Chemical Attraction (17 page)

“David, what are you doing here?” Sheriff Benton demanded.

“I’m doing my volunteer work.”

“Can they hear yet?”

“No, Sheriff, we’ve been looking at the comics.”

Roby grabbed his arm in fear. David casually reached into his pocket and slid out his phone. Without looking, he sent his mom a text. Both boys were trembling. He held their hands as the sheriff stared.

“The nurse’s station can answer your medical questions, Sheriff,” he finally said.

“Gee, David, thanks, but I want to see for myself if they can hear or not.”

With her arms crossed, his mom stood behind the sheriff. “I can assure you, Sheriff Benton, that our staff is medically trained and capable of taking good care of these boys.”

The sheriff cringed upon hearing her voice. “Eva, I wanted to see how they were doing.”

“Well, until their hearing returns, Dr. Tabor doesn’t want them bothered by you or any other police officer.” She stood aside to usher him out of the room.

“Does that include your husband?”

“As a matter of fact, it does.”

“And the reason David’s here?”

“He has volunteer hours to complete for school.” Winking at the boys on the bed, she shut the door.

David smiled. “She’s fierce.” He picked up the comics as they lay their heads against him to rest.

Joe and Madeline left through the shipping gate. To the right, the road went into Allenton, but to the left the road broke off into two different directions. Supply trucks used the road with very little public traffic.

“We’ve got a problem,” Madeline said. “How do we watch all three routes and not get caught?”

“I say we give those guys a show and go park.”

“It’s all about sex with you, isn’t it?”

“Every chance I get.” Turning left, he drove down the road a short way. After parking in the shade along the road, he turned off the car and angled his side mirror to see the truck and its loaders. “They may send security over for spite.”

“They had the truck three quarters full,” she replied, slipping off her heels. She unbuckled, hiked up her skirt, and straddled him.

“I have great ideas,” he said, caressing her thighs.

“Behave.” She unbuttoned her lace blouse. With her camisole still on, she hung the shirt halfway out the window.

“Your friend Kenny won’t ever look at you the same way again.”

“Did you like my scheme with the boxes?”

“You’re getting too good at this agent stuff.”

“They don’t look like they’re in a hurry. I see them staring at us. So your plan is good for what? Maybe ten minutes?” She smiled as she rested her hands on his chest.

“Give me a little credit and at least say fifteen, but you’re right. We’re going to need a little help.” He reached for his cell. “Hey Matt, we have our eye on the truck. It hasn’t left yet and we need some help. Can you come over here and give Madeline a ticket? Yeah, we’re on the service road.” After tossing his cell on the passenger seat, he rubbed her thighs, gradually moving up and under her skirt. Madeline squirmed as he moved his thumb past her white bikini.

She moaned. “Don’t start what you can’t finish. Joe, stop. I see Matt’s cruiser.” She gripped his shoulders and arched her back, hitting her head on the visor. “Damn it,” she yelled as he laughed. Seeing the lights flashing behind the car, she scrambled off his lap, kneeing him hard in the abdomen. He continued to laugh as Matt stepped up to the window.

Matt picked her lace shirt off the ground. “What are you doing?”

“Madeline can’t keep her hands off me.”

She straightened her skirt and moved his cell out of her way. “Matt, can you slam him against the car’s hood and rough him up a little?”

“Not in his condition,” he replied, referring to the bulge in his pants. “What’s with the boxes?”

“That’s my girlfriend’s way of getting us into the shipping area. She wants me to move in with her.” Madeline punched him in the arm.

“Give me your license, Joe. Where’s the truck?”

“The generic white one over there. It looks like it’s almost full. Do you want the plate number?” Madeline asked as Joe pulled out his wallet.

Matt took her slip of paper and his license. “I’ll be right back.”

“We’re still being watched,” he said as they waited. “And I think they’re laughing.”

Matt handed him his license. “No alerts came up on the license plate.”

“We’ll follow the truck and note its stops. I’ll call you tonight with an update,” Joe said as the truck slowly pulled out of the gate. He waited for Matt to leave and then casually pulled out, following the truck’s path. “We’re going on a road trip!” he sang out.

“Are you any good at tailing people?”

“I’m good at everything I do.”

“Oh brother,” she replied, settling into her seat.

Eva winked at the boys as she shut the door. She could tell David had made progress. Like his father, he was resourceful. She escorted the sheriff to the front atrium. “I’m sure the doctors will keep you informed of any changes. Matt’s tracking down any family they may have left,” she said.

“No, he’s not. That explosion was outside city limits. It’s a county matter. Have a nice day.” He strolled out the front entrance.

She stormed back into her department. “Son of a bitch,” she said under her breath.

With Betty and Amanda busy elsewhere, she sat at the front desk. As she dialed Matt, Simon walked to the counter. Seeing his black eye and swollen lip, she swore again. She hung up the phone and slid open the glass window.

“Simon, what happened?”

“I clumsy at my job,” he replied on the verge of tears.

“Come in and I’ll look at your eye.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Matt.” He followed her to an empty room and took a seat on the examination table.

She noticed bruises on his upper arms and suspected a different story. “Simon, I want to check your breathing. Will you slip off your shirt please?” He nodded and carefully raised it over his blond curls. His doughy physique showed deep bruising covering his back and chest. “Who did this to you?”

“I clumsy at my job.”

She lost her composure. “Simon, please tell me. I can have Matt help you. You’re a good person. You don’t deserve to be treated like this.”

“My mom sick and my job pay for bills.”

A knock at the door interrupted their conversation. She found Amanda standing there. “Dr. Ellis wants to speak to you now.”

