Chemical Attraction (18 page)

“How do you figure that?”

“Isn’t it obvious? He inoculated those animals, they went crazy from the meth and attacked their owners. I’ll get my boys in here to clean this up,” he said as an afterthought.

Matt knew Jack Adams as clean, sober, and uptight, never a user. “Do you mind if I look around for anything else that ties Jack to the animal attacks?”

“Yeah, go ahead,” the sheriff said, looking closer at the table.

Matt spoke to the chewed up mess in the doorway. “I’m sorry, Jack. I’ll figure out what really happened.” He stepped carefully around his friend. Taking a latex glove from his pocket, he pulled out the top middle drawer. He thought back to Jack’s message. He had wanted to talk to him immediately. He knew something, but what? He said he’d keep it under his hat. Did he mean literally? Turning to the shelf, he lifted up his baseball hat and found nothing. But then, when he flipped it over, he found a vial tucked inside the rim. Without thinking twice, he slid it into his pocket.

“I’ll talk to you later. Hey Jim, can you send me the tox report as a favor?” Matt asked.

“Yeah, sure, whatever you want,” he replied, dialing his cell.

Matt knew the sheriff would blow him off and pat himself on the back for solving the entire attacks case single-handedly. He left the parking lot as two deputy cruisers pulled in. The sheriff would destroy Jack’s reputation even if the blood tests didn’t prove his theory. Matt couldn’t do anything about it now, but he would once he understood everything. He wasn’t letting this vial out of his sight.

The truck drove southbound on US-131 while Joe followed, keeping his distance. With all the windows down, the boxes fluttered in the backseats. Madeline unbuckled. Leaning over the seat, she started to mash them down until she saw a duffle bag. She swung it into the front seat, knocking Joe in the head.

“Hey, I’m driving here,” he said, moving the bag to the passenger side floor.

“Oops, sorry.” She leaned farther back to press all the boxes below the window. “We’re going to have to ditch these soon. I can’t stand it.” She glanced at him as he admired her butt. “Hey now, eyes forward.” Moving back into her seat, she kissed his cheek. “Did you get any snacks when you filled your tank?”

“Yeah, but they’re in the trunk. No pit stops until we know where we’re going.”

She sighed. “You don’t have air conditioning, but you have SiriusXM Satellite radio.”

He held the remote with his left hand. “Do not knock my car.”

“I didn’t realize the macho value of a Ford Taurus,” she said, grabbing for it.

He kept the remote out of her reach. “You take that back.”

“Okay, it’s a very nice car. Aunt Sylvia would love this car. It’s just her style.”

“Now you’ve done it. I’m in control of the remote.”

He turned the radio to Howard 100. Madeline had given up on keeping her hair in a bun. She looked stunning with it moving wildly around her face. Propping her elbow half out the window, she leaned her head on her hand and smiled.

“What’s so funny?” he asked.

“My punishment is listening to Howard Stern?” She laughed. “I’m a huge fan.”

“You are not. You’re saying that, so I’ll change the channel.”

“You think so? Ask me a question about the show.” She moved her hair from her face.

“What’s Robin’s middle name?”

“Ophelia.”

“Okay, what’s Gary the Producer’s nickname?”

“Jeez, that’s easy. It’s Baba Booey.”

He laughed. “Let me get this straight. You have a PhD, you’re a Homeland Security agent, you play classical piano, and you’re a Howard Stern fan?”

“I love Howard. He’s the best interviewer ever. He gets people to confess their darkest secrets and Fred is, well, Fred.”

“When do you have time to listen to him?”

“I have the older S50 that records his shows. I’m really behind now though, thanks to you.” She turned up the volume. Disappointed, she realized that the Wrap-Up Show had already started. “What channels do you listen to? Classic Rewind?”

“I’m not listening to Martha Stewart,” he replied, pushing the 2-5 on the remote. “Okay, the truck’s slowing down.”

