“When I get out in a couple of days, I’ll courier it to you. Send me the address and I’ll let you know when it’s on its way.”
Christopher shook Benny’s hand. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this. I just want my brother back.”
“You two saved my life. Let’s call it even,” said Benny with a toothy smile.
I sent him the address of our P.O. box and said our thanks.
When we left Benny and the hospital, we headed home. We’d accomplished a lot in Reno. We didn’t know where Eric had gone, but as long as Benny followed through on his promise, we’d have the supplies we needed. The information about Eric’s name was lucky. If it wasn’t his real name, at least we had another alias we could use to track him.
While we’d been gone, Luke had gone to search for Eric’s lockbox. I hoped we’d get to hear about his mission.
I didn’t have long to wait. That afternoon while we were on the road, Andrew texted with the result of Luke’s investigation.
“Lockbox located. Contents include over twenty thousand in cash, two unregistered handguns, several sets of identification documents, and four passports, including Eric Johnson, Eric Dahl, and Erik Fengdahl. New passport with a recent issue date for Magnus Bergstrom with Eric’s picture.”
I gasped as I read the messages aloud to Christopher.
“Your dad’s name?”
“Probably his new identity if he’s preparing to run again. No idea why he hasn’t disappeared yet.”
Another message came through an hour later.
“We got a warrant. Taking the box as official evidence. Will get legal photos of the contents. I’ll keep you posted.”
When we were a couple of blocks from home, Andrew sent a picture of himself with the metal box that I remembered. The police had it in their possession and with it had enough evidence to send Eric, or whoever he was, to jail for a long time. He just needed to be caught.
Chapter 28
Two long days passed, then a message arrived from Benny.“Sent.”
The package with the venom was at the post office Wednesday evening for us to collect. Thursday morning, we delivered it to Brandon. His kitchen had transformed into a laboratory, with flasks, tubing, and a rack of test tubes with the tiny vials I recognized from his previous serums.
“There’s enough for six doses,” said Christopher. “Have you decided?”
“I’ve decided yes and will document it for science. I’ll make a video of myself,” said Brandon. “Telling myself everything important. That way, if I forget everything from the time I woke up in the hospital, I can fill in my missing time.”
“Good idea,” I said. What would he consider important, other than information about his research? “What if you have another allergic reaction?” Had he considered that possibility?
“Thought of that,” said Brandon. “I’m going to give myself antivenom right after the reversal treatment. I have some here. Leftover from previous research. At worst, it may make me nauseous.”
“Sounds like you’ve thought of everything this time,” I said.
“I appreciate you figuring out that’s what happened before, Elizabeth. I hadn’t considered allergies before my trial.”
“How long until you have the antidote ready?” Christopher kept his tone even.
“Three to four days,” said Brandon. “Then a good night’s rest to be on the safe side. I’ll finish the video and inject myself before I sleep. With luck, I’ll wake up the next morning with my memories intact.”
“What about the doses for the others?” said Christopher.
“I’ll try the antidote first. When I’m awake, I’ll call you. Unless I die. Then, as my next of kin, you’ll be notified when they find my body. The video will be evidence that I did this to myself.”
It was shocking to hear it said in such a matter-of-fact way. The old Brandon had been cold, but not like this. This level of detachment was wrong.
“The other doses will be in the fridge. When I wake up, Officer Jennings can distribute them to the victims.”
We wished him luck and left. For us, there was nothing to do but wait, though we’d be on edge until we heard from Brandon. My fingernails would be chewed to the quick this week and Christopher would need a long workout every day to burn off his excess energy.
