“I couldn’t disclose anything while the case was active, but I appreciated you calling with some insightful leads.”
“Okay.”
“Agent Hart authorized me to answer any of your questions. Is there anything you want to know?”
Where to start? I had a million questions, but my mind went blank.
Detective Summer reached into a cardboard box at his feet and tossed me a bag of animal crackers. “Here, have these. I heard they help.”
I laughed and opened the bag. “Want one?” I took a handful of the pink and white animal cookies and offered some to him.
“Don’t mind if I do.” He held up a white elephant with colored sprinkles.
I took a minute to gather my thoughts and munch on the sweet cookies. “You know Sheriff Daniels?” It was more of a statement than a question.
“Yes. I’ve been watching him for a couple of years now. It’s all been undercover. The DEA reached out when they first began to suspect that there was someone on the inside of the meth trade here.”
“How did you get assigned to follow him if you’re in Bend?”
“The law enforcement community is pretty small in Oregon, and the DEA recruited me for the job because of my background in LA—I was on narcotics for ten years. It has been challenging. People with much higher pay grades than me figured out how to send Daniels out my way for trainings, and I’ve been out to Portland and the Gorge more times than I can count.” He reached for another cookie. “My wife is going to be thrilled that we finally cracked this case.”
“So Sheriff Daniels was working with Congressman Riley?”
“Among lots of others. This is the tip of the iceberg, but yes, both Daniels and Riley are going to prison for many, many years. I’m sure the DEA will ask for life.”
All this time, I’d been right next to Pops’ killer—or, I guess, reason for going underground. And Gam. Poor Gam. Sheriff Daniels had used her to get to me.
“Did he know that my dad was alive?”
Detective Summer looked thoughtful. “Who? Daniels. Not as far as I know. The reason he was tailing you was because he was worried that it would come out that he’d put a hit out on Charlie.”
“He put a hit out on him?”
“Right, but we got wind of it before it went down. We were able to stage the bike accident, and Daniels assumed his guy finished the job.”
“But what about the body?”
“There was no body. There was never a body. We didn’t need a body. We needed a mangled bike and a police report.”
“But I thought Sheriff Daniels was one of the investigators on Pops’—sorry—my dad’s case.”
“He was, but he wasn’t at the scene. It’s amazing what makeup and a faked coroner’s report can achieve.”
I kicked my feet on the cement, trying to make sense of everything Detective Summer had said. Pops’ accident had been elaborately staged by the police and DEA. He had been alive this entire time and never once attempted to reach out to me.
Anger welled again.
“Are you okay, Ms. Reed?”
“Not really. Would you be fine if you learned that your dad was alive when he’d left you to believe that he was dead?”
I could hear the empathy in Detective Summer’s soft response. “Give it time, Ms. Reed. I think you’ll come to understand that sometimes we have to risk everything to protect the ones we love.”
“Maybe, but I’m not there yet.”
He nodded. “Would you like to see him? He wants to see you.”
I hesitated. My pulse pounded in my chest. How could I say no? Not trusting myself to speak, I gave him a half nod and hung my head. Detective Summer pushed back his chair and walked toward the warehouse.
This was it. I was about to come face-to-face with the father I thought I had lost forever. Every emotion possible surged through my body. What would I say to him? I wanted him to wrap me in his arms, and I wanted to hurt him for hurting me.
I didn’t have a chance to decide whether I was going to hug him or punch him because all of a sudden a huge explosion erupted from the warehouse, pulsing from the ground and knocking me off the chair.
Chapter 38
Thick, acrid smoke billowed in the sky. Flames shot out of the warehouse like fireworks. All around me police and DEA agents leapt into action, shouting out orders and running toward the burning warehouse. A ringing sound in my ears made it impossible to make out anything they were saying. I sat up and saw Detective Summer sprinting toward me. He was mouthing something that I couldn’t hear.
As he got closer I realized he was yelling for me to run. “Run! It could blow again. Get back!”
