Desperate Measures (26 page)

A beep on the computer interrupted Mackenzie’s thoughts. He sighed and looked at the screen. Perfect, a text message had been sent. The canopy of trees swayed, a light breeze rustled the foliage, and he relaxed. Everything was falling into place.

Caitlin must be so frantic and upset that she barely had any appetite. Good, she wouldn’t be knocked out for very long. He would’ve felt sorry about subjecting those two little children to the tainted food. Didn’t have to worry about that. More good luck. The other container filled with spaghetti and meatballs, confirmed Linda had gone all out and prepared two gourmet meals; one for the adults and one kiddie meal.

Hopefully Scott and that FBI guard dog would chow down and give him the opening he needed to snag Caitlin. The beauty of it all was that whoever became affected by the drug, would set another diversion in motion, and cast Linda as the prime suspect!

* * * *

Ginny had planned to stop and spend the night at the halfway point from Bangor, Maine to her beach house on Seabrook Island in South Carolina. She made excellent time, averaging between seventy and seventy-five miles an hour, cruising down Interstate 95, and decided to continue on. She approached the national landmark with Pedro the Icon, known as South of the Border, a welcoming to those leaving North Carolina to South Carolina and vice versa. Her eyes grew weary. She debated whether to find a hotel a little farther south from the tourist trap and sleep for a bit, or forge ahead for another four hours.

Spending the night in a fleabag motel off of I-95, without the comfort of Max’s arms around her, had zero appeal. She pulled off at the bright neon sign and tower in the form of a huge sombrero, home of Pedro. Several cups of coffee and something light to eat would keep her going to make the final last few hours’ drive to her home.

Seated at the somewhat clean booth, she took a greasy menu off the stand located next to the napkin dispenser. She perused the listing of food offered which made her stomach churn. A friendly waitress walked over to take her drink order.

“I’m in a hurry so make it quick, one large coffee and a BLT. Another large coffee to go,” Ginny barked.

The waitress, not intimidated or flustered, jotted the order on her pad and kindly replied, “I’ll get your order in quickly. I’ll bring your to go coffee just before you leave so it remains nice and hot.”

Ginny dismissed her with an impolite wave, dug in her purse to retrieve her cell-phone and turned it on. As it went through the paces of powering up Ginny hoped there’d be a message from Max. Oh, how she missed him already.

Ginny and Max knew each other such a long time ago. It was a very intense and powerful affair; they couldn’t get enough of each other. Max had a different name in those days but Ginny knew exactly who he was when they reunited. She liked him so much more now. He had confidence and determination, both qualities she found sexy and attractive. His new attitude turned her on more than the bad boy she knew years and years ago.

An unpleasant thought surfaced but then the waitress placed a cup of coffee in front of her and attempted to ask if she needed anything else until her sandwich was ready. Irritated, Ginny waved her away.

Prior to the interruption she had troubling thoughts. What were they? Ginny forced herself to focus on what bothered her and then it came to her; the picture. She failed to see why it was so important for Max to have a picture of her niece. Why would he care about her or the rest of them after all these years?

She knew Gary and his lack of a house-keeping routine. It would be years before he noticed the replacement picture.

Her phone beeped, she had messages. Surely Max had left a message, not many people had the number of her secret cell-phone. She hit connect to listen to the stored messages in her in-box.

She hit play and heard. “Ginny, goddamit stop playing your games and call me back! I’m sorry if I offended you last week but you need to know what’s been happening. You could be in serious danger.”

Ginny laughed before hitting delete. “Screw you, Jack.”

She listened to the second message. “Ginny, the FBI is trying to locate you. My daughter and your niece’s life are in jeopardy. Get off your high horse and do the right thing for once!” Again she hit delete.

More furious than ever, Ginny didn’t bother to remotely check her other messages. She turned the device off. Who the hell did Jack think he was? He wasn’t even her full brother. He needed to get off his damn fucking high horse.

She ate half of the tasteless BLT, paid the bill, and stormed out of the restaurant door with a coffee in her hand. She didn’t need the extra coffee now that her adrenaline was pumped up. She knew she’d make it to Seabrook Island without the need of caffeine to stimulate her to stay awake and alert.

