by ANDREA SMITH
Cathine is a less powerful stimulant as a result of de-potentiation and the bio physiological conversion of the ketonic atoms through oxidation.
Fuck! Didn’t Lindsey say that Poindexter was doing some science project on this very same topic?
I launched myself off the sofa immediately, shrugging my jacket on and grabbing my keys to head out. I was going to pull her ass out of whatever class she was in and bring her home.
My cell phone chimed. It was Slate. Shit!
“Slate,” I answered, “I was just on my way out.”
“Did you review the forensic lab report, Taz?”
“As a matter of fact, I just finished.”
“Does any of that shit make sense to you?”
I needed to tell him everything I knew. He wasn’t going to like the fact that I’d allowed Lindsey to go off with a potential suspect in this whole incident with the roses.
There was still no connection to Jack. So officially, if the line couldn’t be drawn connecting him, the FBI had no business in this case.
“Yeah, I guess the bottom line is that someone is stepping on some amphetamine, creating some type of designer drug that, for reasons unknown, got sprinkled on the stems of those roses.”
“Yeah, I gathered that. Though it appears the amount and strength of the powder was nowhere near a lethal level.
“Even if someone had ingested every single rose stem, which is plain idiocy, it wouldn’t have caused much harm. It’s a message of some sort to someone. I’m not even sure that message was for Lindsey.”
I hadn’t considered that.
“For whom, then?”
“I don’t know—maybe Sammie, through Lindsey. Hell, it could be for Jack.”
“So, you’re thinking Jack’s back in the states, his whereabouts unknown to everyone?”
“It’s possible. If he is, someone wants to find him, other than us, for reasons still unclear. They might have suspected that Lindsey was harboring him, or at the very least, knows how to get in touch with him.”
“There is one other thing, Slate.”
I filled him in on the portion of the report that was nearly verbatim to what Kyzer Stanfield had told Lindsey was to be the content of his upcoming science project.
“Shit Taz, that’s too close for comfort. I think Lindsey needs to take a break from school until we figure out what this kid is about. He can’t know why, though. It has to sound plausible, so he isn’t spooked.”
“Yeah, I know. Dude already knows I don’t like him.”
“Why’s that?” Slate asked.
Shit.
“Probably the same reason as you. He triggers something in our instincts. He fucking transferred to U of V at the beginning of the term last fall, the same time Lindsey enrolled. You should see his fucking college transcripts—all science classes, including one botanical something or other.”
“How did you see his transcripts?”
Uh oh.
“It’s better you don’t know.”
“Right.”
I was anxious to change that particular subject, so I brought up a valid concern.
“You know Lindsey’s going to pitch a fit about her taking a leave from school when the semester just started. How is that supposed to play out?”
“You know protocol. You can’t tell her a thing about what we know or what’s in that report. You tell her she’s needed at home for a while. Her mother is having some health issues.”
“Fuck, I’m not going to lie to her and get her all upset so that she makes a beeline home under false pretenses like that.”
“It’s not a lie,” he replied. “I can’t get into it right now and besides that, Lindsey needs to hear about the specifics from her mother and me. We’ll be making the trip home Friday. We should arrive sometime Friday evening. Can you follow Lindsey back, so I don’t have to worry about that?”
I could hear the concern and anguish in Slate’s voice. I wanted to find out what the hell was wrong with Sammie and how serious it might be. He wasn’t in the mood for questions and I respected the fact that he felt Lindsey should hear it before anyone else.
“Sure, brother. Don’t worry about a thing on this front. I’ll make sure she gets home safe and sound, okay?”
“Thanks, Taz.”
I left the apartment and drove to the campus. I decided that I didn’t want to suddenly jerk Lindsey out of class in the middle of the day. I stayed out of sight and watched that she got to and from her classes without incident the rest of the day. I was parked in my truck at the usual place when she finished for the day.
I watched as she walked towards the truck, her eyes brightening when she saw me.
“Hey Taz,” she greeted, climbing up in the truck beside me.
“Hey baby girl,” I replied, feeling like a total piece of shit having to give her news that I knew would upset her and take that smile away. “Did everything go okay today?”
“Pretty much,” she said, a slight frown appearing. “Kyzer saw us kiss this morning. He was a little upset about it, but we talked and I’m pretty sure now that we’re still friends.”
“Oh, really?” I asked, quirking an eyebrow as I gazed at her sweet face.
“Well, I mean, don’t worry. It wasn’t like I told him that you and I were a couple or anything. I mean, I didn’t give him that impression at all. I don’t want you thinking that I’m jumping to any conclusions about us or our involvement, if there even is one. I just…”
“Lindsey,” I said, “Stop stumbling all over yourself, okay? It’s fine. You and I will eventually figure it out together. I need to know if Kyzer said anything out of the ordinary to you.”
“No,” she said. “I mean nothing different than usual. He said he knew you didn’t like him yesterday, but he thought it was because you were interested in me. Today when he saw us, he accused me of lying to him about the situation.”
