Secrets and Lies (Hearts Of Braden Book 4)

by Susanne Matthews

  Dreaming in Technicolor again, girl.

  “Told you I wouldn’t be long,” Jackson said, stopping in front of her and offering her his hand to stand. “What’s so funny?”

  “Nothing, just one of those crazy, errant thoughts. My imagination plays tricks on me when I’m worn out like this. I hope those boys are okay.”

  “Me, too.” He led the way into the Emergency department, and it didn’t take long for them to find Cal. The sheriff sat beside two couples, the men, their faces bleak, the women, obviously upset and crying.

  Emily frowned. This didn’t look promising.

  Cal noticed them and, after saying something to the people with him, he hurried across the waiting area to them. “Jackson, thanks for getting her here.” He turned to her. “So what kind of car trouble did you end up with this time? Don’t tell me you scraped another garage wall because I didn’t buy it the last time. The truth, girl.”

  “Someone shot out her front tires,” Jackson piped in, probably realizing she’d been about to downplay the matter. “AK has the vehicle and he’s going to check it over thoroughly before she gets it back.

  Damn. Now I’m going to have to explain everything.

  “What?” Cal all but shouted, attracting everyone’s attention to them.

  “I’ll tell you about it when we’re alone,” she whispered forcefully through gritted teeth, hoping he would understand she didn’t want to speak about it now, not with at least twenty pairs of ears turned their way. “How are the boys?”

  Cal pursed his lips, and glared at her, clearly showing her that the topic might be closed for the moment, but he would demand an explanation as soon as they were out of earshot. “They’ve given them sedatives to slow the heart. One of the boys has had a couple of seizures, but the doctors don’t know what they’re dealing with because every batch of meth is different.” He turned to her companion, “Jackson, maybe you could go over and talk to the parents. Try to comfort them some. I didn’t have a whole lot of luck. They’re blaming me for all this. Said we should be doing more to keep our kids safe.”

  “Cal, you’re doing the best you can. These are different times,” Jackson said and turned to her. “I’ll be over there if you need me.”

  “Thanks.

  She followed Cal through the doors.

  “I thought you said the first few doses would be mild ones,” Cal accused angrily.

  “They should be. Maybe it isn’t him. This doesn’t feel right. Something has changed. Maybe it’s not the Chef and someone new is talking over. Where’s the doctor? I need to know what he’s up against. How old are the boys?”

  “The twins turned seventeen last month. Tyler’s sixteen.”

  “My God, they’re babies.”

  “Babies with attitude,” Cal scoffed and shook his head. “Those three have been pushing the envelope for months now. Reuben Hazlet, Braden’s MD is positive you’ll know something that’ll help, although God knows why he’s so damn certain.”

  “Slow down, will you,” she said, straining to keep up with him, her cane barely providing the stability she needed to keep moving. “I hurt myself out there, and I need your help to walk. As far as Dr. Hazlet goes, Reuben knows everything there is to know about me. He has my complete medical file. It was necessary in case something went wrong.”

  Cal shook his head, but slowed his pace and offered her his arm. “I should’ve guessed as much. Prosthetic legs are new to me, although my dad had hip replacement surgery so I know a little about how that works. What in blue blazes is going on, Emily? And don’t give me any crap about parking too close to a garage wall. What happened out there tonight?”

  “I went to the scene of the recovery as we’d discussed, but when I was looking around, I got to thinking it might be a good place not only for a body dump, but to actually commit the murder and the dismemberment. About a hundred feet from what must be a local fishing spot, I found signs of a struggle, and a few small bones I’m sure are from the hands, as well as a couple of teeth. There was dried blood under some leaves, too. I’d have taken pictures if I’d had a better camera, but the one on my phone doesn’t work well in poor lighting, and if anyone has access to it…I collected whatever I could find and put it away for safe keeping. We’ll need a forensic team to scout out the area. While I was there, someone took a couple of shots at me and then took out my tires.”

  “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! Who the hell knew you were going out there?”

