by Mel Comley
“You got the specimen?”
“Yes, but he’s waking up. Move your ass. Either go get another sedative, or get outside and help me strap him down.”
Val held the door open, and Candy pushed the gurney to the cab. “Open the back door, and I’ll grab him under his shoulders. You take his knees and help me lift.”
They tugged and heaved until they had him on the gurney. Candy pulled a restraint across his chest and tightened it. She secured his knees as his eyes started to flutter open. “His feet, Val!”
Val finally moved, tying his feet, and Candy pushed the bed into the lab. “Do we give him a sedative or not?”
“Not if we’re going to start the trials. The one we gave him works fast, but also dissipates from the system in hours. Come to the office and tell me what happened.”
“Not yet. We have to get rid of the cab. They have tracking systems in those things. Do you have any accelerant here?”
“There’s gasoline out back. Rico keeps it here just in case.”
“Grab it, lock up, and meet me out front.”
Val tossed her the keys. “Lock the lab and the front door. I left my car out back.”
~
Candy drove the cab for over an hour before she found what appeared to be a small dirt road leading down to a creek. It was far enough from the road not to be seen immediately and yet close enough, it would be found eventually. Val parked her car behind.
“Did you get the gasoline?” Candy asked.
Val held up a can. “Yes, do we just pour it in and set it on fire?”
“I saw this on TV once.” Candy pushed the lever to open the gas tank, unscrewed the top, and searched the cab for an old rag. After dousing it with gasoline, she pushed it into the hole. “Pour the rest over the seats.”
Val did as she was told. “There’s another can in the car if you want it.”
“Get it.” Candy opened the hood, took the second can from Val, and poured the gasoline over the motor. “Pop the trunk for me and throw both these inside.”
“You must have watched a lot of TV,” Val commented, tossing the empty gas cans in the trunk. “But I’m glad you did.” She walked to the front of the cab and handed Candy a lighter.
“Turn the car around and get ready to get out of here. The one thing TV doesn’t teach you is how long it will take before this thing blows up.” Candy waited until Val had the car headed toward the highway, then she lit another piece of rag and tossed it onto the front seat. Flames ignited immediately, and she rushed to the gas tank and lit the rag there. Val had already opened her door, and Candy jumped in and slammed it. “Let’s go.”
Val just made it onto the highway as an explosion roared behind them.
Candy chuckled. “That was close.”
“Tell me what happened to Rico?”
“I would if I knew. I took a cab to the hospital like we’d planned. When I got there, they were putting Rico into a cruiser. There were a lot of cops there, plus I’m pretty sure I saw the chief of police. I went into the hospital and carried out our mission.”
“We’ll have to start the trials immediately. When Samael comes here—and he will—we need something to appease his anger.”
“Don’t we need to run scans and bloodwork?”
“We’ll fake those, unless we can get his records from the hospital. There’s no time to waste now.”
“What do we do about Rico?” Candy asked.
Val sighed. “We’ll have to wait for Samael. You did a good job today, Candy. I’m proud of you.”
~
Alex raced into the hospital without waiting for Crimshaw, barely missing a lady as she exited. “Sorry, ma’am, police emergency.”
“Can I help you?” an older lady asked from the table next to the elevators.
“Yes, I’m Detective Alex Fox. I’m looking for a couple of my fellow detectives.”
Tamara stuck her head out of a door and motioned for Alex to join her.
“Never mind. I see them.”
“We’ve been going through the camera footage, but so far, we haven’t seen anything out of the ordinary. A nurse stopped by to tell us they’d found some guy in the parking lot behind the hospital with his pants down around his knees. He’d been drugged. We’re waiting on the doctor to let us question him.”
“I’ve got something,” Reefer called out from the video monitor. “See this?” He pointed at a cab pulling in as they were arresting Rico. “It disappears from the camera view, but there’s a young lady in the backseat.” He fast-forwarded. “Now here. See the cab coming out?”
