HARMED_Seconds From Revenge 2

by Dr L. Jan Eira

  “Something’s happening. I don’t know what yet, but there is definitely something going on.”

  CHAPTER 23

  On the way home, Jack reflected on the afternoon’s events. After putting their son to bed, he and Claire would have a long powwow. She had always been instrumental in helping him think through difficult situations.

  And so it was. Sitting at the dinner table, the Norrises conversed. Jack filled her in on the multiple patients who had perished unexpectedly, most of whom had been seen in the office recently and had been stable and doing well. Shalyn had collected the names of those who had died, and Jack had reviewed the information critically. These deaths had been truly unanticipated and statistically improbable, given the patients’ known stability.

  “If any one of these patients had a cardiac arrest, any doctor would have chalked it up to the fact that sick heart patients die,” said Jack. “Medications and standard medical care can only go so far.”

  Claire narrowed her eyes. “But what bothers you in the number of patients who died in such a short time?”

  “It’s a statistical unlikelihood. There’s something going on.”

  “Do you think Lagrange is back?” Claire’s eyes floated from her hands to Jack’s concerned gaze. “To get revenge?”

  • • •

  It was ten minutes after one in the morning. In the garage of his home, Jack passed by his Lexus LS430, the car he drove regularly, on the way to the four-wheel Chevrolet Tracker. He used this vehicle when the snow piled up too high for his luxury sedan to navigate. Furthermore, the luxury automobile was light silver, not a good color if you want to remain unnoticed in the dark of night. On the other hand, the Tracker was black. Since this vehicle was used infrequently, Jack kept it covered with a protective tarp, which was anchored on the garage floor with four small bricks, one at each corner. The distance between the corner edge of the tarp and each brick was exactly nine fingerbreadths. Jack used this method to ascertain that the Chevy would remain undisturbed without his knowledge.

  About one year ago, a teenager the Norrises had hired to watch their home while they vacationed out of town had denied moving the Tracker from the garage. Jack had the distinct impression the vehicle’s position in the stall had changed and that the boy had probably taken the Chevy out for a spin. He could not be sure of his impression, and the vehicle had suffered no harm, so he let the matter go. The prespecified position of the anchoring bricks would remain a trustworthy informer of a repeat offense forevermore.

  Tonight, this policing tactic proved invaluable. He used his hand to measure the distance between the bricks and the corners of the tarp. They were all exactly nine fingerbreadths. Assured the Chevy Tracker had remained untouched by evil hands, he removed the shroud, opened the garage door, and drove on, as the garage door slowly closed.

  The moonlight was dim due to the sky’s overcast ceilings. Jack drove to a parking lot three blocks away from Metro Soccer Complex. He was sure no one had followed him. Several other vehicles in the lot would help camouflage his intentions. His would blend in with the other vehicles and, he hoped, would remain unnoticed to the world. He wore black pants and a dark blue shirt. On his head, he placed a black cap. He now had twenty minutes to walk three short blocks, which he could do easily in less than five. He would approach from the rear and hunch down by some bushes in the dark. Metro Soccer Complex was the place he frequented to play indoor soccer once a week for several years. As such, he was quite familiar with the building, parking lot, and surrounding area.

  “Dr. Norris. It’s me,” whispered Kate. She was sitting behind a row of thick bushes, her back against the building wall. “Did anybody follow you?”

  “Nobody followed me.” Jack sat next to her. “What’s going on, Kate?”

  Jack noticed Kate’s voice and hands were trembling. “Thank you so much for coming. I really need your help.”

  “Tell me everything.”

  “A man…no—a monster—abducted my sister Amelia.” Kate removed a small picture from her shirt pocket and handed it to Jack.

  Jack’s eyes scanned the photograph. “I remember her from the picnic,” he said, returning the picture to Kate. “I met her, Maggie, and your parents.”

  “He’s got her in a barn. About thirty minutes north of town.”

  “Why did he take your sister? What does he want with her?”

