“Now I’ve taught you how to shoot well enough to hit the side of a barn, you’d be more useful to me than some of these new recruits I’ve got. More useful than you are to her. Assuming there’s anything to investigate in this mess.”
Lisa needed to take back control of this conversation. “I’ll decide if David’s useful to me. For now, let me finish asking my questions. When did your guards get sick exactly, and when did someone first notice what was going on?”
Chief Cameron leaned back in his chair and ran his hand across the top of his head. His eyes stayed level with hers. “Apparently the men started getting sick in the middle of the night.”
Lisa wanted to be clear. “You were here—this is of your own knowledge?”
He shook his head. “Sgt. Carruthers reported to me around three this morning. When the first men started to take ill it was pretty bad, and he helped to get them over to the clinic. But too many were getting sick, even the guards at the gates, so the sisters called Chief Nelson for help in dealing with it. And Carruthers called me so I could order men from the morning shift to start early to make sure those gates were guarded.”
“And who told you it was, or seemed to be, food poisoning? Have you heard anything yet from the sisters about what your men are actually sick with, or how ill they are?”
Cameron glared. “Do you think I’d not check on them? They’re in bad shape, but the sisters assured me that they’re doing everything they can for them. And they’re the ones who told me it looked like food poisoning. But they were careful to hedge on that—saying it was only an initial diagnosis and they’d let me know more when they knew.”
Lisa didn’t let his attitude get to her. “I take it this Sgt. Carruthers didn’t get sick? I’ll need to talk to him for more details. With so many men getting ill, it shouldn’t be hard to find the common denominator. I’m surprised the sisters haven’t discovered the source of the problem already.”
The man held her gaze for several moments. “I know they were testing the cafeteria kitchen. It had to be there that it happened. There’s a late supper service for the night shift before they begin and the swing shift as they’re going off duty. And those are all the ones who got sick. So it’s food poisoning.”
Lisa nodded. “The question is whether it was intentional or accidental. Once we’ve talked to the sisters and Sgt. Carruthers we should have enough information to settle that one way or the other.”
They were interrupted by the buzzing of Chief Cameron’s workpad. He punched a button and the voice of his secretary came through in a tinny echo. “There’s a Dr. Amita Harker here to see you, sir.”
His growl in response must’ve been intelligible to her as she then opened the door to usher in a tall skinny woman in a white lab coat. Her dirty blonde hair was pulled back in a sloppy ponytail, and she had dark circles under her eyes.
Chief Cameron stood again, nodding his head at the newcomer. “Dr. Harker, these officers are here from Security. Courdray and Belue.”
Ignoring the introductions, the doctor held up a pad in one hand. “Our report is ready.”
Lisa took a closer look at the woman, who wore horn-rimmed glasses and didn’t seem to be wearing any makeup. The doctor was younger than she appeared—maybe she could use some pointers.
Dr. Harker’s gaze went first to Lisa and then to David. She held the pad out to him, but elucidated to Chief Cameron. “A preliminary report only, but from this point it is a security matter. So I should give this to the officer.” Staring at David, she talked to him then. “It should give you a start on your investigation.”
Chief Cameron grunted. “What about my men? They’re my business.”
“Of course, Chief. We’ll continue to look after your men—they’ll need treatment and care for a few days, but they should all pull through. Even though they’re still horribly ill right now.”
Lisa interjected while she had the chance. “You say it’s a security matter now? Why?”
Dr. Harker adjusted her glasses and peered at Lisa a moment before answering. “They were poisoned with arsenic. It’s simple to detect in lab tests and easy enough to treat once you know. The levels were far too high, though, to be environmental contamination. And I can’t imagine it was an accident. So it must have been an intentional poisoning.”
“Do you have any idea how it was administered? When it was done?”
The doctor removed her glasses and chewed on one end. “It must’ve been at the late supper which was the only food and drink they all consumed. But it could’ve been in anything there.”