“The girl’s driving it, and there’s no guy in sight,” Alex commented. “Our drugged guy must be the cab driver. They have tracking systems, but we need to know what cab company.”
Crimshaw walked up beside her. “Let’s go find that doctor before he gets tied up.”
Alex followed him from the room, her heart beating way too fast. I am not going to panic. That was what Samael wanted, and Nobby would hate her if she gave in to him.
Crimshaw pushed open the doors to the emergency room and crossed to the nurses’ station. “Detective Jacob Crimshaw. There was a man brought in here recently found in the parking lot. We need to talk to him.”
“Wait here for a moment, and I’ll check with the doctor.” The nurse left the desk and disappeared through a doorway, only to return a minute later. “Dr. Gordon says he’s coming around. If you’ll have a seat, we’ll let you know when you can go in.”
“What room is he in?” Crimshaw asked.
“Excuse me?”
“Never mind. We’ll find him ourselves.” Alex placed her hands on the station and leaped over it, heading for the door the nurse had just come out of. “Meet me at the patient door, Crimshaw, and I’ll let you in.”
“Ma’am, you can’t go in there.”
Crimshaw chuckled and headed toward the patient door. “I wouldn’t try to stop her if I were you.”
Alex opened the patient door as the call for security went out over the intercom. “We better hurry.” They took opposite sides of the hall, peeking behind curtains. “Found him,” Alex called.
Crimshaw joined her at the curtain. “How do you know it’s him?”
“Gut feeling,” Alex said.
Footsteps pounded in the hallway, and Crimshaw pushed her inside the room. “You question him. I’ll hold them off.”
Alex crossed to the bed and read the chart someone had left lying on it. I’ll have to find Nobby another hospital if they’re always this careless. “Mr. Wilkins, can you hear me?”
He opened his eyes. “Who are you?”
“Detective Alex Fox, sir. I need to ask you a few questions.”
“Why ain’t you out catching the bitch who stole my cab?”
“We’re working on that, sir. Did she have anyone with her?”
“Yeah, her grandpa.”
“Did he say anything?”
“Nah, he was knocked out cold. I had to help her get him in the backseat.”
Alex felt her rage rising. “And you didn’t think that was odd?”
“Hell, lady, you wouldn’t believe the shit I’ve seen. Ain’t nothing odd to me no more.”
“What cab company do you work for?”
“Triple X.”
Alex could hear the voices outside rising. “Thank you, Mr. Wilkins. We’ll be in touch if we need anything else.” She walked out of the room, and found Crimshaw cornered by three security officers. “Let’s go, Crimshaw.”
“Not yet, lady. You two have got some explaining to do.”
The best defense is a good offense. Alex walked up to him, wagged her finger in his face, and tutted. “No, your security firm has some explaining to do. We have a missing detective that was taken out of here right under your noses. Now, get the hell out of our way. We’ll be filing a complaint with the hospital. Come on, Crimshaw.”
Crimshaw grinned at them and shrugged. “I never argue with the lady myself.”
“Who are you?” Nobby asked. “And where the hell am I?”
“I’m Dr. Jackson. Please relax, Mr. Adams.” Val mixed the medication, hooked up the IV, and placed the pole beside the bed. She turned to Candy. “We’ll need temperature, blood pressure and heart rate every thirty minutes. The things to look for, of course, are seizures, vomiting, loss of bowel control, and heart attack.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Nobby strained against the restraints, trying to dislodge the needle.
“How long before we know?” Candy asked.
“About six hours. I’m going to try to rest in the office for a while. I’ll have the intercom on, so if you need me, call me.”
Candy grabbed the data sheets and pulled a chair up beside the bed. “We’ll be fine. Mr. Adams and I have some medical history to discuss.”
Nobby glared at her. “I ain’t telling you nothing.”