  “That’s the problem and the reason I called Jackson instead of you or Mike. You, Kevin, and Mike are the only ones who knew where I was going. I didn’t see a single car on my ride there either, so I know I wasn’t followed. The only thing that makes sense is that someone’s tapped our phones.”

  “That’s not possible. No one has been inside the station. Has your phone been out of your sight?”

  “No, and the only person who’s touched it other than me was Jackson when he put in his number, and he did it in front of me and couldn’t have monkeyed with it.” Or—could he? If he put his number into her phone—could he have hacked into it somehow?

  Cal must’ve seen the doubt on her face. “Don’t go there. I trust Jackson as much as I do Kevin. I know the boy made a bad impression on you, and he does have a nasty attitude problem when it comes to women and can be a jerk at times, but if you’re thinking he’s allied with the Chef, think again. As far as Mike goes, he’s your colleague and a member of the FBI. He’s only been around Braden since the middle of July, but I like him. He’s good company for my son who could do a lot worse than hang around with a lawman. I know Jackson hired three new teachers, but I haven’t even met them yet, so I don’t see how they could be the problem either.” He took off his hat and stopped walking, shaking his head. “It’s so damn easy to access things electronically these days. I’d say your phone’s the most vulnerable. Now, what about your car? What happened there?”

  “That happened the night we had dinner. Someone in a large black SUV tried to force me off the road where it meets the highway, and those damn deep ditches line both sides of the pavement. I managed to keep the car on the road, but after the vehicle had raced away, I pulled over. Jackson came along. The SUV had blown past him too, and he followed me home.”

  Suddenly, her stomach roiled. Jackson seemed to be there each time she had trouble. Coincidence? She’d never held much stock in happenstance or fate, and while she liked the idea they’d been destined to meet, she didn’t like this at all. Don’t overthink this. I called him tonight. There’s no way he could’ve expected me to do that. But, if he hadn’t put his number into my phone, I wouldn’t have been able to.

  “I don’t want you taking any more chances,” Cal added. “While this could be some jackass friends of Mabel trying to run you out of town, it could be the Chef, and if it’s him, he’ll be looking for a permanent solution to what he may consider your interference.” He stopped in front of a closed door. “In here.” Cal pushed open the door into a small ward where three of the beds were occupied.

  The sound of heart monitors and other devices filled the room. Around each boy, a forest of IV poles delivered what the doctors hoped would be lifesaving medication.

  “Sheriff, is this her?” A young, frazzled doctor beside the nearest boy hurried over to them.

  Cal nodded. “Dr. Dunbar, meet Mrs. Emily Shepherd from the DEA. Depending on what these boys took, she may be able to help.”

  Dr. Hazlet looked up from one of the patients and smiled. “I didn’t expect to see you again so soon, Mrs. Shepherd,” he said following Cal’s lead with her name.

  The young doctor ran his hands over his face. “I’m really glad to see you. We’ve run a tox screen on them, but it’ll take a while to get back. My best guess, judging from the symptoms, is that they’ve taken a hit of meth, probably smoked it since I don’t see any injections sites, and their nasal passages are clear. They all have accelerated heart rates, dangerously high blood pressure, and overheated bodies,
but they aren’t sweating. Normally, meth overdoses don’t come in unconscious like this. Usually they’re super-agitated and paranoid. Each meth recipe presents its own problems, but I’ve never seen anything like this. None of the usual methods of bringing them down seem to be working, and they’ve all slipped into coma.”

  Emily’s heart sank. She knew exactly what the boys had been given, although it made no sense. “You’ll find this meth recipe is heavier on the Toluene than most, but lighter on the acetone. I’ll write down the chemicals used for you, but in this case, I think you have to check them for arsenic poisoning.”

  “Arsenic poisoning? Meth is full of toxic chemicals, but that’s a new one. I thought the idea was to hook people on the meth not kill them. Is this guy some sort of sociopath?”

  “He may be, and he’s an incredibly dangerous one. I hope I’m wrong, but if these kids have been poisoned, you have to act quickly.”

  “Damn. Renee,” he called to the nurse. “I want these guys catheterized stat.”

