by C. J. Miller
Flint saw the depressed snow, indicating someone had hiked in this area. It could have been a resident on a walk, but this deep in the woods, Flint suspected it was Dr. Rand. Fresh snow had since fallen, making the track less visible. A less talented searcher may not have seen it. But Nina was good. Nina knew what she was doing.
The searchers stayed behind Nina and she led the way. She turned and motioned ahead of her, pressing a finger to her mouth for silence.
About thirty yards away was a small cave with a light shining from inside it. A lair like this would provide shelter from the wind and snow, and while it would be bitter cold, a fire would take the edge off the freezing conditions, maybe even bringing the temperature in the cave to a bearable level.
It was a smart place to stay, but not an especially good place to hide.
Flint turned off his flashlight and circled around, staying out of view of the mouth of the shelter.
He withdrew his gun. “This is the police. Come out with your hands on your head.”
No response. Silence except for the snow falling and the fire crackling. “I am armed. If you do not come out now, I will shoot.” He wouldn’t venture into a cave until he knew who was inside, but it was a good threat and Flint was cold, tired and angry. He didn’t have time for games.
“Wait! I’m not armed.” A voice from inside. It didn’t sound like Rand, but Flint couldn’t be sure.
“Hands on your head and come out slowly,” Flint shouted.
A man emerged from the cave and Flint surged forward immediately, taking his hands and securing them behind his back. When he turned the man to face the fire, he jolted at the sight of Jimmy Johnson.
“Jimmy,” Flint said. His cousin Molly’s former fiancé who had stolen their grandmother’s ring and Molly’s savings.
“Please don’t kill me,” Jimmy said. He was scared. Maybe it was the cold, but Jimmy was shaking too.
Nina came forward. “Jimmy Johnson, the entire town has been looking for you.”
He lowered his head. “I tried to escape.”
“With Molly’s ring and her money?” Flint asked. He had a job to do as the police chief and he couldn’t punch Jimmy, but he wanted to. The man had hurt Molly deeply and was in need of a thumping.
“I want to talk to her. It’s been a misunderstanding,” Jimmy said.
Flint shook his head. No misunderstanding. If Jimmy thought he could charm Molly into not pressing charges, he had a surprise coming. His cousin was stronger than Jimmy gave her credit for.
“You’re lucky that I’m the man who found you,” Flint said. “There have been some dangerous, desperate people trapped in Dead River.”
Flint alerted the other search parties they’d found Jimmy. They started walking back to their car, Jimmy in handcuffs.
“I heard that Hank Bittard was out here,” Jimmy said.
“Hank is dead. But another killer went missing tonight.”
When they arrived at his police car, Flint patted Jimmy down and emptied his pockets. Inside he found Gram Dottie’s wedding ring and wads of cash, likely belonging to Molly.
“Not a smart place to hide this,” Flint said.
“I had to take it. Molly will understand,” Jimmy said.
“What will she understand?” Flint asked, feeling his irritation tick higher.
“I was in trouble. I had debts that had to be paid. I took this to protect her. I didn’t want anyone coming after her.”
Nina sighed and touched his shoulder, a reminder to Flint to keep his temper. “Once a liar, always a liar.”
“I do have debts. I have to pay them,” Jimmy said.
“I don’t doubt that you have debts. But I don’t think you did any of this to help Molly. Do you know how much you hurt her? Do you realize what problems you’ve caused our family?” Flint asked.
He shoved the younger man into the back of the squad car. He’d call Molly and let her know her items had been found. He slammed closed the door, locking Jimmy inside.
Nina slipped her arms around Flint’s waist. “Are we going back out tonight to look for Rand?”
Flint shook his head. “I haven’t heard from the other parties that they had any leads. It’s cold and dark. We’ll start again in the morning.”
“Sounds good to me. I want you home and in bed,” Nina said. “You’ve been working too hard.”
Bed with Nina sounded great to him.
* * *
Molly’s phone rang in the middle of the night. Gemma. Her Gram. Flint and Nina. Theo and Ellie. Ever since her parents had died, phone calls were subject to question if they would bring good or bad news.
“Hello? What’s wrong?” Molly asked.
“I have good news.” Flint’s voice.
“Good news? What time is it?”
“Three a.m. I wanted to be the one to tell you first. We found Jimmy Johnson.”
Molly’s heart caught in her throat. “Thank God.” Aside from meeting Matt, it was the highlight of the month.
“He had Gram Dottie’s ring and your money on him.”
That news was even better. Guilt over having lost the ring disappeared. “How? I mean, how did you find him?”
“We were searching for someone and Nina tracked him. According to Jimmy, he’s been living in the woods, stealing food from people, sleeping in sheds and unlocked cars for months.”
“Wow.” She couldn’t muster much sympathy for him. After what he had done, it seemed like a fitting punishment. “Who were you looking for in the woods?” Molly asked.
“We’ve had another incident at the clinic. Gemma was hurt and Dr. Rand is responsible.”
“Dr. Rand?” The doctor at the clinic? Mimi’s ex-husband?
“From what we can piece together about the events over the last several months, Dr. Rand is a dangerous and desperate man. Watch out for him, Molly.”