“Oh, but you will, Mr. Adams. You see, I’m not as nice as Dr. Jackson, and I don’t give a shit whether you live or die. She does, because she’s scared of our boss. I’m not. First question: how old are you?”
“Go to hell.”
Candy pulled out a syringe and poked him in the stomach with the needle. “I can do this all night until you look like a pincushion. How old are you?”
“Sixty-nine.”
“How much do you weigh?”
“A hundred and sixty-five.”
She smiled at him, took a cloth, and wiped the sweat from his brow. “See how much better everything goes when you cooperate? What type of cancer do you have?”
“Colon.”
“What stage?”
“Stage four.”
“How sad. Are you taking treatments for it?”
“No.”
“Have you had a CEA test run in the last six months?”
“Yeah, was supposed to have another today, but your sorry ass came along.”
Candy chuckled. “When was the last one you had?”
“Friday.”
“Do you know the results?”
“Thirty.”
Candy frowned. “That’s kind of low for a stage four, isn’t it?”
“That’s what the doctor said. Figured the test was messed up somehow.”
She flipped the chart. “Has your cancer metastasized from its original spot?”
“Yeah, dipshit, that’s why it’s stage four.”
Candy sighed and poked him in the stomach with the needle again. “There’s no reason to be nasty, Mr. Adams.”
“Honey, you ain’t seen nasty until Alex gets a hold of you.”
“I suppose Alex is your son?”
“My partner, Detective Alexandra Fox.”
Candy laughed. “Goes to show you it really is a small world.”
“What do you mean?”
She leaned in close and whispered in his ear. “My boss is Samael. He’s going to love having you as a guest.”
~
“Reefer, you and Tamara go to Triple X Cab Company and see if they can trace where the vehicle is. Crimshaw and I are going to the house and make arrangements for the kids and Blake.”
“Chief Brown sent several patrol cars to the area. They should be fine,” Crimshaw said. “Let’s stick together.”
Alex shook her head. “The phone he gave me is there. I’m going to call him, Crimshaw.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Tamara remarked. “Don’t mention his brother’s arrest. If he doesn’t know about it yet, we can use Rico as bargaining power.”
Alex headed for the car. “Call us if you find anything.”
Crimshaw opened Alex’s door for her. “We’ll find him, Alex.”
Alex didn’t answer, images of Scarlet’s tortured, bloody body present in her memory. “Promise me something, Crimshaw.”
“Anything, Alex.”
“We may never be able to prove he did anything wrong, so if we find him, I’m going to kill him. It’s the only way I know to stop him.”
“So what do you want me to promise?”
She turned in the seat to face him. “That even if he’s unarmed, you won’t stop me.”
Crimshaw snorted. “You don’t need a promise from me on that. Be glad to blow the son of a bitch away myself.”
They finished the trip in silence, and Crimshaw turned into the drive. The car barely stopped before Alex jumped out and rushed for the door.
“Alex, slow down, dammit. We need to think about this.”
Blake opened the door, and she brushed past him, heading to the kitchen. “What’s going on?”
Crimshaw took the steps two at a time. “She’s gonna call Samael. Stop her, Blake.”
Alex rummaged through Reefer’s backpack until she found the phone. Blake jerked it from her hand.
“Give it back.”
“Not yet. Not until you calm yourself and we talk.”
Tears filled her eyes. “He’s got Nobby, Blake. Let me have the damn phone.”
“Crimshaw?”
“Somebody’s got him. We figure it’s the Escape Artist.”
Blake pulled out a chair. “Sit down, Alexandra, and let’s talk for a minute. I promise I’ll give the phone to you and you can call him.”
“We’re wasting time.”
Blake sat across from her. “What are you going to say to him?”
“I’m going to ask him where Nobby is.”
“Just like that? And you think he’s going to tell you?”
Alex didn’t answer, and Blake continued. “Has he sent you any texts or videos?”
“No, but he will. You know he will.”
“Get her a glass of water, Crimshaw.”
