Kennedy stood on the deck looking over the water, her heart heavy. She would be leaving with Finley tomorrow. One more night on the floating home, and she should’ve packed already, but stood out there looking at the moon slicing across the deck like a bright spotlight. She’d been useless all day, wandering around the house, touching everything she would have to leave behind. She started out deciding what to keep of her mother’s things, but it didn’t take long before she realized most everything she wanted she wouldn’t be allowed to take.
No photos. No videos. No mementos that referenced her family in any way.
The enormity of her decision to follow Finley rendered her ineffective, and she’d done nothing but stare at her mother’s things and the water throughout the day.
Her phone rang. Finley.
Kennedy dredged up a cheerful tone. “Hey, Sis.”
“Tyrone says be ready at nine A.M. for transport.”
“Nine?” The finality of her decision hit Kennedy. “No. Please. I want a little more time.”
“No can do.” Finley sounded eager and determined. “We’re lucky I got him to back off until tomorrow by telling him Nighthawk Security was protecting you.”
Kennedy opened her mouth to tell Finley that she’d left Erik and his brothers and was on her own tonight, she didn’t want to hurry the process along. Kennedy would have one more night in the same city as Erik. Maybe he would come by again. Maybe she would go see him. Maybe, maybe, maybe.
She swallowed down a sigh. “I’ll be packed and ready.”
“With the little bit we can take with us, it’s not like it’ll take long,” Finley said. “See you in the morning.”
Kennedy ended the call before she snapped at her sister and blamed her for having to give up everything. Everything!
Kennedy didn’t know yet where they would be relocated. Or what kind of job she would be doing. She was supposed to have called to quit her current job, but she’d put it off, and now it was too late for the day. She would do it first thing in the morning. Likely the last call she would make from this phone.
“Stop being such a big baby and suck it up,” she muttered. “You’ve made the best decision for Finley. A decision Mom would want. So stop whining. It won’t accomplish anything. Face it. You’re going to have to once again walk out on one of the finest men you know.”
Enough star gazing. Pack and get some sleep. That was what she needed to do.
She spun and headed into the house, but her feet stuttered to a stop just inside the door.
A man stood by the front door, cloaked in shadows. She gasped.
“Hello, Kennedy,” he said. “Time for us to finish this once and for all.”
Confused, Erik blinked at Maya. “How can you possibly tell she was murdered from her denture?”
“I’ll bet we’ll find that it contains the heart medicine the ME couldn’t explain in her system.”
He gaped at her. “In her denture? You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Not kidding at all. You wanted me to review Wanda’s autopsy file to look at the toxicology report, remember?”
“Sure, but what does that have to do with the denture?”
“There was a photo of her plate, and I noticed it was unusual. It was 3-D printed, not traditionally made.”
He shook his head. “Are 3-D dentures really a thing?”
“Yes.” She rested her hands on her waist. “Printable dentures aren’t common yet, but they could be the way of the future.”
“Okay, makes sense, I guess, but the medicine? How’s that connected?”
She crossed the room to a work table. “First, you need to know that nearly two-thirds of the denture wearers in our country suffer from frequent fungal infections. Needless to say, that causes a lot of issues for the wearer. Researchers want to solve that problem and have filled 3-D printed dentures with microscopic capsules that periodically release an antifungal medication. These aren’t available to the general public yet but are still in the testing phase.”
“And you think someone put heart medicine in her plate instead of the antifungal?”
She nodded. “Not just anyone could inject the meds into an antifungal denture and expect it to work. And honestly, not many people even know about these dentures, so seems like a scientist is trying to develop them for heart medicine.”
“Then they’d likely have to be connected to a research lab to have perfected these.”
“Absolutely. It’s not as simple as just putting tablets that you’d find at her house into the denture. It would need to be calibrated to dispense the right dosage. So if we find the heart meds in the dentures, we’ll have a limited number of people who would have the right knowledge to pull this off.”
He shook his head and smiled. “You are simply amazing, you know that?”
Color rose over her face, and she waved her hand to dismiss the compliment. “I just keep up on research and developments.”
“Still, it’s incredible that you thought of using the denture to look for Wanda’s meds.”
“Not sure incredible is the word.” She wrinkled her nose. “More like a crazy way my brain sees everyday things and figures out how they can be used to commit a crime.”
“Well, I for one, am glad you’re crazy.” He handed over the evidence bag. “I assume you can test for the meds here.”
“Yes. If it’s in the denture material, I’ll find it.” She pulled a sheet of white paper over the table and took the denture plate from the box. “I’ll have to crack this open to see if it includes microspheres. They protect the drug during the heat printing process and allow the release of medication as they gradually degrade.”
Excitement burned in Erik’s gut. He’d finally be able to prove that Wanda was murdered. She hadn’t died of suicide or incompetence, just like Kennedy had asserted all along. “What if inDents was experimenting with this heart medicine, and Wanda was trialing it for the company? Then these microspheres degraded faster than planned and gave her a serious overdose.”
“That’s what I’m thinking.” Maya looked up. “No offense, but I’ll do this quicker if you don’t watch me.”
