Deadly Bonds (21 page)

“We didn’t find anything there.”

“What?” Holt and Max asked simultaneously.

Noah shook his head. “We have no reason to arrest him. The house had been cleared out. He appears to be just as much a victim as you two.”

“That’s because he was expecting the shooting on his front lawn. He’d had a warning from Toxin. Shit.” Holt ran a hand over his face, then gestured to the screen. “But we don’t have to show him all of our cards.”

Noah’s eyes narrowed. “What do you have in mind?”

“The longer he sits there, the less clear he’s thinking. His defenses will be lower as his energy goes toward keeping from falling apart. He’ll be hurting for his next hit. And if he thinks we have something on him, he’ll be desperate as that hit looks less and less attainable. I can convince him we have enough to arrest him for conspiracy to murder. I’m betting he’s the one Toxin convinced to post that message Einstein found on the forum. The one that led us there at that time.”

“So, you and Max
were
the intended targets?”

“Me, at least,” Holt said. “Let me have a crack at questioning him. He’s seen me on the news, I’m sure. He knows I’m after Toxin. Maybe I can get him to give up his so-called friend.”

Max and Noah looked at each other. “We haven’t located the car or the driver who shot at you. I guess Henry’s our best shot. But back away if he asks for a lawyer.”

A minute later, Holt entered the Chamber. “Ready to talk yet, Henry?”

“Nope.” Henry leaned back in his chair so far, Holt thought he might tip over. “Besides, I know you’re not the cops. You have to let me go or I can charge you with kidnapping.”

Holt sat down across the table from Henry. “Pretty confident for a guy who brews meth in his living room. You really think we wouldn’t find any traces of it?”

“Hey, I gotta pay the bills.” Henry’s eyes darted to the corner of the room, evidence of a thread of fear beneath his nonchalant façade.

“Some people find legal ways to do that.” Holt leaned forward on his elbows. “I don’t really want to put you behind bars. I’ve got bigger fish to fry.”

“Yeah, right. That’s why you’ve locked me up for over an hour, wasting your time—’cause I’m the little fish. I have rights.”

Holt could picture Noah flinching at that subject. “I figured a smart guy like you, in your line of business and all, might know how to bargain.”

Henry looked up from the table, interest sparkling in his eyes. “What do you want?”

“I want to know something about this guy who’s been sticking people with needles, poisoning them.”

Henry’s chair legs snapped to the ground. “Toxin?”

“So, you’ve heard of him.” Of course Henry had heard of Toxin. He’d posted a message on the forum leading them to his house at that time. Unless Toxin had posted that message...

The rapping of Henry’s hands against the table began again. “Sure. I mean, all of Chicago has. I even saw your piece in the news a couple months back.”

“He’s got some pretty sophisticated stuff.”

“You think so?” Henry’s fingers stilled and he met Holt’s gaze.

Pride goeth before a fall.
“Yeah. Whoever created that death cocktail is pretty smart. Like,
PhD
smart. But, given your customer base, you probably don’t know him. You’re right. I’m wasting my time here.”

“Wait!” Henry’s angry exclamation halted Holt. “I’m not saying I’m involved...”

“Of course not. You couldn’t be.”

“I could be.” Henry’s tone was indignant. “Maybe
you’re
the one who’s not so smart. Toxin always said so.” He pressed his lips together and looked away, realizing what he’d revealed.

“Well then, enlighten me.”

The silence was thick, and then Henry laughed. A calculated gleam entered his eyes. “I know a lot of things, but I’m smart enough not to talk about them. Unless it gets me something.”

“Let’s just say the police might be willing to give you leniency for your involvement in setting me up to die today.”

“Setting you up?”

“We saw the supposed message from you to Toxin, on a forum the police suspect is used to link up criminals, telling him the stuff was ready.”

Henry paled. “I didn’t post anything.” But he wouldn’t meet Holt’s gaze.

“Still, it could look like you were baiting me, which you were.”

Henry shoved a shaky hand through his hair. “I had no idea what he had planned. I just knew to be ready for anything.” Henry shook his head. “There’s no proof I wrote that. Anybody could have posted on that forum, posing as me.”

“I have no doubt the necessary proof will show up if Toxin wants you to go down for this. He’s got resources. He already set up one person to take the fall for him, and that guy spent weeks in jail. What makes you think Toxin wouldn’t do the same thing to you? You think you can’t be replaced?”

Henry’s legs jostled to the beat his fingertips rapped on the table. Still, he didn’t talk.

Holt targeted the most immediate, most uncomfortable need. “And my guess is you have about two more hours until your craving gets so bad that your skin itches like rats are crawling all over it.”

