Christmas Haven (20 page)

“Something caused these symptoms besides dehydration. We’ve sent his bloodwork to the lab to figure it out.”

“Thanks, Doctor,” Morgan said.

With a nod, the doctor went back into the E.R.

“He’s not abusing drugs, Morgan. I know it in my heart.”

“One thing at a time, sweetheart. He’s in good hands and he’s okay for now. That’s good news.”

Just then Morgan’s cell rang. “I’m going to take this outside. You stay right here, okay?”

“Sure.” She flopped down in a vinyl chair and stared at the television. Nothing kept her interest for long, not with the worry still eating away at her. Dane had to be okay. He just had to be.

She’d stay at his bedside until he was well enough to leave the hospital, and then she’d take him back to Port Whisper, where he’d be safe. Glancing around the waiting area, she realized it could have been much worse. Detective Beck could have called with the news that Dane had been found dead on some random street in Seattle.

Be grateful that Dane made it across the water,
she reminded herself. But would he ultimately be okay?

She wasn’t sure why, but she clasped her hands together and closed her eyes. She hadn’t prayed like this in years, but she suddenly found herself in a place of surrender.

Please, God, watch over Dane. He’s a good boy who’s tried to kick drugs and live a better life.

As she pressed her hands together, she found herself letting go of the panic, the worry. She released it to God.

When she opened her eyes a few minutes later, Morgan was sitting next to her. He didn’t ask what she’d been doing. He didn’t have to.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hi.”

A silent understanding passed between them.

“Who was on the phone?” she asked.

“Ethan. We’ll talk about it later. I’ve got Dane’s room number. Want to head up there?”

“Yes.”

As they walked to the elevators Morgan said, “I really admire your dedication and faith in Dane.”

“Thanks.”

“There aren’t a lot of people who have seen what you’ve seen or gone through what you have who could still believe in someone so completely. Most people would have grown cynical beyond the ability to have faith.”

“I have my days, for sure, but there’s something about this kid that touches my heart. I feel like I can help him dig his way out of the hole he’s dropped into. Know what I mean?”

“Yes, I do.”

The elevator doors opened and he motioned her inside.

“Having someone believe in you that much can make all the difference,” he said.

She wondered if they were talking about Dane, or about Julie and Morgan. When they’d first been teamed up in high-school biology for a project, he had been angry and withdrawn. She’d sensed his anger was a cover for pain, and even at sixteen she’d instinctively reached out to him. And was glad she had. He’d always said her belief in him at a critical time in his life had essentially saved him. His mother had left Morgan and his dad. His dad, who’d had to keep his anger bottled up in his role as police chief, took out his rage on his son, leading Morgan to think his mother’s absence was his fault.

A heavy load for a teenager.

Once she’d pushed past his defense barriers, Julie had seen the wonderful qualities of Morgan Wright: his sense of humor, creative streak and determination. Things that had lain dormant until she’d come into his life. He’d said it more than once when they’d dated. They’d both said a lot of things as they planned their future together.

Then Suzy had died and something changed in Julie’s heart.
She hadn’t done enough for her friend and needed to make it right somehow, which is why she’d chosen to counsel lost kids. But who had she been making it up to? Suzy? God?

“Hey, the doctor said he’s just dehydrated.” Morgan squeezed her hand, thinking she’d been worrying about Dane.

“Thanks,” she said.

They stepped off the elevator and headed to Dane’s room. A nurse was getting him settled in.

“I’m sorry, could you wait outside?” the nurse said.

“No, I need her in here,” Dane croaked. “Miss Burns, don’t leave! Don’t!”

The nurse motioned Julie into the room and Morgan hung back by the door, probably wanting to avoid upsetting Dane.

Julie leaned against the window ledge and watched as the nurse adjusted his IV and checked his blood pressure.

“A little better,” she said, taking off the blood-pressure cuff. “The best thing you can do is rest.” She glanced at Julie. “Try to keep him calm.”

“Of course.”

The nurse left and Julie pulled a chair up to Dane’s bed. “How are you feeling?”

He shrugged.

“Dumb question, huh?” Julie joked.

“I’m scared.”

She took his hand. “It’s okay. You’re safe here.”

