Sarah Woods Mystery Series (Volume 6) Read online

  Barry and Tracy both nodded their heads.

  “Good. Then Tracy, call your parents. Barry, you don’t have to do anything. Just go about your normal schedule today. When Shefke shows up, try to act casual. Can you do that?”

  “I think so. At least, I’ll try.”

  Tracy asked, “What do you think Shefke will try to do? What if he shows up here with a gun and shoots my husband?”

  “Most likely, it’ll be something more subtle,” Carter said; “like poison to mimic some other condition. Or he’ll slip a narcotic into his drink.”

  “But, Rachel was stabbed to death,” she said. “You call that subtle?”

  Carter and I exchanged a glance, and I could tell what he was thinking. Should we tell them Rachel is alive? That Shefke never actually got around to killing her?

  I had a suitable explanation, and I went with it. “Shefke knew that Rachel had a patient that was stalking her. He most likely decided to use that to his advantage.”

  Tracy understood by the look on her face, but Barry just stared at me blankly.

  “Anyway,” I continued. “We need to catch Shefke on camera. Most likely, it will involve drugs or poison. That’s where the hidden surveillance will come in handy. Understand?”

  Tracy took her husband’s hand. “It’s going to be okay, honey. You can do this. You will be a hero when this is all over.”

  Barry smiled at his wife, trying to look confident. “You better go call your folks and pack a bag.”

  Carter got to his feet. “Sarah and I need to head back to the motel and get our equipment. We’ll be back in twenty minutes to start setting up.”

  * * *

  Between Barry’s last few appointments of the day, I helped Carter install the cameras. By 6:00 all was set to go. It was time to make sure that Barry understood his role.

  “Sarah and I will be parked across the street, watching the surveillance,” Carter explained to him. “Just remember, we’ll be watching you the entire time.”

  “What if he has a weapon? What do I do then?”

  “Nothing,” I said. “Don’t try to fight it. Chances are, he’s been planning this scenario for weeks.” Although, Barry could probably pummel the little Jewish guy with his bare hand. Although, Barry was more the gentle giant type. He might’ve been a big guy, but he didn’t have the killer instinct. In a flight or fight situation, Barry would probably do neither. He’d probably freeze.

  Carter placed a hand on Barry’s back to offer some moral support. “How are you holding up?”

  “Fine. Just a little nervous.”

  “Drink some more water and keep yourself hydrated. We don’t want you passing out from dehydration.”

  Barry made an effort to chuckle. “Sorry. I’ve had hyperhidrosis disorder since I was a teenager. I always carry extra shirts with me. It’s quite embarrassing.”

  “Don’t sweat it,” Carter said. “No pun intended.”

  Back in the car, we set our tablets in our laps and watched the live video feed. Barry paced in his office while constantly checking his watch. Just twenty minutes to go.

  “Poor guy,” I said. “Look at him. He’s going to drown in his own sweat.”

  “I’m surprised he and his wife went along with this plan. I’m not particularly confident, either. Shefke knows that we’re re-investigating. Why would he make his move on Barry tonight? None of this feels right to me.”

  “I guess we’ll find out soon.”

  We watched as Barry grabbed another Gatorade from his fridge and took a huge sip. I expected him to guzzle the whole thing like before, but he set the bottle on his desk and leaned over. He lurched as if he was about to hurl all over his desk.

  “What’s happening to Barry?” I said, pointing. “He looks like he’s gonna be sick.”

  “I don’t know.” Carter watched the video intently for another few beats as Barry grabbed his phone on his desk and made a call.

  I heard my cell phone ring and grabbed it from my purse. “Barry, are you okay? What’s going on?”

  “I’m not feeling so well. I don’t know ...” Barry dropped the phone, covered his mouth with his handkerchief, and stumbled into an adjoining room. Most likely a bathroom. Since we didn’t have any surveillance set up there, we couldn’t see what was happening. I could only assume he was throwing up in the toilet.

  “Let’s go.” Carter and I exited the car and ran into the office.

  “Damn it,” I said. “Did Shefke already make his move? That Gatorade has been laced with something.”

  Inside, we found Barry hunched over the toilet in his bathroom, the smell of vomit heavy in the air. “I think I’ve been poisoned,” Barry said, wiping his mouth with toilet paper.

  “I’m calling 911.” Carter was about to grab his cell phone, but Barry cried out.

  “No ambulance. No police. I’m telling you I’m fine now.”

  “You should get checked out,” I said. “Some poison might still be in your system.”

  “Believe me,” he said, gesturing to the toilet. “There is nothing left in my system.”

  “Still...”

  “I’m not going to the hospital,” he said with finality. “And no cops. Roger Shefke has too many contacts and resources. He might have something else up his sleeve. There’s nowhere I can go to be safe. Not my house.”

  “We can bring you to our hotel room,” I said.

  “Shefke probably knows about it.” he said. “I need to go somewhere he doesn’t think I’ll go.”

