Chills & Thrills: Three Novel Box Set

by A. K. Alexander

  “Sure would.” Eric’s emerald eyes lit up.

  “Keep an eye on her, and if she continues improving, then we know we’re on the right track. I wish to hell we knew what drug her mother had been using.”

  “You still think a drug did this?

  “My gut does.”

  “Gotta trust that. Labs came back inconclusive again?” he asked.

  “Yes. I confronted Brightman about the cases he was on. He was a dead end. And with Pearson on vacation, I don’t think I will find any answers there. It seems awfully coincidental, or at least a bit strange, that the people I want to speak with are either out of town or think I am wasting my time. Maybe I’m being paranoid or overly sensitive. I don’t know. What do you think?”

  “I think it’s pretty strange. And, no, you’re not being paranoid or sensitive. Hey, I did get a hold of the charts you asked for on those girls. They’re on your desk.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I think you’ll be disappointed,” he said.

  “You take a look?”

  He nodded. “But I could have missed something. From what I read, nothing stood out. The labs came back the same as Lupe Salazar’s.”

  “Damn.”

  Eric put an arm around her and they both stood watching over Baby S. “We will save her. She’s doing great.” He looked down at the sleeping infant and smiled.

  “I have to believe that’s true. But what if more girls come into this hospital and die in the same way? What if we lose more children? If we can find out what’s going on, get on top of it, we can at least treat those patients.”

  “I think you need some rest. And whatever I can do to help, I will,” Eric said.

  “Right now the best thing we can do is keep a low profile. I’m going to keep nosing around. I think I will take those charts with me and look over them tonight at home. I have to wonder if someone isn’t tampering the charts. Do you know very many people in the lab? ”

  “A few, but I can’t imagine any of them doing something like that.” Eric shook his head.

  “I hear you, but I can’t imagine Jake being viciously murdered right here in this hospital. Someone here knows something about it. I guarantee it.”

  “I don’t know what to say, Doc. Call me if you need to talk.”

  “I will and vice versa.” Kelly smiled. She didn’t want to tell him about the police protection. It would only worry him more.

  “I assume you’re going to Jake’s funeral tomorrow?”

  Kelly’s hands began to shake. She’d been trying hard all week to forget the funeral. She nodded.

  After a few seconds he said, “You know I’m here for you. I want to help you find the answers you’re looking for.”

  “Thank you.” Kelly glanced at her watch. “I better get going.” She knew Officer Simmons was waiting to hand her off. She headed to her office, grabbed the charts, and found Simmons in the family waiting room. He folded up his newspaper and stood. She had to check in with him hourly, unless she was in the O.R. or dealing with an emergency.

  “Hey Dr. Morales, looks like it’s quitting time. Pazzini should be here soon. You did say you got off at seven, right?” He rubbed his goatee.

  Kelly discovered Simmons was a pretty decent guy when she popped her head into the waiting room and spotted him joking around with a few of the mothers. Getting parents of a sick child to laugh was no easy feat. He’d earned her respect. “I guess we’d better go.”

  “Yes, ma’am. I’m needed at my sister’s wedding rehearsal. Frankly, I’m surprised Pazzini even let me off.”

  She shook her head. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Shoot.”

  “Is Pazzini a jerk?”

  Simmons was rubbing the goatee again, his mouth puckered, eyes squinting. “Nah, not really. He just takes his job real serious. He’s a good guy. A lot better than most of the guys down at the station.” He shrugged. “He’s got a tough guy exterior but he’s soft on the inside. That’s my take anyway.”

  “I think it’s going to be an interesting evening,” she commented.

  He laughed. “I can’t argue with that. One thing I do know about Pazzini…he is an interesting guy. Never know what you might learn.”

  “I can’t wait.” She smirked and the headed down to the lobby.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Ryan drove to Copenhagen, shaved his head bald, and got his ears pierced four times in one ear and six in the other.