* * * *

Drew’s office phone and cell-phone rang simultaneously. He answered the land line. “Chief Porter.” After hearing the report, he slammed the phone down. “Mitch, let’s go now! An ambulance is on its way to the Oceanside.”

Drew ignored his cell-phone which beeped with a message, assuming it contained the same information he’d just received. He and Mitch grabbed their guns, keys, and badges. During the process, Drew shouted orders. “Mitch, get your ass to the hotel, Scott had no choice but to leave Caitlin alone. Also, some food may have been contaminated. Collect it and call for another deputy to bring it to the hospital. Whatever you do, don’t leave Caitlin by herself.”

They reached the parking lot and Drew jumped into his car. The squeal of an ambulance siren blared.

Drew leaned out the open window with one last statement. “I’ll be at the hospital questioning the victim, who I pray is still alive.”

The rescue vehicle just passed. Drew turned on the flashing blue bullet and took off. The racing ambulance wasn’t too far ahead, he could catch up. He floored the engine only to stomp on his brakes a second later, a goat roamed onto the road. Drew blasted his horn but the sound made the animal more curious. It stood in the middle of the tiny road without a care in the world and glared into the headlights. Some power and authority the flashing blue light had in this situation. Finally, someone yelled and the animal scurried away.

Out of the populated area, Drew swerved along the winding road, his brakes squealing at every curve, and then the hospital came into sight. At the emergency room entrance, his heart nearly stopped when he saw Scott leap out of the back of the ambulance.

“Scott, who’s in there? What happened?”

Scott brushed past him and spoke in choppy sentences. “It’s Tomas and Linda, I’ll explain later, send Mitch to the hotel and make sure Caitlin repeats everything Linda said. Tell Mitch to collect the food.”

“I already told Mitch to get the food based on the information from the EMTs but what the hell are you saying about Linda?” Drew’s question went unanswered.

Scott raced behind the gurneys and entered the emergency room.

* * * *

Caitlin paced and bit her fingernails, waiting to hear news from Scott. She jumped at the sound of a knock at the door. She backed against the kitchen wall and remained quiet. This wasn’t good, everything had happened so fast. She’d been guarded at all times, now she was alone. She bitched about the security guard at the pool but at this moment she’d welcome his overbearing presence.

A killer could be at the door. Caitlin looked around for a weapon, anything to provide a defense. Without making a sound, she reached to the counter and found a steak knife. It wasn’t much but better than nothing. The knock came again, louder this time. Caitlin shivered and shrank to the floor.

“Caitlin, it’s Mitch. Open up!”

Relief washed over her and she flung the door open. “Mitch, thank God it’s you, come in. Sorry I took so long to answer the door but I panicked for a minute. I thought you were the person threatening me.”

Mitch apologized. “I should’ve announced myself. I thought Pam and Chris would be here.”

“They’re at the pool with the kids.”

“Good, because I need you to tell me what happened.”

Caitlin recited the conversation verbatim and what led her to believe the food had been poisoned. When she finished, Mitch gathered the trays of food and all the utensils, and then made a phone call.

* * * *

Scott followed his best agent and friend into the cavernous well lit emergency center. St. Kitts Hospital had an excellent reputation but Scott wasn’t confident they had the equipment or medicine to handle whatever had rendered Tomas and Linda unconscious.

As the EMTs wheeled Tomas down a white and brightly illuminated hallway, Scott stepped aside, pulling his phone from his shorts. He debated whether or not to inform Frank with the news. He decided to wait until he heard from the doctor on duty and dropped the phone into his right pocket. The other pocket of Scott’s shorts contained Tomas’s cellular phone.

The third shift, including airline check-in, cleaning, and security personnel, clocked in for their nightly duties at JFK Airport in New York City. The work timeframe running from late evening to early morning wasn’t ideal, but most employees didn’t complain much. Air traffic consisted of only a few red-eye flights from the west coast and the employees could relax, read, or nod off and still keep up with the duties assigned to them.

