Cuffed (3 page)

“
Something wrong, Mr.
Delaney?”

Considering carefully what to say next,
I explained, “I get these funny feelings sometimes. I had a feeling
walking into the store tonight, like the rolling thunder was a
premonition of tonight’s events. Anyway, something’s wrong with
that prescription.”

The policeman studied the slip of paper
and frowned. “You mean besides it being a forgery?”

“
That’s the obvious part,
but I think there’s more to it than changing a number on a piece of
paper.”

“
What are you
saying?”

“
It’s highly unusual for an
ER doc to write for oxycodone and let the patient walk out the
door. First, it’s given for serious pain, the kind they hospitalize
patients for. It’s not often prescribed before sending a patient
home. And there’s the obvious abuse potential. ER physicians don’t
write for oxy unless they know the patient’s full history. That
usually doesn’t happen in an ER visit and that guy looked
questionable.”

“
You think the doctor’s in
on this?”

“
I don’t know what I’m
saying except that I’ve never seen it before and I got a strange
feeling while talking to that doc, like he was over-explaining.
It’s probably nothing but I wanted to mention it.”

“
After what that old lady
did tonight, I’d believe anything,” the officer said. “I’ll look
into it.”

He shook my hand and walked out of the
store to tend to his prisoner secured in the back of his patrol
car.

The rest of the night was reasonably
quiet with only a few other customers. I went back to my research
paper and reread my conclusion. I decided that, although accurate,
it was bland and not nearly as exciting as reality. It would need
to be rewritten.

I never heard back from the police, but
Ms. Huffington came in one night full of stories about the day
she’d spent in court as the accused agreed to a forgery charge and
received a reduced sentence in exchange.

About a week after Ms. Huffington’s day
in court, I stopped getting prescriptions with that physician’s
signature on the bottom. One night my curiosity got the better of
me and I called the hospital’s ER to inquire if he still worked
there. I was put on hold and shortly the shift’s head nurse came on
the line.

“
Hi, Sam. Guess you didn’t
hear. Dr. Wells was the victim of a hit and run a few days ago.
Ironic, but they brought him here. His injuries were
extensive.”

I swallowed hard and wet my lips before
I could ask, “Is he okay?”

“
Sadly, he didn’t make it.
The police are still looking into it.”

I hope you enjoyed
Cuffed
. It was a pleasure to share it with you and I’ve
included an excerpt from the beginning of my full-length
novel
,
Lethal Medicine
. So you’re not quite done.

Lethal Medicine
will be available soon as an eBook almost anywhere
you’re likely to shop. If you liked
Cuffed
, please consider recommending it to your
friends and buying
Lethal Medicine
when it comes out.

All The Best,

James

Lethal Medicine

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

Chapter 1

The detectives arrived at the Bexar
County Medical Examiner’s Office located on the sprawling campus of
The University of Texas Health Science Center. They checked in at
the reception desk.

“
I’m Homicide Detective
Rosie Young and this is my partner Vince Mendez,” she
announced.

Rosie was of Mexican descent, as many
in San Antonio are, her last name a carryover from a failed
marriage that ended three years previously. She was dressed in her
usual detective attire: a pair of starched black jeans, a brightly
colored tank top and a short black jacket. She had been a police
officer for twelve years and a homicide detective for
four.

“
We’re here to follow-up on
the autopsy of Jessica Arredondo,” she said.

The receptionist nodded and pulled out
a three-ring binder. “Sure, let me check my log. Yes, Arredondo,
brought in two nights ago . . . that would be Dr. Rebecca Nolan.
Her office is through the main doors, down the hall,
and—”

Rosie interrupted, held up a hand. “We
know where Becky is. You’re new here?”

“
Second day, I’ll buzz you
in.”

Vince Mendez—her partner—a nine-year
veteran of the police force and two years as a homicide detective,
walked a couple of lengths behind Rosie. Arriving at Dr. Nolan’s
office, they found her deep in conversation.

When she noticed the detectives, Nolan
said, “Come on in. There’s someone I want you to meet. Detectives
Rosie Young and Vince Mendez, this is DEA Special Agent Brian
Vargas. Agent Vargas, these are the two homicide detectives
assigned to the Arredondo case.”

The detectives and the DEA agent shook
hands, mumbled greetings to each other and followed the medical
examiner to the autopsy pit.

Nolan noted the detectives’ perplexed
expressions. “I asked Agent Vargas to join us. I have a preliminary
tox screen from the blood I took at the scene and found an
interesting coincidence.”

“
I’m all ears,” Rosie said.
“But I don’t understand why the DEA is here on a probable overdose
case, or even why you called us in. What’s so special about this
one?”

“
I’ll explain that shortly.
Trust me for now that Agent Vargas should hear this also.” They
walked up to the table that held Jessica Arredondo. Becky pulled
back the sheet covering the body. “I found no trace to link the
delivery boy to the victim. That’s consistent with samples taken
from his clothing and fingernails by the forensic techs, no
transfer from her or the bed.”

“
Boy? What boy?” Agent
Vargas asked.

“
Jason Hanson,” Vince said.
“He was delivering Chinese take-out down the hall and noticed the
victim’s apartment door ajar. When he finished his delivery, he
walked back past and saw it was still open. He alerted the lobby
security guard as he was leaving the building.”

“
Upscale apartment
building,” Vargas commented.

“
One of the nice ones
popping up on the northern edge of the city—great views of the
foothills to the north. Anyway, the guard thought it best to hold
on to Jason and together they checked out the situation. They
eventually went to the bedroom and discovered the body.”

Nolan picked up the dead woman’s right
hand. “I found skin under her nails. I tested that against the DNA
sample from the boy and there’s no match. I’d say he’s not
involved.”

