Deadly Bonds

by Anne Marie Becker

  “I know. He texted me a little while ago.”

  “Ah.” She was surprised, but glad, Holt had found the time to personally contact him. He’d seemed eager to rush off to follow their latest lead. “Do you still have a signal? The landlines aren’t working and my cell just lost signal.”

  “No.” Neil frowned at his phone. “I left a message with my aunt, like you said. But now? No dice. At least Mom will know we’re here for the night, safe.”

  “So what now?” Jeremy nibbled at his lip. This past week, it had turned red and chapped from constant worrying.

  Sara pulled on a cloak of cheerfulness. “Ever wonder what it would be like to stay at the school when nobody else was around? You get to find out...at least until the roads are clear enough to drive. But first, we’ll give Neil his test. Might as well make good use of our time.”

  * * *

  Toxin watched from his hiding spot behind the pantry door as Sara moved between the cupboards and the counter in the Academy’s large industrial-style kitchen. She hummed to the music on the radio, which conveniently covered any slight sound he might make. She stacked a package of graham crackers and a jug of milk, along with paper cups, on the counter. Her next trip added a few Hershey chocolate bars and a bag of marshmallows. She set about pulling things from the refrigerator to make sandwiches.

  How sweet. She and the boys were planning to make s’mores, but only after they ate a healthy dinner. She’d make a good mother.

  After finishing the sandwiches, she laid out plates and began layering graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows, and topping it with another graham cracker. One by one, she microwaved them until the treats were gooey. He grew hard as she licked the lingering stickiness from her fingers. Not only was she a good mother, she was sexy as hell. She was perfect, and she was his for the taking. Whatever had happened between her and Holt on Monday night, the passion had cooled. Or it had all been for show. Toxin had seen Holt lurking outside the school this week, but that was as a SSAM agent, to protect her. He hadn’t dared to cross the threshold, even when Sara tried to talk to him. Again, perfect.

  Four plates. Only Sara and the three boys left. Two more boys than he was expecting tonight, but he could handle it. One nudge and his entire plan had been set into motion—like flicking over that first domino to set off the chain reaction. An anonymous payment to Brady, a timely hack into the SSAM phone system to obtain the SIM card information and send a text to Becca implicating Brady as the true mastermind, a disconnection of the school’s phone lines and jamming device to prevent cell phone use, and now Toxin had Sara and Theo right where he wanted them. Becca was chasing down Brady, and poor Holt would be in the morgue by now while he was here with Sara and Theo.

  Sara laid the plates and cups on a tray and lifted it. She paused at the door, looking back at the jug of milk, most likely wondering how she was going to carry it. As it was, she had to use a leg to kick the swinging door open, and zipped through before it hit her cute, tight ass.

  It was time. Enter the hero.

  * * *

  “Why does Toxin subject his victims to death by neurotoxin?” Holt turned away from the darkness outside the conference room’s window. “I mean, he could use any number of over-the-counter poisons, but goes to Henry for a special mix. Why’s he risking getting involved with someone else? And to use a public message board...it doesn’t make sense.”

  Holt didn’t expect an answer to the question they’d asked many times these past few months, but he found it helped to think aloud.

  Max forgot about his injury and tried to shrug. His features tightened for a brief moment, the only sign that he was hurting. His arm was bandaged, but otherwise he was intact and denied being in any pain. The bullet from the dark SUV had, indeed, only grazed him.

  They were waiting at Holt’s desk, giving Henry time to ruminate on his situation in the Chamber—SSAM’s interrogation room—before they questioned him. One of the perks of working for SSAM was access to the latest state-of-the-art equipment. The computer screen on Holt’s desk showed the Chamber and the one person they hoped could answer Holt’s questions. The rumpled, scruffy man sat alone, brightly illuminated by a florescent light that flickered every few seconds with an electrical hum meant to unsettle. The overall effect was harsh and unwelcoming.