“You can’t keep me here. It’s illegal. You didn’t find anything in my house.”

“Then leave.” At Holt’s words, Henry looked toward the door. Holt said a prayer his tactic would work. “Go to the police. We have a detective right outside, in fact. When they discover who you’ve been protecting they’ll detain you for questioning. Of course, you could always take your chances on the street, with Toxin.”

Holt’s expression didn’t shift as he continued. “In one breath, you boast about being smart enough to create the most complex death cocktail the CPD has seen, then in the next you say the police found your house clean. Which is it, Henry? Are you smart or aren’t you?”

Henry smirked. “Doesn’t take much to place an order at a chemical company for what you want, especially when you have the credentials of a researcher at a major university.”

“And you do?” Holt made his doubt clear.

“I was a grad student once, yes.”

“Is that where you met Toxin?”

A smile played about Henry’s lips but he didn’t answer.

Holt leaned forward, lacing his fingers together on the table. “How about I phrase this another way? How much will your friendship with a killer cost you? If he finds out you failed to kill me, and he knows that
we
know you’re a link to him, what will he do to you? Think he’ll keep you around when he can ask any number of other drug dealers to help him score his poison? As you said, doesn’t take much to place an order at a chemical company. On the other hand, if you were to play for our side, maybe we can keep you alive. It’s your call.”

Chapter Nineteen

Though he was upset his dad had to work again and hadn’t come to pick him up, Theo tried to focus on the good stuff. He was with Miss Sara and Jeremy. Even Neil was pretty cool when he finished his test and joined them in playing cards. Theo would get to stay in a big, hulking castle-like school while all the other kids were gone. His mind reeled with all the nooks and crannies he’d always wanted to investigate. But, so far, Miss Sara wouldn’t let them out of the library.

“I’m back.” Miss Sara returned with a heaping tray. The smell of chocolate and marshmallow had his mouth watering.

She was wearing a sweatshirt, jeans and sneakers.
Miss Sara
,
in jeans and sneakers
,
at school?
It was kind of like last weekend, when she’d been at his house and helped paint his room. She glanced at the large window that was best part of the library. Usually, a large branch hung close, part of an equally large tree. Now, all you could see was a blur of white and black. Snow and night.

“And look who I found in the kitchen.” She set the tray down on the table and looked over her shoulder.

Mr. White entered the library, a grin on his face as he raised a jug of milk. “Can’t have sandwiches and s’mores without a glass of milk.”

“What are you doing here?” Theo’s gaze narrowed on their computer science teacher. He was an okay guy, but was he interested in Miss Sara? Theo had hoped, after last weekend, she might want to be part of
his
family. His dad had seemed interested in that, too, and had even lightened up and enjoyed himself for the first time in months.

Mr. White raised his eyebrows at his rudeness, but Theo didn’t care. He’d lost his mother, and he didn’t want to lose Miss Sara. “I was caught in the storm too.”

“Then where’ve you been? Why didn’t you come out when you heard gunfire?”

Miss Sara sat the tray of food down on the table. “Now, Theo, that’s rude.”

Mr. White smiled and held up a hand. “It’s okay. It’s my own fault, really. I was checking the computers to make sure they were okay in case the power went out during the storm. I decided to do some grading so I wouldn’t have to take it home with me over the holiday. Lost track of time and wasn’t paying attention to how bad the weather was getting. By the time I was ready to leave, the radio was saying people should avoid traveling if possible. Figured I’d better just wait it out like the rest of you smart people. Guess I didn’t hear the gunfire over the sound of the radio.” His eyebrows drew together. “Is everyone okay? Was something going on down by the road?”

“Closer than that. He came right up our driveway.”

“He, who?” Mr. White’s questioning glance went to Miss Sara.

“A suspect in an ongoing investigation,” Miss Sara answered as she laid out the plates.

Mr. White’s grin was a little too big as he watched. Theo looked to Jeremy for validation, but his friend was sitting in a chair with his arms crossed. Though they could normally exchange thoughts without saying a word, he seemed to be in his own world since his dad died. Theo could respect that. Neil was standing by the window, alternately holding his phone up to see if he could get reception and looking out at the storm. No help from that corner, either.

“Maybe the storm’s letting up and we can leave soon,” Theo said hopefully.

Miss Sara sighed. “I don’t think so. We’ll be fine here, though. Warm and dry. Plenty of food and water. And we have nowhere to be until it’s all cleared up, so we’re lucky. It could be a lot worse.” She smiled brightly, and Theo felt his tension ease. “We’ll have an old-fashioned campout. Scrounge up blankets and flashlights and make a cozy fort.”

