“What weneedis information,” Riley chimed in. “Please tell me you’ve found something.”
“Hey, Riles.” The man’s smile came through the phone. “As a matter of fact, I did.”
From across the table, Riley’s gaze jumped to his. “Well don’t keep us in suspense. What’d you find?”
“The lab sent over the preliminary results from Maggie’s toxicology screen.”
“And?” Both he and Riley spoke in unison.
“They got a hit. We know the drug that was used to sedate her.”
Normally tox screens could take a week, or even months to get processed. Like everyone else, the labs were overwhelmingly backlogged.
But Derek had used his team’s connection with Homeland Security, and they were able to obtain a sample of Maggie’s blood and send it to a different lab than the one the hospital typically used.
A private lab that could expedite the process.
Clearly Jason Ryker—R.I.S.C.’s Homeland handler—had come through for them yet again.
“The lab found traces of atropine along with a second drug called sodium thiopental. The atropine is administered first to help prevent a massive drop in blood pressure, and the other is what rendered her unconscious.”
“But she’s going to be okay, right?” Riley asked worriedly. “I mean, I talked to Mags earlier, and she said the doctors were letting her go home in the morning.”
“She’s fine. Still can’t remember any details of what happened, which the Dr. attributes to the drugs. She may have some residual trembling and drowsiness, but otherwise, she’s as good as new.”
About time they got some good news.
“And Noah’s agreed to stay with her until this guy is caught, right?”
At least, Eric hoped he was. He didn’t think their killer would go after Maggie a second time, but none of them wanted to take that chance.
“Yeah. Killion’s gonna stay with her at her townhouse. Maggie’s not real keen on the idea, but even she couldn’t sweet talk the dude into leaving.”
“Good.” Eric nodded. “I think she’s safe, but this guy’s not your average serial. He’s changed the game before, so we need to be prepared in case he decides to do it again.”
“Agreed.”
“So back to this drug,” Riley spoke up again. “Is this something anyone can get their hands on, or...”
“Unfortunately, yes.” Derek sounded confident in his answer. “Which makes our job harder, but not impossible. The guy at the lab said it’s not usually the common choice for doctors, so hopefully that will work in our favor.”
“Is there any way to trace where it came from?” Eric asked. “Some sort of data base or something that might keep track of that sort of thing?”
“I’m runnin’ the program as we speak.”
“Derek, you said this was the lab’s preliminary results.” Riley brought up a good point. “Does that mean there’s more to come?”
“It’s possible. The tech I spoke with said they were still working on another substance they found, but they hadn’t been able to identify it yet.”
“Anything else?” Eric asked his brother.
“That’s it, so far. I’ll call as soon as I know something more.”
“Thanks, D.”
“Anytime, brother. Oh, and...I saw the weather reports for your area. Looks like you’ve been shut in for a couple of days. Sure hope you two have found somethin’ to keep you busy. You know, so you aren’t totally bored.”
“We’re hanging up now, Derek.” Riley reached for the phone.