Lisa wasn’t ready to give up trying to get more information out of the woman. “Didn’t you test the leftovers in the kitchen? Because you thought it was food poisoning at first, didn’t you?”
Dr. Harker lifted her chin. “The sisters thought it looked like food poisoning at first. And in a sense it was—just not in the usual meaning of the phrase. But the symptoms of arsenic poisoning do look like regular food poisoning.
“As for testing—we examined the surfaces and equipment when we still thought it was regular food poisoning. But there were no leftovers to test. I’m afraid it will be up to you to discover who poisoned what exactly.”
“No leftovers? That alone is fishy.”
Dr. Harker nodded at the pad David now had in his hands. “In case it’s not clear from the details—larger levels would’ve killed those men before they could receive treatment. Either the poisoner didn’t believe they’d get proper medical treatment in time or misjudged the amount of arsenic they needed to do the job.”
Lisa shook her head. “Or they didn’t intend to kill anyone.” So she had a real case. But she had to figure out if the culprit had just wanted the guards out of commission, or if it was a bungled attempt at mass murder. And until she knew the motive, she’d have to focus on means and opportunity.
Chief Cameron harrumphed and looked around his office as if he wished they’d all leave him alone. David looked queasy, and Dr. Harker was staring at him again. Or off into space—it was hard to tell.
Lisa looked at the pad in her partner’s hand. He could read it and summarize it for her. She already knew where to begin—after she called Chief Nelson and let him know they had a dangerous criminal at large. She would talk to the man who’d worked a guard shift last night without being poisoned.
Lisa stood and nodded at the doctor before addressing Chief Cameron. “I’ll talk to Sgt. Carruthers first, and then we’ll see. I assume I can poke around here as I need to?”
The man grunted, and she took that as permission. She motioned to David, and he rose to follow her as she turned to go. She stopped at the door to look back. “We have to find whoever did this, and soon.”
Lisa had been right to believe this community a good place to raise her son. She wasn’t about to let this poisoner change that. As she stalked out of the office, she found herself growling low in her throat, just like Chief Cameron.
Chapter 3
Emergency Preparedness
9:05 a.m. Saturday, March 1st
KAT stuffed the duffel bags and backpacks belonging to Bart and Lacey into the space behind the front seat of the second Cameron vehicle. Instead of actual jeeps they were armored personnel carriers with desert camo paint jobs. They had to be surplus from the Egyptian War, but Fiona had told her not to ask how or where they’d been acquired.
Ken’s wife would be driving the lead vehicle, as she knew all the traps and the safe paths. Her three girls would be riding along with their mother, while Kat followed with the ‘guests’ in the second vehicle. She’d drive in Fiona’s tracks until they were beyond Cameron land.
Bart stood off to one side watching her pack the couple’s meager possessions. He hadn’t helped any at all of course. He was leaving under protest—they had given him no other choice. At least Lacey had helped gather their belongings. Her husband really was useless.
The dowdy wife, as Kat thought of the woman, came trundling out of the house
with Faith, both of their arms full of sacks of provisions for the journey. The Camerons hadn’t any livestock left—when they realized Kat was coming to get them, they’d slaughtered what remained. What hadn’t been eaten with breakfast had been preserved and packed to take on this trip. They were taking a lot of food along.
Since Bart didn’t move to help his wife, Kat circled around to grab some of the sacks from Lacey to load into the vehicle. Kat held the rest of the sacks while the woman climbed up into the cab and then handed them back to her.
At the same time, Faith and her sisters had finished loading the other vehicle. Now Fiona stood at the driver’s side door and waved at Kat, their silent signal that all was ready to get moving.
Kat wanted to go now. She glared at Bart, jerking her head at the passenger side, and watched as he walked around and got in on the other side of his wife with a sullen glare. Kat bared her teeth at him and circled back to get in the driver’s seat.