“Uh huh, what did you say to that?”
“I told him that I hadn’t lied to him, and that I wasn’t sure where you and I were going with this. We agreed to remain friends.”
“Okay,” I replied, giving her a smile. “I don’t mean to come off like I’m interrogating you, but I have to ask questions.”
“It’s okay,” she replied with a laugh. “Between you and Slate, I think I’m kind of getting used to it.”
We settled into momentary silence.
“I have a ton of homework to get to when we get back to the apartment.”
“When we get back to the apartment, we need to talk, okay?”
I smiled at her, hoping to offer some signal of comfort. She looked over at me and, for a moment, I saw a look of alarm pass over her. She quickly replaced it with a weak smile.
“Sure, no problem.”
She turned and faced the window on her side, looking out at the passing scenery that she saw every day for the rest of the ride home. I wasn’t going to enjoy breaking the news to her one little bit.
chapter 27
Something was wrong. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out. As inexperienced as I was with men and relationships, the dreaded words, “We need to talk,” was never good. All of a sudden the lyrics to that song by ‘The Fray’ that I used to listen to over and over again, drifted into my mind.
‘Step one you say we need to talk. He smiles politely back at you.’
I looked out of the window of Taz’s truck and prepared myself for ‘the talk.’
‘You stare politely right on through. Some sort of window to your right. As he goes left and you stay right.’
I was positive it had something to do with the fact that we seemed to be getting closer. Taz was not comfortable with it. I sensed that immediately. Maybe he felt that I was pushing him into something that he wasn’t ready for right now, at least not with me. I tried to replay everything in my mind from the time we sparked.
For me, it was the night of the wedding
reception when he had taken care of me. I had felt a spark right then and there. I wasn’t sure if the spark was purely physical or purely emotional, maybe a little bit of both.
I was content with just enjoying the spark for whatever it was. I certainly was not well-versed in the ways of seduction, nor had I pretended to be. The events that transpired after that were driven by Taz, not me.
At least I could take comfort in knowing that I’d not been the aggressor, trying to coax him into some web of sex and emotional intrigue. I couldn’t have pulled that off if I’d tried. I was clueless about men.
Whatever it was he was going to tell me, I would accept as a mature person. After all, I was not emotionally invested at this juncture. That wasn’t true and I knew it.
He tugged at my heart strings no matter how hard I wanted to deny it. Even so, I would roll with it with grace and dignity…no matter what.
I knew that he was glancing over at me, if not directly, then in his peripheral vision.
Oh my.
I needed to keep my composure and think of the positive side of it. I would eventually recover and go on with life as it had been before I met Taz. I could focus more on my studies without the distraction of this totally hot, sexy creature, who could make my toes curl with his touch.
Stop it, Lindsey, I scolded myself mentally. I needed to grow up and what better life lesson could assist in that than my first real heartbreak? I couldn’t actually even call it that. I wasn’t in love with Taz. Maybe this would be a blessing in disguise. At least Darcy would be getting a good night’s rest tonight. I sighed audibly.
“Are you alright, Lindsey?”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re awfully quiet over there.”
‘Let him know that you know best; ‘cause after all you do know best. Try to slip past his defense, without out granting innocence.’
I decided that The Fray knew what they were talking about in that song; the one that used to be one of my favorites.
“Look,” I said, releasing another long sigh. “If you think that we’ve let things go too far, we really don’t need to have a major discussion about it. I think we’re both on the same page here. Things between you and me are too complicated and convoluted. I’d simply prefer to not belabor the inevitable with some long, drawn out discussion.”
“I see,” he said, glancing over at me. “So, you think we’re on the same page then?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Well, baby girl, I’m here to tell you that you don’t even have the correct book opened.”
I turned to look at him, really look at him. His face was stone cold serious.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that the talk I mentioned us having isn’t about you and me, okay?”
I nodded, still watching him.
“It’s something else altogether, but I want to have it with you sitting on my lap, alright?”
“It’s bad news, isn’t it?”
“Sweetheart, please, we’re almost there, so just chill for a few minutes, okay? Everything’s going to be fine.”
I nodded, too afraid to speak because I knew my voice would sound all shaky and frightened. It seemed an eternity before I was sliding the key into the lock of the apartment.
I tossed my bag of books on the table. Taz helped me off with my jacket and then shrugged his off, tossing them both on the back of the chair.
“Why don’t you sit down on the sofa and I’ll get us each a glass of wine, okay?”
“Sure, Taz.”
I took a seat on the couch, pulling one of the throw pillows up against my chest for comfort, tucking my legs underneath me. He returned in a moment, handing me a glass of wine. I sipped it as he took a seat next to me and took a sip of his.
“I talked to Slate today. He called to check in on things here. He’s still in Indianapolis.”
I nodded, taking another large sip of wine.
