Exposed in Darkness

by Heather Sunseri

  Trenches formed across his forehead; his eyes narrowed in pain. He opened his mouth to speak when I saw a couple of EMTs lift a body onto a gurney. Behind them was a second gurney. But the body on that gurney had been fully covered with a white sheet.

  I tried to step around Declan, but he held tight. “Brooke, don’t.”

  I searched his eyes again. “Who is it?”

  “Marti and José. They—”

  I jerked my arms from his grasp and got around him. That’s when I saw Marti on the gurney. She had an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth. But she appeared to be breathing.

  Two EMTs and a policeman steered the gurney toward an ambulance. “Where are you taking her?” I asked as they passed.

  “UK,” one of the EMTs answered.

  I approached the EMT standing by the second gurney. Normally I would have pulled my badge from my pocket and demanded to see the body hidden by the sheet, but huddled against the side of the barn were a few of the stable workers, and I didn’t want to blow what little cover I still had.

  “Do we know what happened?” I asked the EMT.

  “Appears to be drugs. An overdose. Or maybe they got ahold of something bad.”

  I glanced to where a uniform was collecting soda cans and water bottles and placing labeled evidence in a box.

  There’s something in the water at Kensington.

  I walked slowly over to where the policeman was working. He stooped beside a couple of chairs and searched the grass. While he was distracted, I grabbed a Sharpie from the box and scribbled a quick note on the sides of the bags holding the water bottles—instructing the lab to check for tacin.

  When I stood, Declan sidled up beside me. I faced him.

  “What are you—” I pressed a couple of fingers over his lips and shook my head. He understood.

  “I should call Carrie Anne.” I removed my hand from his lips. “Did José have any family locally?”

  “Aidan called Carrie Anne. She’s meeting Marti at the hospital. I don’t know about José. The police are looking into it.” He lifted a hand and played with a loose strand of my hair. His brows pushed closer together.

  I heard the siren of the ambulance as they rushed Marti off toward the University of Kentucky hospital.

  “Mr. O’Roark.” A female voice spoke behind me.

  I turned, and Declan put a shoulder slightly in front of me. Before us was a physically fit petite woman in a pair of dark gray cargo pants and a long-sleeved, navy polo shirt. Her hair was tied into a low pony tail.

  The woman held up a badge. “I’m Detective Johnson, and you are?” she asked me.

  “Brooke Fairfax,” I answered.

  “She’s one of our riders,” Declan added, protecting my identity. Not that it would help. If she was worth her badge, she’d figure out who I was quickly enough.

  “Did you know the victims?”

  I nodded while noticing for the first time that Aidan was speaking with a couple of the uniforms. Beside him was the groom I’d seen speaking with Marti earlier that morning, although he’d undone his man bun and now his long gorgeous hair hung down past his shoulders.

  “Miss Fairfax?” the detective prompted.

  I redirected my gaze to her. “Sorry. Yes. Like Mr. O’Roark said, I worked with them both.”

  “When was the last time you spoke to either of them?”

  “I saw them both at breakfast after this morning’s training.”

  She flipped through her notes. “That would have been at the track kitchen?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did you notice anything strange about them?”

  “No.” The EMTs were finally moving José’s body toward the second ambulance. They wouldn’t turn the siren on when they took him away. Aidan glanced my way then looked to Declan, who was standing so close I could feel the warmth of his body on my back.

  “Mr. O’Roark, we’ll need you and your trainer to remain available in case we have more questions.”

  “Of course.”

  “And we’ll be speaking with each of your employees in the morning. If you notice anyone who isn’t here tomorrow, we’d like to know that.”

  “You can speak to my trainer, Aidan Gallagher, about that. I only own the horses. I don’t always know whom he employs.”

  “Ahh. Interesting.” She made a note.

  “Also, you can reach me by phone. I’ll be out of town tomorrow, but will be back by noon the day after. My assistant, David, will know how to get in touch with me at all times.” Declan handed her a card.

  She looked at it, then redirected her gaze to me. “The same goes for you, Miss Fairfax. Please be available.”

  Before I could answer, Declan interjected. “She’ll be with me. A business trip. You can reach her through my assistant as well. Thank you, detective.” Declan placed a hand on my back and steered me away from the barn, but not before I saw curiosity register on the detective’s face.

  When we were far enough away from the barn and out of earshot of the others, I stopped walking. “Want to tell me what that was all about? Why did you speak to her that way?”

  “Someone poisoned two of my employees. Do you really think they’re not going to put together that they were poisoned with the same substance that was used to kill the lieutenant governor and the server, who just so happened to also be employed by me?” He walked the rest of the way to my car. “You brought luggage, right?”

  I nodded. The abrupt subject change didn’t go unnoticed. “Declan, wait.” Did I really want to go with him? I couldn’t think straight around him.

  “We’ll talk away from here.” He opened my car door and grabbed my bag from the back. I placed a hand on his arm, stopping him. “I shouldn’t leave my car here.”

  He thought about that. “You’re right.” He closed my car door anyway. “David will retrieve it and put it in my garage. That way it will be there for you when we return from Chicago.”