  “He’s blackmailing me,” said Kate, her eyes flooding with tears. “He’s had me change several of your patients’ medications, and some of them have died.” She dabbed her teary eyes with the heel of her hand. “He’s had her for several weeks. The police think I have her. They’ve threatened to put me in jail. If I go to jail, the monster will kill my sister. He’ll kill her if I go to the police. Then me. If he knew I was here with you, he’d kill her in a heartbeat.” She sniffled.

  Jack looked around the parking lot. No one in sight. “Keep going.”

  “He’s got bugs in my apartment and in my car. I exited through a bathroom window and walked here, so he wouldn’t see me leave the apartment. I only live ten blocks away. I think he’s got people working with him at work. I can’t trust anybody.” Kate’s eyes floated from her shoes and met Jack’s. “Except you.”

  Jack nodded. “You did the right thing meeting with me.”

  “I put a GPS bug by the barn. We need to get Amelia out of there.”

  “We’ll figure out a way.” Jack bit his lower lip. “What about my patients who died? Tell me more.”

  “I have a list of the patients I visited. The patients think you’ve recommended the medication changes, so they do it faithfully.” She handed a list to Jack, who looked at it briefly and placed it inside his pocket.

  “When you go to the patient’s home, do you go alone from your apartment?”

  “Yes. I get a call on a special phone he gave me, and he tells me where to go and what to do.”

  “So there are no bugs on you or your clothes, right?”

  “No, only at home and in my car.”

  “OK. Good. I want you to go about your normal business. Do everything he tells you to do, except don’t tell the patients to change their meds. Go to the patients’ homes, but just spend some time with them talking. See how they’re doing. Since he doesn’t hear your conversation, he won’t realize it.”

  “OK,” said Kate.

  “It’ll be a long while until he realizes the meds weren’t changed, and by then we’ll nab him. And save Amelia.”

  Kate nodded.

  Jack put his hand on her shoulder. “I’ll call all the patients you’ve visited and change everything back.”

  “Please tell them I’m so sorry.” Her eyes moistened again, and new tears flooded her eyes.

  “I will. Where did the man get the list of patients?”

  “I printed it out from our computer at work.” Kate went on to explain how the man had given her the inclusion and exclusion criteria of patient characteristics. “There must be three hundred names or more.”

  Jack noticed Kate’s jaw muscles contracting and her fists tightening. He hugged her again for a long moment. “We’ll make this right.”

  “Thank you, Dr. Norris,” she said in between sobs.

  “Do you know who he is? His voice? Smells? Mannerisms? Anything even vaguely familiar to you?”

  “No. He wears a Nixon Halloween mask. I’ve not seen his face.” Kate wiped a fallen tear with her sleeve. “I suspect the new janitor, Cesar. But I can’t be sure.” These words generated a new flood of tears and sniffles.

  Jack held her for a long moment. “We’ll find him, Kate. And we’ll bring your sister home safely.”

  “If I can look deep into his eyes, I may be able to recognize him.” Another sniffle. “But I haven’t been able to do it.”

  Jack nodded. There was a long moment of silence, and then Jack gazed into
her eyes and said, “I want you to give me your permission for me to talk to Claire and to my friend Susan Quentin.” Kate slowly nodded. “Susan’s a police detective, although she’s on leave. She’s having a baby.” Both forced a grin. “What’s the name of the detective you’ve been dealing with for Amelia’s disappearance?”

  “Brad Mills.”

  “Let me see what I can do about that. Now, take me to where the creep keeps Amelia.”

  Both looked around the parking lot and then got up.

  “Dr. Norris,” said Kate softly, “is this the man you stopped three years ago? The Rat Poison guy? Is he trying to get at you for revenge?”

  “I think so,” said Jack. “I’m so sorry you got involved in all this.”

  “It’s not your fault.”

