Rescue My Heart

by Lorana Hoopes

  “You want me to run his name? See if he’s telling the truth?” Makenna asked, entering the kitchen.

  Cara barely knew the woman, but she had been a godsend already. She’d watched the bed and breakfast yesterday while Cara was still in the hospital and she’d offered to help out with breakfast while Cara composed herself. If she did this much for strangers, Cara definitely wanted her as a friend. “No, I don’t know why, but I think he’s telling the truth.”

  Makenna’s lips folded into a tight line. “Were you at the crime scene?”

  Cara’s eyes shot to her. “How did you-”

  She pointed toward the dining room with a nod of her head. “Your friend out there told me that’s why he’s here. Said your prints were the only ones there. So, is he telling the truth about that?”

  A deep sigh shook Cara’s shoulders, and her hand scratched at the back of her neck. “I was, but it’s not what you’re thinking. I didn’t kill Steve. In fact, as soon as I realized he was dead, I left his house and called Jordan.”

  “And who was this Steve? Friend? Boyfriend?”

  Cara shook her head. “Nothing like that.” She pushed off the counter and walked a few feet away from Makenna. Makenna was a cop, but could Cara trust her? She stifled another sigh as she realized it didn’t matter. One way or another, her work here was going to get discovered. She might as well tell the story herself.

  “He was sort of a friend. We worked together.”

  “Worked together?” The confusion was evident in Makenna’s voice and echoed in the furrowed lines of her brow.

  A soft chuff escaped Cara’s mouth as she turned to face Makenna. “How much did Bubba tell you about me?”

  Makenna shrugged. “Not much. He said you were former military and now you owned the bed and breakfast. Evidently, you’re pretty handy to have around when people are in trouble, but that’s all. Why?”

  Cara chewed on the inside of her lip as she thought about how to tell her story. “Most of that is true only I didn’t leave the military.”

  The furrow on Makenna’s brow deepened, and she folded her arms across her chest. “What do you mean? Were you never in the military?”

  Cara shook her head. “No, I definitely was. I mean I never left because I’m still in.”

  “I don’t understand. There’s no military base around here, is there?”

  “No. There isn’t. I was sent here undercover. Steve was sent to Clarksville.”

  Makenna’s eyes widened as the pieces clicked into place. “The break in?”

  “Yeah.” Cara ran a hand through her short hair. “I don’t know why they didn’t kill me too, but whoever killed Steve took everything he had been working on. All my research is gone as well.”

  A fire of determination flashed in Makenna’s eyes. “What can I do to help?”

  “Makenna, I can’t ask you to do that. You’re supposed to be spending time with Bubba and seeing if you like it here, not getting sucked up into my drama.”

  Makenna offered a slight smile. “If I decide to stay here, then your drama would be my drama too. Besides, if I know Bubba, he’ll want to be in on this as well. As will your friend Jordan, I’m sure.”

  Cara returned the grin. “You know for someone who just got here, you seem to know a lot.”

  “It comes from years of being a police officer. I didn’t make Captain by sitting on my thumbs. Now, what do we need to do?”

  “We need to get everyone together and share what information I have. The police department and the hospitals need to know what to be looking for in case attacking Fire Beach is the plan. I certainly hope it’s not, but it’s better to be prepared.”

  Makenna jerked her head toward the dining room. “What about our friend out there? Do we bring him in?”

  Cara hesitated. She didn’t know Cole Davenport from Adam, but he’d made it clear he wasn’t letting this go. She just wasn’t sure if he was a friend or a foe. However, the old adage popped into her mind - keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Whatever he was, keeping him close seemed to be the best answer. “Might as well. Maybe he can be of some help though I’m not sure how.”

  “We’ll figure it out.” An audible internal rumbling broke the silence and Makenna placed a hand on her stomach. “Can it wait until after breakfast though? My stomach is telling me it’s time to eat.”

  Cara smiled. “I think we have time for that. What can I make you?”

  “How about a meat omelet with cheese and sourdough toast?”

  “Perfect, I’ll bring it right out.”

  As Makenna left the kitchen, Cara issued a sigh. She had no idea how she was going to fix this, but her own stomach had begun protesting as well. Might as well feed it while she played the scenarios over in her head.

  Grabbing the eggs from the fridge, she whipped up Makenna’s omelet and one for herself and headed out to the dining room. After giving Makenna her breakfast, she pulled out the chair at Cole’s table again and sat down across from him. “It appears you and I need to talk. In private.”

  Though he did not smile, there was a knowing twinkle in his eyes as if he’d known this was coming. It drove Cara crazy and sent her heart fluttering in her chest. She didn’t like the fact that he affected her - she prided herself on the ability to avoid being sucked into the charms of handsome men - but something about him called to her.

  “I figured you’d start to see it my way.”

  He took a sip of his coffee, and Cara had to force her eyes away from his lips. Ugh, why did he have to be so good looking? “So, how long have you been a criminal investigator?” Perhaps if she lightened the mood for a minute, she could focus on her breakfast and not how soulful his eyes were.

  “A few years now. I almost joined the military like my dad but just couldn’t stomach it.”