“I’m never safe.”

“Are you up to telling us what this is about?”

“Us?”

“Morgan’s protecting me, Dane, so he should know everything.”

“I don’t like cops.”

“Make an exception. He’s a good man.” She glanced at Morgan in the doorway and he smiled.

“Okay, I guess,” Dane said.

Morgan came into the room and stood at the foot of the bed. “Who is after you?”

“A guy named Henson. He works for some big drug company.”

“Why is he after you?” Morgan pressed.

“We were testing out some drugs for him.”

“We?”

“Me and Andy, and a few other guys. Henson and two guys in suits came up to us on the street and said they were developing a new drug to help addicts kick their drug habits. I thought, why not? Andy didn’t want to…” Dane laid his head back on the pillow, his eyelids drooping.

“You should rest,” Julie offered.

“No, I need to tell you…” He paused. “We tried the drugs, but instead of stopping the addiction, it made us hyper, like crazy. They wanted us to sell the drug to our friends, but Andy said no. That’s when they took him.”

“Took him where?”

Dane shrugged.

“Why do you think they took him?” Morgan asked.

“Because he threatened to…go to the cops.” Dane struggled to keep his eyes open.

“Rest, Dane,” Julie said.

“No, I have to…about Andy…Henson said if I kept dealing the drug he wouldn’t hurt Andy, but if I didn’t…it’s my fault, it was my idea to test the drug. They paid us cash and I figured I wasn’t hurting anyone.” He paused. “I really messed up and now Andy—”

“Shh,” Julie said, touching his hand. “Don’t go there. You need to rest and get better.”

“You’ll stay?” he whispered.

“I’ll be right here,” she assured.

With a sigh, Dane closed his eyes and was out.

Julie held on to his hand and glanced at Morgan. “They’re using these boys as guinea pigs. We’ve got to stop them, Morgan.”

“I’ll call Ethan. He might want to involve the DEA.”

“I’d hate to think how many other boys are being targeted. We have to find Andy.”

“Jules, can you step into the hallway with me for just a second?” Morgan asked.

“I told him I’d stay.”

“Please.”

The tone of his voice, the sudden seriousness of his blue-green eyes, sent a shiver down her spine.

“Morgan, what is it?”

He extended his hand and she took it. Morgan led her just outside Dane’s hospital room door. “I talked to Ethan earlier,” Morgan said, gently squeezing her hand. “I’m sorry. They found Andy’s body this afternoon.”

“His body—you mean…?”

“He’s dead.”

FOURTEEN

H
er golden eyes stared back at him with a mixture of disbelief and anger. Morgan positioned himself to grab her if her legs gave out.

“But we didn’t identify the body,” she said.

“Your work associate, William, did. They’re calling it an accidental drug overdose.”

Morgan studied her perplexed expression, wishing to God that he could offer appropriate comfort. More than anything, Morgan wanted to ease her pain.

“Dane is going to be devastated. He blames himself,” she said.

“Don’t tell him quite yet. Let’s wait until he’s feeling better.”

“I need to convince him not to carry this burden. It’s not his fault Andy was killed. Henson and his men are responsible.”

“Absolutely.”

“Dane thought he was doing the right thing by testing out a new drug and it backfired. We all make mistakes.” She glanced into the open doorway. “I need to teach him self-forgiveness. But I’m worried, Morgan. This could be the stressor that sends him into a nosedive.”

“Then you show him compassion and we surround him with people who care and want to help.”

She fingered her silver locket and closed her eyes. The locket Andy gave her. “He was a good kid, just lost.”

“We all get lost at one point or another,” Morgan said.

“Even when we think we know where we’re going.”

“How are you feeling about Andy’s death?”

“I’m sad, but honestly not surprised. I guess deep down I’d prepared myself for the possibility. He made some bad choices in the past. It was like he was addicted to the adrenaline rush of taking risks and avoiding the consequences. Still, I really thought I could help him.”

“I’m sure you did. He gave you the locket because you were a special person in his life. Hold on to that.” She nodded.

“Miss Burns!” Dane called from the room.

“Go,” Morgan said. “I’ll be close.”