  “When I get through with him, he’ll be begging to give me every detail of his pathetic life.” Max was eager to get into the Chamber with Henry.

  “I can’t allow that.” Noah stood in the doorway. He took off his coat, scattering drops of melting snow.

  “Why not? He knows he’s not under arrest.”

  “He’s just waiting us out,” Holt added. “Just like we’re waiting him out. He’s probably feeling safer here than on the street. Once Toxin learns he failed to lure me to my death...”

  Noah looked at the bump on Holt’s forehead, sustained while diving to the ground to evade bullets, then at Max’s bandaged arm. “You two okay?”

  “We’ll live,” Max said. Damian had immediately called a doctor to come take a look, but Max had refused to let go of Henry until they had him locked away in a room.

  Noah’s attention moved to Holt. “Does Sara know you were hurt?”

  “I didn’t see any reason to worry her. It was just a bump on the head from hitting the ground so fast.” The bump felt more like a mountain and throbbed like a sonofabitch, but he could take it. “Besides, she doesn’t need to know what’s going on with me. After the way I treated her this week, whatever we had is probably over.”

  “Right,” Noah said. “Might as well pack you up and send you to the monastery today.”

  Max smirked. “I can see you in that brown robe now.”

  Holt grew uncomfortable with their analysis of his love life. “Let’s get back to Henry.”

  Noah came to Holt’s side and glanced at the computer screen where Henry alternated between pacing the room and flopping into the chair. “Did he ask for a lawyer or his rights?”

  “Nothing.” Max grinned. “Guy isn’t thinking straight. Probably all those drugs.”

  “The minute he asks, or asks if he’s been formally arrested...” Noah’s voice held a warning.

  “We have to shut down,” Holt said. “I know.”

  “We don’t have any charges against him. Legally, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  Max’s look was incredulous. “The guy’s house is a meth lab.”

  “We didn’t find anything there.”

  “What?” Holt and Max asked simultaneously.

  Noah shook his head. “We have no reason to arrest him. The house had been cleared out. He appears to be just as much a victim as you two.”

  “That’s because he was expecting the shooting on his front lawn. He’d had a warning from Toxin. Shit.” Holt ran a hand over his face, then gestured to the screen. “But we don’t have to show him all of our cards.”

  Noah’s eyes narrowed. “What do you have in mind?”

  “The longer he sits there, the less clear he’s thinking. His defenses will be lower as his energy goes toward keeping from falling apart. He’ll be hurting for his next hit. And if he thinks we have something on him, he’ll be desperate as that hit looks less and less attainable. I can convince him we have enough to arrest him for conspiracy to murder. I’m betting he’s the one Toxin convinced to post that message Einstein found on the forum. The one that led us there at that time.”

  “So, you and Max were the intended targets?”

  “Me, at least,” Holt said. “Let me have a crack at questioning him. He’s seen me on the news, I’m sure. He knows I’m after Toxin. Maybe I can get him to give up his so-called friend.”

  Max and Noah looked at each other. “We haven’t located the car or the driver who shot at you. I guess Henry’s our best shot. But
back away if he asks for a lawyer.”

  A minute later, Holt entered the Chamber. “Ready to talk yet, Henry?”

  “Nope.” Henry leaned back in his chair so far, Holt thought he might tip over. “Besides, I know you’re not the cops. You have to let me go or I can charge you with kidnapping.”

  Holt sat down across the table from Henry. “Pretty confident for a guy who brews meth in his living room. You really think we wouldn’t find any traces of it?”

  “Hey, I gotta pay the bills.” Henry’s eyes darted to the corner of the room, evidence of a thread of fear beneath his nonchalant façade.

  “Some people find legal ways to do that.” Holt leaned forward on his elbows. “I don’t really want to put you behind bars. I’ve got bigger fish to fry.”

  “Yeah, right. That’s why you’ve locked me up for over an hour, wasting your time—’cause I’m the little fish. I have rights.”

  Holt could picture Noah flinching at that subject. “I figured a smart guy like you, in your line of business and all, might know how to bargain.”

