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A second later, her phone vibrated again.
“Hang in there, Grant. I’m coming.”
* * *
It was easier to locate Grant than she’d thought it would be. Bella pulled up to the gate on the outside of the fence line, her lights still flashing. She darted through the wide opening of the metal bars and rushed to his side. “Grant,” she said breathlessly.
He didn’t respond.
“Grant!” she repeated louder, smacking his cheek gently. “Open your eyes. There’s a paramedic on the way.”
Just as the words left her mouth, the siren filled the air and a white ambulance pulled in behind her. Two men darted from the vehicle and charged forward.
“Grant!” she said again then turned to the paramedics. “He’s unresponsive.”
“Water,” Grant whispered hoarsely.
“You need a drink?” Bella asked, relief washing over her. She reached for the canteen. “Here, take it.”
Grant shook his head. “No, water,” he slurred again.
Her brows furrowed.
“Sir? My name is Jeffrey. Can you tell me what happened? Have you been drinking?” The first paramedic knelt down beside them, and Bella took a step back.
She watched, her anxiety growing as they looked him over. “Do you think he’s drunk?”
“Hard to say. He doesn’t smell like alcohol,” Jeffrey said. “But he definitely looks like he took something. We could tell the doctor to order a drug panel to see what he’s got in his system. I don’t see an ID in his pocket. Can you check his truck?”
Bella nodded and scrambled for Grant’s truck. She yanked open the door and hunted for a wallet or an ID of any kind. When she didn’t see it on the driver’s side, she headed to the passenger’s side, then the backseat. She pushed a bag aside to look beneath it and it clanked to the floor.
Her blood ran cold as she got a closer look and found several empty beer bottles and cans. Bella shoved the bag under the seat and continued her search but came up empty-handed.
“There’s nothing in his truck,” she said breathlessly. “Grant, have you taken anything? Anything these guys need to be aware of?”
Grant’s eyes fluttered open and he stared at her with a vacant expression.
“Without confirmation of meds he might be on, we can’t do anything but give him an IV.” Jeffrey looked apologetic.
“It’s fine. Just get him to the hospital and I’ll follow behind after I lock up his truck and close the gate.”
Jeffrey nodded and together with his partner, he took Grant away.
Bella glanced around the immediate area. There had to be a clue here somewhere. Nothing was adding up. She paced to the tree and her toe knocked against the canteen.
Crouching down, she reached for the item and opened the lid. It didn’t smell like anything, but that didn’t mean it hadn’t been tampered with. She needed to get it tested.
After she gathered up the tools, garbage from Grant’s lunch, and the canteen, she headed for the gate. Once it was locked, she was on her way. This time, she didn’t turn on her siren. She needed to clear her head, and speeding through town wasn’t going to help her do that.
Grant wouldn’t have dosed himself. He’d just become a father.
What did she know? He could’ve dosed himself. What if he’d had issues with drugs in his previous life?
Bella shook her head sharply. She might not have spent a ton of time with the man, but she knew enough to know he cared far too much about his kid to risk doing something this reckless.
And still a seed of doubt couldn’t be completely quashed. How well did she know the guy, really? He could be saying all the right things, but the only truth she could trust was that of the lab results.
When she arrived at the hospital, she headed straight to the lab and handed them the canteen. “I want this tested.”
