They wheeled it through the store, stopping to add a container of catnip, fuzzy mice toys, a stick with a string and feathers attached, two new food dishes and a bag of kitten food. “You know Mr. Rupert will probably eat this,” Toni said. “But I’m sure he could use a few extra calories.” She laughed at the image of Mr. Rupert even bigger.
After paying for their haul, and spending at least fifteen minutes trying to get the condo in the back of the SUV, they headed home. It took another ten minutes to get it into Boggs’s apartment. When they came in the door, sure enough, Mr. Rupert was still sitting in his chair, watching the fish. He seemed to be most enthralled with the albino frog that would swim for a moment and then stop and float. Toni went over and offered her hand to him, knowing it would smell like their new little kitten. He sniffed for several seconds and looked at her. He looked around the room for a bit, then jumped down to investigate the condo. Boggs offered her hand and he sniffed again, then went in search of the new animal. After finding no one new, he climbed to the top of the condo and stretched out, or as much as he could with his twenty pounds of fur on an eighteen-inch square platform.
“I think he’s happy,” Toni said. “And it was good for him to get a whiff of his new cat.” They left the rest of the toys and goodies in the bag.
Boggs got them each a soda and glanced at her watch. “We’ve got over an hour before anyone gets here. Want to do a bit of packing?”
“Absolutely,” Toni said, taking a quick drink. They got started and within an hour they had most of the kitchen done and all of the pictures and candles in the living room packed. Toni began on the CDs. “You know, I think you’re the only one left on this planet that still has a reel to reel.” She laughed. “But then again, I’m the only one with a waterbed.”
“I know.” Boggs groaned. “I’m trying to put all the music I had on tape onto CDs. It takes a while to do it and I never seem to have time.”
“Why don’t we work on that tonight and tomorrow. After we do the Pridefest this afternoon, we don’t have anything else to do except pack. Oh, and you’ve got a softball game tomorrow. What time do you play?”
Boggs checked the schedule next to her computer. “It’s at noon, but I could skip this week.”
“No way. It’ll be a nice distraction. And anyway, I love watching women run around in shorts.”
“You’re sounding more and more like Vicky every day,” Boggs said. “So tomorrow we’ll do some more packing and I’ll break down my computer system. I want to move that myself.” Boggs had a very sophisticated system with equipment whose purpose utterly baffled Toni.
At three, Jessie arrived first, carrying the duffle with all of Toni’s clothes and her briefcase. The rest came within ten minutes of one another. Toni changed into a pair of olive drab cargo shorts, a gray T-shirt with six flamingos embroidered in the rainbow colors and leather Tevas. She’d taken off her gun per Johnnie’s instructions. Satisfied, she came back out to the living room.
“We need to put the wire on,” Johnnie said, motioning for her to pull up her shirt. Johnnie hooked the small battery pack to the inside of her shorts, with only the small clip visible on the outside. She ran the wire up, stopping at Toni’s bra and looked at Boggs, who came over and completed the task. The wire went under the bra and hooked on the strap where it attached to the cup. Toni pulled her shirt back down.
“How does it feel?” Johnnie asked.
“Not bad. Weird, but not bad. Why can’t I wear my gun?”
“Because we want you to mingle and be close to people,” Johnnie said. “And wearing a gun isn’t second nature to you yet. Anyway, we’ll be there and we’ll all be able to hear everything you say. Except for Jessie, of course.” Johnnie handed the others small units that resembled Bluetooth phones. “These receivers will pick up Toni’s wire,” she explained. “They’re also like walkie-talkies. All you do is press the button while you talk and we can all hear you. Let’s test them. Toni, go into the bathroom and talk quietly.”
Toni did as she was told, catching a glimpse of everybody slipping the devices onto their ears. Toni began to sing “The Spy Who Loved Me.”
Everybody was laughing when Toni came back in the room a few minutes later.
“What’s so funny?”
“This is great,” Vicky said. “We can talk about you and you can’t hear us.”
“How fun for you,” Toni said sarcastically. “Just make sure you have my back, okay?”
