Deadly Dose

by Margaret Daley

He didn’t want to leave, but he needed to put plans in motion so this wouldn’t happen to her again.

  * * *

  “I’m surprised Gabriel couldn’t come to bring me home from the hospital.” Jessie sat on the small couch in her hospital room, dressed in clothes Kira had brought her.

  “I volunteered.” Josh crossed the space between them and settled next to her.

  “What did you do to my brother?”

  “Nothing. He’s back at the ranch with a vet trying to save a cow and her newborn calf.”

  “Well in that case, I could understand him turning that over to Kira but not you.”

  He splayed his hand over his chest. “Me? I’m a good guy. I don’t have a white hat, but I can go out and buy one.” Mischief twinkled in his eyes.

  “So, Josh Morgan, what are you up to? Come clean and I might let you take me home.”

  The sparkle vanished, and his expression became serious. “Remember when I tried to sway you to come stay at the estate? I want to continue my quest. You could have died last night. Much longer in your truck and you would have.”

  “I owe you my life. I know that. But your mother and I didn’t get along much in Florida.”

  “The house is big, and if it isn’t big enough, as I said before, you can stay in the guest house.”

  “And do what? I have a job now. I’ve enjoyed working at the community center. I can’t be locked up behind your iron gate.”

  “The police are treating your wreck as an attempted murder. Someone stuffed rags into your exhaust pipe. There were holes in the truck that could have also caused the carbon monoxide to build up in your cab.”

  “I won’t hold my breath that I’m a priority case.”

  “You are. This is tied to Mrs. Williams’s and Heather’s murders. If the police didn’t believe that at first, they do now.”

  “What did you do?”

  He looked down. “I called an emergency meeting of the city council for tomorrow night concerning our police chief. In a short time, Scott has gathered information on the drug ring that our own police should have gotten.”

  “What info?”

  “Mrs. Williams had doctored the books at the pharmacy. She’s been stealing drugs from there. The owner let Scott go through the records. He’s now openly working with the police. Bill wasn’t happy about that.”

  “Mrs. Williams stole drugs? No wonder she lied about where Heather was that night at her house.”

  “Playing along with whoever she works for didn’t keep her alive.”

  “She couldn’t be the only one supplying drugs. There are regulations in place. I don’t see her moving a large amount of drugs to be sold without someone finding out. What if she was doing it on the side to earn money, and the person behind the larger trafficking wanted to shut the competition down?”

  Josh raised an eyebrow. “Is this what you’ve been doing with your leisure time in here?”

  She laughed. “I had to do something.”

  “You could be right.” He tapped her temple. “That sharp brain of yours could get you killed. Come to the estate.”

  “You aren’t going to leave this alone, are you?”

  He shook his head.

  She didn’t want her presence to endanger her brother or niece. Maybe it was a good idea to leave the ranch. She could stay away from Ruth Morgan. “Without my truck, how am I supposed to get to the Flying Eagle and then to the community center? I still have work to do.” And people to see like Lily Hopkins. She might be able to tell her more about how Heather had been acting.

  A grin spread across his face. “I’ll be your chauffeur, or one of my security guards will be.”

  “Security guards?”

  “After what happened last year, we tightened security at the house and company. I didn’t like the vulnerability I felt with that serial killer running lose in Pinecrest.”

  “Now why doesn’t that surprise me? Okay, I’ll try staying at the estate, but if there are problems, I’ll leave.”

  “I’ll drive you if it comes to that.”

  She liked the idea he would be there for her. She’d always been the caretaker for her family. With Kira marrying Gabriel, her role would change, which was worrisome. She didn’t like change.

  “I’ll need to go home and pack.”

  “I figured that. On the way, I want to stop at Aaron’s house. I found out he still hasn’t returned to school. I’m worried. I’ve offered to pay for him to go to a counselor. His mother never called me back.”

  “You went with me to Heather’s. The least I can do is go with you.”

  “Pray the outcome isn’t the same.” He rose and offered her his hand.

