A Taste of Tragedy

by Kim McMahill

  “Coincidence? I think not.”

  Nick smiled. “I agree. I’m trying to track where Frank’s deposits came from, and I’m still working on picking Janice Green’s trail back up, but this gives us another angle to pursue.”

  “Stay on those. I’ll start digging into the pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in Puerto Rico. I’ll make a list of all of the manufacturers on the island and see how many have a large stake in diet products.”

  “So, how did things go with the sheriff?”

  “We had a nice lunch at a great little Mexican restaurant. He just sold his old place and bought a small horse property a few miles east of town. He said he has some business here in Salt Lake later this month.”

  Nick struggled to hold back the laughter. “I meant with the hearing. I assume we got indictments on the two guys.”

  “Oh, yes, the two guys were indicted.”

  Devyn was so embarrassed she couldn’t look Nick in the eye. She had no doubt he was deriving great pleasure from further confirmation of her feelings for Gage.

  “I shouldn’t take advantage of Gordo. I’ll go grab my own coffee. You need a refill?”

  “Nope, I couldn’t be better.” He grinned as Devyn struggled to get away from him as quickly as possible.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Morgan swung by the plant before heading up to her office for the morning. She had promised Wiley that she wouldn’t ask about Stan ever again, but she thought Wiley might want to know the man was dead.

  “Good morning, Ms. Hunter. What can I do for you?”

  She stood next to him at the rail, overlooking the conveyor belt as entrees were already rolling toward the quick-freeze freezer. The knowledge that the products might contain a dangerous substance made her shudder and made her more determined than ever to get answers. Today.

  “I know I promised to stay away from the subject of Stan, but I learned something last night that I thought you might want to know.” She waited, hoping he would ask what, but he just stared straight ahead, so she forged on. “I was searching the Internet, trying to locate him, and came across his obituary. Apparently he died of a drug overdose.”

  Wiley didn’t flinch. The man gave no indication as to what he was feeling. She couldn’t tell if he was surprised, shocked, or sad. He just stood for several more minutes in complete silence.

  When the silence became too uncomfortable, Morgan lightly touched his arm. “I’m sorry I broke my word, but I thought you might want to know. You indicated he was an okay guy and you worked together for a long time.”

  She lowered her hand and turned to leave. She’d taken one step before Wiley’s voice stopped her, though it was barely above a whisper.

  “He was a deeply religious man. He would have turned to God for comfort, not drugs.”

  Morgan nodded that she had heard. As she glanced back down at the production line, she spotted Aaron standing in the shadows, watching her. Their eyes met. She quickly descended the stairs to catch Aaron in case he hustled off again and tried to claim he wasn’t there. The effort was unnecessary. He waited for her at the bottom of the steps.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Looking for you,” he replied.

  “You could have called or had me paged.”

  “I was just trying to save you a trip. Here, Preston wants you to drive him to the airport so you can talk. He’s waiting in the lobby.”

  Morgan snatched the keys off Aaron’s outstretched palm and exited the plant. As she neared the end of the hallway, she spotted Preston looking at his watch.

  “Sorry to keep you waiting,” she said as she punched the down button on the elevator.

  “We’ll be cutting it a little close, but Aaron indicated you were anxious to talk. I do have news for you. Aaron said he would rearrange your meetings. If we don’t chat now, it’ll be a while. I won’t be back for two days. I’ve got a business meeting in Miami. It came up at the last minute and I can’t get out of it.”

  Morgan settled behind the wheel of the company town car while Preston stowed his carry-on in the trunk. Once he was belted in, she pulled out of the dark garage, feeling less vulnerable in the sun.

  “When I got in this morning, the lab results on MFHG3 were on my desk. The tests confirmed there are no safety issues with the product. As you know, the sweetener is derived from all-natural ingredients deemed safe for human consumption. Dr. Chen suggested that possibly Stan provided this third-party analyst with a different product or a tainted sample. He also suggested the possibility of human error or inappropriate tests, like injecting high concentrations into a mouse. You inject high enough concentrations of anything into a small body and you’re likely to get negative results.”