She nodded. “I’ll be back in a few minutes,” she said to Simon as she stepped outside the door.

Dr. Ellis moved within inches of her face. “This is my patient and I will attend to his follow-up appointments.”

“He’s getting beat up at work.”

“Is that what he said?”

“No, but those injuries are not from clumsiness.”

“And you are a doctor from which medical school?”

She bit her tongue and walked past him to her cubicle. She sat down and snapped another pencil in half.

Betty came back to check on her a few minutes later. “Why are you letting him get to you?”

“I’m tired of Simon getting the shit kicked out of him. He’s been here three days this week for rechecks on his hand and now this. I don’t think Matt can do anything unless Simon tells us what really happened.”

“You’re not scheduled to work this afternoon and you’re done with patients this morning. Why don’t you just take off early?”

“I’ll wait for David. He’s visiting the boys.”

“What was that text message all about that sent you flying?”

“David sent me his code. If he’s ever in trouble, he sends a 9-1-1 text to either Matt or me.”

“What happened?”

“The sheriff is becoming quite the ass.”

After the boys ate their lunch, David left so they could nap. He wrote that he would be back tomorrow morning. They nodded and waved. Leaving his toys, comics, crayons, and paper, he kept all the drawings and writings to show his parents later. Standing at the counter in his mom’s department, he smiled at Amanda. She wore scrubs with her hair in a ponytail. He remembered her in a tight dress at the banquet. He thought she was just as pretty now.

“Hi David, how are the boys doing?” She stood up and stepped in the back room. “Eva, David’s here.”

“Better,” he replied as his mom came out with her purse.

“Let’s get some lunch. Your dad probably hasn’t eaten either.”

After deciding on Minnie’s diner, David dialed his dad’s cell. Choosing a booth in the back for privacy, David sat next to his mom, so his dad could sit with his back against the wall. His dad preferred to watch the room. He realized that Uncle Joe had done the same thing at the Village Inn.

A few minutes later, the chief joined them. After giving Cindy their orders, Matt asked him what he had found out about the boys. David pulled out his drawings and told them about the angel pictures. He paused only when Cindy brought out their burger baskets and drink refills.

“So they seemed relieved when you told them about their parents?” his mom asked.

“I thought they’d start crying again, but they didn’t seem bothered. When the sheriff walked in, it scared them so much they shook. Mom saved the day.”

“I heard he’s taking over the case,” she said.

“Yeah, it’s a county matter,” his dad replied.

“He’s always pushing cases on you and the guys,” she replied.

“Bobby and I are still checking on a few things. By the way, Joe and Madeline are on a road trip and won’t be joining us for dinner.”

“They found the items?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah, they’re tailing the truck as we speak.” His phone rang. “Hey Bobby, did the sheriff take our evidence yet? He’s what? When? Yeah, I’m on my way.”

“What’s going on now?” she asked.

“Someone found Jack Adam’s body in his office. I gotta beat the sheriff out there.” He slid out of the booth. “I’ll see you both tonight.”

“Are these deaths part of this?” he asked after his dad left.

“I don’t know, but it frightens me. Let’s go home.”

That unnerved him. He didn’t think anything scared his mom.

The sheriff pulled in right behind Matt at the vet’s office. Ready for an argument, Matt folded his arms and waited. “Matt, I’m glad you’re here. What the hell is going on in our town?” The sheriff motioned Matt toward the building. Knowing this was the sheriff’s case, he kept his mouth tightly shut.

Deputy Kevin Doveski waited outside the front door. “Four people called saying the vet missed his out-call appointments to their farms. I said I’d swing by to check it out. I’m sorry I did.”

“Go call the M.E. while we have a look.” The sheriff stepped past him.

Matt followed silently. In the reception area, three dogs and a cat lay dead with blood-soaked heads. Not again, he thought. Bloody tracks lead to the doctor’s office. Once again, a friend of his lay dead, mutilated by animals. Jack’s entire body was crimson from head to work boot.

From the doorway, Matt looked around the clean office that showed no signs of yesterday’s busy schedule. Behind the desk, a bookshelf held four tiers of textbooks and references neatly lined by height. A high school football trophy sat next to an Allenton Tigers baseball hat on the top of the shelf. Degrees, athletic awards, and a State Championship football photo took up one full wall.

Matt remembered missing that game his senior year due to the birth of his son. He’d loved David from the moment he laid eyes on him, but Beth couldn’t handle it. She signed over all parental rights and disappeared. His parents had supported his tough decision to raise a son and attend college. He sighed; he missed them.

“What would cause these animals to act this way?” the sheriff asked, rubbing his head.

Matt brought himself back to the present. “Let’s look around the back room. Why were these animals out of their cages? I could see maybe one left open accidentally, but not all of them.”

The only messy part of the room was the table. Vials, needles, and a powdered substance lay scattered across its white surface. Every other item in the room was in its place. The leashes lined the hooks on the wall in a short to long pattern. The locked glass cabinet neatly showed all the medications in alphabetical order.

Jack had always been a stickler for neatness and cleanliness. Even as a hard-hitting defensive lineman, each week his uniform pants had been the whitest of the bunch. Matt kidded him once. Jack had said it was his way of psyching out the other team. They didn’t think he played much with his clean uniform, but soon realized their mistake after he knocked off the quarterback’s head.

“I knew he had something to do with this,” the sheriff said.

“What?”

“You know exactly what. Doc Adams was a junky and mixed his drugs in with his animal medications.”

“You don’t know that unless you test the vials, the animal’s blood, and Jack’s.”

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll get to that, but at least all the cases are solved now,” the sheriff replied.