The morning remained so quiet you could hear the tiny sounds of life from the forest around them. Kat eased her door shut. Bart slammed his and the bang echoed through the air like a shot. It would’ve woken the heaviest sleepers, but at least the strange way sound traveled here in the country would make it difficult to locate its source.
Kat glared at the man. “I told you not to make any more noise than necessary.”
“I had to close the door, didn’t I? I thought you meant you didn’t want me talking.”
“I don’t.”
When she turned the key and started the engine she was pleased to hear its low purr. Not silent, but not the loud growl she’d feared. If the Aryans were up and looking for them, they’d have a difficult time pinpointing their location. Unless they were on top of them, in which case it wouldn’t matter.
Up ahead, Fiona’s APC had already started rolling over the worn grass along the side of the gravel road. As much as Kat wanted to be gone, she didn’t rush to catch up. She drove at a crawl in the tracks made by the other vehicle, trying to match treads as much as possible. Like walking in another person’s footprints.
Beside her, Lacey was holding all those sacks of provisions in her lap while her husband sprawled at ease on the far side of the cab.
About halfway between the house and the main gate, Fiona turned her vehicle away from the lane in a wide arc and headed for the trees. Kat slowed the tank she was driving and paid even closer attention to keep on the path the other woman was taking. It took her across the clearing and into the woods.
Since Kat had no choice but to trust Fiona knew what she was doing, she drove in the tracks ahead of her through an obstacle course of trees and bushes just beginning to bud. There was little room to take any other path. The woman must’ve been prepared for this kind of sneaky exit.
Considering the way these vehicles had already been partially loaded and so much food made ready for travel, Fiona had to have decided on leaving with Kat before she even showed up. Which left open the question of why the woman had stubbornly resisted the idea. Just because I suggested it? Was it some kind of test?
Before long, Fiona had stopped well short of the barbed wire fence that surrounded their property. Peering through the windshield, Kat saw Ken’s wife slide out of the driver’s side while Faith slipped out the other, both walking up to one post in particular. Kat decided to stay out of their way—they could ask for help if they needed it.
She watched the two women pull the thick post out of the ground and carry it and that entire section of fence away in a sweeping arc. Just like opening a gate. They took it far enough to one side to clear the way for the vehicles to drive through. Kat marveled at the thoroughness of these preparations.
By the distinctive hair style, Kat could see it was Grace who slid into the driver’s seat up ahead to pull the carrier through the newly made exit. Kat slowly followed through the opening. She kept going until she was well past the makeshift gate, which the two women were already closing.
Kat turned off the engine and removed the keys from the ignition. Turning to the couple beside her, she fixed them with a stare to make sure they were listening. “I want the two of you to stay right here, in the vehicle.”
Hopping down from the cab to the ground, she strode over to where Fiona and Faith were swinging the fence back into position and replacing the post. Fiona was wearing an oversized denim jacket, helping Kat tell the two apart from a distance. Up close it was clear they were mother and daughter.
She felt a brief pang as she wondered about having children of her own. The future felt so uncertain it was difficult to think that far ahead. And while it seemed safe enough inside the FURC—will it last?
Kat kept her voice low. “What are we going to do about those two? We can’t take them back to the FURC with us, but I can’t see leaving them here.”
Fiona snorted. “Even I wouldn’t abandon them here. They appealed to us for sanctuary. We’ve got to get them past those thugs who chased them here in the first place.”
Kat nodded. “I wasn’t suggesting leaving them here, but we need to start thinking long term. We’ll have to look for a safe place to unload them, somewhere along the way.”
“I suppose you mean relatively safe. I’ll keep an eye out, but you probably know what conditions are like between here and the FURC better than I do. I’ll leave it to your discretion.”
“Kind of you.” Without any real authority over the woman, Kat knew she’d have trouble with Fiona sooner or later.
“I don’t imagine anyone would want Bart to join their community. Except the Aryans. He may have learned the hard way how dumb an idea throwing in with them was, but that doesn’t mean he suddenly grew a brain.”
