A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing

by S. E. Meyer

  Steven came running into the kitchen. “Anna, oh my God, it's good to see you.” He gave Anna a long hug and pulled away, brushing a ringlet from Anna's cheek. “I missed you,” he said gazing into her eyes. “I'm sorry I didn't make it to the hospital, they had me on double shifts all week so I only had a couple hours in the middle of the night to sleep.”

  “It's okay Dad.”

  Steven's eyes widened. “So you're a celebrity now? I saw you on TV this morning.”

  Anna nodded. “I guess so. That's not why I'm here though. I'm glad I caught you at home.” Anna emptied the box's contents onto the kitchen table. “I brought some food for you guys. It’s fresh produce.”

  Steven leaned over the box. “Mm, that smells good. Reminds me of when your Grandma used to grow a garden.”

  “Dad, I need to talk to you about why everyone is sick. I've found out some things about Cromwell and what has been going on, not just in this city, but all the walled cities across the country and around the world.”

  “The Governor?” Steven raised an eyebrow. “What does everyone being sick have to do with him?”

  “Dad, he's the one responsible. His food companies are poisoning us in order for his healthcare companies to rake in record profits from treating our symptoms. Stop eating the food. You, Aunt Dee and Sara, you all have to stop.”

  Steven lowered his eyebrows. “Sounds like some kind of conspiracy. Everyone knows that there is a lot of food out there that isn't healthy, but poisoning us? Come on Anna, that sounds ridiculous.”

  “That’s the thing Dad, the bigger the lie and the more disgusting the truth, the less likely anyone will believe it. That's not done by accident. That's so the assholes raking every dime out of us can hide behind so called laughable conspiracies, knowing they're true.”

  Steven shook his head. “Even if this was all true, what is everyone supposed to do? The only food available to us is what's on the shelves, right? We're not allowed to grow it ourselves. What other options do we have? What am I supposed to do Anna?”

  Anna could tell her father wasn't buying a word of what she was selling. “I can't fix the problem for everyone Dad. Not yet, anyway. I'm worried about you guys. I'll bring more food.”

  “I don't know Anna. It sounds like you’ll get into some kind of trouble. Where did this food come from, anyway? Some kind of illegal grow op? You know citizens can’t grow their own food. It’s against the law because it wastes too many resources. I don't want you bringing trouble here, into this house. You should take the food with you.”

  “No, Dad, look. I'm just trying to help you here.”

  “I don't need the hassle or the trouble of someone finding out. Then I have the city police banging down my door. It's not worth the risk, Anna. I'm not doing it. Everything is going well around here right now. Dee is back to work, everyone is current on their treatments. I'm not willing to put a target on this family's back.”

  Anna let out a long breath. “Fine. Just think about it at least okay?”

  Anna glanced at the television through the kitchen doorway. “What are you watching?”

  “Oh, just the news.”

  Anna moved closer to the television. Video footage was playing of the incident at Atticus's wall ceremony. She read the headline.

  'Members of the terrorist group known as The Resistance murder dozens in an attempt to recover their leader.'

  Anna shook her head. “You know that's not what happened, right Dad?”

  “What do you mean? I can see it with my own eyes. The Resistance must be stopped. Now they're killing people in the street.” Steven faced Anna. “What you did was a great thing, getting rid of their leader.”

  “Dad, those were Cromwell's own men.”

  Steven shook his head. “What? Why would the Governor murder innocent people in the street. That doesn't make any sense. I'm worried about you, Peanut. The things you're saying sound like trouble. Are you in trouble?”

  “No, Dad, I'm fine. I'm just saying you can't believe what you see on the news, okay?”

  “I only watch ENN, the Easton News Network, they're just and impartial.”

  Anna groaned, rolling her eyes. “It doesn't matter what you watch, Dad. They are all owned by the same person.”

  The news anchor began speaking. 'Due to the activities of The Resistance, Governor Cromwell has passed a new law. Any head covering, face mask or clothing that obscures a citizens face is now illegal and will prompt immediate arrest. Other than a few religious groups, the citizens of Easton are in full support.'