Susan Wheeler walked into the ladies room stall outside the American Airlines gates. Financially strapped but determined to obtain her Bachelor’s Degree in Science and then go to medical school, she chose to work the night shift for two reasons; she had time to study, and the late hours prepared her body for sleep deprivation. Doctors never slept. Their bodies learned to function, sometimes for twenty-four hour stretches, with no shut eye. Especially surgeons. A surgeon couldn’t leave a cut open body on the operating table to take a nap. Could they?

Susan expected to finish cleaning the ladies room within a half hour, eager to get back to her anatomy and physiology book. Her hopes were dashed when she reached the last stall with an ‘Out of Order’ sign on it. She pulled the door, it didn’t budge. Locked from the inside. She banged on the door and shouted. “Is anyone in there?” She wondered why someone hadn’t reported this earlier. Concerned, Susan peered under the small opening. Someone was inside the stall alright and they weren’t tending to the call of nature. Not in that position. Knees hugged the chest, ankles and wrists wrapped with a cord fastened around the waist. Body propped on top of the toilet.

Susan gasped, debating whether to call for help or crawl under the small passageway. Her potential medical future and mindset forced her to opt for the latter choice. She lay down on the still dirty floor and crawled under the bathroom door. What kind of person ties up an elderly woman? She pressed her fingers between the woman’s wrinkled neck. The cool skin made her cringe but she finally found a pulse. Susan used her cell-phone to call 911 and then airport security.

* * * *

Scott tapped his foot in a nervous rhythm and drummed his fingers against the end table in the emergency room waiting area. The doctor finally came out from behind the double doors of the examination bays, the expression on his face unreadable. Scott stood and met the doctor’s steady stare.

The doctor shook his hand and a smile touched his lips. “Your friends should be fine once they wake up. I had the lab run a complete blood-work on them. We’re slow tonight, so I was able to obtain the results quickly. What showed in the toxicology screen was a very high dosage of a drug called Luminal, or Phenobarbital. Your friends will be out for at least eight to ten hours. They shouldn’t have any long term effects other than a headache and tiredness the next couple of days. Tomas Medina ingested a lower dosage and may rouse sooner. Both of their vital signs are perfect. They’re just taking a very long nap at this point. I’m still waiting on the results of the food Chief Porter sent over.”

“Thank you, doctor,” Scott choked.

Elated with the news the doctor had given him, Scott shook his head in confusion. It didn’t make sense that Tomas ate less than Linda. Granted the guy was set up and told not to eat anything but when Linda started eating, why didn’t Tomas? Tomas would eat anything and was always hungry. He wasn’t overweight by any means. The man ran every day to keep himself in shape, every FBI agent did. Linda was small and petite, she ate very little. How in the hell could she have eaten more than Tomas? He pulled his phone out of his pocket. Before he made the call, Scott forced himself to push aside the ridiculous notions and thoughts that ran through his mind.

On the first ring Caitlin answered. “What’s happening, are they all right?”

Scott relayed the diagnosis and then asked a question. “They both have Luminal in their systems, ever heard of it?” Scott tried to sound casual but he couldn’t quite mask the suspicion in his question.

“Of course I have. It’s a sedative. Mitch sent the food over to the hospital to be tested.”

“I know,” Scott said coolly.

“What’s wrong with you?” Caitlin screeched.

“Nothing, I’m sorry, just distracted by all of this. Listen, are Pam and Chris there?”

“Yes of course, and Mitch too. The kids are asleep in our bed. Raoul took Isabel to her grandmother’s house for the night. Mitch is in Tomas’s room. Pam and Chris are going to sleep in Chad and Alexandra’s room but of course Barry won’t know that.” She laughed but Scott remained silent and didn’t respond to the simple joke. “What aren’t you telling me dammit?”

“Nothing, I’ve told you everything. I’m going to stay here tonight at the hospital. I want to be here when one of them wakes up so I can get some answers. I love you.” Scott hung up the phone, guilt crept up on him but he had to keep his head straight and sort out the facts. He needed to talk to Tomas. He needed details.

Scott berated himself for the suspicions swirling in his head. Something didn’t sit well in his investigative mind. Caitlin was the one to alert everyone that the food might be poisoned. Tomas consumed the least amount of the drug. It didn’t make sense. Not the tainted food, the situation. What the hell had happened?