Melissa really was trying to make inroads with the young woman. She knew it was important to Jason. He loved his daughter immensely and he loved Melissa. More than anything he wanted them to form a lasting friendship, ultimately because he intended to keep them both in his life for all his days. Melissa realized this and truly wanted to get to know the young woman, but obstinate teenagers could be difficult on normal days. If one didn’t want to be your friend, it just wasn’t going to happen. As the days staying at the townhouse drew on it became more and more apparent to Melissa that things may not pan out the way Jason hoped.
She and Cheryl discussed the situation at length as they cooked and baked the days away. Her friend didn’t have any advice to give except to let events run their course. No one could force the young woman to like Melissa and she expected Krissy wasn’t even giving her a chance because she wasn’t her mom. It would take time for her to accept Melissa as a permanent person in her father’s life, but eventually she would have to do just that – accept it. Sometimes though, Melissa wondered if she really was a “permanent” person in Jason’s life. She had never imagined having a long-term relationship with anyone other than her late husband, Kevin. After two years with Jason, she couldn’t envision life without him. However, she now knew, better than most, that nothing is ever guaranteed. If his daughter absolutely objected to Melissa being in his life, she preferred to exit sooner rather than later.
Dwelling on the subject made Melissa too serious for Cheryl’s liking. As they worked side by side in the kitchen, Cheryl did the only thing she could conceive of to lighten the mood – she took a giant glob of thyme bread dough and smeared in down Melissa’s face. Stunned, and rather disgusted as she accidently inhaled a twig of thyme, she fought back. Within minutes the kitchen and adjacent breakfast nook were covered in dough, flour, and herbs. There wasn’t a clean spot to be seen. They were so busy throwing whatever ingredients they could get their hands on at each other while yelling bogus threats and laughing hysterically, they didn’t hear Jason come into the house with the CDC representative, Dr. Nelson behind him.
The two men watched in amusement as neither woman realized they were no longer alone. It wasn’t until a glob of dough missed Cheryl and sailed through the room to smack Dr. Nelson in the face that they became aware of the men’s presence. Both middle-aged women stopped in mid-battle with childish guilty looks on their faces before they both busted out laughing uncontrollably. Jason smiled sheepishly at their antics, but he couldn’t gage the doctor’s reaction. After multiple apologies, the women started to clean up while Jason explained the doctor’s presence. Melissa offered him a wet washcloth to wipe the sticky dough off his face as she listened to what he had to say.
Apparently, the CDC had been unable to diagnose the exact cause of the outbreak, if that was indeed what this was. All the patients had similar symptoms, but severity and tolerance were dependent upon the overall health of the patient before becoming ill. Nothing in their investigation revealed a virus, fungus, bacteria or any known contagion that would have affected such a large number of people. Cheryl asked, “Does this mean the CDC is pulling out of town? Can we all go home now?” Sadly, the doctor shook his head.
He continued his story though. After ruling out viral, fungal, or bacterial contamination, he ordered more tests run on the bloodwork from the patients when they were initially hospitalized and compared it to new bloodwork. This time he requested tests for known poisons, chemicals, or drugs. “Oh dear,” Melissa thought, “Not poison again.” Last summer poor Mr. Hawkins had been thought to have been poisoned by her lemon sage bread. The women waited for Dr. Nelson to finish when Krissy and Logan walked back in. Both teenagers were aghast at the sight of the CDC doctor in the house, but Logan chuckled at the mess covering the kitchen as well as Melissa and Cheryl’s clothes and person. He couldn’t wait to hear what happened. The doctor continued to explain that one thing came back on every single patients’ bloodwork – a relatively new street drug called X15. It had not been a virus that made everyone sick. Somehow they had all ingested the dangerous drug. Seeing as the commonality was still Cheryl’s soup and salad shop and Melissa’s bakery, the DEA was on its way to Kill Devil Hills to take up the investigation from that point. Considering the circumstances, everyone could start returning to their homes and the quarantine was lifted, but Melissa and Cheryl’s residences and businesses remained closed under government order. Everyone was shocked by the news, of course. Melissa had a ton of questions for the doctor, but he didn’t have anything further he could reveal to them. “Mam,” he began, “Neither of you seem like the drug dealing types. We don’t believe any of the victims willingly knew they were taking drugs, particularly the elderly woman that unfortunately passed away. However, I suggest you both cooperate fully with the DEA to resolve this mystery. They will need to find out who is peddling this junk and how it ended up connected to your businesses. This is serious stuff here. If you or any of your employees are found to be connected in any way to this drug, you or they could go away to prison for a very, very long time.”