  I started to argue with him, but realized I didn’t have a valid excuse for not riding with him. “Okay,” I said finally.

  His face relaxed with my simple agreement. “Great.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward his SUV. After sliding my bag in the back seat, he opened the passenger door for me. He then skirted the vehicle and slid behind the steering wheel.

  Before starting the car, he sucked in a deep breath. After letting it out in a frustrated sigh, he grabbed my hand. “We should go to the UK hospital and check on Marti.”

  I nodded.

  “Are you hungry? We can grab some food on the way.”

  “No. I don’t think I could eat. At least not until I verify Marti’s all right.”

  “Okay.”

  I stared at the way his thumb was absently rubbing the back of my hand. This was not going the way I had planned, and I wasn’t sure how to stop what I was feeling for the man beside me.

  Or if I even wanted to.

  Chapter 18

  I called Ty as Declan drove toward Lexington.

  “What’s up? You with that hunk of a man now?”

  I glanced sideways at Declan, praying like crazy he couldn’t hear Ty’s voice. “There’s been another murder.”

  “Who?” His voice took on a serious edge.

  “One of Declan’s employees… José. Well… I guess he’s technically an employee of Aidan, Declan’s trainer. Marti was also drugged or poisoned, but she’s still alive. They’re taking her to UK Hospital.”

  “Oh, Brooke, I’m sorry. Has anyone called Carrie Anne? I could go there now.”

  “She knows. She’s already on her way to the hospital.”

  “Want me to meet you there?”

  “No. I want you to work on the items we talked about earlier.”

  “What are you thinking? You think Declan is the target? Maybe he’s being framed further?”

  “It sure looks that way, but it’s getting harder and harder to come up with a convincing defense. Also, I need you to hack into my phone records. See if you
can figure out the IP address generating the last number I received a text from.”

  Declan cast a dark look my way. I ignored him.

  “Another message from Romeo?”

  “Yep. He’s starting to become my number one suspect instead of my source. His knowledge is just a little too convenient this time.”

  “I’ll let you know what I find out. Keep me posted about Marti.”

  “Will do.”

  I had barely ended the call when Declan pounced. “Tell me more about this source.”

  “Can’t. Defeats the whole meaning of confidential human source.”

  “This is the person who warned you there was something in Carrie Anne’s coffee?”

  “Yes, except that there wasn’t.”

  “There wasn’t what?”

  “There was nothing in the coffee. He threw me off.”

  “He lied to you? Why would he do that?”

  “No idea. He’s never done it before.”

  “What’s his name?”

  “Don’t know his real name.”

  “Wait a minute.” Declan’s voice escalated. “You’re accepting information from a source you don’t know?”

  “I’ve never really felt I had a choice. He inserts himself into the middle of my investigations with information that almost always helps the case.”

  “Just your cases?” His hands tightened around the steering wheel, whitening the skin around his knuckles. “What about while you were taking a break from your job?”

  “He also took a break, as far as I know anyway.”

  “That’s why they pulled you back in. You didn’t want to be involved.”

  “It’s more complicated than that.”

  Declan slowed and turned into the parking garage across from the hospital. When he had parked the car, he turned to me. “I’m not going to pretend to understand the job you used to hold, but something feels very off about what’s going on here.”

  “There’s something ‘off’ about all cases—until they’re solved.” I tried to shrug off his statement with my retort, but the truth was, I agreed with him. There was something off. For one thing, there was my source, who had disappeared for the past year only to show up when Teddy’s brother was in trouble. And then there was the fact that so much of the evidence was so obviously pointing at Declan’s business. Almost too obviously.

  But for now, all I could do was my job. I would follow the path the evidence took me on, gather information, and then, hopefully, stop whatever attack was being planned. The FBI director would give me the information he was withholding from me, and I would be done with the FBI forever.

  Declan got out of the car and quickly skirted the hood to open my door, giving me the second I needed to think about what we were about to face. When I stepped out, he framed my face. “I’m glad you’re staying with me tonight. You’ll be protected under my roof.”

  I ignored the conflicting tugs at my heart that his statement caused. And I stopped myself from informing him—again—that I did not need his protection.

  The emergency waiting room was packed with people. I spotted Carrie Anne immediately and made my way over to her. Declan was at my side when Carrie Anne threw her arms around me.

  “They’re saying someone drugged my baby girl,” she cried into my shoulder.

  I knew that at this stage, the doctors would use the word “drugged” rather than the word “poisoned.” They couldn’t possibly know what was in her system yet.

  “Who would do that?” She released me and grabbed Declan’s arm, acknowledging that he was there. “Did the cops say anything?”

  “Not much,” I answered.

  I looked around the waiting room. I recognized many of the people there as customers of Carrie Anne’s. Marti had explained to me over and over again that the people of Midland were family to them. I was starting to believe it.

  “Listen,” I said, grabbing Carrie Anne’s hand and pulling her out of earshot of the others. “Let the police do their thing. The feds will hear about this, and they’ll jump in and it will become a turf battle. But the cops can still interview people, get a feel for who José and Marti talked to and what happened at the barns before they ingested whatever it was.”

  “You’ll find out who did this, right?” Her eyes pleaded with mine.