Boggs hugged her tightly and whispered, “I’ll make sure you’re safe, babe. And tonight, we’ll really celebrate.”
Vicky giggled. “Can I come over and celebrate with you?”
Toni felt her face get hot and even Boggs blushed.
“I think the mic works pretty good,” Johnnie said. “So don’t forget to take it off when you get home tonight.” She winked at Toni. “And here, put this in your pocket, but please don’t spend it.” She handed her what looked like a nickel.
Toni examined it and then shrugged.
“It’s the transmitter,” Johnnie explained. “It will track you.”
“Oh, now that’s really cool.” She fingered the small coin and slipped it in her pocket. “So I’m supposed to just wander around Pridefest and see if anyone approaches me? Is that my job?”
“Basically, yes. We’ll also be wandering around, but when you see one of us, just say hi. Two-minute conversations at most. We want you to appear alone.”
“And you think this will work?”
“Well, so far it’s just a shot,” Vicky said. “We need to flush this woman out, and if she thinks you’re available, maybe she’ll go for it. Are you ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Toni said with a sigh. “Let’s go.”
Toni drove her Bug to the park and found a spot near the entrance. As she drove around she’d spotted the van that would be keeping track of her. She squelched the urge to say hello.
“That would have been bright,” she said, then realized that everyone could hear her. Be careful what you say or you’ll sound like an idiot. She headed for the long row of vendors, keeping her eyes out for one of the suspects. Nancy, Judge Crayton, Doris Jackson, Karen Young and Velda. She’d etched those names in her memory. The first booth had every T-shirt imaginable and she looked at all of them. Suddenly she felt an arm go around her waist and she froze.
“Hiya, Toni,” Nancy sang out.
Toni felt herself relax slightly and she turned around. “Hey, Nancy.” She gave her a quick hug. Nancy is bizarre, but it can’t be her, can it? Obsessed with me? No way.
Nancy grabbed a woman from behind Toni. “This is Laura, my date,” she explained.
Toni shook her hand. “Nice to meet you, Laura. Have you guys been here very long?” Hmm. Laura seemed quiet and rather harmless.
“About an hour,” Nancy said and Laura nodded. “There’s a great band starting in another hour, we’ll save you a spot if you want. Are you here by yourself?”
“Yeah, going stag,” Toni said, shrugging. She hoped that Nancy wouldn’t ask about Boggs. She didn’t. They waved and off they went.
Toni went back to looking at the T-shirts. “I think we can cross Nancy off the list,” she whispered. “And I sure feel sorry for Laura.” She smiled to herself and headed to the next booth. She could just imagine Vicky agreeing with her about Nancy’s date.
After she’d perused about a quarter of the vendors, Toni felt odd, as if she was being watched. Well, duh. I am. She looked around for Boggs, Patty, Vicky or Johnnie and saw none of them. This was creepy. They could see her and hear her but she couldn’t see or hear them. She tried to keep calm, but the feeling of dread was beginning to overwhelm her. No wonder they said she couldn’t carry her gun. She was no good at this. What’s wrong with me? I’m safe. She saw a booth that sold candles and wandered over. There were several that she thought would look great in their new home. Just because she was bait doesn’t mean she couldn’t shop, right? She found a large three
-wick pillar candle and a simple silver candleholder and bought them. While the vendor was wrapping them up for her, she saw both Judge Crayton and Karen Taylor standing near a food booth. She took her bag and headed toward them.
“Hi, judge, Karen. Great day for the fest, don’t you think?” Pretty smooth, Toni.
“Well, hello, Toni,” Judge Crayton said, smiling. She shifted her bottle of water to her left hand, wiped her right on her shorts and extended it. “Please, call me Mildred.”
Toni shook her hand and noticed it was dry and chapped. Hmm. Excessive handwashing?
“Good to see you, Toni.” Karen smiled. “What happened to your head?”
“Oh, just a little tumble. Nothing seriously injured except my pride.”
Toni put her hand out. Karen seemed to hesitate just a moment, then shook it.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Judge Crayton said.
“Is the food here good?” Toni asked them, wanting to change the subject.