Melissa and Cheryl thanked the doctor for his warning, but assured him they knew nothing about drugs being dealt in Kill Devil Hills or anywhere for that matter. They agreed to cooperate fully. With that, the doctor said his farewells as he headed back to CDC headquarters in Atlanta to give them a full debrief on the situation. Melissa started to clean up the kitchen as Cheryl showered so she could visit her husband in the hospital. He had mostly recovered, but the CDC order had kept him hospitalized. Perhaps he could be released from the hospital now, but with her house still cordoned off for the DEA to investigate they had nowhere to go. Regardless, she had been away from Ronnie for too long and rushed to get to the hospital. Logan helped his aunt clean up the kitchen while Jason fired up the grill outside for hamburgers and hot dogs. Everyone was so busy, no one noticed Krissy sneak back out the front door and dash down the street on foot.
Chapter 6
With the town freed of the CDC-mandated quarantine, Logan decided to celebrate by meeting up with Tanner and a few friends at The Surf Shack after dinner. Apparently, the entire teenage population of Kill Devil Hills had the same idea as the beach was crowded. A full-fledge party had broken out with music blaring and impromptu bonfires up and down the beach. He was glad his Aunt Mel and Jason had not ventured out with him though as he was sure the cop would have had to make some arrests for disorderly conduct and open containers on a public beach, not to mention some obvious underage drinking. Logan spied Tanner’s cooler suspiciously, but his friend assured him it only contained highly-caffeinated energy drinks and sodas.
As Tanner mingled with some female friends of his from high school, Logan looked around for any signs of his sweetheart, Emily. He texted her on the way to the beach, but she didn’t know if she could get away. Her mom had invited a group of ladies from her summer Bunco club over and needed Emily to help out. However, after an hour of waiting Logan was rewarded when a thin arm reached around his waist in a tight hug. He knew it was Emily before he even turned around. He’d recognize that lilac-scented perfume anywhere!
Logan fished out a soda for Emily as she regaled him with her ingenuity in escaping the horror of Bunco. Tanner ran up – soaking wet as he had plunged into the waves on a dare to catch a fish with his bare hands. It was probably best that he failed to catch his prey as the shallow waters mostly teemed with baby sharks and jellyfish after the sun went down. They were laughing at how ridiculous he looked with a strand of seaweed tangled in his long blonde locks when Logan noticed Jason’s daughter a few yards away at the edge of the parking lot for The Surf Shack. He had wondered where she had gotten off to when she didn’t show back up for dinner, but had considered she just didn’t want to hang out with them – once again.
Tanner noticed the direction of Logan’s gaze. He had a not-so-secret crush on the blue-haired rebel girl. He envied his buddy having to live in the same house with her for the last week or so. What
he would’ve done to catch a glimpse of her in her jammies?! He knew Logan was too much of good boy to sneak a picture of her for him, but the thought had crossed his mind often. However, both boys didn’t like what they were witnessing right now. Krissy was in a heated argument with her boyfriend, Derek. Due to the noise from the party, they couldn’t hear what was said, but the looks on their faces indicated they were not having a nice conversation about whether to listen to Bach or Beethoven.