  And because I was positive I would, I squeezed her arms and nodded. “Yes, I will.”

  She looked up at Declan and placed her palm on his cheek. “You two look good together.” She smiled. The fact that she could register anything else going on while her daughter was fighting for her life spoke volumes about the level of kindness that oozed from her. But her assumption that Declan and I were “together” made me uneasy.

  She redirected her bloodshot gaze back to me. “There’s nothing you can do here. I’ve got this covered. Go find out who did this to my baby.”

  It was an order. And one I would take seriously. Carrie Anne and Marti had been more than kind to me. From the first moment I’d met them, they’d welcomed me into their fold. I would find out who was poisoning residents of Kentucky. And to do that, I would first find out who was gathering the poison to begin with.

  I pulled Carrie Anne in for another hug and told her I would say a special prayer for Marti.

  That was when I saw the two men standing by the vending machine across the room. One was Ben, the guy Marti had danced with the night I went out with her to the Cellar. He was dressed in black pants and a burgundy button-down, sleeves rolled to his elbows. The other man was the groom who had been at the training barn—with his distinctive man bun back in place. Wearing a black tank and worn blue jeans, his arms were crossed and showed off well-defined biceps.

  I wouldn’t have given them a second thought, if not for one thing. They both had the same tattoo on their arms. An upside-down black tulip.

  Follow the tulips.

  I let go of Carrie Anne just as the groom left Ben and headed for the exit that would take him to the parking garage. Carrie Anne touched my cheek one more time before turning to speak with others in the waiting room.

  I turned abruptly and placed a hand on Declan’s chest. “I’m suddenly light-headed. Do you mind getting me a candy bar or something? I’m just going to run to the ladies’ room and splash some water on my face.”

  He angled his head. “You want me to get a nurse?”

  “No. It’s just a drop in blood sugar. I haven’t eaten since breakfast.”

  I didn’t give him time to question me further. I turned and headed in the direction of the bathrooms. But as soon as he was at the vending machine, I darted left and exited the waiting room. Sure enough, I saw the groom headed for the parking garage.

  I wanted to catch up to him and ask him about his tattoo, but something in my gut made me hang back in the shadows as I followed him to his car. Maybe I’d run his license plate number first and approach him later.

  It had grown dark outside, and dim, orange-colored lights barely lit the garage. I walked slowly so as not to draw the groom’s attention. When he got to his vehicle, I went in a different direction. I pulled out my phone and pretended to type a text, but instead I brought up my camera app to take a picture of his license plate behind me. Then I stepped between two SUVs and waited as the groom departed.

  Without warning, an arm enveloped me from behind, pinning my arms to my sides, and a hand covered my mouth. “You’ve forgotten the rules of our little game,” a male voice whispered.

  Romeo.

  “I’m going to let you speak, but if you scream, you’ll force me to hurt you. Don’t do that. Okay?”

  I nodded, and he released his hand over my mouth. “What does this case have to do with the last case you helped me with?” I blurted out.

  “Who said there was anything in common?”

  “What?” I started to turn, but he held me tighter.

  “You can ask one more question.”

  “What does the upside-down black tulip mean?”

&nb
sp; “Your friend can tell you… if she wakes up.”

  The stairwell door opening echoed to our left, and Romeo shoved me out from between the cars. I stumbled and fell; my phone skidded across the concrete. I stretched out my right hand to break my fall, and I grunted in pain as fire radiated through my wrist and elbow. I rolled onto my back and, with my left hand, pulled my gun from my ankle holster.

  I heard Declan yell. “Brooke!” He rushed to my side and knelt beside me.

  I pointed my Glock between the vehicles, but there was no sign of Romeo. I still had no idea what he looked like.

  After lowering my gun to the ground, I lay back against the concrete, sighing in defeat.

  Declan put a hand on my right arm and started to pull me up, but I cried out in pain. He let go. “What is it?”

  He held my arm gently and analyzed it as if he had X-ray vision. “Good thing we’re at a hospital. I think you’ve gone and broken your arm.”

  Declan didn’t speak to me during the entire ride back to his farm. While we had waited for the doctor to see me, he had made it clear that he was angry that I had taken off into a dark parking garage without him or any sort of backup. And now, he was giving me the silent treatment. Which was partly cute but mostly annoying, since I was starting to feel a touch drowsy from the meds the doctor had given me for the pain.

  I was hoping David had already driven my vehicle to his place. I needed to drive back to the cottage and talk to Ty about the upside-down tulip tattoo, and I didn’t want to do it in front of Declan.

  He pulled to a stop in front of his house. Using my left hand, I opened my door and started to get out. Declan got my bag from the back seat, circled the vehicle, and offered me a hand.

  I puffed a strand out of my face and stood, refusing his help. I swayed and felt woozy from the quick motion and from the medicine.

  “What? You’re mad at me?” he asked, laughing under his breath when I ignored his outstretched hand. “You’re the one who snuck off to a dark parking garage alone to accomplish who knows what. It’s not my fault you sprained your arm in the process.” He turned and walked slowly toward the front door, leaving me staring after him in a drugged haze.