it anymore. Couldn’t. It was too painful to ride.
“They took her to the doctor.” It didn’t take a genius to see what came next. “And found cancer.”
“She had a tumor the size of a softball in her stomach. And smaller tumors throughout her body.” McKinnon looked up at him. “She will die, no matter what they do. She won’t see sixteen. And if she does, won’t be nothing sweet about it.”
Bear considered pouring himself another drink, but he knew it would only make him feel worse in the long run. “The cancer caused all that?”
“Some of it. That’s the problem. They couldn’t explain all the symptoms.”
“Which is why you think she was poisoned.”
“It’s just a working theory.” McKinnon sat back and blew out a breath of air. It ruffled the hair around her face. “But Katie Lamoureux’s symptoms wouldn’t have looked dissimilar. Maybe she had cancer, too, but we couldn’t detect anything from the sample we had.”
“Someone buried Katie. Which meant they thought someone would figure out it wasn’t a natural death.”
“But why would someone want a twelve-year-old dead?”
Bear opened his mouth to spout a couple of possible reasons when the vibration of his phone interrupted them. He reached deep into his pocket and pulled it out. “It’s Mandy.” He hit answer and held the device to his ear. “Hey, kid. What’s up?”
“Can you come pick me up?” Her voice was muffled, like she didn’t want anyone to hear her. “Like, right now?”
Bear sat up straight. Alarm bells went off in his head. All the alcohol drained from his system, and his mind felt sharp and clear. “What’s wrong?”
“Laura Lynn keeps throwing up. I saw blood and told her mom and she’s freaking out. I just want to come home.” There was a desperation in Mandy’s voice that he rarely heard. “Please.”
Bear locked eyes with McKinnon, who looked as on edge as he felt. “I’m on my way.”
14
Bear threw the truck into park, jumped out, and sprinted up the driveway. He heard McKinnon call after him, but the world was a blur of sights and sounds. He considered the consequences of bursting through the front door of Laura Lynn’s house versus knocking and waiting for someone to answer. Mandy saved him the hassle by opening it first.
He came to a halt, sweat-drenched and panting. Not from exertion, but anxiety. It took him a moment to comprehend Mandy standing in front of him. She was safe. He knelt in front of her. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.” She almost sounded annoyed. “It’s Laura Lynn...”
“But you’re fine? You don’t feel sick?” For all Bear wasn’t sure about McKinnon’s theory, he wasn’t about to put Mandy’s life on the line to test it. “Do you have any symptoms?”
“Symptoms of what?” Mandy looked over his shoulder at the approaching sheriff. “What’s going on?”
McKinnon put a hand on Bear’s shoulder. “We should talk to her. Both of them.”
Bear’s first instinct was to get as far from this as possible, but when he looked into Mandy’s eyes, he knew that wasn’t an option. They’d only been here for a month, and Laura Lynn was the first and only friend Mandy had made around her age. The rest had been agents and killers and mercenaries. Bear owed it to her to find out what was going on.
“Are they still inside?”
Mandy nodded and led the two of them through the entrance and into the living room, where Laura Lynn lay groaning on the couch. Her mother was preparing something in the kitchen, and they could hear her speaking in low murmurs, as though she were on the phone but didn’t want anyone to hear.
McKinnon approached the couch and knelt next to Laura Lynn while Bear and Mandy hung back. “Hey,” she whispered. “My name is Josie. You’re Laura Lynn, right?”
The girl nodded. Even from a distance, Bear could tell she looked pale and tiny, like she hadn’t been eating. She was too weak to pick up her head, but she pointed her finger to the glass of water sitting on the table next to her. The sheriff picked it up and let Laura Lynn take a tiny sip. A bit of water dribbled down her chin.
Setting the glass back on the table, McKinnon wiped away the droplet of water with the cuff of her sleeve. She smiled down at the girl. “What’s been going on? You’re not feeling well?”
Laura Lynn shook her head. “My stomach hurts.” Her voice was so weak, Bear had to take a step forward to hear her. “I threw up.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” McKinnon wrapped two fingers around the girl’s wrist to take her pulse. “Do you know why? Was it something you ate?” When Laura Lynn shook her head, McKinnon smiled gently. “That’s okay. We’re gonna figure it out, okay?”
As Laura Lynn closed her eyes, her mother walked back into the room with some soup. She noticed Bear first and startled, almost dropping the bowl. Then her gaze slid over to her daughter, and to the sheriff, who was now standing next to her. “What’s going on?”
The Sheriff stepped forward. “Mrs. Weinberger?”
“Cynthia.”
“Cynthia. I’m sorry to barge in on you like this. Mandy let us in.”
Bear offered his hand, which Cynthia took gingerly. “My name is Riley. I’m Mandy’s father. She was worried about her friend. Your daughter seems pretty sick.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” The woman didn’t look like she meant it, but decorum forced her to repeat the words anyway. She put the bowl of soup down on the table next to the water. “Laura Lynn is fine. It’s a little cold.”