“Thanks for calling, Flint. I will be careful.”
But to be sure, before she went back to sleep, she checked that her doors and windows were locked.
* * *
Rounds in the virus wing were utterly depressing. Gemma was still in a coma and Rafe was having trouble thinking objectively about Gemma’s care. He wanted to bring her home to his place and then stay and watch over her until a cure was found. The only good news was that the virus wasn’t progressing as fast as they believed Mimi’s had.
Dr. Goodhue was working with the trickle of information she was receiving from the government.
The vitals on every patient in the virus wing were worse by the day, a steady downward trend. More residents would die. It seemed inevitable.
Gram Dottie was writing in a notebook when Rafe entered her room. She was aware that Gemma was sick and she had taken the news hard.
“I’ve been praying for my granddaughter. If a life must be taken, it should be mine, not hers.”
“I would like if no lives were lost,” Rafe said.
Gram Dottie smiled. “I’ve been praying that you’ll find a cure. I’m not getting better. I know I need to make my peace with my time on earth.”
Rafe couldn’t stand to hear Gram Dottie speaking this way. He’d been trained to do everything he could to help his patients. Knowing he couldn’t heal them was hard to accept and knowing that Gemma was counting on him was driving him insane.
“I should have told Gemma how I felt about her when I had the chance,” Rafe said, realizing that it was love he felt for Gemma. When he stopped thinking of her like a holdover on his way to New York, he saw her for who she was: the woman he’d fallen in love with.
“You should tell her now,” Gram Dottie said.
“She can’t hear me.”
“Do you know that for sure?” Gram Dottie asked.
As a scientis
t, he didn’t know what he believed. Could he communicate with Gemma on some level? Could she hear him while she was in a coma? “It’s worth a try. It can’t hurt.”
He finished with Gram Dottie and moved to Gemma’s room.
She looked small and fragile beneath the blankets. He checked her vitals and then made sure she was comfortable. He sat on the edge of her bed and took her hands in his.
“Gemma, if you can hear me, I want you to wake up. I have so many things I want to say to you. So many times during our relationship that I could have told you how I felt, but I was too afraid of what it would mean for my career.
“I will find a cure. I will find a way for you to get better. I will save your grandmother and Jessica and Annabelle and every person in this town.”
Rafe hated to make promises to her that he couldn’t keep, but her life hinged on him keeping this one.
Chapter 13
Christmas Eve in Dead River was quiet and sadness hung heavily over the town. No one was on the street taking care of last-minute shopping. Snow fell from the sky and blanketed the streets. The town didn’t have fuel to run snow plows or salt trucks, making the roads impassable.
The last count of the sick was over four hundred people. Four hundred people awaiting a cure.
Dr. Goodhue was sleeping in the doctor-and-nurse lounge. She had been awake for far too long and needed to rest. Perhaps sleep would help her find inspiration.
Rafe had the notes the government had provided. They were frustratingly bare. Buried in the document, one piece of information had been useful to them. Dr. Kayhill had noted that he’d had some success growing an antidote and he’d explained how he’d done it.
The antidote they’d created seemed to destroy the virus and Rafe was initially hopeful. Unfortunately, in the end, the antidote was beaten by the virus every time.
He’d had a burst of inspiration and had invited Theo, Ellie and Amelia to the clinic earlier that day. Theo and Amelia had been exposed to the virus, but they weren’t sick. He’d taken some of Theo’s blood and was looking for a natural antidote.
Rafe slipped the petri dish he was working with under his microscope. The virus mocked him. Using a syringe, he dropped potential antidote number eighty-nine into the dish. It had a small amount of Theo’s blood in it.
Rafe watched in rapt attention as the antidote killed the virus. He had seen this pattern before. He waited for the virus to dwindle and then ultimately survive.
Within minutes, the entire dish had dead virus cells.
Dead virus cells could be used to make a vaccine, but in the more near term, his antidote had worked in this lab test.
He wouldn’t get too excited and ring the bell of success. He needed to replicate his result several more times. And his antidote hadn’t been tested on humans. It could have unintended side effects or it could be rendered entirely useless inside the human body.
Working to keep his calm, Rafe replicated his results. He needed Dr. Goodhue. She needed to see his tests.
Rafe exited the lab and froze when he saw the two policemen who’d been guarding the entrance to the clinic on the floor. Rafe rushed to them and felt for a pulse.
The men were dead.
Fear coursed over him. Dr. Rand was here. It had to be him, returning to finish whatever deranged plan he had hatched.
“Rand? If you’re here, talk to me. Don’t be a coward.”
Dr. Rand stepped out of the patient triage area. He was holding a gun and pressing a wad of gauze over his shoulder. The gauze was red with blood. Had the police officers shot Rand? Inside the lab in his suit, Rafe wouldn’t have heard the gunfire.
“Are you happy, Rafe?” Dr. Rand asked. His voice shook with anger.
Rafe said nothing. “People I care about are sick. I am not happy about that.”
Dr. Rand shook his head. “People can’t be trusted. People will turn their backs on you the moment you need them.”
“Is that how you felt about Mimi?” Rafe asked.