  ***

  Jeanine landed in New York and took a bus to the Bronx. She rented a car from some shady car rental place and headed to New Jersey. She knew this was not Ryan’s plan. But this was her home territory and she needed to ground herself before heading to their cabin in the Catskills. She just needed to be in her hometown, if only for a little while.

  The twins complained and then mommy put on their favorite dvd and they sang silly songs from The Wiggles. Soon they were whispering to each other and after another fifteen minutes, they were asleep.

  ***

  Ryan went to a tattoo shop and had a cross tattooed on his right shoulder and the initials J, C, and T on his left shoulder. It hurt like hell.

  ***

  Jeanine wanted to call her husband and scream at him. What the hell had he gotten them into? What had he done? Her hands were shaking as she held the cell phone. She was supposed to toss it before she left Europe. He’d been explicit about that. But goddammit, didn’t she have any say in this? Her thoughts and memories now plagued her. She thought about calling her best friend, Melanie, and going there instead. Tell Mel the truth, and not continue with this ridiculous story about Ryan cheating on her. Maybe Ryan was insane. At that moment she didn’t know anything, anything at all.

  ***

  Ryan stopped at a pawn shop and purchased a hunting knife. He needed some kind of weapon on him. Just in case. He then bought a few groceries, including a bottle of Vodka. After he rented a room on Reventlowsgade. He ate a bag of potato chips and a banana and then leaned against the head board in the filthy motel room and fought back an urge to sob. He’d come this far. He had to go the distance. There was every possibility The Brotherhood had figured out he’d gone MIA and Jeanine and the kids had disappeared. He counted his money. He’d been secreting cash away in small amounts for months so The Brotherhood would not notice. He’d put away almost 970 euros. Hopefully it would be enough.

  ***

  Jeanine sat at the edge of the double bed, flipping through the TV channels—the girls, thankfully, asleep with a Happy Meal in their stomachs and tired from the long flight. She was exhausted. She’d known the second she’d looked into Ryan’s eyes that night at the party…they were in trouble.

  ***

  Ryan jumped at every noise outside his motel room. He was anxious and tried to focus. He needed to plot out his next steps. He tucked his money away and opened the bottle of Vodka and took two swigs hoping it would calm him. It didn’t. He contemplated his sanity and if he would ever see his wife and daughters again.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  Gem was on the phone with her sixteen-year-old son, Austen. He was complaining about his dad’s rules and how badly he wanted to move back home and live with her. “Come on, Mom. Dad is such an ass.”

  “Sorry, Austen. If I remember correctly, I was the ass not long ago. You boys always think the person asking you to help with the yard or wash the dishes is an ass. It’s Dad’s turn now, bud. I like being the fun parent for a change.”

  “You’re no fun if you don’t let me come home.”

  “Yeah I know. I like totally suck. Whatever. Listen, sweetie, I love you very much. But, I think you forget that you and Kurt begged me to let you move. You both laid a heavy guilt trip on me about not spending enough time with your dad, and how I raised you, and should I go on? I let you go. It wasn’t easy but I wanted to do the right thing for you boys. You know, let you get to know your dad. Now you guys made your choice and as much as you both may not like it, it is what it is
. You changed schools to do this. I don’t want to switch back and I don’t want to make the forty-five minute trip twice a day.”

  “I’ll have my license soon.”

  Gem looked upward at the ceiling. The kid was incorrigible. As she was trying to figure out how to say no to him (not easy for her), she heard a voice coming from upstairs. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. What the hell? “Hey, I gotta go. Um, I’ll call you later.”

  “But, Mom…”

  “Later, bud.” She hung up the phone before he could respond any further. The sound of someone’s voice still carried on in her bedroom.

  It took her about thirty seconds to figure it out. It was the wire tap from across the street and the voice she heard was Chad’s. She bolted up the stairs, sat down behind her desk, and began listening intently.

