Double Bind (4 page)

           
Sarah scowled.
 
Here she was trying to make it up to him, and he was just as infuriating as ever.
 
She might have even given him the file under her purse, but that certainly wasn’t going to happen now.
 
“And oddly enough, I’ll bet a good number of them were telling the truth.”

           
The detective looked a little surprised.
 
“Ms. Gaul, I’m sorry, but we have a lot of evidence pointing to you, and none pointing anywhere else.”

           
“Don’t you think that’s at least a little odd?
 
I’m not an idiot, I watch CSI and all those other shows.
 
Why wouldn’t I try to throw off the scent from me at least a little?”

           
He looked at her, but said nothing.

           
“I mean it!” She said, getting more worked up.
 
“None of it makes any sense.
 
Why wouldn’t I do a better job of covering my tracks?
 
Why wouldn’t I have just flown out last night, before anyone found out?”

           
He sighed a little.
 
“Ms. Gaul, I agree that -”

           
“And don’t call me Ms. Gaul!” Sarah practically shrieked.
 
She was so angry, if she wasn’t trying to hide the folder tucked against her body, she would try to strangle the handsome man.
 
“My mother is Ms. Gaul!
 
I am Sarah.
 
Just plain, normal Sarah.”

           
The detective seemed to smile a little.
 
“I’m not going to call a -”

           
He stopped when the elevator bell dinged and the doors opened.
 
For a moment Sarah hesitated, willing to wait to hear his response, but the guards from the other side of the room were heading over.
 
The detective looked at her, his eyes looking sad.

           
“Good luck, Ms. Gaul,” he said.
 
“I promise, if you did this, I am going to catch you.
 
I always get the bad guy in the end.”

           
Sarah scowled as the guards shuttled her toward the parking garage security check, and out into the darkness.
 
She’d show him.
 
If it took everything she had, she would make sure that he really did catch the bad guy.
 
The
right
bad guy.

           
Sarah was already in her car before she dared to pull out the folder to see which one she’d gotten.
 
To her dismay, she realized that she had the mistake folder - the one about the schizophrenia meds.
 
Sighing, she dumped it back onto her passenger seat and leaned her head against her headrest.
 
Why couldn’t just one thing to go right?

           
Scowling, she turned on her car and drove home.
 
After all, at least she had managed to get all the files transferred to her email, so that she could leaf through her desktop at home.
 
Maybe in there she could find something.
 
Right now she didn’t have any leads, and unless something changed, she really was going to wind up in jail.

           
Once she got home, she poured herself a glass of wine and changed into her pajamas.
 
Feeling better, she sat down at her computer, ready to spend the whole night leafing through the files if she had to.
 
It was a little weird seeing the files at home.
 
It made her feel like she was at work.
 
She’d been staring and looking at these files every day for months.
 
It was hard to see what could possibly lead her to find the real criminal. After all, she couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to poison people. Especially not with a drug that might potentially lead to a cure for cancer.

           
Sighing, she went to get the bottle of wine.
 
Sometimes when she’d been drinking a little she made progress on something she’d been working on.
 
It was worth a try anyway, right?

           
She woke up to the sound of the phone ringing, and blearily stood.
 
She had fallen asleep at her desk, her computer still running.
 
It had long gone into sleep mode, but when she moved it woke, revealing a long file that had a long line of c’s running through the middle of it.

           
Groaning, she got up to check the phone. It took her a few minutes to find the phone thrown across the table with all the other things she’d dug out of her bag.
 
When she found it, she saw that it was Angela.
 
She answered, in a rush.

           
“Hey, Angie.
 
What’s up?”

           
Angela seemed startled that Sarah had answered.
 
“Thank heavens!”
 
She said.
 
“I got a call this morning - did you go into work yesterday?”

           
Sarah felt herself blushing, as her mind struggled to catch up with the day.
 
Her head was way too fuzzy to be working on complex issues like her future in the penitentiary.
 
“Um, yeah.”

           
“What?
 
Why!
 
That’s the absolute worst thing you could do!”

           
“I’m sorry,” Sarah said, knowing that it sounded lame.
 
“I just needed to get my purse out of the office.”

           
“You’re crazy!
 
Do you want to go to jail?”

           
“No!
 
I’m sorry,” Sarah said.
 
Her mind raced.
 
She needed a better reason than that she wanted to prove that it wasn’t her on the security feed.
 
“My house keys were in my bag.
 
I had to get it.”

           
Angela didn’t seem completely convinced, but she sounded like she was less angry.
 
“Well, I guess that makes sense.
 
Next time just send someone to get it though, okay?
 
BioGen
has filed a case against you - you’re not allowed on their property.”

           
“What?”
 
Sarah said, her voice breaking a little from anger.
 
“You’ve got to be kidding me!
 
But what about when I get cleared?
 
This whole thing is stupid.
 
Who is going to take over my team?”

           
“I think Valerie is taking over your team, hon.” Angela said.
 
“Just until everything is sorted, okay?”

           
“Okay,” Sarah said, knowing that she sounded pouty.
 
