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“Not all of them.”
“Well… no,” she admits. “But the guy who created it is cactus. And a decent chunk of the salesmen are gone too. Those who remain are past the point of risk.”
Together, we turn and wait as Fifi and Debbie are helped from the boat, too. Then when all four of us are steady, Debbie passes a fat wad of cash, not only to Calum, but to the man who helped us off the boat.
“Anyone who attended that conference and isnotdead,” Aubree continues, “was not exposed. Maybe that was purely luck of the draw. Could have been by design. Perhaps the killer didn’t want to kill three hundred people. Maybe they only wanted to make a point, and dropping twenty percent of the attendees in this cold, calculated way, using the very same—or similar, anyway—drug as the one they were peddling, is the scene they wanted to paint. More importantly to the killer, I think, is that Evicta is being pulled from circulation?—”
“Wait…” I come to a stop and scowl. “They’ve pulled it?”
“Yep. The FDA canned it, effective immediately. Anyone currently mid-trial is being rushed back to their oncology team for assessment and treatment. The drug has been removed from every hospital and cancer center across the country, and had Ramsey Cate, Evicta’s inventor, lived, he’d be under intense scrutiny right now and probably looking at a decent stretch in prison.”
“Shit…” I glance around at the other two, the non-doctors who watch us in complete and abject boredom. Their eyes gloss over. Their postures, slouching. They probably wish they were going to arealspa. “Just…” I lift my shoulders in a shrug. “Shit. That’s all I’ve got.”
“The authorities are combing this situation pretty closely now. And because it spans multiple states, we’re on the clock before the Feds get on a plane and head over.”
“So you’re racing the FBI to make this arrest.” Snorting, I turn again and continue walking. “Jesus. You’re a doctor, Aubs! I’ve completely broken you.”
“I don’t consider it a break.” She practically skips as we move off the dock and head straight through the lane of crafts and homemade wares. I think of the bangles Archer bought me. The lovely jewelry he specifically found for me on a Jamaican freaking island. “In fact,” Aubs continues. “I consider this growth. Before, I just cared about the body. About the report I was to type up. I wanted my paperwork to shine and to impress my boss.”
“You no longer wish to impress me?”
She scoffs, and when a man on an electric scooter whizzes by, she grabs my arm and yanks me out of the way. “You’re my best friend. I no longerneedto impress you. Now, my focus is on how better we can serve the dead. I can document a scene and write up reports in my sleep. That’s level one in my mind. Now it’s time I move on to level two. And that means I need to ask more questions on a crime scene and do better at making sure justice has been found for the deceased.”
“It’s like poetry,” Fifi drawls. Then, “Not. Christabelle, care to join me at anactualspa?” She slows her steps and points toward a salon not so far from the lingerie store I rush-shopped in a couple of days ago. “We can see to our needs while our doctor friends put themselves in danger.”
“We’re not in danger!” Aubs bites out. “This person was grieving. They lashed out. Now it’s done, and I strongly suspect they’ll own up to their crimes and come easily.”
“Yeah,” Christabelle laughs. “That’s likely. I think I’ll…” She tilts her head toward Fifi. “Massage. I don’t want to die.”
“But you’d let me die?” I exclaim. “Seriously?”
“You just said you weren’t in danger!”
“Shesaid,” I point my thumb toward Aubree. “And if you believe I’m safe, then you’ll accept that you are, too.”
“Maybe I just really want a massage.” Debbie reaches up and rubs her shoulder. “I’ve been stuck behind a computer for too long. And Felix is… needy.”
“Ew.” I stalk forward and grab her manicured hand, then turning on my heels, I drag her along. “We’re not separating.”
“You’re forcing me to approach a killer?”
“I’m honoring Archer’s wishes that we don’t split up, no matter what.” I glance back and meet her eyes. “What’s it like being Felix’s girlfriend?” I wrinkle my nose because part of me rebels at the idea of anyone truly being intimate with him. While the other part of me is curious. “Is it dark and mean?”
“No!”
“He’d be rough,” Aubs inserts, matching our pace, which means Fifi has no choice but to follow. “I just know he’d be mean. Lots of smacking and biting and stuff, right?”
“There’s something wrong with you both.” Christabelle knocks my hand off her arm. But at least she continues to walk. “Felix is just…” She shakes her head. “He’s Felix.”
“Okay. But that doesn’t explainanything. He’s the guy who kidnapped Moo that one time.”
As though she didn’t know—maybe she didn’t,oops—Debbie’s silver-colored eyes fling across to me. “He kidnapped a little girl? That little girl?” She points back toward our boat. “Mia?”
“Yeah. But it was a misunderstanding. Sorta. Felix is the guy who doesn’t always think through the consequences of his actions. He thought Mia was Archer’s daughter, and he wanted to meet her. So he just… ya know,” I shrug. “Jumped without thinking. Kinda like how he kidnapped you.”
“He kidnapped you?” Fifi exclaims. Now she rushes forward and bumps her way into our group. “Felix Malone kidnapped you, and now he’s your boyfriend?”
“Yeah.” Christabelle makes her single word sound like a question. “But it was a misunderstanding. Sorta. Though,” she brings her fierce eyes to me, “I see a trend. He wants something, so he takes it. He’ll ask for forgiveness later, if at all.”