I was glad to see that he hadn’t been hurt by the blast, but he was having trouble moving. I didn’t think I was hurt, but everything seemed to be happening outside of me, as if I was watching the scene play out on a movie screen.
“Run!” he screamed again. That got my attention. I pushed to my feet and raced toward the barricade where police were forcing the camera crews and everyone watching farther back.
I could feel the heat from the fire as I hurdled my body over the barricade and onto the street. Scanning the mob for Greg or Matt, I covered my mouth with my hand to try to block the smoke. It didn’t work. I coughed and wheezed as I stumbled past news teams reporting excitedly. “That’s right, Sherry,” I overhead one reporter say. “I’m here in the industrial district where a major drug bust has gone down and now one of the warehouses has exploded. We’re going to try to get a tighter shot for you, but as I’m sure you can see, flames are shooting out of the roof.”
Could this day get any more surreal? Someone grabbed my arm. “Megs! You’re okay.” Matt tackled me into a hug. “I’ve got her!” he yelled to Greg, who was scanning the mayhem a few feet away. Firetrucks with their sirens wailing flew down the road.
Matt rubbed my arms. “Megs, I’ve got you.”
“Thanks.” I stuck my fingers in my ear and opened my jaw to try to get them to pop. Everything sounded muffled.
“We saw the building blow, but then everyone scattered and we couldn’t find you.” Matt’s voice was thick with emotion.
“I know.”
Greg waited for a fire truck to screech into the parking lot. In a matter of seconds, the firefighters had connected hoses and began dousing the building with a steady stream of water.
“What happened?” Greg asked, waving smoke from his face.
“I don’t know. One minute I was talking to Detective Summer and the next minute . . . boom.”
“You think they rigged it to blow?” Matt asked Greg.
“Could be. Or maybe they had a lab in there.”
I’d read a number of reports about meth lab explosions while reviewing Pops’ work. Oftentimes investigators had to deem structures used as meth labs as uninhabitable due to the highly toxic mix of chemicals used to manufacture the drug. “Should we be breathing this?” I coughed.
“Probably not.” Greg waved the air again. “But we’re here, right?”
None of the emergency responders were ushering us away, so that had to mean something. Three more fire trucks arrived on the scene and added their powerful hoses to the fight to knock down the growing flames. I watched in awe as the flames consumed the warehouse. Then my heart dropped. Detective Summer had walked toward the warehouse when he asked if I was ready to see Pops. Could Pops have been in the building when the explosion happened? I started to run toward the barricade. Matt held me back. “Megs, what are you doing?”
“Pops! I think Pops was in there.”
Matt looked to Greg, whose face turned ashen.
“We have to do something!” I wailed.
Greg nodded to Matt. “Stay with her. I’ll go see what I can find out.”
Matt massaged my shoulder. “I’m sure he’s fine. Why did you think your dad was in there?”
“Because Detective Summer asked me if I wanted to talk to him and then headed for the warehouse. I think
he was going in there to get him. Oh, my God, Matt, I can’t lose him again. Not after I just found him.”
“Don’t worry. Why would he have been in the warehouse? He was at the Lava Cave with you, remember?”
That was true. Maybe Matt was right. Maybe Detective Summer was going into the warehouse to radio to one of his colleagues. I felt a profound sense of helplessness as the firefighters doused the failing structure with water. The sound of beams crashing and water pummeling the roof mingled with the dull ringing in my ears.
Greg returned a few minutes later. I could tell he was uneasy. He looped his hands together and stretched his fingers. “No news. They won’t tell me anything. They’re close to having the fire contained, and as soon as it’s safe they’ll send a team inside.”
“So all we can do is wait?” I asked.
“I’m afraid so.”
The next hour stretched on forever. Greg and Matt tried their best to keep me calm, but I couldn’t stand still. I looped back and forth, through the throng of reporters and growing crowd of gawkers. News of the explosion had spread, bringing rubberneckers in by the carload. The police held the perimeter and refused to give any updates. Why weren’t they doing anything? If Pops—or anyone—had been inside the warehouse, could he have survived?