  Both smiled and prepared to leave, walking in the shadows of the night. As their exodus unfolded, approximately thirty yards away from their meeting point, a low-lying bush twitched. Like an unrelenting sleuthhound, Cesar Madera, wearing dark clothes, spied in the dark.

  “He met with her,” whispered the janitor into the cell phone. “They know where the young girl is.”

  CHAPTER 24

  Very pregnant, Susan waddled over to the front entrance when her doorbell rang and let in Jack and Claire. The three sat down in the living room.

  “I didn’t know you drove a Tracker. What happened to the Lexus?” Susan asked.

  “It’s a long story,” said Jack. “I’ll explain later.”

  “He’s back, Susan,” Claire said. “Lagrange is back for revenge.”

  “I’ve had a weird unexplained feeling in my chest that something was wrong for a little while now,” said Jack. He went on to explain about Kate’s sister being abducted by a mysterious man who mandated that Kate change medical regimen of some of his patients, resulting in their unexpected deaths.

  “So this man knows medicine,” said Susan with furrowed eyebrows. “Lagrange sure fits the bill.” Her scowl began to fade. “I’m sure he’s disguised.” She took a deep breath. “Does Kate have any feeling as to who the man might be?”

  “No, she has no clue,” said Jack. “She and I suspect one of the janitors at the office.”

  “When will all this be over?” asked Claire.

  “Susan,” said Jack, his double-barrel gaze on hers, “we know you’re on leave of absence, but we would appreciate your thoughts in working through this.”

  “Of course,” said Susan. She came to Claire and held her hand. “We’ll get through this.”

  Claire nodded.

  “The first step is to get Amelia back,” said Jack. “I know where she is. Do you have any thoughts?”

  Susan squinted her eyes. “I think our best bet is with the police. I don’t see what else we could do without including them.”

  “Kate is absolutely opposed to getting the police involved. This guy has a lot of monitoring equipment all over the place,” said Jack. “But I agree with you. How else can we get the girl out of there?”

  “I could arrange a covert operation involving a small rescue team and go in during the night,” suggested Susan. “We’ve had some success in the past with similar operations.”

  “Let me talk to Kate first. I’m meeting her again tonight,” said Jack.

  Susan nodded. “If Kate agrees, I’ll assemble a small team of highly trained officers who can go in and get the girl.” Susan stood up as she talked. “Of course, there are risks in this type of operation. Be sure Kate understands that. But there are risks in doing nothing, too.”

  “We appreciate your help,” said Claire.

  “After the rescue operation, we need to find out who Lagrange is. Do you have any ideas?” asked Susan.

  “I’m sure he’s disguised and works at Newton Memorial,” said Jack.

  “Talk to the hospital’s HR department,” said Susan. “Get a list of all people hired at the hospital and clinic over the last three years.”

  “I hope Lagrange is behind bars soon,” said Claire. “I don’t think I’ll get a minute’s rest until he is.”

  CHAPTER 25

  At two in the morning, Jack and Kate met again behind the same shrub in the parking lot at the Metro Soccer Complex.

  “How are you managing?” asked Jack.

  Kate shrugged her shoulders. “I can’t wait till this is all over.”

  “Claire and I met with Detective Susan Quentin. She thinks the best way to get your sister out is to go in with a small police team. People trained in this type of rescue.”

  “What if the monster…” Kate’s eyes began to sparkle with unshed tears.

  “There are risks,” said Jack. “Nothing will be done without your approval.”

  “I’m worried. I worry if we intervene, but I worry more if we do nothing.” She wiped her tears. “I can’t stand by and do nothing any longer.”

  “If you agree, Susan can get a team together within twenty-four hours.”

  Kate stood still a long moment and then shook her head. “I want to be nearby when it happens. I want to be the first person to comfort Amelia after she’s rescued.”

  “I’ll be with you the whole way. Susan’s expecting my call.” Jack pulled out his cell phone and dialed. “Kate agrees with the rescue operation.” A few seconds later, he hung up.

