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“Not really, no! I didn’t do well in science in school.”
Jasmine clasped her hands on her desk and leaned forward, still wearing a perturbed look on her face. “What we’re doing here, in essence, is trying to make a drug to cure erectile dysfunction with more long-lasting results than anything we’ve got on the market. We’ve gone back in time; I guess you can say, and used the foundation of a once potent aphrodisiac and mixed it with a more modern composition. There are still some kinks to work out, but so far, although we’re pleased with the results, we are in no way ready to go to market. In fact, as is, the drug can have some very negative side effects if not handled correctly.”
“What else can this thing do, other than, you know, the obvious?” Jasmine sat back in her seat and studied the female detective while strategizing her answer. She’d been more than a little shocked when the erstwhile Riley O’Rourke had called her personally to ask for a favor. She hadn’t been sure until she saw the detective why he’d gone out of his way to ask, but now she could easily surmise.
She’d been out of town when his wife had been incarcerated and then died, or she would’ve gotten there first. Still, she had the sneaky suspicion that the exotic beauty sitting across from her with her wild gypsy curls and those eyes that looked like pools of longing had beaten her to it. She could easily sidestep the woman’s question, but she had a feeling that Riley wouldn’t appreciate her giving his little girlfriend the runaround.
“In essence, it’s an aphrodisiac, an erectile stimulant as well as some other properties that can, let’s say, make someone more interested than they would normally be.”
“You mean like GHB?”
“Not quite. It’s a bit more involved than that and would last a bit longer.”
“Is that even legal?”
“Of course! It’s not like we’re manufacturing it for the sole purpose of drugging unsuspecting men and women. It’s meant to be used once it’s finished, of course, by consenting adults. It’s for men and women who wish to put the spark back in their marriages etc.”
Celia looked at the other woman like she was nuts but didn’t say anything. “So, tell me, does it work? No one died, did they? I know you’re the detective who worked on Riley’s wife’s case.”
Was that she heard in the woman’s tone? Celia didn’t bother to respond as she got to her feet. “I’ll take that list now.”
“Of course, my assistant will hand it to you on your way out.”
“Thanks for your time. Have a good day.” Celia didn’t wait around for anything else the woman had to say and thanked the assistant who passed her a sheaf of papers on her way out. She scanned the papers on her way out and saw the name she was looking for. Misty was a low-level employee whose job description shouldn’t give her access to the lab, but obviously, she’d been there. Now how did Bridgette get her hands on that drug?
Her phone rang as soon as she reached the car, and she answered on the third ring while putting her key in the ignition. “Detective Sparks.”
Detective, Andy, I’ve got something for you.”
“Already?”
“Well, Dale West isn’t exactly tech-savvy. He forgot to empty the trash on his work computer. I didn’t even have to activate my skills.”
“I’ll be right there.” Yes, indeed, things were starting to fall into place.
CHAPTER 23
Detective Sparks hustled down to the computer lab as soon as she reached the station with high hopes that this case, at least part of it, will be wrapped up by the end of the day today. She wasn’t sure about the ramifications for the pharmaceutical company in all this, the theft was one thing, but she knew, had seen in Jasmine Shepherd’s eyes a level of worry even though the other woman had given a stellar performance.
She’d made it to the door leading into the tech room when her phone went off again. Seeing that it was Riley calling, she figured he was calling to ask her how things went with Jasmine and decided the question wasn’t important enough at this time to waylay her purpose for being here, so she sent him to voicemail.
“Andy!” He turned from the computer screen he was presently peering at while his assistants were busy with other things. She’d never noticed how cramped this space was until now; then again, she never really had much cause to be down here before. Now it seems she was always here or next-door at the lab with the M.E’s office these days.
“Oh, Detective, you’re just in time. I’ve been combing through the past week’s feed from the videos we retrieved, but I figured you’d want to see the one from yesterday first, so I held off on watching that.”