Jeremy rolled his eyes. “A
cozy
fort? Geez. Maybe, after that, we can make daisy chains.” Theo was angry with his friend for making fun of Miss Sara, but he couldn’t be mad for long. Theo had done and said some pretty stupid things after his mom died too.

But Miss Sara surprised both of them by laughing. “Maybe. But I think s’mores would be more fun, and it’ll be hard to find daisies this time of year.”

Jeremy pushed off his chair and came to stand near Theo, dropping his voice so no one else could hear. “She thinks she’s so smart, but my dad was right. She doesn’t know anything. Everyone knows you have to have a campfire for s’mores.”

Theo’s insides warred between defending Miss Sara and keeping on his best friend’s good side. “You’re just sad about your dad.”

Jeremy responded with a middle-finger salute. “I’ve got more important things to do.” He stomped out of the room. Theo was fairly certain his friend didn’t have anything better to do than try not to cry. Neil met Theo’s eyes, then followed his brother.

* * *

They’d given Henry a little time to think over Holt’s words, but time was getting short. And Holt was feeling a prick of unease over not speaking to Sara or Becca directly for the past couple hours. Damian had said Becca checked in via text message to say all was quiet, but Holt would have preferred more personal contact. He took comfort in the fact that, despite the unlocked door, Henry hadn’t walked out of the SSAM facilities. His fear of Toxin kept him a prisoner.

Holt reentered the Chamber, pointedly leaving the door wide open. He took his seat across from Henry. “Why are you protecting someone who almost shot you to death and destroyed your home? SSAM and the CPD are on Toxin’s trail. Once we catch him—and we
will
catch him—what do you think he’s going to do? You can bet he’ll take any deal the district attorney offers, including naming accomplices. He’ll turn on you so fast you’ll think you just snorted a gram of coke. He probably hoped you would die in the shootout too.”

Henry had started nibbling his stub of a thumbnail at the mention of Toxin taking a deal. And when Holt mentioned drugs, his leg started jostling again.

On cue, Noah entered. “SSAM is done with you, Henry. It’s the CPD’s turn. We found enough evidence of drug production in your home to hold you for twenty-four hours.”

Henry sat up straighter. “But—”

“We’ve got what we need. Caught Toxin driving the vehicle—you know, the car that sped away after your house got all shot up? He’s done. Case closed.”

“That’s not Toxin.”

Holt shook his head. “Don’t act like you want to talk now. We’ve got our man.” He glanced at Noah. Getting Henry to talk depended on making this ruse work. “Except that he’s trying to bargain. Says he can give us information that you were in on it.”

“He’s not Toxin. He doesn’t know anything.”

“But he’s willing to talk, so we’ll listen.” Holt rose and headed for the door.

Noah made to remove a pair of cuffs from his pocket. He read Henry his Miranda rights, and Henry acknowledged them. He licked his lips nervously as Noah brought the cuffs toward his hands.

“Wait,” Henry said suddenly. “Brady Flaherty isn’t Toxin. He’s just a hired gun.”

Brady Flaherty had been the one to shoot at them?
They’d made up the part about apprehending the driver who’d shot at them.

“I can give you Toxin’s real name,” Henry said.

“You’re aware of your rights?” Noah asked again.

Henry nodded. “But I want leniency in exchange for my cooperation.” There was no lawyer there to guarantee anything, and Henry was too muddle-headed to ask for one. “Toxin’s real name is Chad White. We were in college together. He knew Brady and paid him to try to kill Dr. Patterson today.”

“Chad White?” Holt said. Pinpricks of alarm traveled up his neck. “He
works
at the school. I remember his name from the personnel we did background checks on. He was clean.”

Henry smirked. “He would be. Never been arrested or anything like that.”

“Sara knows him. She’d trust him.” What he wouldn’t give for immediate proof that Theo and Sara were okay.

Noah put the cuffs back in his pocket and sat down. “What does Brady know? Where does he fit into this?”

“He only knows someone anonymous paid him to do a job...shoot at you all and then go to some school and do the same thing. He doesn’t know Chad was behind the payment. I was just supposed to be the bait to get you guys to the right place. I had no idea how this would play out.” He laced his hands together to stop their shaking and stared at his bloody thumbnail.

“Brady went to a
school
after shooting at me? Was it the Hills Boys’ Academy?” Holt felt his muscles bunch as if he could run to the school.

Henry looked up. “Yeah, that sounds right. Why?”

Heart pounding in his ears, Holt left Noah with Henry as he raced to Damian’s office. “Sir, we’ve got Toxin’s name—Chad White—and possible location as well as the name of today’s shooter—Brady Flaherty. Contact Becca at the school right away. Toxin has plans for them there tonight. Because of the weather, Theo and Sara are there with her.”