“Look,” he continued, “I don’t know the details because he wanted your mom and him to be the ones to tell you first, but he asked that you arrange to take a leave from college and return to Falls Church.”
“Why?”
“He said your mom’s going to need some taking care of. I guess she’s not feeling well.”
“Where is she?”
I was starting to freak out. Taz sensed it. He set his wine glass down and took mine from me, placing it on the table. He pulled me onto his lap, wrapping his strong arms around me. I felt his lips brush my hair.
“She’s in Indianapolis, too. They’re leaving to come back to Virginia tomorrow. He said they’d arrive home sometime in the evening. So you see, she’s able to travel and all. I don’t think it’s right that this is all the information you’ve been given. Please believe me sweetheart, it’s all the information that I’ve been given, too.”
“Oh, Taz, what am I supposed to think? I mean, I need to know more than that. I’m thinking the worst here. That’s not right.”
“I know, baby,” he said, rocking me gently in his arms.
“I’m calling Slate.”
“What?”
I struggled up off of his lap and dug my cell phone out of my bag. I quickly hit his contact name on the list and waited. He didn’t pick up. I repeated this four times. I didn’t give a damn. I would blow his phone up until he answered. Finally, I heard his voice.
“What the hell’s going on with my mother, Slate?”
“Lindsey,” he said, “everything’s going to be fine. We’re going to explain it all to you tomorrow evening, at home.”
“I’d prefer you give me at least the Reader’s Digest version now. I’m starting to freak out here.”
“Okay, okay. Calm down, please.”
I took a deep breath and tried like hell to relax.
“I’m not comfortable talking female stuff. That’s the only reason why I wanted to wait until your mother and I returned tomorrow night. I guess I figured that she’d do most of the talking. I understand now how that must’ve freaked you out, knowing nothing except that you were needed at home.”
“It did. My God, I was thinking she must be terminally ill or something.”
“No, nothing like that. Your mom’s pregnant.”
“She is? She never said anything about it.”
“That’s because she isn’t very far along and there have been some intermittent complications.”
“Complications?”
“You see, we’ve been trying for another baby since Bryce was about six months old. Now, your mom’s a young, healthy woman, but because there seemed to be issues with her conceiving again, her doctor prescribed a fertility drug, which was supposed to increase some type of hormone that helps ovulation along.”
“Okay,” I said. “I’ve heard of those.”
“Well, sometimes those fertility drugs increase the chance of multiples. Your mom’s expecting twins. She’s not quite three months along. It’s still very early. She only discovered she was pregnant yesterday when she went to the ER in Indianapolis.”
Oh God, what happened?
“Your mom started experiencing some significant pain, followed by some spotting. She decided to go to the ER. They ran tests and determined she was pregnant. They followed that up with an ultrasound and discovered she’s carrying twins.”
“Oh my God, twins?”
“Uh huh, identical twins. There are complications though. Apparently, there’s something called ‘TTTS’—Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome. Without going in to all the details, it’s an issue with the placenta that affects the blood flow to the babies. One gets more than the other.”
“How serious is this?” I asked.
“It’s going to require her to have total bed rest for a period of time. Once she gets to sixteen weeks gestation, she’ll have weekly ultrasounds. Her doctors will decide the next course of action.”
“Oh God,” I said, my heart feeling heavy, “Is Mom d
oing alright with this? She’s a worrier, you know.”
“I know she is, but right now she’s being optimistic because she understands that stressing out will only further complicate her condition. She knows she needs to stay flat on her back for a while. We need your help at home. I know this is a lot to ask of you, but I think caring for Bryce day in and day out would be too much for your grandmother, although she offered.”
“Slate, stop. Of course I’ll be there for all of you. We’re family and that’s what family does. You tell Mom not to worry. I’ll see you all tomorrow evening.”
“You’re a good kid. Sorry—I meant to say you’re a fine young woman.”
“Thank you. Please kiss Mom for me.”
I got off of the phone and filled Taz in on the details. He knew I was concerned.
“So, then you’re good with withdrawing from school this semester?”
“I don’t see how it can be helped. Family has to be the priority here.”
“You kind of amaze me at times.”
He pulled me over to him and kissed me several times. I snuggled into him, loving the closeness. “I, on the other hand, have my online classwork to do. How about feeding me, woman?”
God, he so reminded me of Slate when he acted like that.
I made some creamed chipped beef over toast, or as Taz preferred to call it “shit on a shingle.” I considered it comfort food. Taz said it reminded him of his Army days. He did a nice job of wolfing down several helpings.
Darcy came bouncing in as we were finishing up and scarfed the rest down. I filled her in on what was going on with my mother.
“You’re leaving school?” she wailed, “for how long?”
“I’m not sure. I guess I’ll know more after I talk with my mom. I’m going to the campus registrar to withdraw from my classes tomorrow. I have to leave afterwards for home.”
“That really blows,” she said, helping me clean up the kitchen. “We’ll keep your room for you here; don’t worry about that. I’ll still see you on the weekends.”