Dr. Rand twitched. His blinking was too fast and a nervous energy was taking over his body. “She was pregnant with another man’s baby less than a year after our divorce. How do you think I felt about that?”
Rafe couldn’t have guessed. She was Rand’s ex-wife and Rafe knew nothing of their relationship. Rand should have moved on with his life. “I’m sorry about what happened with Mimi.”
Dr. Rand winced and Rafe noted the rag he held to his shoulder was dripping blood. If it was a gunshot wound, Dr. Rand would bleed out if he didn’t get help. If Rafe could assist him, he could also move close enough to take the gun from him.
“Let me look at your shoulder. You know what can happen to an untreated GSW,” Rafe said.
“I’m a doctor! Of course I know. I can fix this myself.”
Was he talking about his injury or the situation? “How are you planning to do that?”
Rafe needed a phone. He could reach Flint to call for help. “I’ll clear out this clinic. I’ll kill everyone in here. If I kill everyone with the virus, it can’t spread any further.”
Rand was feeling guilty and trying to clean up his mess. Granted, his plan was ridiculous and Rand had to know it. He couldn’t kill four hundred people. “You don’t need to kill anyone. We’ll find a cure.” Perhaps they already had, but Rafe wasn’t telling Rand that. The man was unstable and Rafe didn’t trust how he would respond.
Gemma was in the virus wing. Rafe had to protect her and his patients.
Dr. Rand lifted his gun. “I killed those cops in self-defense. I can kill you.”
Rafe wouldn’t give him the chance. He lunged at Dr. Rand and knocked him to the ground. He pressed his hand over Dr. Rand’s shoulder and the man let out a cry of pain. Rafe twisted the gun from his hand.
He stood, holding the gun on Dr. Rand. “You made a mistake coming here. You should have run and not looked back.”
“There is no escape from this town or from what I did,” Dr. Rand said.
Rafe understood feeling as if there was no escape. He understood making a mistake that couldn’t be undone. But now, Rafe had to make it right. He had never been more clear on what—and who—he wanted.
* * *
Rafe, Dr. Goodhue and Dr. Moore worked to make as much of the antidote as possible. They had to experiment carefully with the doses, but they saw almost immediate results with their patients.
As the antidote battled the virus, patients reported feeling better.
All patients except Gemma. She was still unconscious despite having been given the antidote hours before.
Rafe entered the virus wing for the first time without his suit. Family members and friends had joined their once-isolated loved ones in the virus wing.
Rafe saw Annabelle between her two parents, hugging them and laughing, each wearing a red Santa hat.
Tammy Flynn was opening a present her parents had brought for her.
Carter Saunders had left that morning with his wife, eager to be home with his family for Christmas.
Gemma’s room was silent. Her brothers were at her bedside.
Rafe joined them. “Any change?” he asked, looking at the monitors.
Her brothers shook their heads.
Rafe moved close to her. “Please wake up. I love you, Gemma.” He had spoken the same words to her ten times a day since she had fallen ill.
Theo and Flint seemed surprised by his words, but they said nothing as Rafe joined their vigil.
A slight movement from the bed. Just her leg, then her fingers and then Gemma opened her eyes.
“Water,” she said, looking at her brothers and Rafe in confusion.
Rafe rushed to bring her a drink. Once she had taken a long drink she held her arms out to Rafe. He was happy to step into them.
&
nbsp; “Tell me what happened and why you aren’t wearing suits in here,” Gemma said.
Rafe went for the simplest explanation. “Dr. Rand injected you with the Dead River virus.”
Gemma touched her head. “Except for a vicious headache, I don’t feel sick.”
“I found an antidote.”
Gemma’s eyes widened. “You did? I knew you would!”
Her faith in him was unshakable. He loved that.
Flint cleared his throat. “Dr. Rand is in custody. I also arrested Felicia Martin as his accomplice. He admitted she had helped him try to cover up what he did to Mimi. This morning, I drove Danny out to be with Matt for Christmas. I hope that’s okay with you.”
Rafe nodded. “Of course it is.”
“Molly went along for the ride,” Flint said. “She and Matt seem to have a good thing going.”
Gemma smiled. “I’m happy for her.”
“Dr. Goodhue is submitting our test results and our patient information to the CDC. The quarantine should be lifted in a day or two, maybe three,” Rafe said.
Gemma looked at Rafe, sadness in her eyes. “Can I have a moment alone with Rafe?” she asked.
“It’s good to have you back,” Theo said.
“Don’t scare us like this again,” Flint said.
Her brothers kissed her cheek before they left the room.
“You and I only have a couple more days together,” Gemma said.
“I was thinking I would stay through the new year,” Rafe said.
“Another week,” Gemma said.
“Maybe for another year, at least,” Rafe said.
Gemma inclined her head. “Another year? What are you talking about? What happened with your job?”
His job in New York was secondary to being with Gemma. A job wouldn’t make him happy, not the way Gemma could and did every day they were together. “I don’t want to be without you. If that means living in Dead River, then great. If you’re willing to move with me to New York, then I’m happy about that too.”
“You would stay in Dead River for me?” she asked.
