Chapter Forty
Gwen pulled into the motel parking lot, then popped the trunk and grabbed their bags. Troy met her at the door and unlocked it. When he flipped on the lights, he chuckled. “Eighties décor.”
“I was born in 1987,” Gwen said.
“Shit, I’m a cradle robber,” Troy teased.
“You’re only ten years older than me….give me a break.”
“You okay with this? With me? I’m a risky partner,” Troy admitted.
“You took out Jeffries. And I listened to you and Mr. Wentworth design this operation.”
Troy sat on the edge of the one queen bed. “I can sleep on the floor,” he offered.
“You’ll do nothing of the kind, unless you’re calling smelly,” she giggled.
“You’re beautiful. It’s the dreams—they can be violent.” His brown eyes turned glassy.
“I’ll take my chances. We will put the guns over there.” She pointed to the dresser across from the bottom of the bed. “We should turn in. Do you need help with anything?”
“I’m good.” Troy let her use the bathroom first. When he came out after his turn, he found her asleep. He slid in beside her, her natural scent soothing him until his eyes closed.
* * *
Dixon Knolls/Conrad Drake paced in front of Sheriff Ryder Jackson/ Malachi Drake inside the sunken living room belonging to the enormous home on the banks of the Serenity River. “What are we going to do? Conrad asked.
“Dad, Nurse Frey says there are four more cases of measles. She thinks all the babies will get it. The mothers were inoculated. Who gave it to them?” Conrad Drake questioned.
“Your mother is working on it. I…I still can’t believe those bastards killed Shaw,” Malachi Drake said.
“Shaw was stupid. Why didn’t he leave Eleanor alone?” Crawford, another brother, asked.
“Because she knows where the materials are.” Malachi’s eyes narrowed.
“I thought it was in the root cellar.” Conrad closed distance on his father. “Dad?”
“She committed treason and survives. We get nickeled and dimed when we sell triplets to a damn Marshal. And then the Marshal’s wife offers us twins, and it turns out to be Lindy and Eleanor. And then that moron puts her in the cold room where she can escape. How she found the old property and the cabins, I have no clue, but the case wasn’t in the root cellar. Elora is the only one who knows where it is,” Malachi growled.
“Mom was there that night. She almost bled to death. How did she have the energy to climb down into the cellar, bring up the case and hide it again before we found her?” Crawford asked.
Malachi gritted his teeth. “Your sister was a strong soldier.”
“Sanford, Tripp, why didn’t you get the location from her?” Conrad demanded.
“Shaw shot her. Warned her not to say a word ‘cause she’d managed to call for help. Hell, Shaw had to head off his lieutenant, and we headed the other way. Didn’t have time. And now, Eleanor is out of her mind with the measles,” Tripp said.
“Which brings me back to my question, how did the measles hit the kids?” Conrad asked.
“The family who adopted Ursula’s baby girl—they were from Israel. I got the notice over the wire. The family was picked up at John F. Kennedy airport and put in quarantine. The health department is in a tizzy trying to find out if they came in contact with anyone here, since our hospital has two cases.”
“That’s terrific. How are we going to get out of this mess?” Conrad asked.
“Get ahold of Tara and see if she can get it out of her. Whatever it takes.” Malachi glared.
* * *
Wes stretched and took off at a fast pace. He hoped the endorphins would carry him into a zone where he could think. He popped in an earbud and listened to the recording Gwen made of Eleanor. He had to be missing something. “Coventry School…Howler Community Center…bartender…naive…I...”His mind shifted. “Theresa Murrow…fertility drugs….Lance Starr and Belinda…I…”