“She threw up blood.” Mandy’s voice was even, but Bear could sense her frustration. “I don’t think it’s just a cold, Mrs. Weinberger.”
“I’ve been sick, too. So has my husband. It’s nothing.” As if on cue, the woman’s chest heaved, and she went into a coughing fit. She pulled a tissue from her pocket and covered her mouth. When it passed, she stuffed the tissue back in her pocket, but not before Bear saw a drop of blood on it. “It’ll pass.”
“I don’t think you’re—” Bear started, but McKinnon held up a hand to cut him off.
“This is not the first time I’ve seen this sickness,” McKinnon said. “It’s imperative you get your entire family to the doctor before it gets worse.”
“My husband, he—” She cut herself off, embarrassed.
Bear knew what that look meant. “What doesn’t he want you to say to us?”
When the woman shook her head, McKinnon took a gentler approach. “That’s fine. But I need you to tell me if you’ve eaten anything or drank anything th
at could’ve done this. Taken any pills? Any drugs? Something your daughter could’ve gotten into?”
“No, nothing.” Mrs. Weinberger looked scared now. “We haven’t eaten anything out of the ordinary. We don’t have any drugs in the house. Not even prescription.”
“When did the symptoms start?” McKinnon asked. “Yours? Your husband’s?”
The woman opened her mouth to answer, but the front door flew open and a man in a dark suit rushed into the room. He was short and fat, with a balding head. He ripped his jacket off, revealing the sweat stains under his arms. “What’s going on here? Who the hell are you?” He glared at his wife. “What did you tell them?”
Bear put himself between the man and the other women. He held up his hands in peace. “Whoa, there. Calm down.”
“Don’t you dare tell me to calm down in my own home!” Mr. Weinberger only came up to Bear’s shoulder, but he didn’t look afraid of the stranger in his house. “Get out! All of you. You don’t have permission to be here. Especially you, Sheriff.”
McKinnon took a step forward. “Your daughter is very sick—“
“That’s for me and my wife to deal with.” He pointed to the door, and Bear got a whiff of the body odor emanating off him. He smelled like salami. “Get out.”
Bear pushed Mandy toward the door and waited for McKinnon to follow. He let the two of them out first and then turned to face Weinberger. He brought himself up to his full height and then stepped forward. “Take care of it.” Bear glanced over at Laura Lynn. “Or I will.”
Weinberger didn’t have a chance to reply before Bear turned on his heel and stormed down the driveway. A second later, the door slammed, and they could hear muffled fighting from inside. It was mostly Weinberger’s voice, punctuated by screaming sobs from his wife.
Bear started to go back inside, but Sheriff McKinnon put her hand on his arm. “You’ll just make it worse. I’m calling an ambulance.” She held the phone up to her ear. “Mrs. Weinberger won’t turn them away.”
Bear growled in defeat and slid behind the wheel of the truck. The Sheriff took the front passenger side, while Mandy buckled herself into the back. “None of them looked good. Did you see how much he was sweating? That’s either fear or he’s just as sick as they are.”
“Her heart was racing. It—” She broke off. “Yes, this is Sheriff McKinnon. I’m requesting paramedics to…”
Bear ignored the rest of her words as he twisted around in his seat to catch a glimpse of Mandy. Her eyes were still wide and shining. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll make sure she gets to the hospital.”
Mandy’s voice was tiny. “Is she going to be okay?”
“I’m not sure.” It was as close to the truth as he could get, especially after learning about what had happened to McKinnon’s neighbors. “But we’ll make sure someone looks at her. Best we can do right now, kid.”
Mandy nodded and broke eye contact. She looked out the window and angrily wiped away a tear. Bear turned back around and gripped the steering wheel with both hands. He wanted to storm back inside and shake that man until he came to his senses. What was pride or fear when it came to your kid? You were supposed to do everything you could to protect them. What could be bigger than that?
Bear shifted the truck into reverse and turned out of the driveway before he did something he’d regret. McKinnon was still on the phone with the hospital, giving them as much information as she could. When she hung up, she dialed one of her deputies and filled them in on what had just transpired.
Bear was so focused on his thoughts he didn’t even see the minivan driving on the wrong side of the road creep up alongside him. Just as he caught sight of the vehicle out of the corner of his eye, it slammed into them. The sound of vehicles colliding rivaled that of a bomb. The impact jolted everyone. Bear smacked his head against the window.
He kept his hands on the wheel, trying to keep the truck steady, but the minivan weighed more. It slammed into them again. The sheriff dropped her phone and cursed. She leaned forward, looking past him, trying to see who was driving. It was all Bear could do to keep an eye on the road ahead.
The street curved to the left. Bear punched the gas, racing to get ahead of the van. But the driver must’ve anticipated the move because he stayed neck-and-neck with the truck. He kept his vehicle straight right until the road turned, then he swerved to the left and back to the right, slamming into the side of the truck one more time.