“I guess Valerie won’t screw anything up.
 
She should do a good job ‘til I get back.”

           
“Exactly.
 
Now look, we need to meet, so that we can talk about your case.
 
Can you meet me for lunch?”

           
Sarah glanced at the clock, horrified to discover that is was already 11 o’clock.
  
“Yeah, of course.
 
Is 12:30 okay?”

           
“Perfect.
 
We’ll meet at the Cafe, okay?”

           
“Great.” Sarah said.
 
“I’ll see you then.”

           
She hung up and then stared around her apartment, a little dismayed.
 
She was a mess.
 
Hurrying, she rushed to clean herself up and make herself presentable.
 
Angela was smart.
 
She’d know how to fix this.
 
Sarah hoped so at least.
 
She certainly wasn’t any closer to catching the real bad guy.
 
She’d just have to hope that over lunch things became clearer.
 
She put the weird extra file in her car, thinking if she got time she’d ask Angela about it, and headed into town.

Chapter 3

           
Unfortunately, lunch didn’t leave her feeling any better at all.
 
Angela seemed to have nothing but bad news for Sarah.
 
She explained that they had video footage of someone matching Sarah’s description entering the lab late the night of the incident.
 
There had been some fibers and trace evidence found at the scene, but no one was talking about whether or not they were connected to Sarah yet.
 
Angela told Sarah not to worry.
 
If they had physical proof, she’d be in custody already.

           
Sarah had a hard time taking that to heart, when Angela kept talking about the inevitability of them coming to search her house, or how she should cooperate with their investigation.
 
It didn’t sound like anyone had found anything promising, and Sarah was beginning to wonder if she really was going to wind up in jail for a crime that she would never in a million years have committed.

           
Angela kept telling Sarah that she needed to stay out of the picture.
 
Anything that Sarah did now would only make her look guilty.
 
But Sarah had no intention of sitting back and letting her life go out of control.
 
If anyone was going to figure out who could access all her files and fudge out the security, it was Sarah.
 
She knew what she was doing.

           
It quickly became apparent that Angela knew that Sarah was planning to get herself in more trouble, as Angela insisted that they go out that night.
 
Sarah wasn’t really in the mood to go on a man-hunt, but she could hardly say no, with Angela fighting her case.

           
The club that they chose was a fairly popular one.
 
They got past the bouncer without any trouble, slipping into the club with a coy wave for him.
 
The minute they were inside, the music seemed to fill Sarah completely.
 
This was good.
 
She could be herself and just relax for a little while.
 
After all, she wasn’t going to wind up in jail.
 
She would catch the bad guy sooner or later.

           
A few texts later and Valerie and some of her friends joined them.
 
They found their way to drinks and the dance floor and it wasn’t long before Sarah had completely forgotten about her miserable day the day before.
 
It wasn’t even bad seeing Valerie, though her friend was taking over her job, mostly because of the way that Valerie had greeted her.

           
“Oh, My, God.” Valerie had said the minute that she saw Sarah.
 
“Tell me that you will be back soon.”

           
Sarah looked at her curiously, her face scrunching up.
 
“Of course, I’ll be back before you know it.”

           
“Thank heavens.” Valerie said, running a hand through her hair.
 
“I have no idea how you do your job all by yourself!”
 
She sighed loudly.
 
“I’ve only been doing it for half a day, and I’m already half-dead.”

           
Sarah laughed, hugging Valerie tightly.
 
“I’m sure it’s not so bad.
 
Besides, you’ve only got to keep things afloat for a couple of days.
 
It could be any day before the police clear me for good.”

           
Valerie beamed.
 
“It can’t possibly happen soon enough.”

           
Laughing, the two of them moved out to the dance floor to meet their friends.
 
They danced and giggled, laughing about the men who tried to move themselves close enough to see the girls.
 
They ogled a few of the more attractive ones, debating if any of them had caught their attention.

           
Sarah was taking a long sip of her drink and making eyes at a tall man near the bar when Denise, one of Valerie’s friends, nudged her in her side.
 
“Talk about a stud.
 
Check this guy out.”

           
Sarah turned to follow her pointed finger, and found herself eyeing the detective.
 
She had to do her best not to stare.
 
He had looked good in his suit, but it was nothing on how good he looked now.
 
He wore a tailored linen shirt that seemed to highlight every one of his sculpted muscles across his chest and body.
 
Even though he wasn’t dancing, he moved slightly in time with the music.
 
His hair was styled in that sexy bed-head style that drove Sarah crazy.

           
As if drawn by her gaze, he turned to look at Sarah and her group of friends, his smile growing.
 
Sarah yelped a little, ducking behind Valerie to hide herself.
 
For once she was glad that she was so short.
 
The last thing she wanted was for the irritating, cocky detective to know that she had been staring him up and down.

           
“Ooh!” Denise said, her mouth spreading into a sexy smile directed to the detective.
 
“He’s coming this way.”

           
“Oh no!” Sarah cried, pulling Valerie to hide her more completely.
 
“Valerie, please, come with me.
 
I have to go!”

           
“What?” Valerie said, turning to look at Sarah.
 
