Page 102 of Grave Danger

“We’re okay though,” Cody said as he gave her a reassuring smile. “We’re all okay.”

“Margie, have you seen Amelia or Otis? Eileen even?”

She shook her head and Demetrius’s hopes dropped.

“I haven’t seen anyone from out that way, come to think of it,” she said.

Cody put a hand on the back of Demetrius’s neck and squeezed gently. “We’ll get to them. We’ll go out there and make sure they’re okay.”

Demetrius tried for a smile, but it faltered, so he settled for a quick nod.

“Why are you here?” Cody asked Margie. “Is someone hurt or did they evacuate?”

“They asked for volunteers to help out,” Margie said. “I had to close the diner anyway, so thought I’d come to where I could make a difference.”

“You always make a difference,” Demetrius said, giving her another long, tight hug.

“Here you two are.”

Demetrius stepped back from Margie to find Zenona and Lucia standing beside them. Zenona looked harried and sleep-deprived, but still beautiful. Her long dark hair had been pulled into a ponytail and strands had come free to hang along the sides of her face. Lucia looked worn down and even grumpier than usual. She’d changed out of her black pantsuit and into her uniform, but her eyes looked tired, the skin underneath bruised. Had it only been that morning they’d all been at the Widow’s funeral?

“Here we are,” Cody said. From his expression, Demetrius knew he was about to say something to set Lucia off. “And, good news, we found the Cadillac. So that’s one thing you can cross off your to-do list.”

Lucia didn’t rise to the bait, and Demetrius figured she was just too worn out to spar with him. Instead of responding, Lucia lifted her chin in the direction of Sam and Dr. Willoughby.

“Where’d you pick up the docs? They’re not from the hospital, are they?”

“Docs?” Zenona said, looking around. “Oh, no. I don’t think they’re from here.”

“Our favorite local mad scientist laboratory is back in business,” Cody said.

That got a response from Lucia. She narrowed her eyes and said in a low voice, “What?”

“What about mad scientists?” Zenona asked. “I don’t understand. Who are those people?”

“They’re from the lab just outside town,” Demetrius said. “GRUNT. They have a drug to counteract what’s going on.”

“They do?” Zenona immediately crossed the hallway to where Sam and Dr. Willoughby were talking with a group of doctors as well as the sheriff and a couple of high ranking members of the state police.

Agatha approached with Oliver and Dave trailing behind her.

“How’s Jugs?” Cody asked.

“I don’t know, I can’t find him.” Agatha looked at Lucia. “Do you know where they’ve got Jugs?”

“Yeah. Come on.”

Lucia led them down the hall to an ICU room with a closed sliding glass door marked NO ENTRY in red. Demetrius’s stomach clenched at the sight of Jugs behind the glass, a ventilator tube in his mouth, IV lines in both arms, and wires draped over his broad chest.

“Jesus,” Cody said. He pressed a hand to the glass, and Demetrius thought it was part affection for Jugs and part keeping himself upright. “What the hell happened?”

“Oh my God.” Tears streamed down Agatha’s face, and Cody put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her against his side. “He was doing okay this morning. I don’t understand.”

“The skin around the scratches began to die more rapidly,” Lucia said. “That’s how I understood it from Zenona.”

“We’ve got to get Sam down here.” Agatha wiped her face and turned her head back and forth. She twisted out from under Cody’s arm and set off at a fast walk. “Sam! Dr. Willoughby!”

“I’ll go after her,” Oliver said.