With a nod she went into the boy’s room and settled beside his bed, calming him with a touch of her hand. Morgan was confident she’d find a way to give him peace, show him that it wasn’t his fault that his friend was killed. If only Julie could do the same for herself.

That was Morgan’s goal, to open her eyes to her own sense of self-forgiveness.

Dane slept on and off throughout the night, with Julie by his side. The medical team felt confident that he was well enough to be released, and although Morgan wasn’t completely comfortable with bringing Dane back to Port Whisper, the kid didn’t have anyplace else to go.

The doctor told Morgan the bloodwork results indicated something in Dane’s system could have caused the dehydration, but they couldn’t identify it. The mystery drug Henson was testing? The doctors couldn’t be sure.

Julie finished up the paperwork and paid for the medical charges. She said it was the right thing to do. As they rode the elevator to Dane’s floor she asked, “Did you speak with Ethan?”

“Yes. He’s the lead on Andy’s death investigation.”

“You mean murder?”

“They’re not calling it murder…yet.”

“What did he say?” She fought back a yawn as they stepped off the elevator.

“He’d call when he had something solid. In the meantime, he notified the DEA about our mysterious Mr. Henson and his associates.”

Julie stopped in the middle of the hallway and squared off at Morgan. “It’s been a week and I don’t feel like we’re any closer to resolving this.”

“Anxious to get back to work?”

Sadness colored her golden eyes and he wondered what’d he’d said to upset her. “Jules?”

“I want my life back, Morgan, and I want to put these creeps behind bars.”

“Let’s get Dane and head home.” He took her hand and she didn’t pull away. They held hands as they walked down the hallway to Dane’s room.

He relished the feeling, the warmth of her fingers entwined with his. He’d enjoy this for as long as he could, still hoping, praying, that she’d give love another chance. With him.

They turned the corner into Dane’s room.

The bed was empty.

“Dane?” she said. Her head spun around to eye the bathroom. The door was open. No one was inside. She pinned Morgan with panicked eyes.

“Come on.” He led her to the nurses’ station, where a nurse was keying something into her computer. “Excuse me?”

The nurse glanced at Morgan.

“We’re supposed to take Dane Simms home today, but he’s not in his room. Is he with a doctor?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

A second nurse came out of a room and wandered up to the station.

“Paula, do you know where Dane Simms is?” she asked.

“The boy in 314?”

“Yes,” Julie said.

“No, I haven’t seen him since the doctor signed his discharge papers.”

“I need to speak with security.” Morgan flashed his badge.

The nurse behind the desk punched in a number and handed Morgan the phone. Julie pulled away from him, probably to search the floor.

“Nuh-uh.” Morgan grabbed her arm. “You’re staying right here with me.”

“Security,” a man said on the other end of the line.

“This is Morgan Wright. I’m the police chief in Port Whisper. A patient who’s supposed to be released to me today is missing. I need your help locating him,” Morgan said in a calm, controlled voice. He hoped his demeanor would calm Julie’s panic.

“We don’t have the staff to search the entire hospital, but I can put the word out that he’s missing.”

“Great.” Morgan gave him Dane’s description and asked to see the security tapes. The security officer agreed and Morgan led Julie into the elevator.

The doors closed and she paced the small space. “This means they’re close, doesn’t it? They found him. They took him,” she said.

“We don’t know that. Dane could have gone out for a walk, or gone to get something to eat.”

She nodded, but he knew he hadn’t convinced her. The doors opened and they headed toward security. Once there, Morgan asked to cue up video from that last hour on the third floor. He motioned Julie to a chair and stood behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders.

They watched the video for fifteen minutes until they spotted Dane coming out of his room. With a paranoid whip of his head, he looked both ways, then shot down the hall to the stairway.

Morgan’s instincts went on full alert. The kid left on his own? Was this a setup to flush Julie out of hiding?

“Why would he leave like that? I told him we were taking
him someplace safe,” Julie said, glancing over her shoulder at Morgan.

“Here’s my cell number.” He handed the security officer his card. “Call me if you see him.”

“Will do.”

Morgan motioned Julie out of the office. “We need to retrace his steps. See if he dropped something or left us any indication of what happened.”