  “Yes, doctor.”

  He looked over at Emily. “The easiest and fastest way to find arsenic poisoning is to look for dark urine. The kidneys are always the first to know, and they act quickly. Eat asparagus and the next time you urinate, you’ll see how quickly they work. If you’re right, we’ll know in minutes.”

  “Doctor,” the nurse called from the bed across the room. “I’ve got the first one done, and I’ve have black water urine.”

  “Son of a bitch. Thank you, Mrs. Shepherd. You may just have helped me save these kids’ lives. Get me Dialysis. We need to start hemodialysis right away, and I need to start them on mega doses of Dimervol. It’s going to be a long night. ”

  Dr. Hazlet nodded. “Thank you. The arsenic was the missing piece of the puzzle, and from the look on your face, I’d say this wasn’t good news. We’ll do the best we can for those kids and then they’re in God’s hands. If they respond to treatment, we’ll put them in a secure ward. I gather the arsenic isn’t part of the regular formula.”

  “It isn’t, but it’s his exit signature, the one he uses when he’s on his way out of an area after he’s established his lab. He doesn’t leave anyone around who can identify him. Those boys know who the Chef is, and that means if he finds out they survived, he’ll try again.”

  “I’ll get some troopers over here right away,” Cal announced and reached for his cellphone.

  “Cal, those boys found that body, and now this.” Emily looked over at him. “We have no proof the Chef is setting up in the area and yet, this is definitely his signature goodbye hit, but something is different. In the past, the witnesses were dead long before we got to them. Leaving them like this is sloppy. It’s as if he’s panicking. That body and the Chef have to be connected,” she said softly. “And he has to know I’m onto the fact the man was killed there.”

  Cal frowned, then moved away to speak into his cellphone.

  Emily watched as the staff rushed to move the boys to another section of the hospital to begin treatment. She hoped they survived because they would be the first to do so and if they could identify the Chef, it would all be over. “There isn’t anything else I can do here,” she said when Cal finished his call.

  “You’re exhausted, and I have a feeling you had quite a scare out there.”

  She nodded. “I was terrified. I felt helpless. My God, here that bastard was shooting at me, and I could barely slither away. Kyle was right. I can’t do this.”

  “Then don’t. Leave the investigating to me and my men. Focus on your cover. You’ve probably saved those boys by being here. People still need to be careful and helping them learn to eat right won’t hurt them one damn bit. If he is here, we’ll get him, and if he’s left town, let someone else go after him. You’ve paid your dues, Emily.” He put his arm around her and walked her back toward the waiting room. “Have you had supper?”

  “No. I stopped at my place only long enough to change and clean up.”

  “Get Jackson to feed you and get you home to bed. I’ll come over in the morning, and we’ll talk. Maybe we can drive out to the site and have a look around again. I want to recover those slugs so I can make a ballistic match when we nail the son of a bitch. Come on. I’ll walk you out.”

  Emily re-entered the waiting area and Jackson immediately moved to her side, chasing away whatever negative thoughts she had earlier. His concern for her was genuine. If there was, one thing she could do, it was tell when someone wasn’t being straight with her. No, she should trust Jackson, and right now, other than Cal, he was the only one she could.

  “Take her someplace, feed her, and then get her home,” Cal ordered.

  Emily giggled. “You sound just like my dad.”

  “And so I should.”

  “Don’t worry, Cal,” Jackson said. “I’ll take good care of her. You have my word on it.”

  “Good enough. I’ll call you in the morning, Emily.”

  “Come on,” Jackson urged scooping her up as if she were a child. “I know a great place where we can get the best burgers west of the Mississippi.”

  Emily relaxed in his arms. She had no fight left in her. If those boys had died tonight, it would’ve been her fault and hers alone. She’d brought undue attention to the Chef and he wasn’t happy about it at all. “Sounds good to me,” she replied putting her arm around his neck. “I hope they’ve got greasy fries, too.”

  “Blasphemy,” he answered with a mock stunned look on his face as he laughed. “Don’t let Mabel hear you say that.”