Finally, I watched as the fire crew gave the signal to send the ground team in. They had to use axes to chop through the back entrance. I held my breath as they broke through. Matt grabbed my hand and squeezed it tight. “It’s going to be okay, Megs.” I appreciated his words, but I could hear the doubt in his voice.
We couldn’t see anything from our vantage point. Another team wearing heavy firefighting gear and gas masks was called to help. Suddenly, there was a flurry of activity. A firefighter shouted, “We’ve got a hit on the infrared!”
An ambulance waited at the ready, and paramedics hurried over with a stretcher and medical supplies. I couldn’t watch, so I buried my face in Matt’s chest. He stroked my hair and kissed the top of my head. Please let Pops be okay, I prayed to the Universe. I forgive him for whatever he had to do. Just let me see him again.
A firefighter raced from the building and called the paramedics over. “They’ve found someone,” Matt whispered in my ear.
“Can you see anything? Is it Pops?” My throat tightened.
“I don’t know.” Matt’s tone was somber.
Then, in a blur, someone was loaded onto the stretcher and raced into the ambulance. The driver turned on the siren and lights and sped away. “Do you think . . .” I started to ask Matt but couldn’t finish the question.
“Don’t think. Let’s just wait and see.”
Someone shouted, “Ms. Reed! Is there a Meg Reed here?”
My heart flopped. Matt answered for me. “She’s here.” He waved and guided me toward the barricade. Detective Summer was waiting for me. He studied my face for a moment. I braced myself for the worst. “Ms. Reed, they found Charlie inside.”
I squeezed Matt’s hand so hard I thought I might draw blood.
“They’re transporting him to the hospital,” Detective Summer continued. “I don’t know his status.”
“Where? Where did they take him?”
“St. Charles.”
“Let’s go.” I jerked Matt away without waiting to hear what else Detective Summer was trying to tell me.
“Megs, wait.” Matt tried to stop me, but a surge of adrenaline pulsed through my body.
“No, I’m going—right now. You can stay, but I’m going.”
Matt tagged after me. Greg caught up with us. “They found Charlie,” Matt said, trying to match my pace. We ran to his car. For the first time that I could remember I actually kept pace with them. “Let’s go. St. Charles,” I ordered Matt and clicked my seat belt. “That’s ironic, isn’t it? They’re taking Charlie to Charles.”
“Your dad was a saint,” Matt replied, turning on the engine as Greg crammed his long legs into the backseat.
“Was? What do you mean was a saint? He is a saint.”
Matt navigated through the crowd. I caught him giving Greg a funny look in the rearview mirror.
“What? What are you two not saying?”
Greg cleared his throat. “Listen, Meg, that was a huge explosion. I don’t think the odds of surviving a blast like that are very high.”
“Yeah,” Matt agreed. “And he was in there for a long time. So much smoke and heat.”
“You both think he’s dead, don’t you?” I knew their logic made sense, but I refused to believe that the Universe would be so cruel as to give me a second chance with Pops and then take it away. He had to be alive. He had to.
“I think it’s important to prepare yourself for the possibility that he didn’t survive, or if he did that he could be in pretty bad shape,” Greg said cautiously.
“He’s alive. I know it,” I insisted, rolling down my window and letting the breeze hit my face.
When we arrived at the hospital Greg inquired at the nurse’s station. We were told that he was in surgery. I let out a cheer. “See, he is alive! He’s fine.”
The nurse frowned. “I’m sorry, but I’m not sure that he’s fine. I have him listed in critical condition. I’ll send a surgeon out to speak with you as soon as possible.”
Greg deposited me on a hard couch in the waiting room. “I need to make a couple of calls. Matt is parking the car and then will grab some coffees. Do you need anything else?” I shook my head and turned my attention to a small TV that was running a terrible reality dating show where the contestants wore their birthday suits to meet their blind dates at a restaurant. No thanks. You could not pay me a million dollars to go on a date naked.
As promised, Matt appeared a few minutes later with an iced mocha with whipped cream piled as high as Mt. Bachelor on the top. “I thought this might help.”