“I’ll take off.”
“I’ll text you the second I know anything.”
“Will it be tonight?”
She nodded but didn’t look up.
He left the lab and took the stairs to his place. If Maya was right, he might still have time to tell Kennedy in person what had happened to her mother.
He opened his condo door and caught a faint hint of her coconut smell. His gut twisted, but then he heard Pong whimpering from his crate. The little fella would be a distraction from pain. The past few days, Erik had taken him out for bathroom breaks when needed but neglected the long walks the dog liked to take. That was going to change right now.
Erik opened the crate door. “Ready for a walk.”
Pong danced then sat as if he knew dancing wasn’t proper behavior for a trained dog.
Erik ruffled his scruff. “It’s okay, boy. At least one of us should be happy.”
Erik clicked on Pong’s leash, and they were soon out in the clear night, temps in the seventies. Erik should be enjoying his walk, but with the lack of focus came more thoughts of Kennedy. He had to do something to clear his mind.
“Let’s run, boy.” Erik started off, his tactical boots heavier than the athletic shoes he’d left in his condo, but soon the miles disappeared beneath his feet to the sound of paws clicking on the sidewalk. Perspiration coated his body, and his muscles strained, the punishment feeling good. And no signs of illness from anthrax. He felt perfectly fine.
Please keep it that way. For Kennedy too.
His phone pealed into the night, disturbing the peace. He came to a stop, his breathing sharp and fast. Maya’s name appeared on the screen, and he answered.
“I hope you have good news,” he got out between deep breaths.
“We were right! The dentures contained Wanda’s heart meds.”
>
“Finally.” He huffed out a breath and dragged in another. “An answer. So maybe she wasn’t murdered, and it was all a horrible accident.”
“If so, inDents needs to be held accountable for it.”
“Yeah,” Erik said, his focus on Pong, who was probably hot and thirsty. “I need to find out who they are and make sure they pay.”
He ended the call and turned to race back home. Pong kept up beside him, the patter of his paws like a clock ticking away and matching the thoughts pinging through Erik’s brain.
Could Jeremy Miller have been stealing the denture to keep anyone from discovering the medicine? Had Wanda’s boyfriend known about the trial? Had inDents killed him to cover it up?
The police said the boyfriend looked like he’d been tortured. Maybe they were trying to get him to tell them where the denture plate was located after they searched Wanda’s house and the lab and didn’t find it. Then Kennedy and Erik saw him at Wanda’s place, so he wanted to take them out too.
It was all making sense, everything fitting together and tying up with a neat bow. Sure, they would have to get Miller to confess and tell them who was behind inDents, but Erik figured that would happen in time. Time Erik didn’t have before Kennedy disappeared again. He needed to tell her about all of this now! Before she left town. If she hadn’t already gone.
25
Kennedy recognized the voice and knew the identity of the man lurking in the shadows. Oscar Edwards. He stepped into the light from the lamp as she tried to figure out what he meant when he said they had something to end. She had no idea.
“How did you get in here?” she asked, trying to remain calm.
“Your mother used to hide a key under one of the pots.” Edwards held the key out on his palm. “I guess she didn’t tell you.”
“Why would she tell you?”
He shoved the key into his pocket. “I had to meet with her every week, and we sure couldn’t meet in public where video cameras are everywhere nowadays. And you know your mom. She often got bogged down in her research and forgot everything else. She was often late and gave me a key to let myself in.”
Kennedy couldn’t imagine her mother being so secretive. “Why were you meeting with her?”
He lifted his shoulders, and a cocky smile spread across his face. “She was trialing a denture plate I’ve perfected to deliver medicines to the wearer.”
Kennedy tried not to gape at the man, but what he was saying was crazy. “Medicine through dentures?”
He lifted his chin. “Researchers have been experimenting with 3-D printed dentures to deliver antifungal medicines to denture wearers. They were so shortsighted. Why stop there, I asked? Why not try other meds too? Just imagine it. The denture wearer—often seniors who forget to take their meds—will have them seamlessly delivered, and they only have to change out the dentures every so often.” His shoulders rose, and he let out an arrogant huff of air. “I’m going to make a fortune.”
Ah, now things were becoming clearer. “You’re behind inDents.”
“I am inDents.” His shoulders rose even higher. “Every brilliant thought behind it.”
“And you gave my mom her heart medicine that way, but it failed and killed her.”
He frowned. “Once I get the dentures back, I can investigate the failure. Of course I also have to make sure no one learns of it.”
In his dreams. “But you can’t keep it a secret. My mom was buried with them, and the police have the spare set.”
“No worries.” He tossed off an easygoing shrug. “The pair your mother was buried with will soon be recovered.”
She cringed at the implications behind his statement. “And the other pair? The one Jeremy Miller stole? Do you know him?”
“My sort of nephew.” Disgust deepened Edwards’ tone. “He botched things up one too many times. He’s on his own, but you will get the pair back that the police are now holding.”
So he did it. This man killed her mom. Sure it was an accident, but he was responsible.