  Henry looked up from the table, interest sparkling in his eyes. “What do you want?”

  “I want to know something about this guy who’s been sticking people with needles, poisoning them.”

  Henry’s chair legs snapped to the ground. “Toxin?”

  “So, you’ve heard of him.” Of course Henry had heard of Toxin. He’d posted a message on the forum leading them to his house at that time. Unless Toxin had posted that message...

  The rapping of Henry’s hands against the table began again. “Sure. I mean, all of Chicago has. I even saw your piece in the news a couple months back.”

  “He’s got some pretty sophisticated stuff.”

  “You think so?” Henry’s fingers stilled and he met Holt’s gaze.

  Pride goeth before a fall. “Yeah. Whoever created that death cocktail is pretty smart. Like, PhD smart. But, given your customer base, you probably don’t know him. You’re right. I’m wasting my time here.”

  “Wait!” Henry’s angry exclamation halted Holt. “I’m not saying I’m involved...”

  “Of course not. You couldn’t be.”

  “I could be.” Henry’s tone was indignant. “Maybe you’re the one who’s not so smart. Toxin always said so.” He pressed his lips together and looked away, realizing what he’d revealed.

  “Well then, enlighten me.”

  The silence was thick, and then Henry laughed. A calculated gleam entered his eyes. “I know a lot of things, but I’m smart enough not to talk about them. Unless it gets me something.”

  “Let’s just say the police might be willing to give you leniency for your involvement in setting me up to die today.”

  “Setting you up?”

  “We saw the supposed message from you to Toxin, on a forum the police suspect is used to link up criminals, telling him the stuff was ready.”

  Henry paled. “I didn’t post anything.” But he wouldn’t meet Holt’s gaze.

  “Still, it could look like you were baiting me, which you were.”

  Henry shoved a shaky hand through his hair. “I had no idea what he had planned. I just knew to be ready for anything.” Henry shook his head. “There’s no proof I wrote that. Anybody could have posted on that forum, posing as me.”

  “I have no doubt the necessary proof will show up if Toxin wants you to go down for this. He’s got resources. He already set up one person to take the fall for him, and that guy spent weeks in jail. What makes you think Toxin wouldn’t do the same thing to you? You think you can’t be replaced?”

  Henry’s legs jostled to the beat his fingertips rapped on the table. Still, he didn’t talk.

  Holt targeted the most immediate, most uncomfortable need. “And my guess is you have about two more hours until your craving gets so bad that your skin itches like rats are crawling all over it.”

  “You can’t keep me here. It’s illegal. You didn’t find anything in my house.”

  “Then leave.” At Holt’s words, Henry looked toward the door. Holt said a prayer his tactic would work. “Go to the police. We have a detective right outside, in fact. When they discover who you’ve been protecting they’ll detain you for questioning. Of course, you could always take your chances on the street, with Toxin.”

  Holt’s expression didn’t shift as he continued. “In one breath, you boast about being smart enough to create the most complex death cocktail the CPD has seen, then in the next you say the police found your house clean. Which is it, Henry? Are you smart or aren’t you?”

  Henry smirked. “Doesn’t take much to place an order at a chemical company for what you want, especially when you have the credentials of a researcher at a major university.”

  “And you do?” Holt made his doubt clear.

  “I was a grad student once, yes.”

  “Is that where you met Toxin?”

  A smile played about Henry’s lips but he didn’t answer.

  Holt leaned forward, lacing his fingers together on the table. “How about I phrase this another way? How much will your friendship with a killer cost you? If he finds out you failed to kill me, and he knows that we know you’re a link to him, what will he do to you? Think he’ll keep you around when he can ask any number of other drug dealers to help him score his poison? As you said, doesn’t take much to place an order at a chemical company. On the other hand, if you were to play for our side, maybe we can keep you alive. It’s your call.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Though he was upset his dad had to work again and hadn’t come to pick him up, Theo tried to focus on the good stuff. He was with Miss Sara and Jeremy. Even Neil was pretty cool when he finished his test and joined them in playing cards. Theo would get to stay in a big, hulking castle-like school while all the other kids were gone. His mind reeled with all the nooks and crannies he’d always wanted to investigate. But, so far, Miss Sara wouldn’t let them out of the library.