  “Yes, sir. Yes, I understand. I am flying under the radar. I promise. Yes, I will be at the meeting tonight. I’m leaving in about fifteen minutes.” Gem wished she’d had the technology and time to install a wire that would allow her to hear both sides of the conversation. But that would have taken more time and included hardwiring, which her ex-husband had never taught her. However, Chad’s end of the conversation continued and it didn’t take long for her to start piecing some of it together. “Of course I understand how important this is. Okay. Yes, sir. Give Aunt Elizabeth my best. I will let you know. Thank you. Good night.”

  Aunt Elizabeth! Elizabeth Wentworth! So that was the connection! The senator was Chad’s uncle. Ha!

  Gem began to scramble. Car keys…car keys…on the kitchen counter. She ran back down the stairs, grabbed her camera bag from the entry closet, slipped on her tennis shoes, and headed out to her car. There was only one way in and out of the townhouse community and knowing Chad was headed to an important meeting of some sort—one where discretion was of the utmost importance—Gem figured she’d better follow him and see exactly where he was going and, if possible, find out what he was involved in.

  She got behind the wheel of her navy blue Chevy Malibu and squealed out of her garage. She beat the light, left their gated complex, and parked across the street. Chad drove a sleek, silver Porsche 911, and she waited until she saw its gleam at the light. There was no mistaking him.

  She plugged in her IPOD and dialed up some Bob Marley, hoping the tempo and upbeat lyrics would calm her. Her heart was pounding as she pulled into traffic three cars behind Chad.

  A moving truck got in her way as they headed south on the 101. Gem switched lanes and lowered her speed. She doubted her neighbor had any idea what kind of car she drove, but thankfully the sun was beginning to set. Right now, darkness and anonymity were her friends.

  Minutes later he exited off of Lankershim. She stayed with him, keeping four cars in between them. He turned east, and the further he went, the more desolate it got, and the more she had to back off so she wasn’t spotted.

  Out of caution she slowed down and lost sight of him as the sun dipped below the horizon. Then she spotted his car far ahead. And saw where he was going. There were no other headlights, but she could see a line of cars heading up a long, steep drive, behind a heavy iron gate. The place appeared to be a ranch of some sort. She drove by slowly. A guard stood outside, and she passed by on the main road without so much as an inquisitive glance in his direction.

  Gem pulled her car off to the side of the road about a half-mile past the gate and grabbed her camera equipment. The heavy weight tugged on her short frame. She hiked back toward the compound, ranch, whatever it was, staying low in a ditch between the road and an open field. She got closer. Tumbleweeds shielded her from the cars pulling into the ranch. Maybe some kind of party? From her vantage point, though, she couldn’t see any women. Nice cars, too. Mercedes, a Jaguar, Maserati, and a couple of BMWs.

  From what she could see with her close-up lens, the men entering the palatial villa were white and varied in age from thirty to sixty years. It was difficult for Gem to tell exactly because she couldn’t get too close without being spotted, plus she had no idea what kind of security system the place had, but if she had to guess, she was pretty sure it was locked down tighter than Fort Knox. There were also a couple of uniformed guards walking around with Dobermans. She was sure those guard dogs would be straining at their leashes if they had even the slightest inkling she was there. She froze when she noticed one of the beady-eyed canines looking her way. It started to bark frantically. She sunk onto her belly next to a small boulder praying the dog’s nose wasn’t working well. Man it was uncomfortable—dirt and little pebbles digging into her body. She was pretty sure she felt something crawl up her shirt. She wiggled in an attempt to smash it.

  One of the guards yelled an order at the barking dog who immediately stopped. Gem let out a sigh of relief but realized she was far from safe. She waited several minutes before lifting her head again. The sun was descending rapidly in the west and she had little time, if any, to gather more intel. She could make out one man at the front door, his shadowy figure vaguely familiar. Gem smiled at the realization that it was her neighbor, Chad. “Gotcha!” She snapped a photo. And then began taking picture after picture. She wasn’t entirely sure what she was photographing or how good the photos would come out, but she felt they were important and would eventually help tell the whole story.

  Once all the men were in the house, she used her zoom lens to scan and shoot the cars parked inside the compound, trying to get as many license plates as she could. Soon darkness took over and blanketed the valley with only the lights of the compound and estate to illuminate the empty hills. Gem’s adrenaline rush had reduced to a slow simmer and she knew it was time to get the hell out of there.

