by Jenna Byrnes
Mel spoke up. “Is that how Flakka is taken? Injections?”
Abby shook her head. “Not just injections. Any number of ways. There are reported cases of snorting, adding it to food or drinks, vaping in an e-cigarette and even inserting into the rectum.”
“Why in the hell—?” Jeff let his question drop.
Wynn frowned. We all know why.
Abby shrugged. “The usual reason. The drug messes with a person’s neurotransmitters, or brain chemicals. It causes a long lasting, euphoric high. The problem is, the user never really knows what he’s getting with unregulated drugs. A higher dose causes hallucinations, paranoia, aggression, agitation, and the feeling of super-human strength. People on it have been seen running down the streets naked, breaking into buildings, and lots of other insane stuff.”
She pulled out another sheet of paper. “The side effects are quite serious. Rapid heart rate, high blood pressure, seizures, hyperthermia—which is elevated body temperature. Reported temps have gotten as high as one hundred five to one hundred eight degrees. At those numbers the blood will no longer clot and the user has internal bleeding. Next comes organ failure, kidneys, liver, lungs, and brain damage can occur when the body temp stays too high. At that point you’re talking permanent damage or death.”
“Do the idiots using this stuff have any idea about the side effects?” Mel asked, shaking her head.
Dix said, “That’s what we’re hoping to accomplish. We’ve prepared a flyer and we’re asking you folks to help us get the word out on college campuses across the city.” He set some of the flyers in the center of the table.
Wynn picked one up. The headline read, Five Dollar Insanity, and it went on to give the dangerous high points. “These look good.”
Kern rubbed his chin. “Why just colleges?”
Dix replied, “The OD here the other night was at a college party. We’re not sure how many other people took the drug, but there was at least one overdose. That patient is going to be okay, but there could be lingering, permanent side effects.”
The chief continued, “What I meant was, it’s party season for high schools, too. That five dollar price tag is surely going to intrigue the younger kids who might not have jobs or as much money.”
“Good point.” Abby nodded. “If you’ve got the manpower, we should alert the high schools as well. Give them enough flyers to send one home with each kid. Parents should be aware of this, too, which is why we’ve got some news coverage planned starting tomorrow. But in order for this to be effective, the schools need a cop to give a quick explanation of why it’s so serious, and why we feel the need to act now. Just dropping off the flyers isn’t enough.”
Kern nodded. “We can devote as much time as needed to this. There’s a couple dozen public schools and at least that many private schools, if not more.”
Wynn shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “High schools, shit. My kid is headed into high school.”
Dix replied, “I hear there’s a hair color specifically for men, you might want to check that out.”
Chuckling, Wynn shook his head. “I would if I gave a fuck. I’m thirty-fucking-one years old. My hair’s gonna do what it’s gonna do.”
Abby nudged Dix. “Yeah. So there.”
Dix laughed and shrugged. “He’s just a pup, I know. I’m just sayin’, his grief’s going to get worse before it gets better. I remember the high school years, and living with a teenage boy.”
Wynn pushed his chair away from the table. “Yeah, well I don’t get to live with mine. And the only good thing about that is the fact that he recently announced he’s gay. His mother doesn’t like me very much right now. She’d be booting me out if she hadn’t already done it years ago.”
Dix’s eyes widened. “Oh, shit. She’s blaming his announcement on you?”
“Yeah, like I run some gay brothel out of my house or something. I refuse to admit to her how long it’s been since I’ve even been on a date, let alone had anyone else around my kid, which has never happened.” He rose. “I’ll start pulling lists of schools and enrollment numbers so we can get working on those flyers.”
Kern stood and nodded. “Thanks. And thank you, Abby and Dix, for the information.”
They chatted for a few minutes and Wynn returned to his desk. He was suddenly feeling a little pathetic and sorry for himself, and needed to bury his nose in work.
A few minutes later Dix approached and dropped into the chair by Wynn’s desk. “Hey. Sorry about the issues at home.”