“I’ll get her on the phone,” Damian promised, picking up the receiver and dialing. But a moment later, he looked up, worry etched into lines on his face. “Becca’s not answering.” He dialed the outer office. “Catherine, get me Evanston PD on the line.”

Holt grabbed the phone away and tried to dial the school’s direct line. His attempt resulted in the
this number has been disconnected or is out of service
spiel. Sara’s cell phone went right to voicemail. So did Theo’s. He swallowed the sour taste of fear as he hung up.

“Maybe Einstein has another way to get in touch with Becca,” Holt said.

But before they could call him, Catherine’s voice came across Damian’s intercom. “Lieutenant Anderson from Evanston PD is on line one, as requested.”

“Thank you.” Damian took the receiver from Holt’s shaking hand, his concerned gray eyes remaining on Holt as he pressed line one. “Lieutenant Anderson. Thank you for taking my call. You must be battling weather emergencies left and right but we may have an emergency of our own. Have you had contact with anybody at the Hills Boys’ Academy?...Any of those accidents involve a dark blue sedan?” His brows drew together. “I assume you’re sending a cruiser around to check it out?...I realize you’re stretched thin, but send someone out there ASAP.”

As Damian hung up, Holt leaned forward. “What did he say?”

“The police have been tied up with several accidents and other emergencies but haven’t received any distress calls from the Academy, so they’re not making a school drive-by a priority. One of the car accidents involved a dark SUV. The driver was going at a high rate of speed on an icy road. Caused an accident with two other vehicles and then fled the scene on foot.”

“Could be Brady. Was it near the school?”

“A couple miles, but headed away from the Academy. There’s more. Another car was involved. The description fits Becca’s vehicle.”

“If she’s pursuing Brady, who’s with Sara and Theo?” Holt tried calling all the numbers again. Still no answer. With each failed call, the sick sense of powerlessness that had filled his gut so many times during Elizabeth’s battle with cancer flared up again.
No.
He wouldn’t let it suck him under again. This time he would fight. He would take control.

* * *

Something about Chad White being at the school didn’t feel right.

Sara toed off her tennis shoes, curled her legs under her, Indian style, and tried to pretend her nerves weren’t strung as tight as piano wire. She would have felt so much better if she could just touch base again with Holt, Becca or the police. She wasn’t sure whether she could trust her gut, or if the storm and being responsible for the boys had skewed her perception, increasing her anxiety so that everything was amplified. And then there was the text from Becca that said they’d already apprehended the killer. Chad had every reason, and some pretty damn good excuses, for being here.

And yet...his smile was a little too bright. His gaze was almost possessive when it fell on her. Then again, he looked at Theo that way too. Perhaps it was simply his normal demeanor and she hadn’t noticed before.

She picked up a s’more from the near-empty plate in front of her. The ham and cheese sandwiches had gone over well with the boys—especially because consuming them had been a prerequisite to dessert. The large blankets she’d retrieved from her apartment had been strung between two large tables in the library to create a cocoon of warmth and safety, and they all sat together now in the makeshift tent. She handed Theo a napkin as marshmallow stretched down his chin. He swiped at the sticky spot, laughing when the napkin then became stuck to him and dangled like a beard.

“What’s next, scary stories?” Theo asked. As the evening grew darker, only the soft glow illuminating them, Sara switched on a couple of flashlights.

“Or maybe a sing-a-long,” Jeremy said, his tone only half snark this time.

She licked the marshmallow from her fingers. “I thought, maybe, some homework time?”

Their groans descended into laughs as she made a face and tossed a balled-up napkin at them. Even Neil grinned. His head brushed the blankets overhead, but he’d stuck close to them and made the most of the situation. For that, she was grateful. Chad sat across from her, licking chocolate from his fingers.

He was a decent-looking man. Charming, for sure. He’d definitely come out of his shell since she’d first interviewed him. He’d seemed downright shy at the time. Now, though, his smiles and direct looks were sending her a different vibe.
Interested male.
Was that why she was feeling uncomfortable? There was only one man who interested her.

“We don’t have homework over the holidays.” Jeremy’s words were without attitude this time.
Progress.

She gave him a look of mock shock. “No homework? But you have a whole week until school resumes. Your brains will turn to mush.”

He frowned and looked down at his lap. “We’ve got a funeral instead.”

She immediately sobered. Her stomach ached for him, the sugar she’d ingested churning. “That must be very difficult. I know how hard it is when a parent dies.”

“You do?”

“Your parents died a couple years ago, right?” Neil looked sheepish. “Sorry, a classmate was digging up information on you. He thought you were hot.”