  That could be a problem.

  The screen changed to a street interview scene. A younger man with a microphone being held to his mouth was stating his opinion. 'I think the new law will be good for everyone. Winter's coming, so not having a scarf around my chin might be chilly, but I think we have to do whatever it takes to stop these murderers.'

  Anna's phone rang. She looked down at the screen. “I have to take this,” she said, giving her father another hug.

  “It was nice to see you Anna. Stay out of trouble.” Anna could see the concern in her father's eyes. She answered the call and walked out the door.

  “Hello?”

  “Anna, this is Gina Thorp calling. Do you have a minute?”

  “Yes.”

  “I looked into the name you left me and I found out that there was a trial that ran about twenty years ago. I'm sending you a scanned copy of the original list of names of the patients involved.”

  Anna pulled the phone from her ear and reviewed the document. “I see there's twelve names on the list, but why is one redacted?”

  “For protection and privacy reasons, I can only release eleven of the twelve names.”

  “What was the purpose of the trial?”

  Anna heard Gina take a long breath. “It was to see if we could genetically enhance a subject to become immune to Fleishman's. Similar to in utero gene vaccinations we've been doing for years for other common diseases.”

  “It obviously wasn't successful,” Anna replied, still annoyed by the conversation with her father.

  “No.”

  “These are all woman's names. I don't recognize them from the list of deaths.”

  “That's because this was an in utero trial. Most of the parents had not come up with names yet. The list I sent you are the mother's names. You may have to do some research to cross reference with your list as some mothers may have married or divorced and changed their last names.”

  “Thank you Gina,” Anna finished, ending the call.

  CHAPTER VI

  “Charlie, I have a list of names from Gentech,” Anna said, ducking her head into Charlie's office. “I just sent it to you. We need to cross reference the list with ours and see what names match up.” Anna set her tablet down across from Charlie and sat down in the chair facing his desk. Her and Charlie set their tablets up side by side. “There!” Anna said, pointing at the screen. The top three all have the same names as these three.

  “Here's two more, towards the bottom,” Charlie added.

  “These three names are not on our list at all,” Charlie said with a sigh.

  “Yes, but we don't have to know all the names, we just need to find the mother's names of the two people on the list that are still alive.” Anna's eyes widened. “There, the second up from the bottom. Mrs. Merriam White. We have no Whites on our list.”

  “We don't have any Johnsons on our death list either, but there's a Katie Johnson on Gentech's list,” Charlie pointed out.

  “Damn,” Anna said, drumming her fingers on the desk. “Wait, cross reference the obituaries of the deceased. They always note maiden names. See if a Merriam or Katie shows up,” Anna said, tapping at her tablet. Anna rubbed her chin while searching the obituaries. “I found it!” she said. “Here on Donald Cruz's obit. Preceded in death by his father Rick Cruz, and survived by his mother Katie Johnson Cruz. So that just leaves Merriam White and Victoria Olsen.” Anna smiled.

  “Except f
or the one name that's redacted.”

  “All we can do is work with what we have. Let's go Charlie, we may not have much time.”

  ◆◆◆

  “Mrs. White?” Anna asked with a raised eyebrow as a middle-aged woman with dark skin and white hair opened the door.

  “Yes,” the woman responded with an air of apprehension.

  “I'm Agent Wool and this is my partner Charlie. We're investigating a case and we were wondering, do you have a son or daughter around twenty years old?”

  The woman nodded. “Is my boy in trouble of some kind?”

  “Not in trouble with the law, no. We're worried about his safety. Can we come in?”

  Merriam eyed Charlie and Anna for a moment and then swung the door. “Sure, I'll put on some coffee.”

  The three sat at the kitchen table. “This is a treat,” Anna said as Merriam poured the coffee.

  “I try to afford a few niceties.”

  Anna looked her in the eye. “Can we get the name of your son? Where is he right now?”

  “Cream?” Merriam asked, ignoring the question.

  “Yes, please,” Anna replied.

  “None for me, thank you.” Charlie added.