Although Tanner would love nothing better than for Krissy to dump that dirt bag, he hated to see her so upset. “Perhaps she’ll need a shoulder to cry on later,” he thought with a sly grin. While the party raged around them, he watched the altercation a bit uneasily. Deciding he didn’t like the look of things, Tanner excused himself from Logan and Emily in order to get a closer view of the action. By this point, Krissy had worked herself into a frenzy. Whatever the dude had done, she was beyond ticked off. The look on Derek’s face was a mixture of fury and fear. Tanner tossed a soda can in the trash can at the edge of the parking lot – within a few feet of the arguing couple. Good thing too as Krissy shoved Derek in the chest with a finger, while he responded by raising his hand to slap her across the face. He didn’t get his chance though as Tanner sprung to action and grabbed his arm. Logan noticed the commotion and ran over to help out. The two subdued Derek as Krissy continued to scream at him. The boys were too busy keeping Derek from going after the young woman, but Emily heard what Krissy was yelling at him. She nervously tried to calm Krissy, but ended up being shoved out of the way.
Finally, Derek had enough of being screamed at and stalked away, hurling insults at Krissy and her meddling friends as he went. As he disappeared out of sight, the young woman began to stomp off in the other direction, but Emily stopped her. Tanner escorted her back to the picnic table they recently vacated and offered her a soda in the hopes that she’d calm down and hang with them for a change. Reluctantly, Krissy joined the group but wasn’t in a mood for talking. After a few awkward minutes of no one saying anything, Emily decided to push her luck by asking what the argument was about. She had an idea after what she heard Krissy screaming at Derek, but she wanted confirmation. Because if what she heard was correct, Derek was in a lot more hot water than just being the typical juvenile delinquent. She didn’t want to see Jason’s daughter caught up in the storm. Not that she particularly liked Krissy, but she cared deeply for Logan and those he loved – including his aunt and her boyfriend.
Krissy apparently didn’t want to talk about it, but Emily was not about to let the topic drop. To encourage her to open up, she admitted overhearing some of what Krissy screamed at Derek. “Either you can tell us about it, or we can mention this altercation to your dad,” Emily warned. Defeated, the story unfolded as the party continued around them.
Derek had an intensive juvenile arrest record back in Elizabeth City. Mostly the usual shenanigans of errant youth, but a couple more serious crimes – like drug possession and drug dealing. He left his home that summer after being kicked out by his mom who had enough of it. When he arrived in Kill Devil Hills, he swore to Krissy that he was clean and wanted to pursue a more honest lifestyle. He even got two jobs – one with a local moving company and another with a beach house cleaning service. She honestly thought he was trying to go straight. “Should’ve known better,” Krissy muttered as she took a swig of cola.
It wasn’t until the CDC doctor stopped by the house that evening that she pieced together what Derek had really been up to since arriving in town. Truthfully, she only suspected but it wasn’t a far stretch to assume the boy had something to do with the arrival of the new street drug that made everyone sick. No one was ill before he showed up. However, she couldn’t figure out how the drugs came to make normal people sick who obviously weren’t the druggie types. She wanted to confront Derek in hopes of either (1) proving he was innocent and had not returned to the world of drugs; and (2) if he was involved, finding a way to make things right. Finding Mrs. Burnside’s body in a pool of vomit outside Cheryl’s shop had changed something inside Krissy. She didn’t want to believe her boyfriend had anything to do with the demise of the sweet old lady, intentionally or not. If he were involved though, she wanted him to answer for it. However, Derek had not confessed anything, but only repeatedly told her that there was more going on here than a few sick folks in the hospital. His nonchalant attitude enraged her which had led to the scream-fest.
The three friends sat staring at the blue-haired young woman in awe. Emily respected that Krissy wanted answers in the death of Mrs. Burnside and was willing to risk her relationship with her boyfriend. Logan didn’t know how he was going to explain this to his aunt. Not only would they be caught up in another criminal investigation, but Krissy could be easily connected to the drugs through her connection to Derek. Tanner just thought he may have a chance with Krissy with Derek on his way out of the picture. However, all three agreed that they had to help find out what really happened, and if Derek was involved. They reassured Krissy that they were there for her and would work together to get to the bottom of this mystery.