They had passed Kalamazoo, Schoolcraft, and Three Rivers; now they turned east on Withers Road five miles south of Three Rivers. Barely wide enough for two lanes, huge oak trees shaded the road. Farms and livestock lined each side.

“Is this going to get tricky to follow undetected?” Madeline asked, moving her hair out of her eyes.

“In my duffle is a small pair of binoculars. I’ll hang back as long as you can see them.”

She unzipped the bag and pulled them out. She adjusted the dial. The roughly patched road bumped them across her nose as she tried to hold them steady. “They just turned south at the end of this road.” He sped up to the stop sign. Sitting at the intersection, Madeline looked down the road for the truck. “I don’t see them. The road’s too curvy.”

He floored it until the tree-lined road changed into a road surrounded by flat open fields. He stopped near the last tree in the area, the truck in view again. It turned left into the middle of a soybean field toward a huge barn.

“If that’s their drop-off site, we’re in trouble. We can’t get anywhere near that barn. It might as well be a twenty-foot high fence,” he said.

She handed him the binoculars. “I saw a car next to the truck. I didn’t see any people,” she replied while he looked.

“I do. I see the driver and two other guys with guns. I think they’re unloading the truck.”

“Do people come to this site to pick up their stuff?”

“I doubt it. I think they re-distribute the items into care packages.”

“Then what? They make home deliveries?”

“If they do, it’ll make our job easier. We’ll follow the truck and write down the addresses.” He lowered the binoculars. “This looks like the safest place to hang out until dark. Let’s find a gas station.”

“Good, I really didn’t want to go behind a tree.”

Joe backed up the car and headed into Constantine, the next town south of Three Rivers. They pulled into an empty Marathon station along a quiet side road. Madeline stood stiffly. Walking into the station, she made a mental note to ask Joe if he’d packed her sandals. She couldn’t stand wearing these heels all weekend.

Joe filled the tank while she carried the women’s bathroom key with an attached tricycle tire around the side of the building. She had to hover over the nasty toilet seat. Dirtier than a port-a-potty, she used paper towels to touch everything. Peeing behind a tree didn’t sound so bad now.

Coming around the corner, she saw Joe talking to a grimy looking guy at the pump. Joe’s body leaned awkwardly against his car. She glanced to the side to see the white car from the barn. Looking back at Joe, she saw him eyeing the man’s gun. How did they know? After setting the tire and key down along the wall, she took off her heels. She stayed out of the man’s line of sight by using a wide pole to block her approach. After walking around it, she stood behind the guy. Hoping the heel of her shoe felt the same as a gun, she stuck it into the guy’s back.

“I haven’t used my gun in a while, but I don’t think I’d miss. Give my boyfriend yours now or you will bleed.”

Joe grabbed it and turned it on the guy. “I’m glad you found it in my duffle.”

“Oh, you brought it?” she asked, putting her shoes back on.

“You bitch,” the guy said.

She looked him directly in the eye. “Nobody points a weapon at my boyfriend but me.”

“Baby, go pay the nice man in the station, then drive the car to the side of the building.”

“So the honeymoon’s over and I have to pay for everything?”

Joe laughed as he shoved the guy toward the secluded side of the building. The shrubs, blocking the station from the nearest house, would give them privacy. She paid for the gas and two cold bottles of Coke. She backed up the car and popped open the trunk.

Leaning on the side of the car, she sipped hers. “Are you going to shoot him?”

Joe smiled as the guy looked at her wide-eyed. “I think it’s your turn.” He pulled out one of the duffle bags.

She shrugged. “Okay, it’s number four this week. You don’t mind me being one up on you?” She set her bottle on the roof next to the other and took the gun from Joe.

Using both hands, he pulled out the other duffle and his fishing equipment. “It’s five. Remember that woman who cut you off?”

“Does that count? I didn’t actually shoot her. I hit her with the car. You should probably put the cardboard down first. It was too hard getting the blood stains out the last time.”