“It’s the best,” Judge Crayton said, pointing to the sign. It was the Gertrude’s Garage booth. “Their pink lemonade is wonderful. Why don’t I get one for each of us?”
Toni noticed that Doris Jackson was tending the booth and she nodded. There were also a couple other women working there. She was thirsty. What’s the harm? “Sure. That sounds wonderful, judge.”
Judge Crayton frowned.
“Sorry. I mean, thanks, Mildred.”
“Do you want regular or tart?”
“Regular is good for me,” Toni answered.
Judge Crayton nodded and looked at Karen. “I’ll have the tart.”
Judge Crayton ordered three pink lemonades, two tart, and three orders of wings. “Let’s sit over at that table.” She motioned behind the booth where several picnic tables were set up.
As Toni sat down, she spotted Johnnie leaning against a tree several yards away. There was a beautiful young woman talking to her, but she could tell that Johnnie was only half listening, mostly concentrating on Toni. Thank God. Judge Crayton and Karen came carrying the food and drinks. Karen handed one of the lemonades to her. It had a big T on the side of the white Styrofoam cup, written with a marker. “Is this one tart?”
Karen shook her head. “No. When Mildred was ordering, she said, ‘Toni wants regular,’ so the woman put a T on it.” Karen sat across the table and Judge Crayton sat next to her.
Toni took a sip of her pink lemonade, sweetened just right. “This is really good,” She sampled the wings, nice and spicy. “It’s true. Trish does make the best wings in town,” she said. They chatted for about fifteen minutes and she wondered if one of them could be the one. Several women said hello as they passed the picnic table. Both Karen and the judge seemed normal enough, but one never knew.
Suddenly she didn’t feel right. She brushed her forehead and noted that she was sweating. God, is it hot or is it me? She felt sweat dripping down her chest, into her bra. Oh, no. What if this thing shorted out? Would her bra burst into flames? She began to panic and searched the crowd for one of the gang, but found no familiar faces. I’m being ridiculous. She took another drink. I feel funny. Just like . . . oh, shit.
“Are you feeling okay?” Judge Crayton asked. “You don’t look well.”
Both Judge Crayton and Karen were now towering over her. She felt like she was swimming underwater. She was cold and hot at the same time, frantically searching the crowd for a friendly face. She needed help. Why weren’t they coming? She was nearing desperation when a hand gripped her arm. Who is that? It felt familiar. Suddenly there were people all around her. Someone was helping her to her feet. Everything was blurry and swirling around her. She was moving in slow motion, but nothing made sense. Help me! Someone was leading her away. Away from the crowds and away from her friends.
“First Aid here,” a disembodied voice said.
The crowd parted and she felt the hand ease its grip and drop from her arm.
“Let me help you, sweetie,” the voice said.
Toni was scared to death. Someone was trying to lead her away, take her and do something horrible to her. The date rape drug. She felt lips press to her ear and she froze, terrified. She tried to move away, move any part of her body but it wouldn’t cooperate. God, help me.
“It’s me. Vicky. You’re okay.”
She blinked several times, but everything and everyone was blurry and the ground was moving beneath her. What did she say?
“Sweetie, it’s Vicky.”
Toni’s body went limp and she collapsed to the ground.
Boggs was waiting by her SUV silently praying, waiting for Vicky to arrive in that damn golf cart with Toni. She’d heard Vicky on her headset and knew that Toni had passed out. She saw them flying through the park and her stomach felt queasy. The cart slammed to a stop in front of her. Patty ran from somewhere and the two of them grabbed Toni and got her into Boggs’s SUV. Seconds later Toni was leaning out, throwing up.
“Did you get the drink?” Boggs said, clicking the button on her earpiece. The answer was yes and she threw the car in gear and off they went. They were at the hospital in record time.
Once inside the emergency room, Boggs found Sally, the nurse who’d treated Toni the last two times she’d been in the hospital. They were taken into a treatment room almost immediately where Toni promptly threw up again. Sally took a blood sample to run a tox screen. Forty-five minutes had passed and Toni had gotten sick two more times. Sally had started an IV with fluids in an attempt to flush her system. Boggs was holding Toni’s hand as she dozed off and on while Patty sat in a chair nearby. Sally and a doctor came in minutes later and the doctor was holding the chart.