  She took it, stood, and then dragged in a deep, fortifying breath. “Let’s do this. I feel like I’m going into battle.”

  “Maybe we are. Something is going on with the kids in town. Lately, I’ve noticed clusters of them at the community center disperse when I come near. It may have to do with Aaron. I hate to think it, but I believe teenage boys attacked him.”

  The orderly arrived with her wheelchair, and Jessie dutifully sat inside for the ride to the hospital curb. Josh hoisted her backpack with her change of clothes in it and carried it as he walked quietly by their side. He asked the orderly to wait with her while he retrieved his car from the parking lot.

  Once he returned, and she was settled in the car, Jessie picked up the conversation. “I hate asking this, but do you think the center is involved somehow?”

  “A definite possibility because that’s where the kids in Pinecrest hang out. That’s why I’m volunteering more time there.”

  “Not to keep an eye on me since I started working there?”

  He chuckled. “Well, that, too. But also Quinn is a friend from high school. I don’t see him involved, but someone else could be. We have others at the center teaching classes like Harris Doyle with self-defense and your friend Emma with yoga.”

  “Even Al has proposed opening a snack bar there with healthy food, not junk.” Jessie relaxed in the passenger seat, glad she didn’t have to drive. What little she remembered about last night was frightening. She was in the Lord’s hands. She had to keep that front and forward, or she’d never do anything.

  When Josh pulled up to a small, well-maintained house in a middle class neighborhood, she thought of the contrast to the hovel that Heather had lived in. Not much bigger than the Williams’s home, but this one had a fresh coat of paint and a landscaped yard.

  “I tried calling earlier, but no one answered. I was hoping Aaron would pick up the phone, but I wasn’t surprised when he didn’t. When I last saw him, he was sitting in his dark bedroom. Mrs. Coleman should be home from work by now.”

  “I can stay out here if you think that will spook Aaron.”

  “No,” he said with force. “You come in and talk with Mrs. Coleman. I don’t want you to stay out here alone. Besides, you might get Aaron’s mom to tell you something she might not say to me.”

  “When was the last time you talked with Aaron?”

  “Two days ago. I called him because I hadn’t seen him for a couple of days. I was going to come over, but he told me not to. Now he’s not answering.”

  “And you’re concerned.”

  Josh nodded. He exited his car and came around to open her door and help her out. “Tell me if you’re tired. You went through a trauma last night.”

  “I’ll be fine.” Although she was weary, she could tell Josh was anxious to see Aaron. “All you’ve talked about is Aaron’s mom. Is his dad in the picture?”

  “No. They divorced several years ago, and his father left Pinecrest. I get the impression Aaron doesn’t have anything to do with him. He avoids talking about his dad.” He slanted a look at her. “You don’t either. Where’s yours?”

  “Left years ago and we never heard from him again. That was the beginning of my mom’s health decline.”

  “And when Gabriel went to prison, it became worse.”

&nbs
p; “She gave up on life.”

  “I’m so sorry about that.”

  “And now I believe you mean it. Months ago I wouldn’t have.”

  He stopped on the porch and faced her. “That couldn’t have been easy. But for the record, I thought your brother was guilty. I believed what Chief Shaffer told me.”

  “I haven’t forgiven him, but I’m trying.”

  “You are?”

  “Yes, holding onto that anger hurts me more than the police chief.”

  Josh rang the doorbell, the chimes sounding through the house. “You’re remarkable. I haven’t forgiven him. His fumbling of Marcie’s murder left the town vulnerable.” He sighed. “Maybe I can learn from you.”

  “I didn’t come up with it. God did. I’m discovering He knows what He’s talking about.”

  “But that doesn’t make it easy.”

  “No.” Jessie panned the area. “I don’t think they’re home. At least, I hope that’s the reason they aren’t answering the door.” Memories of the times she met silence at Heather’s house shivered through her.

  “Wait here. I’m going to check the garage and see if Mrs. Coleman’s car is in it.”