  “Mrs. White, this is important. We think your son may be in danger. This has to do with the trial at Gentech.”

  Merriam raised her eyebrows. After setting the cream on the table she plopped back down in the chair at the table's end and let out a long breath. “Gentech. I haven't heard that name in a long time. Their goal was to cure Fleishman's. Make sure my boy would be healthy,” she explained shaking her head. “All of us ladies were just trying to do something good for our babies. Whole lotta bullshit, that's what I think. It didn’t make any difference.” Merriam looked at her feet and rubbed the carpet with her toes.

  “Do you remember the ladies from the trial?” Anna asked. “Do you remember their names? There's still one more person we're looking for and Gentech won't give me their name.”

  Merriam leaned back in her chair. “Oh, let me see now. There was Katie. Such a sweet lady. I remember a Cassandra.” Merriam made eye contact with Anna. “She was not such a sweet lady.” Merriam smiled.

  Anna tapped her foot while pressing her lips together. “I'm sorry to interrupt, but can you give us your son's name? We need to find him and get him into protective custody.”

  “Why?” Merriam asked.

  “Because everyone else from your trial has died,” Charlie replied.

  Merriam placed her hand over her mouth. “Oh my. The illness overtake them?”

  “We‘re not sure,” Anna replied. “That's what we're trying to find out. We believe there may be foul play. That's why we want to make sure your son is okay.”

  “You just missed him. He went a few blocks down to the clinic to get his treatment.”

  “Okay,” Anna looked at Charlie. “Let's get a unit over there,” she said pulling out her phone to dispatch police to pick up Merriam's son. “And his name?”

  “Oh, James. James White. Now you have me all worried. I hope he's fine.”

  “He will be Mrs. White. I just sent a car to pick him up.”

  Merriam shook her head. “He's a popular boy today.”

  “What do you mean?” Anna asked.

  “There was a nice man here early this morning. Said he wanted to meet James and shake his hand. Thank him for his service. My boy is a veteran.”

  “What did this man look like?” Anna asked.

  “Tall, dark hair and a goatee. He dressed well, I remember that. He said he saw the veteran flag I have hanging in the front window.”

  “Did he have his arm in a sling?” Anna questioned.

  “Yes he did,” Merriam replied. “And I remember his ring. Ugly gaudy thing with a skull and crossbones on it.”

  What the hell was Richard doing here?

  Anna took in a deep breath. “Okay, let's get back to our earlier conversation, do you remember any of the other mother's names from the trial?”

  “That was a long time ago.” Merriam replied shaking her head before taking a sip of coffee.

  “Is there a Mr. White?” Charlie asked.

  Merriam lowered her head before making eye contact with Anna. “He died a few years back. They said he died of natural causes, but I think that‘s some bullshit too.” Merriam looked away.

  That‘s twice now. She's lying.

  “I feel that there's something you're not telling me Mrs. White,” Anna said, trying to reconnect with Merriam's wandering gaze.

  Anna raised an eyebrow in thought. “Do you have a picture of Mr. White?”

  “Yes, up there on the wall in the dining room. Our twentieth wedding anniversary picture.”

  Anna stood up to get a look at the picture in the other room and froze. She let out a slow breath before re-entering the living room. “Mrs. White, did you know anyone by the name of Margaret? Margaret Morton?”

  Merriam buried her eyebrows into the bridge of her nose. She shook her head. “No, I don't recall anyone by that name,” she replied before returning her gaze to her feet. “I don't believe there's much more I can help you with Miss. I need to get a hold of my boy and make sure he's okay. Can you leave now?”

  “Charlie, do you still have the photograph my mom gave me?” Anna asked as soon as they were back in the car.

  “I have a scanned copy on my tablet, why?” Charlie lifted his tablet from the back seat and displayed the picture.

  “Front row, last one on the right. That's Mr. White,” Anna said, pointing at the tablet.

  “And he's dead like everyone else in this picture.”

  “Not everyone. Damarion is still alive and we thought Atticus was dead too. “ Anna's eyes widened. “Shit, Charlie, look. Top left. That's Frank Anderson.”