“We got the results back from the tox screen. I’m Claire Henson.” She shook hands with Boggs and nodded at Patty. “There was a highly concentrated form of gamma-hydroxybutyrate in her system. Thankfully she vomited most of it out, but there’s still a little left in her system. We’re running fluids and I’d like to keep her overnight for observation.”
“Is she going to be okay?” Boggs could barely whisper, she was so choked with fear.
“She’s going to be fine,” the doctor said. “We just want to make sure she’s fully hydrated and there are no ill side-effects. Sally will get her settled in a room.” She smiled and left.
Within the hour, Toni was sleeping in her hospital room. Boggs hadn’t left her side. Vicky and Johnnie had arrived and along with Patty, they sat in chairs next to Toni’s bed.
“There’s no question that the drug was in the lemonade and it was super concentrated,” Johnnie said. “But the question is who put it there. Judge Crayton suggested the drinks and paid for them, Doris Jackson prepared them, and Karen Young carried them to the table. And it was clearly labeled as Toni’s drink.”
“We need to watch all three of them very closely,” Vicky said. “I’ve already filled Captain Billings in on what happened. Did you talk to him yet?” she asked Johnnie.
“Yeah, on my way over here. I’ve got two agents on each woman. This is insane. One of them drugged Toni right under our noses.” She slammed her messenger bag down on the floor. “I’m going into the office before I go to the bar tonight and see if I can find anything on this missing grandkid of Dead Granny. Maybe we can find something that connects to Fairfield.”
“Or maybe Jessie can find the dealer tonight,” Patty said. “I’d be willing to get him in a room alone to find out what we need to know.”
“Hopefully it won’t come to that,” Vicky said. “But I’m getting a little worried here. Whoever this obsessed woman is, she’s stepping it up.”
“We’re not using Toni as bait again,” Boggs said quietly. She’d made up her mind. “I won’t stand for it, and if that means we have to move away, then so be it. I’m not risking her life again.”
Vicky put her arm around Boggs’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, sweetie. Until we find this psycho, Toni won’t be put in danger again. I promise.”
Boggs nodded slowly and conti
nued to caress Toni’s arm. Toni’s eyes opened and she tried to sit up.
“Just relax, babe. We’re all here and you’re safe.”
“Can you raise my head a little,” Toni said weakly.
Boggs pushed the button and rearranged the pillows. “Is that better?”
Toni nodded. “What the hell happened?”
“The lemonade was spiked, but you threw up most of it.”
“I don’t feel so good.”
Boggs quickly grabbed an emesis basin, just in case.
Toni smiled. “No, I don’t think I’m going to need that, but thank you.” She looked at the IV in her arm, then back to Boggs.
“The doc said they’re giving you fluids to flush your system and hydrate you.”
“Okay. Can I go home after that?”
“They want to keep you overnight,” Boggs said.
“I’d rather go home as soon as this is done,” she said, pointing to the hanging bag. “I don’t feel safe here.”
“If the doc says it’s okay, then you can go home.”
“I’m not as fuzzy and confused as I was last time.”
“I think that’s because you threw up so much and they’re giving you saline,” Vicky said. “Are you just feeling sick to your stomach?”
“Yeah, mostly. And tired. But I do remember something from Pridefest. When I shook hands with Judge Crayton, her hand was rough and chapped. Maybe that’s from excessive hand washing.”
“Interesting,” Vicky said. “And she’s the one who offered to buy the drinks, and she denied my search warrant before. Maybe she’s the one, but I don’t want to rule the others out until we’re sure.”
“I agree,” Johnnie said. “I’m going to head out.” She grabbed her bag. “Let me know if you guys go home, okay?”
Vicky and Patty left soon after, leaving Boggs alone with Toni. After checking twice with the doctor, Boggs told Toni they could go home in two hours.
Jan sat in her boss’s study sipping her rum and Coke. She’d smoked at least five cigarettes as she listened to her boss repeat over and over how close they’d come.
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