  “Too patriotic for you?” Cara asked as she speared a chunk of omelet.

  “No, too strict. I like being my own boss. Never been good at following other people’s orders. Probably another reason I became a CI instead of staying on the regular police force.”

  Cara could appreciate that. Though she enjoyed serving, she had also enjoyed being her own boss this last year. “And you enjoy it?”

  Cole opened his mouth to speak and then closed it. He took a sip of his coffee and stared into his mug for a minute before meeting her gaze again. “I did for a while. It filled a hole, but now,” he shook his head. “I don’t know. I feel like it might be time to do something else.”

  Cara wasn’t sure why, but his words saddened her. Something from his past haunted him, but that was true of nearly everyone. She certainly had some ghosts in her past she wished would stay out of her mind. They finished the rest of their breakfast in silence, and when her plate was empty, she pushed her chair back and grabbed both of their plates. “If you want to follow me into the kitchen, we can talk after I drop these off.”

  Cole downed the last of his coffee and joined her. Cara could feel Makenna watching them, but she refused to turn around and meet the woman’s gaze. She had no answers yet for the silent questions she knew would reside there.

  When the kitchen door closed behind them, Cara placed the dishes in the sink and then turned to Cole. “I’ll tell you what I know, but I want some answers first.”

  He shoved his hands into the pockets of his brown leather jacket and leaned against the fridge. “I think I’ve answered enough of your questions. It’s my turn.”

  Cara shrugged. She was honestly surprised he had answered as many of her questions as he had.

  “How did you know Sergeant Steven Steele?”

  “We worked together. I wasn’t lying about that.”

  His brow lifted, and his eyes stared so intently into hers that she almost felt he was boring a hole into her soul. “But?”

  Cara bit her lip. Her gut said she could trust Cole, but what if he was behind this? What if the man in front of her wasn’t the real Cole Davenport but the man who had attacked her back to f
inish the job? “Do you have ID?”

  “What?” The question had obviously caught Cole off guard.

  “ID. You said you’re a criminal investigator named Cole Davenport, but I don’t know what Cole Davenport looks like. If you are him, you won’t mind showing me ID.” She folded her hands across her chest and fixed him with her most intimidating stare.

  The corners of Cole’s lips twitched as if he was fighting a grin. “You are exactly as I imagined you’d be.”

  She wasn’t sure what he meant by that though she guessed he had dug up some information on her when her fingerprints had crossed his system. Still the thought of him imagining her in any way sent a heat crawling up her neck.

  Cole pulled his wallet from his pocket and handed it to her. Flipping open the dark leather flap, she found herself staring at a less than flattering but very similar image of the man in front of her. “Not your best day, I see.” She couldn’t help the teasing jab and enjoyed the pink that graced his handsome features as he reached for the wallet back.

  “It was early in the morning and a long day at the DMV.” He shoved the wallet back in his pocket. “Now, you want to answer my questions?”

  This was it. She was going to take a leap of faith and trust a man she barely knew. “Steve and I were tasked to study a virus that was infecting troops when they went overseas. I was there, but I didn’t kill him.”

  “What were you there for then?”

  “We met up once a month to compare our findings and share information.” Her right hand roved up and down her left arm. “I didn’t know he was dead until I got there. I touched the door, but when it swung open, I knew something was wrong. Careful not to touch anything more, I walked through the place to check on Steve. When I saw him on the bed and the door to his secret closet open, I left. I knew that if they had gotten to him, I was bound to be next.”

  She took a deep breath in an effort to calm her jittering heart. “It was wrong to leave the scene, but I was trying to protect the research. Not that it mattered. The first thing I did was call my boss to let him know. Then I dialed Jordan and asked him to call it in. You can check with him.”

  The muscles in Cole’s throat jumped as he held Cara’s gaze. “And when were you attacked?”

  “As soon as I got home. I had a guest and got back in time to make lunch. Whoever it was attacked me while I was getting ingredients out of the fridge. I don’t know why they didn’t kill me too. Maybe they meant to but Bubba and Makenna arriving threw them off their game. I don’t really know how long I was out before they arrived.” She shrugged and shook her head. “Or maybe there’s another reason. Until I know who did it, I don’t really have an answer for you.”

  Cole nodded and resumed his leaning stance against the fridge. “Fair enough. How about you tell me about this virus study then.”

  Cara took a deep breath. This was a much longer story. “I joined the military right out of college. Unlike you, I enjoyed the direction and the rigor. While I was in, it became apparent that I had a knack for research and my name was passed on to key people higher up the ranks. A few years ago, I was brought into a special group working on a vaccine for Melioidosis.”

  Cole shook his head. “I’m not familiar with it.”

  “Most people aren’t.” Cara stepped away from the sink and began pacing. She couldn’t tell this story standing still. Not when every nerve in her body was on edge. “It’s not a disease that we hear about much in the United States. It’s typically found in Southeast Asia and Australia, but it infects a lot of troops who deploy to those places. Because of this, the military wanted to study it and try to find a vaccine that could prevent its transmission.”

  “That sounds logical, but I’m assuming something bad happened.”