Wynn shrugged. “Shit happens.”
“Yeah, but it can’t be easy. I don’t profess to know what it’s like to take a boy through the whole coming out process, but if you need someone to talk to, my door is always open.”
“Thanks. I appreciate that. We’re figuring it out. Plus, I have a strong support system here.”
Dix waved a hand. “Sure, but none of these bozos have kids. Except for the straight guys.” He grinned.
“True, and it’s not like I’m going to pour out my problems to my chief.”
Dix smiled again. “My people do.”
Wynn couldn’t argue with that. “You’re not the average chief.”
“Indeed.” He rose. “Thanks for the help with the case, and remember, you can call me anytime.”
“Thank you.” Wynn watched him walk over to where Abby chatted with Mel. They made their goodbyes and left.
Mel returned to her desk, across from his. “Five Dollar Insanity.” She set the flyers on her desk. “I get free insanity coming to work every day. In fact they pay me to take this insanity.”
Chuckling, Wynn tossed a list her way. “Here are the public schools I’ve pulled up so far. I’m working on the private schools. I thought we could let Taylor and Mathes handle the college campuses.”
Jeff paused and shoved the last bite of a bagel into his mouth, chewing it up before he spoke. “We can do that. We’ll have to take a different tactic with the colleges. Maybe get flyers out to the frat houses and sororities for starters.”
Beck approached and nodded. “There are service fraternities and church youth groups. Some of them should be interested in helping.”
Wynn agreed. “Probably more than the standard frat boys. If I recall, they were more interested in partying than doing community service.”
“Eh, times have changed.” Beck shrugged. “Schools are cracking down on the party houses these days. Of course there’ll always be the select few who are gonna do what they’re gonna do. But I gather, from talking to some of the campus police officers, that things are run a little tighter at the schools now than they were when we were students.”
Jeff rolled his eyes. “I’d hope so.”
They all chuckled. Beck added, “Yeah. Some of us are lucky we survived it. The alcohol hazing was bad enough back then. I can’t imagine throwing drugs into the mix. Glad I don’t have to worry about it.”
Wynn muttered out of the corner of his mouth, “Until your kids get up there.”
Beck shot him a sarcastic smile. “Thanks, pal.”
Mel clapped her hands. “Let’s get back on track, here. So Wynn and I will visit the high schools, while Jeff and Beck will tackle the college campuses. We all square with our assignments?”
Jeff nodded. “It’s a plan. We’ll brainstorm and see if we can’t come up with some other social groups. There have got to be dozens of them out there. Beck and I will make a list before we pound the pavement.”
“Sounds good,” Wynn agreed.
The two men returned to their desks.
Mel smiled at him. “Colleges versus high schools. I think we got the better end of this deal.”
Wynn waggled his eyebrows. “Despite what you may have heard to the contrary, my mama didn’t raise no dummy.”
She laughed. “I’ll take your word for it. Give me that list of public schools. I’ll try to put them in some type of logical order.”
“You got it.” Wynn compiled data on private high schools
until noon and after a quick sandwich for lunch, headed out to start delivering flyers. St. Sebastian’s Academy was way down on his list but he had a vested interest there and chose them to start with. He’d made enough flyers to send home with all the kids in grades eight through twelve, so he could see if Connor brought one home or blew it off.
He entered the school office and spoke with a secretary he knew.
“Hi, Detective Fahey.” The pretty young woman smiled at him. “You’re early today. Or does Connor have an appointment?”
“Hey, Marsha. Nope, I’m here in an official capacity today. Maybe you can help me figure out who I need to speak with.” He gave her a condensed version of his spiel and handed over one flyer. He placed the bag with the rest of them on her counter.
She read it thoughtfully. “Wow. This is incredible. Let me run it past Principal Andrews and see what he says.”
“Thank you.”
She took the sheet of paper and disappeared into the office behind hers. A few minutes later she returned with the principal.
“Wynn! How are you?” He extended his hand and they shook.