  While he was gone, Jessie sidled to the front window on the porch and tried to peek inside, almost afraid of what she might find. But the curtains were closed. She came back to where she’d been and checked the long narrow beveled glass on one side. Too cloudy to see anything. Then her attention fell upon the mail chute in the door. She bent down and lifted the flap up. Unopened letters, flyers, and advertisement were scattered all over the entry hall.

  As though the Colemans had been gone for at least a couple of days.

  She straightened as Josh mounted the steps.

  “The car’s gone.”

  “The mail hasn’t been picked up for a while.” She gestured toward the mail chute.

  Josh checked what she was talking about and whistled. “This isn’t good.”

  “Are you going to call the police?”

  “Not until I’ve checked the house out myself.”

  “You’re gonna break in?”

  “I wouldn’t put it quite like that. This is one of my rentals. I’m going to check on my property after I take you home and it’s dark.”

  “I’d argue with you, but the effort might strain what energy I have. No one ever told me replacing the oxygen in your body with carbon monoxide is so exhausting.”

  “Good, no argument about coming. Let’s pick up your clothes and go to the estate. You need to rest.”

  She wished she wasn’t so tired, or that she could talk Josh out of going back to the Coleman’s house.

  Later that night, she lay in the bed in the room across the hall from Josh. He hadn’t returned from Aaron’s house. Rolling over, she caught sight of the red numbers on the clock. Two in the morning, six hours since he left.

  Chapter Eleven

  Using the key he had to the Colemans’ home, Josh entered through the back door. Although this was his property, he didn’t want to call attention to his presence at the place. As he moved into the kitchen, he kept his flashlight pointed toward the floor. With the drapes closed throughout the house, it shouldn’t be obvious someone was in there.

  He drew in a deep breath. No bad smells. That was encouraging.

  Earlier, he hadn’t said anything to Jessie, but he’d been afraid that when he came here, he would find one or both of them dead.

  He wasn’t sure what he was looking for. Maybe some sign of where Aaron and his mother were. He discovered from Mrs. Coleman’s employer tonight that she hadn’t been to work since her son was injured, which really didn’t clue Josh into when they’d left, if that was what the piled up mail meant.

  He swung the flashlight in a low arc over the kitchen. Either Mrs. Coleman was a messy housekeeper, or they hadn’t cared how they left the place. Dirty dishes were piled by the sink. A couple of drawers were left partway open. Every time he’d been at Aaron’s, the house had been neat and spotless. That wasn’t the case now.

  As he walked through the rooms, his gut knotted even more. Even if Aaron and his mother packed and went somewhere else, the disarray Josh witnessed wouldn’t have been made by them. Someone had searched the place.

  For what?

  Who?

  Question after question flitted through Josh’s mind while he drew closer to the last bedroom in the hall—Aaron’s. He put his hand on the knob of the only closed door in the house and turned it. He struggled to drag a decent breath into his lungs. His heartbeat hammered against his ribcage.

  Josh crept into the teen’s room. His jaw slackened. Everything was exactly the same as when he was in here the last time. Except Aaron wasn’t sitting in the chair by the window. Josh walked to the closet and opened the door.

  A burly figure flew at him, a bat smashing into the side of Josh’s head. Darkness swallowed him.

  * * *

  Biting her thumbnail, Jessie stared as the digital clock ticked off another minute. Three in the morning. Maybe she’d missed his return. Once she knew he was back and all right, then she could get a good night’s sleep. Jessie marched across the hall to Josh’s room and rapped on his door.

  She glanced up and down the corridor then pounded harder. Thankfully, his mother was at the other end. When he didn’t answer her knock, she turned the knob. Just a peek inside. The dim light of the hallway illuminated a narrow streak of the room. His bed was made. She pushed the door wider.

  He hadn’t come back.

  Jessie returned to her bedroom and paced. She couldn’t rid her mind of the vision of Mrs. Williams hanging in her kitchen or Heather’s body being brought out of the water. She couldn’t sit here and do nothing.