  Cara nodded thinking back to the day everything had changed. “Yeah, about a year ago, our boss told us that we needed to take a different part of the research and split up. Evidently, he had been informed there was a mole in the unit who was trying to steal our information. The hope was that if we took separate pieces then even if something happened to one of us, the information wouldn’t fall into the wrong hands. Unfortunately, not only did the killer steal Steve’s research and the virus samples, but-”

  “Yours? Did they get it before they attacked you?”

  She ran a hand through her hair. “Or after. I’m not sure, but my laptop was gone and when I got back from the hospital yesterday, I went to my room to check. The room had been trashed and all of it was gone.”

  A low whistle escaped from Cole’s lips. “What does this mean?”

  Cara shook her head, wishing she had those answers. “I’m not sure, but the one thing I do know is that I have to start over. I’ll need a new computer, but I backed up some of my work and some of the information I had gotten from Steve to a server in the cloud. It’s not enough, but I need to access it to try and figure out what they might try to do with it, and I need to make sure we have the medication to treat it at the hospitals. I have no idea if they plan to unleash it here or somewhere else, but I want to be prepared just in case.”

  Cole chewed on his bottom lip as he digested her information. His hand raked across his stubbled chin, sending a soft scratching noise through the stillness that sent a tremor down her spine. “Okay, while I’m sure you understand that I still need to do my duty in investigating Steve’s death, I’ll help you however I can.”

  His words sent a shiver of excitement down her spine. This was no time to be falling for a man, but she couldn’t deny that working with him appealed to her on more levels than one. “I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that this could be dangerous.”

  He held her gaze as if accepting the challenge. “I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that doesn’t matter. I have a job to do, and I’m not going anywhere until it’s done.”

  “Good. Well the first thing we need to do is get everyone together. I’d rather only repeat this information once.”

  Cara stared out at the small group she had assembled and tried to gather her courage. It was one thing to tell Cole and Makenna whom she didn’t know well, but now she was going to have to tell her closest friends that she’d been lying to them for over a year.

  “Thank you all for coming. I know you have places you’d probably rather be.”

  “Just maybe eating at Fire Dreams,” Bubba piped up. “Is there a reason we couldn’t have this discussion there?”

  “Actually there is. I didn’t want to create a panic.”

  “A panic over what exactly?” Jordan asked as he leaned forward.

  “For the last year I’ve been working undercover on a vaccine for the military.” Though eyebrows raised and eyes widened, no one interrupted her, so Cara took a breath and continued. “Due to a suspected mole in our organization, my fellow researcher and I were separated and each sent with a part to study. We kept in touch through secure channels when we had to share information and met once a month in person, but most of it was on our own. A few days ago, the other member of my team was murdered. You may not have met Cole Davenport yet, but he is a Criminal Investigator in Clarksville where my coworker was killed.”

  “And how does this involve us?” Dr. Nick Pearson asked. Cara had made sure he and his fellow doctor, Brady Cavanaugh, were both in attendance. She hoped they would share her information with the rest of the hospital.

  “That’s the main issue. I don’t know.” She looked to Cole. “We don’t know. There’s a chance that whoever took this information plans to infect people with Melioidosis. It’s a pretty terrible disease if not treated. With no treatment, nine out of ten patients die. With treatment that drops to four out of ten.”

  “That’s still terrible statistics,” Brady said, and Nick nodded in agreement. “What is the treatment?”

  Cara turned to the easel which held a large pad of white paper. She had scribbled a few things down she thought would be helpful before calling the meeting. Flipping the first page up, she said, “There are a
few options. Ceftazidime and Meropenem are the most common. Both can be administered through an IV. There are also a few oral options, and I’ll be sure to get that information to you both. So, we need to make sure we have the treatments on hand and if not, we need to get them.”

  Brady and Nick exchanged glances and began taking notes in their phones.

  “Okay, so let’s assume infecting people is their plan,” Ivy said softly from her position with the rest of the firefighters, “what am I looking for when I go out on a call? And how contagious is it?”

  Cara nodded and flipped the current page up. “As you can see, it can present in lots of different ways. It could present as a localized infection in which case you would see pain, swelling, fever, ulceration, or abscess. It could also present as a pulmonary infection with a cough, chest pain, high fever, headaches, or anorexia. If it gets into the bloodstream, you could expect to see fever, headaches, respiratory distress, abdominal or joint pain, or disorientation. Finally, it could also be a disseminated infection. The symptoms of that are fever, weight loss, stomach or chest pain, muscle or joint pain, headaches, or seizures.”

  She paused to take stock of the room. Though most were following her, a few glazed eyes stared back at her. She needed to put it in plainer terms. “Needless to say, that’s a lot of symptoms, but fever, cough, headache, and pain are the big ones. I know that leaves it pretty open because a lot of things can present with those symptoms, but my hope is that we’ll keep our eyes open and take a second look at anything that might be suspect. Anything that looks like pneumonia, flu, or tuberculosis should definitely be checked. As for contagion, again it depends. It’s not generally transmitted from person to person.”

  “Well, that’s good news,” Bubba said.

  “Yes and no.” Cara wished she had more definitive answers for her friends. “It is generally transmitted through contaminated soil, water, or air particles.”