  She chuckled, and leaned against him as he carried her outside.

  * * * *

  Jackson carried Emily out of the hospital and across the parking lot to the truck. He liked holding her in his arms like this. It had been a long time since he’d wanted to have anything to do with a woman, but for some reason, she’d broken through the shell he’d built around himself to stop from being hurt again. Emily didn’t know about the fiasco with Naomi or the money, and that was just as well. If something did come of their relationship, he needed know it was because of him and not his bank account. “You’re awfully quiet,” he noted as he set her down on the truck’s passenger seat.

  She’d looked defeated when she’d returned to the waiting room, and even though she’d joked about greasy fries, something was bothering her.

  “Want to talk about it?”

  “I was thinking about those kids,” she answered sadly. “They’re so young. They have their whole lives ahead of them, and they may not even see tomorrow.”

  “That bad? I’m sorry to hear that. Those boys are the only living children the Olsen’s have. Their eldest died in Afghanistan. Tyler has a bunch of younger siblings, but they’re all girls. I called the Worthington Arms and Peter is working tonight. I was afraid he could be lying somewhere overlooked by whoever found his friends. I’ll talk to him in the morning and see if he knows where those guys got the drugs, but Emily, what’s happening to those kids isn’t really your fault.”

  “What if it is?” she spat back angrily.

  The venom in her voice surprised him.

  “What if my coming here is the reason they were poisoned?”

  “What do you mean poisoned? You aren’t making any sense. What do you have to do with any of it? You haven’t even started your job yet.” He cocked his head at her. “Those kids weren’t poisoned. They made a deliberate choice to take too much of an illegal drug.” He closed the passenger door and went around, getting in behind the wheel, and starting the truck. Before he could put it in gear, she reached out and touched his arm.

  “Did they?” she challenged. “Did they really know what they were doing, or did they trust the wrong person?”

  “I don’t know, but maybe after you offer a few seminars about the dangers of meth, they’ll be more careful, and maybe this little stunt of theirs will scare enough kids that they’ll be willing to listen to you. You aren’t responsible for what people do. You might like to think you are, but ho
ney, you aren’t God, and you don’t control free will.”

  “You don’t understand. My being here has changed things. He’s not behaving the way he usually does. Nothing’s going according to plan.”

  “Plan? What plan? What the hell are you talking about?” He had a bad feeling about this.

  “Nothing,” she defended anxiously.

  He knew she was lying. “Don’t give me that bullshit. Something is going on. What were you really doing down by the river?”

  “It’s none of your business,” she said, her anger obvious. “Please don’t ask me any more questions. Just take me home.”

  “Emily Jacobson,” he stated his own temper boiling over. “If I find out that this whole Healthy Living Initiative is some kind of trap for your meth cook, and that you and God knows who else have put this town and my students in danger, I’ll—”

  “You’ll what? Call in the feds? They know all about this. It was their idea in the first damn place. The Healthy Living Initiative was implemented to protect your precious town and its people from a monster. The goal was to warn people and stop him once and for all, but it looks like months of careful planning might have been for nothing, and he’ll win again.” Tears trickled down her cheeks.

  “I’m sorry,” Jackson whispered, feeling betrayed. “It would’ve been nice if someone had given us a head’s up. Does Cal know?”

  She nodded.

  Secrets and lies.

  He’d expected Cal to trust him enough to tell him what was going on. Whatever it was, it was definitely something serious, and it didn’t look as if she’d let him in on it either. So much for thinking his taste in women had improved. He didn’t know who to believe now. Angry and hurt, he lashed out at her, “I don’t know what game you’re playing, but I don’t want to have anything to do with you or it. Why the hell were you out there by the river? For all I know, you could’ve put those damn bullet holes in your own tires. I won’t be used again. Someone needs to let me in on what the hell’s going on, or I’m going to pull the plug on your Healthy Living Initiative myself. Those kids and anyone involved with my school are my responsibility, just as you are, whether you like it or not.” He slammed his fists on the steering wheel, trying to rein in his temper and frustration. “I’d better get you something to eat.”