Crimshaw filled a glass and set it in front of Alex.
“Drink that and take a few deep breaths.” Blake passed the phone across the table. “Call him and ask him why he’s punishing you. Whatever you do, keep him talking to you as long as you can. Engage him—cajole him if you have to—but stay calm.”
Alex swallowed the water, opened the phone, and punched in zero. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“Hello, love. Miss me?”
“Why are you punishing me? I did everything you asked.”
“I believe you were quite rude the last time we talked.”
“You woke me from a bad dream. I was shocked, vulnerable when you called.”
Blake gave her a thumbs-up.
“So are you asking me to forgive you, Alexandra?”
“Yes, Samael. Tell me where he is, please?”
“Where is who, love?”
She bit her lip to keep from screaming at him. “Nobby. You took him this morning. I want him back.”
“The old man you live with?”
Blake mouthed, “Calm down.”
“Yes, he’s been my only friend here in the States. Until you, of course.”
“Are we friends, Alexandra?”
“Isn’t that what you want, Samael? For us to be friends?”
He laughed. “No, love, I have much more in mind than friendship, but you’re not ready for that yet. I didn’t take your Nobby, though. Tell me what happened.”
She bit her lip again, this time drawing blood. “He was at the hospital for bloodwork; now he’s missing.”
“What’s wrong with him?”
“He has cancer.”
The line was silent for almost a minute. “I don’t have him, but give me a couple of hours, and I’ll find him for you. You’ll owe me, Alexandra. Keep your phone close.”
The line went dead, and Alex let go of the breath she’d been holding. “He’s lying. He has to be lying. Who else would want to take Nobby?”
“He asked you what was wrong with Nobby. He’s in pharmaceuticals, and we’re pretty sure the first three girls were used for testing. He may not have taken Nobby, but he may know where he is.”
Crimshaw’s phone rang, and he answered it. “It’s Reefer. Let me put you on speaker.”
“Can the cab company trace any stops it made?” Blake asked.
“They tried. Something happened to the system, and it was down for several hours. It came back on, and they had only a stopping point of where it’s located now. We’re heading your way.”
“So what do you want to do now, Alex?” Crimshaw asked. “We can go rough up the brother, see if he can tell us anything.”
Alex shook her head. “We may need him for a trade if he finds Nobby, and once he knows his brother is in jail.”
Dixie and Cinders walked into the kitchen. Cinders hopped into Alex’s lap, and Dixie lay on her feet. Alex buried her head in Cinders’s fur. “They know. I don’t know how, but they know.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Candy drew a vial of blood, took his blood pressure and temperature, and recorded her findings. “You’re doing well, Mr. Adams. No nausea or pain?”
“Can I get something to drink?”
“I’ll take this blood sample to Dr. Jackson and ask her if that’s okay.” She poked him with the needle again. “Don’t you go anywhere now. I’ll be right back.”
“Sadistic bitch.”
Candy laughed, left the lab, and headed to the office. They were almost finished. Another hour, and the trial would be over. Then she could kill the old bastard.
“Time to run a blood…” She stopped and stared at Samael. Val was on her knees, a rope around her neck.
“The old man, where is he?”
“In the lab. He’s doing fine. The trial will be over in an hour, and even if the drug didn’t help to cure him, it didn’t kill him.”
“Where’s my brother?”
“The police have him. He was supposed to meet me at the hospital. When I got there, the police were putting him in a cruiser. I didn’t know how to reach you, so I finished my job.”
A slow smile lifted his lips. He handed her the rope around Val’s neck and the scalpel from his pocket. “I’m going to the lab. I believe you have a job to do.”
Candy waited until he left the room then tugged on the rope, raising Val’s head, exposing her neck. “Sorry, Val, but you told me to do whatever he asked me to.” She placed the scalpel below Val’s left ear and sliced deep, dragging it to the other side. “Now you have a permanent smile, love.”