  She made it back to her car. She was anxious to get back to her place, so she could develop the photos. Something told her she was about to give her boss the story of a lifetime.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  Tony pulled up in front of the hospital and parked his gray sedan in the loading zone. He got out and approached the thick glass doorway. The panes slid silently open for him.

  He went inside the lobby and sat down in the waiting area. He picked up a National Geographic, thinking he should get a copy for Luke, who loved the glossy photos of wild animals and foreign cultures.

  Everyone else seemed to be focused on a gameshow on TV. Pazzini glanced up and saw Simmons and Dr. Morales come out of the elevator. She looked worn out. Pretty, but tired.

  They approached the lobby. “How’s it going, Doc?” Tony asked.

  “Okay, considering.” She tucked her long, dark hair behind her ears.

  “You ready for a great evening?”

  “What have I got to lose?” she smiled.

  “Hmm.” Tony wasn’t quite sure what to make of her. Was that sarcasm he detected, or was she being nice? He’d never been great at reading women.

  Simmons broke into a wide grin. “Ah, she’s a sweetheart once you get to know her.”

  Kelly frowned at Simmons. “And here I thought you had my back,” she said. “I like him though.” She pointed at Simmons.

  Pazzini covered a hand over his heart. “Oh, so you don’t like me? Ouch! I’m only doing my job.”

  Simmons glanced from Kelly to Pazzini and quickly stepped in, “Hey, so thanks for covering me, boss. I’d really hate to miss my little sister’s rehearsal dinner.”

  “No problem.” Pazzini smiled. In the past couple of days Simmons had grown on him. And as far as the doctor went, he couldn’t deny there was something about Kelly that intrigued him. She was the first woman since his wife, Anna, who provoked any kind of response from him other than a purely sexual one. This lady had already made him angry, feel sorry for her…hell, whether or not it had been her intention, she’d even made him smile a time or two. After Anna died, Luke was the only one who got any kind of smile out of him.

  Tony noticed Simmons wink at her and she smiled back. He coughed. “I think we’d better get going.”

  They left the hospital and
got into his car, driving silently for a few minutes before Tony blurted out, “So, you and Simmons hit it off, I see?”

  She turned to face him, her almond-shaped eyes darker than before. “He did his job. I did mine. He stayed out of my way. It worked.”

  “I’m trying to do my job, too.”

  “Stop provoking me, then. And what are you looking at?”

  “You. Trying to figure you out.”

  “Don’t you think you should be keeping an eye on the road?”

  He focused back on the freeway, slamming on the brakes as the rush-hour traffic began to slow to a standstill.

  “Look, this is likely only for a couple of nights. I think we should make the best of it, okay? See if we can’t get along. Is that a problem for you?” he asked.

  For a moment she didn’t respond. Finally she muttered, “No. I guess not.”

  “Good. I hope you’re hungry because I’m famished. Why don’t we go have a decent meal, try and make nice. I’m actually a good guy. I know you probably think I’m an ass…”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know why I would think that.”

  He shook a finger while keeping his eyes on the road. “I do detect the sarcasm in your voice.”

  “You are the detective.”

  “Funny. Cute really.”

  “Not trying to be cute,” she replied.

  If they were on a date…if…shit. How could he even think like that? But how couldn’t he? He was after all a man. But a detective first. No. A man first. A man doing his job. His mind was going all stupid on him now, because he knew if they were on a date he would have told her she wasn’t even close to cute. She was goddamn hot. Well, maybe he wouldn’t have said those exact words, but he’d at least tell her she was beautiful. He tried very hard to erase that thought from his mind, knowing it went against every professional and ethical code grilled into him. He decided to try and get back to being completely irritated by her. She was irritating. She was damn irritating. Gorgeous but still irritating. Smart but irritating. Damn!

  “Oh you’re not cute. Not at all,” he said keeping his tone as monotone as possible.