  “What’s the plan?” asked Kate.

  “Tomorrow at two in the morning,” said Jack. “We’ll meet here at Metro Soccer Complex.”

  Jack and Kate hugged and then departed the area.

  “It’s going down tomorrow night,” said Cesar into his mobile device from his hiding place in the bushes. “They couldn’t leave well enough alone.”

  • • •

  By 2:50 the next morning, Jack, Claire, and Kate were in position. From approximately a quarter mile up the road, the three looked on as the small group of policemen covertly traversed the cornfield that stood between them and the small barn. Armed with machine guns, the cops hunched down as they slowly walked toward the cabin that had sheltered Amelia for the last few weeks.

  Inside, the girl slept peacefully, unaware of the circumstances lurking about. The moonlight and cloud cover added to the mystique of the occasion and aided in providing cover for the law enforcers. A cloud pergola over most of the area impeded, for the most part, unwanted illumination by the small moon overhead. The three observers from afar squinted in hopes of witnessing every move as the small cadre pushed on. Jack gave a reassuring nod and wink toward the two women, hoping, in vain, to disguise his apprehension.

  On the opposite side of the barn, a tall, large bale of hay was stacked on a terrain elevation. Perched on top of it, a man with night binoculars watched the law-enforcement agents’ methodic, slow, stealthy progress toward the building. From his elevated vantage point, Cesar Madera could see both the advancing bluecoats and Amelia, who slept soundly on the cot inside the structure.

  “I can’t believe this, but they’re really coming,” whispered Cesar into his cell phone. “It’s a rescue operation. I’ll be ready by the time they arrive.” He closed his phone and stuck it in his pocket. He shook his head slowly. Fools!

  In the background, katydids and bullfrogs harmonized with each other, providing nighttime hums.

  As well-trained guerrillas armed to the teeth, the cops unhurriedly and soundlessly continued to approach the outbuilding, now approximately fifty yards from the structure. The intensity of the moment was unbearable for Jack, Claire, and Kate. They felt powerless, immobilized by intense fear and horror, coupled with colossal anticipation.

  “I’m so nervous,” whispered Kate. “I can’t stand this much longer.”

  “They’ll get Amelia out safely,” said Jack. “I just know it.”

  “I wish we could do more,” said Kate. “More than watch from way out here.”

  “It’s all in their hands,”
said Claire.

  “I’m hopeful that—” Jack started to say. What happened next smothered his words and choked his throat.

  At that moment, a loud explosion and a massive flash lit up the night and echoed deafeningly in their ears. Taken totally by surprise, the beholders held their breaths, their eyes fixated on the barn ablaze. In bewilderment, hands clasped mouths, hearts froze, and color drained from their faces.

  “No! No! No!” said Kate, her words increasingly loud and panic stricken as the unspeakable emerged into reality before her eyes. She stood up and prepared to run toward the burning structure down the hill. Jack caught up to her after only a few steps. He held her tightly, irate tears flooding his eyes and adrenaline saturating his veins.

  “Lagrange, you’re a dead man!” he yelled.

  Claire joined them, and the three wept inconsolably for several long moments, floods of tears making tracks on their cheeks. The heartbreak and devastation was overwhelming to the three, paralleled only by unquenchable guilt.

  Down the hill, Amelia’s most recent abode gleamed brightly in an expanding, fiery ball. Burning, the brilliant structure collapsed. Insatiable sorrow swathed Kate, Jack, and Claire.

  Soon more cops descended on the scene. Then fire trucks and ambulances. Several minutes later, police dogs and their handlers abounded in the area, initiating a massive search, hoping to apprehend the executioner.

  While Claire and Kate sat in the car, Jack made his way to the control area. When he returned, he was accompanied by Nai Trepur.

  “I am soo sorry thees happened,” said Nai Trepur.

  “Horrible,” agreed Claire.

  “I came as soon as I heard of eet to offer my assistunce. I am soo sorry,” said Nai.