  “That’s a huge relief,” Morgan responded as she took the exit off the interstate leading to the airport. “I appreciate you taking my concerns seriously and looking into the situation. I always say, ‘better safe than sorry,’ especially in our field. If any of the allegations were true, taking a proactive approach to damage control is essential, as you well know.”

  Morgan pulled up to the unloading zone, put the car in park, and popped the trunk. She hoped he would just get out, but he sat there, staring at her for a moment.

  “I need you to put this behind us and focus on what I hired you to do. You came with a reputation of doing whatever it took to get the job done, and every product or division you have taken over has become very profitable. You’re known as a bit of a shark, and I need to see some teeth. Can you do that?”

  Morgan wasn’t sure. She doubted she could just take his word on the product’s safety without an impartial review, or at least more information on the quality of Dexter Fowler’s work. If she followed up on Dexter and found out that he wasn’t qualified or had a poor track record, maybe then. For now, she needed proof.

  “Can you?” Preston demanded, interrupting her thoughts.

  She smiled and nodded an affirmative. “Now, go before you miss your plane. Have a good trip.”

  “Okay, we’re good? Trust me on this. Safety is always my number one priority. When I get back, I’ll take you out to dinner and give you that orientation to the city I should have done a couple weeks ago. I really would like to get to know you better outside the confines of the office,” he said as he squeezed her knee and exited the car.

  With that chilling thought, the door slammed. Morgan waved and waited until he disappeared into the terminal before pulling away from the curb, even more confused than ever about what she should do.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Despite working like a fiend all day to uncover a new lead too important to put aside for the stakeout with Nick, Gordo, and Fitz, nothing popped. Devyn sat in the back of the van, licking the delicious sticky remnants of her second cinnamon roll of the night from her fingers, nearly moaning with ecstasy. Gordo turned around in his seat and watched her dreamily, making Devyn roll her eyes and Nick chuckle.

  “Focus,” she said as she made a twirling motion with her fingers, indicating he needed to spin his chair back around and watch the monitors.

  They had been sitting two blocks away from their target for over three hours, and no one had shown up to drop off cash at the innocent-looking closed floral shop.

  “Maybe we got bad intel and should call it a night,” Nick suggested as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked for missed calls.

  “The source said one of our well-known dealers would be picking up his inventory tonight. He didn’t say what time. I want to get this over with too, and I don’t want to come back another night, so patience,” Devyn responded. Crinkling her brow, she studied Nick for a moment. “Me asking you to be patient, what gives? You got a hot date or something?”

  Nick ignored her which only egged her on. “Come on, Nick, you can tell us. I’m sure Gordo and Fitz won’t tell anyone if you’ve got a new lady. Will you, guys?”

  Both young men turned around and shook their heads, agreeing they would
n’t tell, and then quickly turned back to the screens under Nick’s scolding glare.

  “Fine, I’m expecting a call, but it’s not from a ‘new lady.’ Are you happy?”

  “I’d be happier if you told me who.”

  “It’s personal and none of your business.”

  “You are no fun at all. Has anyone ever told you that?”

  “Hey, hey, hey, look at this,” Gordo and Fitz stuttered excitedly in unison.

  Devyn and Nick crowded behind the two tech guys and stared at the screen. This was their man. Several nights ago, Gordo and Fitz had managed to conceal a camera on a nearby building in the back alley, documenting everyone who came to the back door of the floral shop. Earlier in the day, another agent had gone into the shop to purchase flowers for a supposed anniversary and planted an ultra-sensitive listening device as close to the door leading to the back of the shop as possible.

  “The sound is real faint since the bug is so far away, but I’m sure we can clean it up and intensify it enough to hear what they’re saying,” Fitz whispered.

