A little tension faded from his spine. “Thanks for that.”
They had arrived at the boardinghouse, and he bid her farewell. He had completely lost his appetite but managed to choke down lunch. Everyone at the table seemed to feel as miserable as he did, and there was an odd sort of comfort in that.
By dinner he felt worse, and by nightfall he and everyone on the Poison Squad knew something was severely wrong.
Eighteen
Marianne couldn’t stay in Baltimore and attend Andrew’s birthday party as though nothing had happened. Until yesterday, everyone in the family thought the sun rose and set on Andrew Magruder, but not now. Her parents had a huge argument over what happened with Bandit. Vera sided with Andrew, while Clyde and her grandfather had been disgusted. Marianne simply wanted to escape the turmoil. When Clyde gave her permission to return to Washington and miss Andrew’s party, it triggered another round of tears and tantrums, but she left on the evening train without regret.
The whole affair made her heartsick. After returning to Washington, she went straight to her room and felt beneath her mattress where she hid the photograph of Luke holding Bandit. How wretched Bandit had been while struggling in the icy water. She and Luke both risked so much to rescue him, but she would do it again in a heartbeat.
She gazed at Luke’s image as he beamed with pride. He was the only person who would understand her grief right now. Her heart was splitting wide open, and she needed him for comfort. It was after ten o’clock at night, but if Luke knew how heartsick she was, he’d want her to come to him.
She returned the photograph to its hiding place, then set off for his boardinghouse, where she was surprised to see the building lit up like a Christmas tree. Maybe she shouldn’t have been. When twelve young men shared a house, surely there was a fair amount of carousing in the evening, even if it was a weeknight.
But she didn’t hear carousing when she stood on the porch. She knocked, and the door flung open only seconds later. A man in his shirtsleeves with a serious expression opened the door. She vaguely remembered him as one of the competitive brothers who boasted about his superiority in all things the day she came to photograph the men.
“I’m Marianne Magruder. I came to see Luke Delacroix.”
The man opened the door. “He’s here. Come inside. You can help with nursing duties.”
The front parlor looked and smelled terrible. A number of men lay on the sofas, and a few sprawled on the floor. Luke spotted her from where he was slumped in a stuffed chair in the corner.
He squinted at her. “Marianne? Is that you?”
“It’s me.” She crossed the room and knelt beside him, appalled at the pallor of his skin. “You’ve looked better.”
His smile was slow in coming, but he covered her hand with his and squeezed. “I can’t hear very well. And I’m dizzy. My head feels like it’s going to explode.”
Alarm raced through her, but she tried not to let it show as she pressed a hand to his forehead. “You don’t seem feverish.”
“But I’ve been puking all night. So have the other guys. That’s why we need to stay down here near the washroom.”
“Have you called a doctor?”
Luke shrugged. “Nah, it’s just the poison they feed us. We’ll live.”
“Are you sure?” For pity’s sake, the whole point of the test was to use chemicals in doses far beyond rationality.
A man sprawled on the sofa lifted a cloth that had been shieldinghis eyes. She remembered calling him Princeton because of the snazzy coat he wore. He didn’t look snazzy tonight. “I think they’re feeding us Rough on Rats,” he said. “I call it Rough on All of Humanity.”
There was some snickering, but it was half-hearted. The man who had opened the door introduced himself as Big Rollins. He claimed not to be suffering from the food, but his brother was among the test subjects getting the chemicals, and Little Rollins didn’t even bother to wave at her from his position on the floor.
She turned back to Luke. “I’m sending for a doctor. What about the man running the experiment? At the very least, he should see exactly what you all are suffering.”
“Good point,” Big Rollins said. “We planned on waiting until morning, but he should probably see them now.”
Luke nodded. “Fine, but I don’t want Marianne being out this late. Send St. Louis to get him.”
A tall, gangly man sprang to his feet. “I’ll run the entire way,” he vowed.
After he left, Marianne grabbed a footstool and sat beside Luke. “Is there anything I can get for you?”
“A new head?”
Her heart turned over. Even miserable, he didn’t lose his sense of humor. He told her that all the men had been feeling poorly for a few days, but something changed this morning. The headaches got so bad it was hard to focus on anything. They were dizzy and listless. Luke and two others had ringing in their ears that wouldn’t stop.
“Do you know what chemical was used?”