Kat nodded. “Let’s both look for a good place to drop them off, once we’re far enough away.”
“One thing at a time. Let’s get past these cretins first.” Fiona’s eyes lifted over Kat’s shoulder as she was speaking.
Kat turned to see Bart approaching, then turned back to Fiona and gestured at where Faith was putting the post back in its place, just as if it had never been moved—even shifting the dead leaves around where it slid in the ground. “Isn’t that all a bit unnecessary? They’ll find their way onto your estate one way or another, now.”
Fiona cackled. “I don’t want to make it easy for them. Let them go through the traps.”
Kat nodded again. Any intruders would probably take heavy casualties getting their hands on the Cameron land. She certainly wouldn’t begrudge the woman giving these white supremacists a good kick in the pants, even if it was in absentia.
Fiona frowned. “I also want to delay them getting in until we’ve gotten far enough away.”
Kat wanted to ask the woman what she meant by that comment, but Bart had approached by then. So she turned a scowl on him.
“I thought I told you to stay in the vehicle.” Kat looked past him and saw that even Lacey had gotten out—though at least she was standing there next to the door. Waiting on her husband, most likely.
“I have a right to know what’s going on.”
Fiona bared her teeth at the man in an approximation of a smile, then she and Faith stalked over to get back into their carrier, leaving Kat to deal with this problem.
“What’s going on is we’re on the move again and you’re wasting time. We need to hustle if we want to make it past your friends out here.”
Bart gave her a sullen look. “They’re not friends of mine. Just the opposite.”
Kat brushed past him on the way back to the vehicle. “Too bad you didn’t figure that out earlier.”
She hustled all the way and was disappointed to find the man keeping up with her—she might have taken the excuse to leave him behind. Lacey might be better off without him. She was still standing by the passenger door, shuffling her feet and looking at the ground.
As soon as they were all in—and this time Bart was careful to close the door softly—Kat started the engine again and took the lead. Fiona and the girls followed
the short distance through these woods to where the so-called south road ended. Right in the middle of the forest. But Kat had come this way on foot—trying to drive this tank and weave it between the trees was tricky.
It took less than twenty minutes though. Soon she was pulling up next to their black SUV, and her sergeant was scrambling out to greet them, looking like he’d been napping. But since she’d made him take watch this morning while she rested up for the challenge of sneaking onto the Camerons’ land, she couldn’t blame him for taking a snooze.
If MacTierney had been discovered by some of those white supremacists, he’d have been in real big trouble—but they must’ve been sleeping, too.
He grinned and saluted her with bleary eyes. “I was starting to get worried, Lieutenant.”
Kat looked at his matted hair, shaking her head. So much for beauty sleep.
Fiona left her daughters sitting in the idling vehicle and walked up to examine the sleepy sergeant. Then she turned to Kat. “I think we need to discuss seating arrangements. Grace can drive the second jeep, but who’s going to ride with you and your sergeant?”
Kat smiled. The woman didn’t want Grace left alone with Bart and Lacey, and Kat couldn’t in good conscience inflict Bart’s presence on anyone. Neither did she wish to leave Fiona and her family on their own.
“My sergeant and Lacey can ride with Grace, if that’s alright with you. Bart can ride with me.” If I’m alone with him and can’t suffer it, I can always just knock him unconscious.
Of course Bart had clambered out of the vehicle again to listen to them and stuck his oar in. “I’ll not allow my wife to ride with another man. Who knows what he might get up to.”
Kat and Fiona both turned to squint at the man. He really is a piece of work. Fiona was the one who spoke first. “She won’t be alone with him, moron. You should know by now that my Grace won’t abide any man misbehaving.”
Apparently that got him thinking along a different set of tracks, since he turned to leer at Kat. “It was getting cramped in there with my wife. I suppose it’ll be alright for her to ride separate.”
Starting the Slowpocalypse (Books 1-3 Omnibus) Page 26