“
What do you think,
detectives?” Vargas asked.

Vince shrugged. “That was one scared
kid but it could have been an act.”

“
If he was acting, I’d give
him an award,” Rosie said.

The DEA agent frowned. “So what’s the
story on the victim?”

“
No ID in her purse and no
credit cards but over a hundred in cash. The guard said her name is
Jessica Arredondo, but pictures in the bedroom identify her as
‘Just Jess’.”

“
You mean photos of her
with captions?” Vargas asked.

“
More like promotional
photos, like she was promoting herself as being all someone needs,”
Vince said with a chuckle. Always ready with a wisecrack, Rosie had
learned quickly to look past that and beyond Vince’s lanky frame
and ill-fitting suits. The sports jacket he had on was too short
over his narrow torso. His wrists poked out from the ends of the
sleeves. True, the man couldn’t dress himself but he could solve
any case he put his mind to.

Rosie explained. “There was a stack of
glamour photos on the dresser and that’s how she signed them. And
we found other . . . things too.”

“
What other things?” Vargas
asked.

“
Some interesting leather
things for starters. Sexy lingerie. Expensive clothes. That sort of
stuff.” Vince glanced at Vargas and gave a wry smile. “We also
found some curious toys.”

Rosie glared at Vince before turning
back to Vargas. “And we found lots of other cash, thousands in a
drawer.”

Vargas rubbed a hand across his
forehead. “A hooker?”

Vince nodded. “And an expensive one at
that.”

“
Regarding the victim,”
Nolan said after clearing her throat. “Based on liver temp and
degree of rigor, she’d been dead for about four hours.” Although
Nolan was in her late thirties, she looked ten years younger. It
was only her careful attention to detail that made people take
notice and respect her as a serious scientist.

“
She died of a massive
intravenous overdose of heroin. I personally checked around the
crime scene that night for any drug paraphernalia. There was none.
I’d say the drug was not self-administered. She was
murdered.”

“
Isn’t that a leap, Becky?”
Vince asked. “Couldn’t she have disposed of the syringe after
injecting herself? Maybe she flushed it down the toilet before
going back to bed.”

“
I thought of that, but it
doesn’t explain what happened. She had about five times the lethal
dose of heroin in her body.” Becky pushed back some of her red hair
that had fallen over one eye and walked closer to the body. “She
wouldn’t have had time to inject the drug, dispose of the syringe
and get back to the bed. She would’ve become unconscious within
seconds. I think she died on the bed she was found in.”

Nolan held up the victim’s arms. “I
believe whoever administered that lethal dose simply overpowered
her. Some bruising showed up on her upper arms during autopsy. The
skin under her nails indicates she tried to defend herself.” She
gently put the victim’s arms down. “The lab still can’t get a DNA
match through the databases, though.”

Rosie thought out loud. “So we have a
murder and our only suspect is that kid who’s just been cleared.”
She glanced at Agent Vargas as her hands came to rest on her hips.
“And why are you here, anyway? The DEA doesn’t get involved in drug
murders without good reason.”

Agent Vargas flashed her a smile.
“Smart and pretty. What a combination!”

Rosie gave Vargas a venomous stare.
“Could we continue, please?”

“
Detective, there’s much
more involved here than simple murder. Why don’t we let the ME
explain and you’ll see what I mean.”

Turning to Nolan, Rosie asked, “Becky,
what’s he talking about?”

Looking from Agent Vargas to Detective
Young, Nolan said, “Alright, let’s move on, shall we? Rosie, the
heroin itself is the most interesting part of the case. I took a
sample of some liquid I found on the victim’s skin near the
injection site. It probably leaked from the syringe before the
needle pierced her skin. The preliminary results show it’s an
unusually pure heroin hydrochloride, something around 99% pure. The
hydrochloride form makes it water-soluble, and I’ve only seen that
combination once before. It was in this facility.”

Nolan leaned back to a cart and picked
up a report folder from it. “Not long ago I had a case that I ruled
an accidental overdose. The only significant aspects of that case
were the purity of the heroin and the fact that it was the
water-soluble hydrochloride kind. You and Vince were assigned to
investigate until I ruled it accidental.”

“
I recall the case,” Rosie
said. “The victim’s name was Nathan Wheeler. We found the heroin in
a squeeze bottle that looked like a nasal spray container. You said
the bottle was significant because of the heroin’s chemical makeup
and said that it was perfect for snorting.”

Nolan pointed to Rosie and grinned. “I
also documented that I thought we were seeing the beginnings of a
whole new heroin distribution idea. Although I think Ms. Arredondo
died of a massive heroin injection, she definitely had nasal
irritation consistent with snorting a powerful drug.”

“
Are these cases
linked?”

“
The COD in both cases is a
heroin overdose and in both situations the drug was unique. I
reviewed Mr. Wheeler’s file this morning and I still think his
overdose was self-inflicted and his death accidental. That’s how
the cases differ.” Becky paused and put the Wheeler file back on
the cart. She folded her arms and nodded. “Ms. Arredondo was
definitely murdered. I’ve ordered a chemical assay of the heroin in
both cases. I suspect they’re from the same source and that’s why I
called in the DEA. We may be seeing a new street heroin
here.”

Rosie turned to Special Agent Vargas,
her posture rigid and her voice crisp. “You heard the doctor. The
victim was murdered. I want to make it perfectly clear that this is
our case.”

Refusing to be chastised, Agent Vargas
spoke in a professional tone. “I appreciate your candor, Detective
Young, but I hope you understand I’ll need to be kept informed on
the progress of your case, especially as it pertains to the drug
source. Otherwise, I’ll become more involved than you’d
like.”