  “That makes no sense at all,” Charlie replied. “When I checked, everyone in this picture was dead with the exception of Damarion.”

  Anna let out a breath. “Looks like they're coming back from the dead.”

  Charlie lifted his eyebrows. “What does it all mean Anna?”

  Anna shook her head. “I don't know yet. But there's an obvious connection between the people in my mom's picture, people my mom said I could trust, and the ones on our list. We should get going Charlie. We found James White. We need to go see the last one on the list, Victoria Olsen, and hope we're not too late.” Anna pulled out her tablet and sent the last known address of Victoria to the car's GPS. Anna wrinkled her brow. “Looks like Lady Of Fatima Healing Center is what we have on file. That's a Psychiatric Hospital.

  ◆◆◆

  “May we see her?” Anna asked the Ward Clerk at the nursing station after identifying themselves and explaining their investigation. The clerk returned Anna's gaze from behind walnut eyes. She adjusted her uniform, nodding. “Yes, she's allowed visitors, although she gets none. You may find that she's...” The clerk trailed off, glancing back down at her desk. “She's not well, so please be aware of her condition while questioning, okay?”

  The clerk led them down a hallway to room 203. She knocked on the door before calling out Victoria's name. There was no response. “Give me a minute,” the clerk asked and entered the room. She returned a few seconds later, inviting Anna and Charlie inside.

  The room was stagnant, darkened by the drawn shades. The only light was coming from a small table lamp next to a chair where Victoria sat. Anna noticed her blank staring gaze. She took the chair opposite Victoria. “Mrs. Olson,” Anna whispered.

  The woman turned her head. “That's a nice name,” Victoria replied. “Nice to meet you,” she added before her eyes again turned hollow.

  “No, that's your name, Mrs. Olson,” Anna said, touching Victoria's knee. “Victoria?”

  “Yes?” the woman said, making eye contact with Anna.

  “My name is Montana Wool. I want to ask you a few questions about Gentech. Do you remember Gentech?”

  Victoria’s eyes grew wide. “Yes,” she said, nodding.

>   “Do you remember anyone from your trial there?” Anna asked.

  Victoria shook her head.

  “Do you have any children?”

  “I have a daughter,” Victoria replied.

  “What is her name?”

  “Montana,” Victoria replied, turning her head to one side.

  “No, that's my name. What is your daughter's name?”

  “I have a daughter?” Victoria asked.

  “We're not getting anywhere,” Charlie noted.

  Anna continued the questioning. “Yes, you said you have a daughter. What is her name?”

  “Montana,” Victoria repeated.

  Anna shook her head and let out a breath. “No, that's my name, Mrs. Olson.”

  “No, that's where she's from,” Victoria stared at the drapes to Anna's left.

  “Where who is from? Your daughter?”

  “No, the nice lady I met at Gentech,” Victoria replied.

  Anna dropped her eyebrows, leaning in closer to Victoria. “Was her name Margaret?”

  A black cat trotted into the room and jumped up onto Victoria's lap, burying its head in the woman's hands. “Isabelle,” she said.

  Anna's frustration got the best of her. She let out another deep breath. “Who is Isabelle?” Anna asked, raising her voice.

  A nurse entered the room with a small cup in one hand and a glass of water in another. “It's time for your medication Mrs. Olson,” she said, setting the cups down on the tray next to Victoria's chair. The nurse turned to Anna. “I think she's had enough visiting for one day. Mrs. Olson isn't well.”

  Anna ignored the nurse and placed her hand on Victoria's arm. The woman jumped. Anna retracted. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. What was the woman's name from Gentech?” Anna asked again.

  Victoria stroked the cat, purring beneath her palm. “Isabelle,” Victoria repeated.

  “I'm sorry, but you have to leave,” the nurse persisted.

  Anna stood up, but continued to question Victoria. “Isabelle is the name of the lady you met at Gentech?”

  “Isabelle is what she calls the cat,” the nurse replied. “Now really, you need to leave,” she said placing her hand on Anna's arm, ushering her towards the door.