“You’re right, as always.”

With nobody else around, she continued to smile and hold the gun. The guy pressed himself against the wall, afraid to move. Joe tied his hands behind him with a bungee cord and bound his mouth with a rag. After shoving him into the trunk, Joe took the gun from her.

“You enjoyed that way too much, Bonnie.”

“I can shovel it just as well as you can, Clyde.” She handed him the other cold Coke. “Now what?”

“Now, I need to make a phone call to get rid of our guest. He’s crimping my style.” He downed half the bottle in one shot.

“Okay, I’ll drive,” she said, beating him to the driver’s seat.

Belching, Joe walked around to the passenger side. Madeline drove to the local Dollar General and backed into a corner spot away from the rest of the cars. He turned on the radio, then sat on the hood with Madeline and opened his phone.

“Hey Matt,” he said. “We’re in Constantine where they’re unloading in a barn. We’ll wait until dark before checking it out.”

“The vet’s dead.”

“How?”

“Another animal attack, but get this. The sheriff believes that meth somehow got into the vials for the animal inoculations, which caused them to go crazy. He’s blaming the vet.”

“You don’t think he did it?”

“No, it’s too easy setting him up. The doc left me a message yesterday morning. He knew something and left me a clue.”

“I’ll get the details when we get back. We have a guy in our trunk right now that we need to get rid of.”

“Alive or dead?”

“Madeline wanted to shoot him with her shoe, but I wouldn’t let her,” he replied as she punched him in the arm.

“What are you doing down there?”

“A guy pulled a gun on me and now he’s in our trunk. Do you know anyone at the state police post in White Pigeon?”

“Um, yeah, Robert Streeter, do you want me to make a call?” Matt asked.

“I need the guy held for at least three days, no questions asked.”

“Let me see what I can do. Give me twenty minutes before you get there.”

He flipped his cell closed and put his arm around Madeline. “You did great back there, but don’t do it again. I really thought you had your gun with you. Start carrying it.”

“You cleaned and loaded it for me?”

“Yeah. Be careful.”

“Thank you, and for the record, I’ve saved your life twice now. Are you sure you’re good at your job?” she asked.

“What are you talking about?”

“I stopped that guy from stabbing you at the Village Inn restaurant and now this one. You’re lucky I’m here to take care of you.”

“I am so lucky,” he whispered before kissing her.

Twenty minutes later, Joe backed into the closest parking spot to the front door of the White Pigeon Police Post. Madeline stayed in the car and untangled her hair while he walked into the two-story brick building. An officer came out with him. Joe opened the driver’s side door to pop open the trunk.

“These guys will only hold him for forty-eight hours. It’s not long enough. I need you to flash your badge. It’s in my duffle bag,” Joe whispered to Madeline.

After slipping on her heels, she motioned for the officer to join her in the building. Joe shut the trunk with the guy still inside. The officer held the door open for her. Two other officers sitting behind their desks stared.

“Gentlemen, we have a situation that I thought you already understood.” Holding her badge, she continued. “I’m assisting Agent Roberts of the FBI in a highly volatile case. Homeland Security needs your help in holding this man, who may be funding terrorists with drug money.”

“Yes, ma’am,” they replied in unison.

“You are aware that we are undercover?” They nodded. “I would like you to hold him a minimum of three days in a secluded holding cell so our cover isn’t blown.”

“But we can only hold him for two,” Officer Streeter replied.

“All rules have changed, gentlemen. This Homeland Security issue is in your state. Do you understand the implications?” She caught a glimpse of Joe standing behind her off to the side.

“Yes, ma’am,” they replied.

She sighed with relief and smiled. “Thank you. I sincerely appreciate your help.” They jumped to open the door for her and then rushed to drag their heinous suspect to a cell. Joe gave them final instructions while she waited. The three officers waved as Joe drove away.

“You took on the agent roll pretty darn good,” he said with a smirk. “Are you sure—”