“Hey, Tim. Doing fine, thanks. I see Marsha showed you the flyer. We’d like to send one home with each student in grades eight through twelve and see if we can get the word out there about how dangerous this stuff is.” He mentioned a few of the specifics.
Tim Andrews nodded. “I think it’s a great idea but I can’t answer you today. The board will have to make a decision about it before we can send them home. Might be two weeks or so.”
“Two weeks?” Wynn was stunned. “You’re kidding me. This is a time-sensitive issue. A student here in Kansas City was hospitalized because of this junk and we’re trying to make sure no one else follows suit.”
“Yeah, I get that. But I know some of the board members, and they’re going to say that bringing this drug to the kids’ attention is basically introducing it to them. The cheap price will appeal to some kids. This flyer could cause them to seek out the drug when they hadn’t known about it before.”
“Did you miss the part about organ failure, permanent damage and possible death?”
“Nope, but I’m sure plenty of the kids will overlook that. You know teenagers, Wynn. They’re invincible. Nothing’s going to happen to them.”
“Wow. Okay. Am I the only parent who makes sure his kid doesn’t feel that way? Con knows better than most that it can be an ugly world out there, and no one is immune to it.”
The principal smiled. “Connor is a lucky kid, because he has you to talk to about that stuff. Not all our kids are so fortunate. Look, I’m not saying we won’t do this. I just have to run it past the board. Part of the process when dealing with a private school. You can either leave the flyers and we’ll pass them out when we can, or Marsha can call and ask you to bring them back.”
“I can leave them. Thanks, Tim. We need everyone we can get going to bat for us about this nasty business.” He pushed the bag of flyers toward the secretary.
“If we can’t use them, we’ll call you. But we should be able to.” The principal extended his hand again.
Wynn shook hands and thanked him. He nodded to Marsha as he left then, slightly frustrated, shoved the door to the office a little harder than he meant to.
“Whoa!” A man on the other side of the door had been carrying an armload of books and papers, which he promptly dropped.
“Oh, shit! Sorry.” Wynn scrubbed a hand over his face, embarrassed at the stupid stunt.
The man chuckled. “Language like that will get you a demerit. Five demerits equal the loss of—”
“A privilege. I’m aware. And God bless the advent of email, so my kid’s teachers can notify us each time he loses something.” He squatted down to pick up the books and papers that had scattered. “Really sorry about this. Guess I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
The red-haired stranger crouched before him and gazed into his eyes. “No big deal. I was turning this stuff in to Marsha, anyway. It only took me three hours to sort it and categorize everything exactly like I needed it.”
Wynn looked into his bright green eyes and had a tough time looking away. He tried to focus on the words the hunk had spoken and not his sexy pink lips, surrounded by a neatly trimmed mustache and beard. “Three hours? Damn, I’m really sorry.”
Scooping the last of the papers up, the fellow stood. “Not really. Just giving you shit. I thought I’d see how quickly you could get to five demerits. I’m still wagering it’ll go fast.”
Smiling sheepishly, Wynn rose and faced the man who was just his height. “Like father, like son, I guess.”
“Who’s your son?”
“Connor Fahey. He’s in eighth grade.”
“Ah-ha, of course. I know Connor. I have him in English class.”
“Really? I’m surprised we haven’t met. I usually go to his parent teacher conferences, but there are so many teachers to talk to when they reach the middle grades, maybe I missed you.”
“Actually, I had to be gone during the most recent conferences due to a family emergency.”
“I’m sorry. Now that you mention it, I’m pretty sure I missed the conferences before that. Work, you know.” He smiled sheepishly.
The teacher returned the smile and shuffled his load to one arm so he could extend a hand. “Reilly O’Keefe. And truth be known, I don’t think I’ve had to email you once this year. Connor’s a good kid.”
Wynn clasped his hand and an electric spark shot up his arm. He released it quickly and attempted to straighten the books he held. When he realized the guy was staring at him he said, “He is. Oh! I’m Wynn Fahey.”