  “I hope so,” Devyn said. “This guy is just one small fish in a sea of dealers we’re hoping to net.”

  “Well, now that we’ve verified the audio and video is working, let’s go nab the guy when he leaves. If we’re correct that the floral shop owner is the supplier, we should find plenty on our buyer to bust him and make him talk. He just got out of the pen less than a month ago, so hopefully, he won’t want to go back, and he’ll be willing to make a deal,” Nick stated.

  Devyn and Nick were both dressed in dirty ragged jeans, neither looked as if they had showered in days, and both wore a dark hoodie over their Kevlar® vests. Devyn looked like a once-pretty girl damaged by drugs. Nick wasn’t as convincing playing someone down on his luck, but they hoped it was enough to not draw attention. If anyone witnessed them in the area, they wanted to fit in.

  They didn’t plan to approach the dealer until he was far enough away that the supplier wouldn’t be tipped off. They needed to keep the arrest as quiet as possible.

  Slipping silently from the van, they took off in opposite directions at a jog, not knowing which way the man would leave once exiting the shop. Devyn quickly got in position and spotted the man heading in her direction. She whispered into her mic, notifying Nick, Fitz, and Gordo of the suspect’s locations. With perfect timing, she stumbled around a corner and bumped into the dealer. She looked up at him with blood-shot eyes—courtesy of some nasty eye drops and too much rubbing—underlined with black circles provided by the agency’s collateral-duty makeup artist.

  “S-s-sorry. I didn’t see you.”

  The guy smiled, exposing a few missing and rotten teeth. “You looking for company?”

  Devyn tried not to look too eager, wanting to seem a little afraid. She made her hands shake and she stuffed them in her pockets as if to hide the symptoms of withdrawal and fear.

  “I’d rather party,” she whispered.

  The man tilted her chin up and looked her over. “I might be able to help you. You got cash, or were you planning on paying with something else?”

  “Depends on what you got.”

  The guy pulled a bag out of one pocket, showing off his wares. Before Devyn had to respond, Nick slipped out of the shadows. He grabbed the man’s other arm and twisted it hard behind his back.

  “Keep walking. And by the way, you are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent…”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Despite what Preston told her the previous afternoon, Morgan wasn’t satisfied. If MFHG3 was truly the wonder sweetener GCF claimed, why not have an unbiased third party verify its safety?

  With Aaron in the weekly executive assistants’ meeting, she decided there was no better time than the present to dig a little deeper. Retrieving the phone number for Smith & Brown Consumer Analytics that she had looked up earlier, she punched the digits into her personal cell phone. She made her way to the far corner of her office, turned, and faced the door to prevent Aaron from sneaking up on her.

  Her wait was short. The line was answered on the second ring by a chipper-sounding receptionist inquiring how she could direct the call.

  “May I speak with Dexter Fowler, please?”

  The line went silent for a moment. The woman finally cleared her throat. “May I ask who’s calling and what this is concerning?”

  Morgan noticed that the tone was noticeably less friendly.

  “Yes. My name is Morgan Hunter and I’m calling about some work he was doing for my predecessor.”

  “Please hold.”

  Elevator-type music came over the line for what felt like an eternity. Morgan hoped she hadn’t made a huge mistake by trying to reach Dexter Fowler.

  “This is Neil Kimball. I’m the research supervisor. How may I help you?”

  Morgan quickly explained that Dexter Fowler was testing a product for Stan Jacobson, whom she had recently replaced, and she just wanted to follow up on the results. She left out all the detrimental details from the e-mails, unaware how much Neil Kimball knew.

  She waited, listening to the clicks as the man pecked away at his keyboard.

  “We have no record of any work being done for a Stan Jacobson. What company did you say you worked for?”

  She hadn’t said and was hesitant to specifically name Giant Cactus Foods in case this man knew Preston Hoyle. If word got back to Preston, Morgan had no doubt she would be fired. Besides, what was the likelihood Stan would have specified Giant Cactus Foods if he was having MFHG3 tested on his own without company knowledge and against company procedure?