She opened her mouth to spew her anger at him, but held it in check, curling her fingers into fists. This creep wouldn’t get away with killing her mother, but anger would get Kennedy nowhere right now. She had to get the details from him. Then she would find a way to get free and see him punished.
“Sort of nephew?” she asked, surprised by how calm she managed to sound.
Edwards’ lip curled as he rolled his eyes. “My sister once fostered a teen. Jeremy Miller. She always begged me to think of him as family. Not easy. Not when he was so rough around the edges.”
Edwards shuddered. “The boy pushed the boundaries and got into trouble with the law too many times for my liking. Now, he’s become fascinated with guns. He’s one of those militia fanatics you hear about on the news. Disgusting, but just the guy I needed. He was more than glad to break into all the places where your mom might’ve kept her spare denture and recover it.”
Oh, Mom, you trusted the wrong man. Totally trusted the wrong man. “You had a key and code for the lab too?”
“Your mother was kind enough to let me do my research there late at night. After all, dispensing drugs without going through FDA protocols isn’t exactly approved.”
Her mother really must’ve trusted him, as being generous with her lab wasn’t common for her. “Which is why you paid her so much money. You both knew this trial could kill her.”
He grimaced. “That’s a bit extreme.”
“Extreme!” Kennedy finally lost it and charged across the room, her blood boiling. She was going to grab her gun and… Stop. Calm down and think. “That’s exactly what happened.”
Edwards held up his hands and stood back. “We don’t know that for sure.”
Kennedy wanted to see this man suffer, but he was talking, and she needed him to keep giving her the information that would convict him and put him behind bars for the rest of his life for murder.
She took a long breath and let it out. “You knew it could kill her, which is why you’re trying to cover it up. Did you purge the lab video too?”
“Video. No. Why? I haven’t been there in months. Didn’t have to go there while your mom was trialing the plate.” He shifted on his feet, looking antsy.
She still had a few more questions for him, but then she was going for her gun and holding him here until the police could arrive. “You have a prickly caterpillar bean plant in your garden, right?”
“I never understood why you asked about that, but yes. It’s quite the unique plant.”
“One of the beans must’ve gotten stuck on Jeremy’s pant leg. It fell off near the river after he broke into the lab.”
“Ah. I have a nice thick stand of them. He probably brushed against them when he came to get his marching orders.” Edwards shook his head. “Just between you and me, the guy could be more careful.”
“But not you, right?” Her anger seethed under her words. “You’re so careful that you put the Tile trackers in my mom’s purse and my backpack so you knew when it would be safe to break in.”
He grinned. “I had to track her just in case the plate did fail. Was easy enough. I hid the tracker in your mom’s purse when she went to the bathroom at one of our meetings, and you left your pack sitting unattended at the church after her funeral.”
Just the reminder of the day put a pain in Kennedy’s heart and a flame to her anger, but she wasn’t done. Not quite yet. “Did your nephew mail the anthrax too?”
“Of course, but I gave him the envelope. He wouldn’t have access to that. I was the mastermind behind it. Behind everything.” He eyed her. “Though you aren’t showing any ill effects from it.”
She explained what happened. “So you see. You failed. Again.”
“Alas, it didn’t work the way I had hoped,” he admitted. “I thought you would see a letter addressed to your mother and be eager to open it. But I’ll be ending your involvement today, and I have plans for your PI too.”
“Once the police link
Jeremy to you, you’ll be charged. Assuming your sort-of nephew doesn’t turn on you before then.”
“Won’t happen. Sure, he’ll likely be charged with burglary, but he won’t spill his guts about all of this once he knows you can’t testify against him.”
She forced a chuckle she didn’t feel. “You obviously don’t realize that we recovered forensic evidence that will tie Jeremy to my mom’s house and a gun that he used to kill her boyfriend.”
Edwards’ eyes widened. “He killed the boyfriend?”
She saw a myriad of emotions race through his expression. “Jeremy went rogue on you, and you didn’t know.”
Edwards’ face blanched, but he quickly recovered.
“This is all going to come out,” she said, attempting to sound brave. “So no point in harming me or Erik. As accessory to murder and attempted murder, you’re going to go away for a long time.”
“They need proof for that, and you’re going to help me take it out of their hands.” His eyes lost focus, and she thought he’d gone to an alternate place. He was clearly crazy in his obsession with his project. She really needed to get away from him, warn Erik, and then call the police.
“Now!” He jutted out his chin. “You’re going to help me get those dentures before the police wise up and have them analyzed.”
“No, I won’t.” She rushed toward her purse and shoved her uninjured hand inside. Her fingers curled around the weapon.
Edwards whipped the purse from the table.
“No!” She shot out her other hand to latch onto it, but the pain radiated up her arm and she instinctively let go.
He jerked the leather free and moved back to the open doorway. “Let’s see what you’re so eager to get to.”
He plunged his hand inside the bag and came out holding her gun. There was suddenly a heavy, sick weight to the air surrounding them, and panic raced up her back.
“This is perfect.” His lips curled in a revolting grin. “We’ll just take a little trip somewhere more private where we won’t draw attention from the neighbors while I persuade you to cooperate, and I can use your own gun to do it.”
Night Watch Page 25