“Nice to meet you. I think I’ve met your wife. Pretty brunette, drives a Lincoln Town Car?”
Clearing his throat, Wynn replied, “Ex-wife. She drove a hatchback when she was married to me. She moved up and I moved…on.” He shrugged.
“O-kay, then. Sorry about that. Here’s to moving on. It was nice to meet you, Mr. Fahey.” He reached for the things Wynn held.
Handing them over, Wynn replied, “Detective Fahey. Or Wynn. You can call me Wynn.” You can call me anytime. He tried to remain focused, but his heartbeat sounded unnaturally loud to his ears. He needed to get the hell out of there and on with his day, but for some reason he was dragging his feet.
“Wynn.” Reilly’s smile hadn’t wavered. “I like that. It was nice to meet you, Wynn. Now if you’ll excuse me.” He nodded toward the office.
“Oh, sure. Sorry again, about ramming into you.”
“No worries. I’ve always enjoyed a good ramming. And yeah, that earned me five demerits, right there.” He winked and turned around, then entered the office.
Wynn watched him go, trying to keep his mouth from hanging open. One thing he couldn’t control was his cock, which was rapidly firming up in his trousers. What the hell just happened? He wasn’t sure, but for a moment he wondered if he stood there long enough, could it happen again?
Chapter Two
Wynn had better luck at some schools than others, but at the end of the day felt satisfied that he’d done his part to get word of the new drug out there. He touched base with the chief and Mel before he headed home for the night.
His house was a seventies, ranch-style single level that suited him just fine. A bedroom for him, one for Con and a third he’d converted into a home office. There was a single garage, which was all he needed. He knew Con’s mother’s house was three times as grand but he didn’t want or need that much space.
He ate some leftover chicken and a salad that looked too much like vegetables for Con to touch. A half-hour later he changed into shorts and a T-shirt and went for a long run. Trying to clear his head, he couldn’t keep images from circling his brain and heading south.
Reilly O’Keefe’s face as they crouched together, gazes locked. His crystal-clear green eyes and sculpted jaw line, accented by a neatly trimmed beard. Reilly telling him that he’d always enjoyed a good ramming.
/> What the devil did that mean? His imagination ran wild during his run and he worked up a sweat, not just from the exercise. He needed to peel off his clothes and step into the shower, where he could relieve his sexual frustration. He’d never remembered being attracted to a ginger before, but damned if he wasn’t hot as hell for this one.
He’d managed to keep his urges under control with regular hand jobs, especially considering his long, dry spell. But since he’d run into Reilly, literally, he felt wired up, like his motor was running and he needed to let off some major steam in a big way.
Wynn shrugged off his shirt and tossed it in the hamper just as his phone rang. He grabbed it and looked at the screen.
Sydney. Groaning, he pressed the ‘Answer’ button. “Hey, Syd.”
“Wynn. We need to talk about Con and the party he wants to go to Saturday night. He mentioned he asked you to call me.” Her voice was shrill and annoying as hell. He wondered if he’d grown used to it all those years ago, or if her tone had changed over time.
He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Yeah, I’ve been busy. Actually, I didn’t figure there was much point in discussing it if you don’t want him to go.”
“It’s not just me, Wynn. Derrick agrees it’s not a good idea, and so does Cissy Baxter.”
“Is ‘Cissy’ really a grown woman’s name?”
“Focus, Wynn.”
“Aw, come on, now. To be honest, Derrick would agree with you if you told him the sky was purple with black polka dots. And any adult who goes by ‘Cissy’ can probably be talked into anything.”
“Do you know what your problem is, Wynn?”
“No, but I’m sure you’re going to tell me.”
“You’re too laid-back. It’s a character flaw.”
“Thanks for that. Anything else you called to bitch about, or does that pretty much cover it?”
“You’re a pain in my side, Wynn Fahey. I’m trying to include you because it’s the best thing for Con, but you don’t make it easy.”