Chapter 7
It didn’t take Logan and Tanner long to formulate a plan. Emily wasn’t so convinced it was the best plan, but went along with it. First, they wanted to determine if Mrs. Burnside did indeed die from ingesting the drug, X15. Then they would investigate how the drugs got into the old woman’s system. No one in their right mind would believe the 82 year old woman was a druggie. Actually, none of the patients hospitalized for the same symptoms were known drug users either. If they could figure out how Mrs. Burnside was drugged, then they could apply that knowledge to the rest of the test cases.
The plan wasn’t a brilliant one, but convenient. Tanner’s father was the coroner and kept extensive paper files in his office. Despite it being the digital age, he insisted on hard copies to be maintained in his office. This made things easier because the boys wouldn’t have to crack a passcode or anything to hack into the computer system. All they had to do was gain physical access to the paper files. Over the last couple years, Logan gained some expertise in lock-picking, so that helped a lot. The Kill Devil Hills morgue didn’t have the most advanced security system either.
As a cover, Logan called his aunt to say he was staying with Tanner overnight. Tanner left his dad a message to say he was crashing at a friend’s house. Emily, unfortunately, had to go home before midnight so the boys were on their own. Seeing as they were sticking their necks out for her, Krissy tagged along as a lookout. Her dad wouldn’t expect her home until much later. As of yet, he failed to institute a curfew for his daughter.
The streets of Kill Devil Hills were quiet as the trio walked up Main Street towards the municipal building that housed the morgue. The party-goers had long ago dispersed from the beach, but there were a few stragglers still roaming the streets on their way home or looking for another party. At this late hour, no one should be in the building. Even the security guard, normally stationed in the foyer, had retreated to the break room in the back where he could watch late night television. Thankfully, he had left a side door unlocked and slightly ajar to get some fresh air into the building since the air conditioner had once again gone out.
Logan and Tanner gingerly made their way through the door and towards the back stairwell. They could hear Conan’s opening monologue coming from the break room as they tiptoed down the steps to the basement which housed the morgue. Despite the failed air conditioning, the basement was chilly. Goosebumps broke out on Logan’s arms, whether it was from the cold air or the creepy atmosphere of the darkened morgue, he couldn’t tell.
Using the flashlight apps on their phones, they fumbled around until they found the file cabinet in the far corner next to the wall that housed the dead bodies. Fortunately, Kill Devil Hills wasn’t the suspicious death capital of the state so the elongated mini-freezers were usually empty. Regardless, being inside the room where autopsies were performed added to the general feel of unease the
boys experienced. Already on edge for trespassing – it wasn’t breaking and entering since the side door to the building had been open – neither boy wanted to be in there any longer than absolutely necessary.
The sound of the file cabinet door sliding open was thunderous in the small room. The thick concrete walls reverberated the sound within the room. “Just hurry,” Logan whispered, “This place gives me the heebie-jeebies.” Tanner flicked through the folders and retrieved the file for Mrs. Ethel Burnside. The boys placed the file on the metal table in the middle of the room where autopsies were performed as they perused the folder. Neither had a clue what they were reading since it was in medical terminology and the coroner’s writing was atrocious. “We don’t have time to read the whole thing. Use your phone to snap pictures and we’ll try to decode it later,” Logan advised.
Just as Tanner was about to snap the last picture, Logan’s phone buzzed with an urgent text message from Krissy. Tanner’s father had just arrived and was already inside the building. Logan poked his head out the swinging doors and listened. There was only one way out of the basement. There was no way they would escape without being discovered by Dr. Wiggins. Thinking as fast as his scared mind could, Logan ducked back into the room. No hiding spots jumped out to him, except what he dreaded the most – the human-sized wall fridges that were intended for dead bodies.
A Time to Live and a Thyme for Murder! (Outer Banks Baker Mystery Series Book 3) Page 3