Bear grunted as his head hit the window for a second time. The truck hit the shoulder, and the gravel twisted the wheels out from under him. It lurched one more time to the right, down a small hill, and over a bump in the grass that lifted him straight out of his seat. The top of his head slammed into the roof. A large oak filled his view. He used all his strength to crank the wheel to the left and then slam on the brakes. The tree clipped his right-side mirror, but the vehicle came to a stop without any major damage.
But the truck didn’t matter. Mandy did. Twisting around, he looked to the backseat, where Mandy appeared shaken but whole. No blood or tears. She nodded silently, and Bear let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding. When he twisted back, he caught sight of the van speeding off down the road through the haze of dust and dirt he’d kicked up on his way over the embankment.
“Everyone okay?” McKinnon shouted.
“We’re good.” Bear turned to her. “You okay?”
“No.” McKinnon hunched over and scooped up her phone, which was still on the call with her deputy. “I’m pissed.”
15
Mandy sat on Marcus’ bed and let her legs swing back and forth, bumping off his bed frame in a rhythmic thump, thump, thump. His room was exactly how she had pictured it in her mind—covered in posters of sci-fi movies, cluttered with gadgets and gizmos, and smelling vaguely of nachos.
But it was clean. No dust—not on the blades of the ceiling fan or behind the TV or under the bed (she’d checked when he ran downstairs to get them a couple Cokes)—and no dirty clothes piled on the floor or shoved into the closet at the last minute. Even the controlled chaos of his tech toys made sense to her uneducated eyes. There was a place for everything, even if everything was all over his room.
“Here you go.” Marcus handed her the soda. “What do you think?”
“Of what?”
“My room!” He beamed. “Isn’t it awesome? My mom doesn’t care what I do up here, as long as I keep it clean.”
“That’s awesome.” She was happy for him. “I need some posters for my room.”
“I have some extras, if you want.”
“Maybe some other time.”
Mandy tried to ignore the way his face fell. How could she tell him she didn’t know how long she’d be living in her house? Decorating her room seemed pointless if they were only days away from moving again. Bear hadn’t said as much, but she knew him better than he thought she did. He wanted to get as far away from all this as possible.
She raised her Coke to her lips to avoid the awkward silence but winced when she moved her shoulder wrong. Marcus didn’t catch it, and she forced her face into a neutral expression before he could take another glance. No one had been seriously injured yesterday, but she had a couple bruises from bouncing off the door while they slid down the hill. Bear had a couple lumps on his head from when he hit it against the window and roof, but he said it didn’t hurt much. She wasn’t sure she believed him, but they hadn’t had much time to talk. He made her go to bed as soon as they got home while he stayed up talking on the phone with the sheriff. When she woke up the next morning, she had already formed her plan to visit Marcus. Bear hadn’t hesitated. It felt like he wanted her somewhere far away from the house.
“See this PC?” Marcus asked, drawing Mandy’s attention back to the present. “I’m mining Ether on it.”
“What’s Ether?”
“It’s a cryptocurrency. It’s how I’m going to make my first million. And then I’m going to create the next big thing.”
> “What’s the next big thing?”
“Well, I don’t know yet.” He frowned, but another grin quickly replaced it. “But I’ll know it when I see it.” He pointed to a drone. “Maybe a flying car. Have you ever seen that old movie The Fifth Element?”
“No.” Mandy hadn’t seen a lot of things. “What’s it about?”
Marcus thought for a moment. “A supreme being comes to Earth to save it from an evil corporation and a violent race of aliens, but she gets sad because we’re not taking care of the planet and we’re always fighting with each other. So, a taxi driver has to convince her we’re worth saving, and he does it through the power of love.”
“Wow.” Mandy thought that sounded cheesy. “That’s… weird.”
“Super weird.” Marcus grinned. “But I love it. Anyway, they have flying cars, and I think it would be cool to be the first person to build one and make them available to everybody.”
Mandy thought about the accident she had yesterday and wasn’t sure she was keen to get into a car that could fly. That sounded a lot more dangerous. She pointed to a laptop hidden under a pile of books. “What’s that one for?”
Marcus was an innocent-looking kid with a baby face, but when he looked where she was pointing and grinned, Mandy couldn’t help but think he looked a lot more like a movie villain. “That’s my hacking computer.”
“Really?” Mandy’s heart was racing. This was why she wanted to talk to Marcus. She knew he’d be able to help her, but she’d never imagined a scenario this perfect. “What kind of places can you hack into?”
“Pretty much anywhere.” His chest puffed out. “Last month, I hacked into my church’s website and changed the copyright line at the bottom to Jesus Christ.” He was shaking with laughter. “I’m still waiting for someone to notice.”
“That’s pretty funny.” Mandy laughed, but her mind was working overtime. “Where else can you hack into?”