“Thanks.” I gave him a weak smile. “Do you think he’s going to be okay?”
He met my eyes and frowned. “I don’t know, but I hope so. If anyone is a fighter, it’s your dad.”
I sipped the cold, creamy coffee and called on every tool I had learned from Gam. Greg joined us on the couch as minutes turned into hours. “What’s taking them so long?” I asked, breaking a long stretch of silence. We had been waiting for almost three hours and had yet to get any updates.
Greg patted my hand. “Would you rather have the surgeon out here updating you or operating on your dad?”
It was impossible to craft any kind of comeback to that logic. Of course I wanted the surgeon focused on healing Pops, but I was also desperate to know what had happened. Why was he in surgery? Had he been burned? Had he been injured in the explosion?
I was about to go for a walk around the hospital when the sound of a collection of female voices disrupted the quiet waiting room. I looked up to see Gam, Mother, and Jill walk into the lobby. Never before had I been so happy to see my tribe of women. I jumped up and ran over to them. “What are you doing here?” I squealed as we enveloped one another in a group hug.
“Greg called,” Jill said when we broke apart. “We came right away. I can’t believe it. None of us can. It’s all we talked about on the drive here.”
“You didn’t know?” I asked Mother. She must have left in a hurry, because instead of one of her tailored and color-coordinated outfits she was wearing yoga pants and a workout top. Her face was splotched. I wondered if she had been crying. Even her chestnut brown hair, which usually looked as if it had been professionally styled and never had so much as a single strand out of place, was limp and disheveled.
She swallowed and shook her head. “I had no idea.”
“Gam?” I turned to Gam, who glowed with energy.
“I’m shocked, but the Universe can work miracles, Margaret. I’ve been sending your father radiant waves of green and gold healing energy.” She wore three separate strings of crystal and gems around her neck—black onyx beads and aquamarine and amethyst crystals.
We piled onto the chairs and
couches in the waiting room. I still felt like I was in a fuzzy dream, but I was surrounded by everyone I loved. Gam closed her eyes and let her head fall back. For once, Mother didn’t say a word. She gave Gam a nod of approval and held my hand. Gam’s body transformed, as did the sterile hospital waiting room. A warm yellow glow filled the germ-free space. I collapsed onto Mother as the dense healing energy enveloped us.
I lost all sense of time. Gam’s face transformed. Her lips parted into a dreamy smile as her body rocked gently from side to side. Her power was palpable. I pictured silky ribbons of gold and green light pouring into Pops’ body. He had to be feeling this. I knew I was, and I could tell from the hushed, almost hallowed vibe in the waiting room that everyone else was too. Jill and Matt sat across from me with their arms linked. Greg sat on the other side of Mother. He held his hand over his spider bite and rested his head on the back of the stiff pleather couch. I was aware of activity around us—nurses ushering patients into triage rooms and doctors being paged for surgery—but I sat in a misty, somber, calming fog.
Gam finally broke the spell by opening her eyes and rubbing her hands together. “I don’t know about you,” she addressed everyone with a serene smile and glassy gaze, “but I’m having a hard time coming back into my body.” Blinking rapidly she continued. “I think I was off the planet with that blast. I saw winged angels wrapping Charlie in their light.”
Mother cleared her throat. I sat up and braced myself for her snarky comeback, but instead she reached for Gam’s hand and whispered, “Thanks, I’m sure he felt that.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. Mother had actually thanked Gam for sending Pops healing energy. Was I in some sort of dream or parallel Universe? Before I had a chance to regroup, Mother grabbed my hand. “Mary Margaret, this cut is nasty. I thought I felt something while we were holding hands.” She stared at her palm, which had been stained with my blood. “You’re bleeding. Someone needs to take a look at this immediately.”
There was no point in trying to protest. She was already halfway to the nurses’ station. Gam shrugged and followed after her. Greg took the opportunity to snag her empty chair. “Whoa, that was heavy. Your grandmother is an impressive force. I see where you get it.”
In Cave Danger Page 22