  “If I could just speak to Mr. Fowler and explain the project, I’m sure he’ll know what I’m inquiring about and how it was contracted out.”

  “I’m afraid that’s impossible. Mr. Fowler died in a tragic skiing accident. I can search our records under the company name Mr. Jacobson represented, otherwise I’m not sure how else I can help you.”

  Morgan’s knees went weak. She felt the room start to spin. She made her way toward her desk and collapsed in her chair. It took her a moment to clear her head and realize Neil Kimball was waiting for her to speak. She decided to err on the side of caution and divulge nothing else. “Thank you for checking. I am terribly sorry to hear about Mr. Fowler. I appreciate your time.”

  Disconnecting, Morgan leaned back in her chair, even more concerned now than she had been before calling. All she had was Preston’s word that the supposedly all-natural product was safe. Maybe it was, but the two people who had put the doubt in her mind were dead, and that didn’t set well. She never bought in too quickly to coincidences, especially when so much was at stake.

  She wasn’t sure what to do next, but knew that Friday couldn’t come soon enough. The moment she got off work tomorrow, she would head to Sedona again. She no longer had the flash drive or the printed copies of the e-mails, but she had downloaded them onto her personal computer at her weekend home.

  Despite how it turned out for Stan, she needed to get a sample of the MFHG3. It wouldn’t be easy to do without someone seeing her. She hated to involve Nick again in something that may be nothing, but he was the only person she could think of who could have the substance analyzed while keeping her involvement quiet, at least for the time being.

  If the sample came back as billed, the issue would be closed. If not, she would do what she had to do, even if it cost her career.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  The previous evening’s surveillance job and arrest had gone better than Devyn had hoped. They were able to verify that the bugs planted in the floral shop were sufficient to keep tabs on the owner, though conversations would need to be enhanced by the tech guys.

  The drug pusher she and Nick arrested took the first deal offered and spilled everything he knew. He admitted the shop owner was his supplier, but he wasn’t sure how much of the city’s drugs were being brought in by this one source. He verified the drugs were coming in through floral shipments from
a number of countries.

  The listening devices in place would enable the authorities to continue nabbing dealers leaving the facility. Once they had enough intel to intercept the shipments coming into the U.S., they could stop the supply train.

  With sunglasses still on and clutching a cup of coffee, Devyn walked out of the elevator. She could feel the excitement on the floor. Even though she and Nick hadn’t been involved much until the previous evening’s stakeout, many of the other agents had been working on the case for months, and this was the biggest break they had gotten.

  The main supplier had finally been identified and was under twenty-four-seven surveillance, and they were able to hear everything that went on in the shop. From here, they would be able to gather so much evidence even the lamest prosecutor could make charges stick. The next step was to conduct a successful sting on an incoming shipment to get indisputable proof of the supply chain.

  “Great job last night. We’d all busted that guy so many times, there was no way we could get close without sending him running. Heard you had him so distracted Nick didn’t even have to pull a gun,” Agent Gardner stated.

  “Yep, I’m just that good. I can subdue a dealer with nothing but my charm.”

  Laughter rippled through the room. Devyn wasn’t the least bit offended. She just smiled and did her best pageant wave as she proceeded in Nick’s direction.

  “How can you look so well-rested after the night we had? I didn’t get to bed until almost four,” Devyn stated as she removed her sunglasses and ran her fingers through still-damp hair.

  “I think the question is how can you look so bad when you didn’t roll in here until nearly 10:00 a. m.?”

  “Funny. I need my full eight hours. Do the math. I didn’t get it.”

  “I wasn’t thrilled about working so late either, but it’s part of the job, and we were able to get everything set up to keep the investigation on track. Unless someone screws up, I’d say it’s just a matter of time before we put a major dent in drugs coming in and out of the city.”