“Sarah, what are you doing?”

           
“Hey,” Detective Snyder said, sounding like he was smiling.
 
“You ladies definitely need a few guys to keep you company.”
 
From around Valerie, Sarah could see that there were several other men following him.
 
One winked at Sarah, and she pulled back, her whole face a bright red.
 
She needed to get out of here.
 
She tugged on Valerie’s arm, but Valerie had turned in surprise to face Detective Snyder.

           
“Oh?
 
Who says that we want company?” Denise said, sounding coy.

           
Rob leaned forward, and Sarah held her breath.
 
If he turned he would see her.
 
He winked at Valerie’s friend.
 
“Oh, this isn’t for you.
 
It’s for us guys.
 
You could think of it as an act of charity.”

           
Denise giggled, looking startled at his directness.

           
“Well, in that case,” one of Valerie’s other friends said, leaning toward one of the other guys in the group.
 
“I’m Michelle.”

           
Detective Snyder was smiling, his eyebrow lifting a little as he took in Michelle.
 
“I’m Rob.”

           
As if on cue, Valerie shifted.
 
She glanced back at Sarah.
 
“No worries
hon
,” she said, moving toward the far wall and the beautiful safety of the bathrooms.
 
“Sorry guys, we’ll have to join you later.”

           
Unfortunately, Detective Snyder noticed her gaze shift and her words, and he moved so that he could see Sarah behind Valerie’s back.
 
For a moment their gaze met, and his mouth dropped open in surprise.

           
“Ms. Gaul.” He said, shifting as though he wasn’t sure what to do with himself.
 
All of his sleek sexiness was gone as his hand rushed up to his chest.
 
Sarah had to admit it, he was even more attractive with that boyish look on his face.

           
“Detective.” Sarah said, her voice tight.

           
“Rob, you know Sarah?” Denise asked, even as she leaned possessively onto the detective’s muscled arm.

           
He barely seemed to notice her.
 
“Um, no.
 
I mean, yes.
 
I mean.”

           
“It’s lovely to see you,
Rob
,” Sarah said, feeling angry that she couldn’t even have a simple night out without him coming to ruin her fun.
 
“But Valerie and I were just going.”

           
Sarah tugged on Valerie’s arm, dragging her across the dance floor and away from the detective’s startled gaze.
 
It wasn’t fair.
 
If he was going to ruin her night, he should have the decency to be ugly and fat so that her friends agreed that he was completely repulsive.

           
“Sarah,” Valerie protested, finally managing to pull her arm from Sarah’s grip as they entered the bathroom.
 
“Who on earth was that?”

           
“Detective Snyder,” Sarah sneered, glaring at the mirror.
 
“You know, the detective who is trying to send me to jail for poisoning a bazillion people.”

           
“No!” Valerie said, her hand rushing to her mouth.
 
“What is he doing here?”

           
“Ruining my night!”
 
Sarah said, throwing her hands up a little angrily into the air.
 
“Like I wasn’t having a bad enough day already.”

           
“Oh, come on,” Valerie said.
 
“Things aren’t going to be that bad.
 
We’ll go get drinks and ignore him.”

           
“Ignore him?
 
He’s dancing with your friends.”
 
Sarah knew that she sounded hysterical, but she didn’t care.
 
Her night was ruined, and she was going to let the whole world know about it.

           
“Okay, hon.
 
We’ll figure something out.”

           
“There is nothing to figure out!”
 
Sarah said, crossing her arms angrily.
 
“I’m going home, and that’s all there is for it.”

           
Valerie looked super sad as she eyed Sarah up and down.
 
“Hon, you are way too drunk to get home now.
 
Just wait a little until you sober up.
 
I’ll make sure that you get home.”

           
Sarah scowled at her friend, but couldn’t deny that she had a point.
 
Sarah was definitely too wasted to head home.
 
Sighing, she slid up onto the counter to sit down, and folded her arms.
 
“Fine.
 
But I’m not going out there.
 
I’m going to sit in here until either he leaves, or I can.”

           
“Sarah, don’t be -”

           
“I’m not moving!” Sarah snapped, and Valerie jumped back.

           
“Okay hon. I’ll come in and get you if he leaves.”

           
Sarah smiled at Valerie.
 
“Thanks, Val.
 
Sorry things had to go bad.
 
It’s just this stupid crime mess.”

           
Valerie grinned.
 
“Don’t worry about it, hon.
 
There are lots of weekends when we can go out.
 
I’m here for you.”

           
Sarah smiled as her friend left, then glanced around the room gloomily.
 
So this was what her life was coming to.
 
Saturday night and she was trapped in a bathroom, waiting so that she could sneak out of a club.
 
She buried her face in her hands.
 
This was totally unfair.

           
She didn’t know how long she had been in the bathroom when she heard the door lock.
 
It startled her.
 
She had stayed put as dozens of girls had come and gone.
 
She had chatted with Angela, and even some more of Valerie’s friends.
 
Yet, the distinctive click of the lock woke her from her reverie and she looked up to find herself facing Detective Snyder leaning against the door.