  “I’m back.” Miss Sara returned with a heaping tray. The smell of chocolate and marshmallow had his mouth watering.

  She was wearing a sweatshirt, jeans and sneakers. Miss Sara, in jeans and sneakers, at school? It was kind of like last weekend, when she’d been at his house and helped paint his room. She glanced at the large window that was best part of the library. Usually, a large branch hung close, part of an equally large tree. Now, all you could see was a blur of white and black. Snow and night.

  “And look who I found in the kitchen.” She set the tray down on the table and looked over her shoulder.

  Mr. White entered the library, a grin on his face as he raised a jug of milk. “Can’t have sandwiches and s’mores without a glass of milk.”

  “What are you doing here?” Theo’s gaze narrowed on their computer science teacher. He was an okay guy, but was he interested in Miss Sara? Theo had hoped, after last weekend, she might want to be part of his family. His dad had seemed interested in that, too, and had even lightened up and enjoyed himself for the first time in months.

  Mr. White raised his eyebrows at his rudeness, but Theo didn’t care. He’d lost his mother, and he didn’t want to lose Miss Sara. “I was caught in the storm too.”

  “Then where’ve you been? Why didn’t you come out when you heard gunfire?”

  Miss Sara sat the tray of food down on the table. “Now, Theo, that’s rude.”

  Mr. White smiled and held up a hand. “It’s okay. It’s my own fault, really. I was checking the computers to make sure they were okay in case the power went out during the storm. I decided to do some grading so I wouldn’t have to take it home with me over the holiday. Lost track of time and wasn’t paying attention to how bad the weather was getting. By the time I was ready to leave, the radio was saying people should avoid traveling if possible. Figured I’d
better just wait it out like the rest of you smart people. Guess I didn’t hear the gunfire over the sound of the radio.” His eyebrows drew together. “Is everyone okay? Was something going on down by the road?”

  “Closer than that. He came right up our driveway.”

  “He, who?” Mr. White’s questioning glance went to Miss Sara.

  “A suspect in an ongoing investigation,” Miss Sara answered as she laid out the plates.

  Mr. White’s grin was a little too big as he watched. Theo looked to Jeremy for validation, but his friend was sitting in a chair with his arms crossed. Though they could normally exchange thoughts without saying a word, he seemed to be in his own world since his dad died. Theo could respect that. Neil was standing by the window, alternately holding his phone up to see if he could get reception and looking out at the storm. No help from that corner, either.

  “Maybe the storm’s letting up and we can leave soon,” Theo said hopefully.

  Miss Sara sighed. “I don’t think so. We’ll be fine here, though. Warm and dry. Plenty of food and water. And we have nowhere to be until it’s all cleared up, so we’re lucky. It could be a lot worse.” She smiled brightly, and Theo felt his tension ease. “We’ll have an old-fashioned campout. Scrounge up blankets and flashlights and make a cozy fort.”

  Jeremy rolled his eyes. “A cozy fort? Geez. Maybe, after that, we can make daisy chains.” Theo was angry with his friend for making fun of Miss Sara, but he couldn’t be mad for long. Theo had done and said some pretty stupid things after his mom died too.

  But Miss Sara surprised both of them by laughing. “Maybe. But I think s’mores would be more fun, and it’ll be hard to find daisies this time of year.”

  Jeremy pushed off his chair and came to stand near Theo, dropping his voice so no one else could hear. “She thinks she’s so smart, but my dad was right. She doesn’t know anything. Everyone knows you have to have a campfire for s’mores.”

  Theo’s insides warred between defending Miss Sara and keeping on his best friend’s good side. “You’re just sad about your dad.”