  After quickly donning her clothes, she snatched her purse from the dresser and hurried into the hallway. She came to an abrupt halt.

  How was she going to get to Aaron’s house?

  Gabriel?

  No, he was taking care of Abbey.

  The police?

  No way!

  Then how about Kira?

  She took out her cell phone and speed dialed her. She hated waking her up in the middle of the night, but she would understand. It went to voicemail after the fifth ring. She hung up without leaving a message.

  She looked around as though that would give her an answer to her dilemma. She didn’t know how to hot-wire a car, and it was too far to walk.

  Her gaze fell on the far end of the hallway and the door to Ruth Morgan’s room.

  Josh’s mother’s reception earlier had been cool at best. She didn’t want to tell Ruth where Josh was, but she needed a car, and the woman could give her one.

  She strode down the corridor, and before she lost her nerve, she knocked on the woman’s door. This was one of the hardest things she’d done in a long time. Her lungs captured her breath and didn’t release it. When she lifted her hand to knock again, the door swung open.

  Even being awakened in the middle of the night, Josh’s mother didn’t have a hair out of place. She seemed totally together. She glared at Jessie, but quickly, the woman’s expression changed. “What’s wrong? Is it Abbey?”

  Lord, I hope I’m overreacting.

  “No, it’s your son.”

  Ruth came into the hallway. “Where is he?”

  Quickly, Jessie told Ruth where Josh was.

  Thunder descended over the woman’s face. “This is all because of you. If anything happens to my son, I blame you.”

  “Fine. I need a car. He should have been back by now. I’m worried—”

  “Wait here.” Ruth reentered her room and slammed the door.

  A few minutes later, she returned, dressed and carrying her purse. “I’ve called security. One of them is bringing a car around.”

  On the ride to the Colemans’ house, the silence in the car was thick and heavy. Ruth hadn’t said anything else to Jessie except to give the address to the man driving. She noticed the guy had a gun at his waist. The weapon emphasi
zed how dangerous this outing could be.

  Jessie spied Josh’s sports car a street over from Aaron’s. “Stop.”

  The security guard didn’t until Ruth said so. Then he had to back up until he was side by side with the other vehicle.

  “Check it out, Robert,” Josh’s mother said, reaching out to stop Jessie from climbing out of the backseat. “He knows what he’s doing.”

  Jessie tried not to be offended by Ruth’s condescending tone because she was right.

  Robert opened the driver’s side door, the interior light illuminating an empty car. The guard popped the trunk and inspected it. When he returned, he started the engine, saying, “No sign of Mr. Morgan,” then pulled away.

  Maybe he had fallen asleep before leaving the house and was running late searching the Colemans’ home. She wanted to believe that, but her stomach roiled. Robert parked in the driveway, strode to the porch, and rang the bell. After a few minutes, he tried the door.

  When he came back to the car, Jessie climbed out. She wanted to shout, “You’re wasting time,” but instead she said, “He was going into the place by the kitchen door. We need to see if it’s unlocked.” Without waiting to see if Robert followed or not, she headed to the side of the house.

  By the time she rounded the corner to the backyard, Robert and Ruth were behind her. Jessie wasn’t surprised the guard followed her, but Josh’s mother? Totally out of character. She wasn’t a person that got her hands dirty.

  When Jessie neared the wide open door, Robert shouldered her back. “I’ll go in first.”

  That was perfectly all right with her because she didn’t have the flashlight. He did. Jessie trailed the guard through a home not trashed but messy. Why hadn’t Josh shut the door? He hadn’t wanted to alert anyone of his interest.

  Because something was wrong. Goosebumps flashed up her body, and she rubbed her hands up and down her arms. Nearing a hallway, Jessie glanced over her shoulder at Ruth. A piercing look met hers. The woman wasn’t happy with her, but Jessie didn’t care. If Josh had been okay and in here, he would have made himself known.

  Please. Please, let Josh be here and alive.