  Carter grabbed a tissue and picked up the Gatorade on the desk. He held it to his nose and sniffed. “It could’ve been laced with ethylene glycol, which has a sweet smell and taste. The sugar in the Gatorade would mask any flavor. A small amount won’t hurt you but, if you had guzzled the whole thing, you’d be a sick puppy. Did you notice if the seal was broken on the top when you opened it?”

  Barry shook his head. “I don’t remember. It’s possible, but I wasn’t paying attention when I opened it.”

  “This isn’t going to help us,” I said. “We could bring the bottle of Gatorade to the police, but what would it prove? Unless they found Shefke’s fingerprints... No, he wouldn’t be that careless.”

  “Do you think he’s still planning on coming over tonight?” I asked Carter. “Or was this Gatorade poisoning supposed to do the trick? I mean, this doesn’t really make sense.”

  Barry seemed to be getting worked up and agitated, like the walls were closing in on him. “What do we do now? We can’t stay here.”

  Carter looked at me. “We don’t know what else Shefke has up his sleeve. This Gatorade ruse might not be the end game.”

  I had an idea. “Why don’t we take him to the campground until we figure out our next move. There are plenty of empty cabins and Shefke doesn’t know about it.”

  “What campground?” Barry asked. “You never mentioned a campground before.”

  “Okay,” Carter said. “Here’s what we’ll do. Sarah, you take Barry in the Buick and drive up to the campground. I’ll stay here and wait to see if Shefke shows up for the meeting. Meanwhile, I’m going to knock on some doors and see if anyone saw a short, Jewish man breaking into the office in the past few days. I’m also going to test that Gatorade, see if I can determine what it’s laced with. I’ll need to grab my supplies from the trunk.”

  “What will you say to Shefke if he shows up?”

  “I don’t know yet. I haven’t gotten that far. I’ll think of something.”

  Barry was shaking his head, clearly dumbfounded as he got on his cell phone. “I need to call my wife.”

  “Not just yet,” I said. “Wait until we get to a safe place and then you can call. She’s probably half-way to D.C. Now, and there’s no point in worrying her.”

  He looked glum as he returned the phone to his pocket.

  Carter asked Barry for his car keys. “Depending on what happens here, I can meet you guys up at the campground. Call me when you get there.”

&
nbsp; “Will do.”

  Be safe.” He squeezed my hand. “You know what to do.”

  Chapter 14

  I kept a watchful eye in the rearview mirror, making sure no one was following us as I drove to the campground.

  It was already dark, and I was beginning to second-guess my decision about taking Barry there. This was not part of the plan. Logan and Rachel would be shocked when we showed up.

  Barry sat in the passenger seat sweating through his shirt, eyes staring straight ahead as if in a trance. “You okay?” I asked him.

  He snapped back to reality and said, “Yeah. I’m just trying to figure out how Shefke broke into my office to poison the Gatorade. I always keep the place locked up tight.”

  “Any ideas?”

  “He could’ve gotten into a window on the back side of the building, I guess. Come to think of it, sometimes I don’t lock that window.”

  “It’s easy enough to forget,” I said. “Don’t blame yourself.”

  “I have to admit, I really didn’t think Rachel’s death could be related to Spealman and Lenzer. Apparently, I’m a fool.”

  “Believe me, Barry. I had a hard time swallowing this one, too. But think about it, greed is like cancer, it takes over and keeps destroying everything that’s good.”

  “It all makes sense now, except for Rachel,” he said. “Spealman’s heart attack seemed natural because he was old. Dr. Linzer got into a car accident because he’d taken those sleeping pills. But Rachel’s death was brutal and bloody. It just didn’t fit with the other two scenarios.”

  Something occurred to me, and it made me pause. How did Barry know about the sleeping pills that Dr. Linzer took before driving home that night? That part was never in the newspaper – his wife hadn’t wanted that information to get out.”

  “When was the last time you spoke to Dr. Linzer’s wife?” I asked.

  Barry appeared to think it over. “Probably at his funeral, why?”

  “Did she ever explain to you the details of the car accident?”

  “Not really. I just read about it in the paper.”

  “Oh. Then how did you know about the sleeping pills?”

  Barry shrugged. “Like I said, I read it in the paper.”

  I figured it was possible that Susan Linzer had mentioned the sleeping pills to Barry’s wife. It would make sense that the two woman might be friends.

  When I pulled onto the dirt road leading to the cabins, Barry looked around in awe. “Hey, I’ve been here before. Summer camp when I was a kid.”

  “The cabins are a bit rustic but you'll be comfortable here until we figure out what to do next.”

  He closed his eyes, leaned back into the seat. “I can't believe this is happening. My wife is going to blow a gasket when I call her.”

  Little did Barry know, he was in for a major shock, Rachel in the flesh.

  I parked the vehicle in front of one of the empty cabins and cut the engine. I could see the faint glow of a candle in her window, and I wondered if Michael was still with her. Oddly, I didn’t see Logan’s blue sedan.

  Barry peered out of the windshield. “Does this place even have electricity?”

  “I don't think so, but I can get some candles and blankets.” I turned to Barry and gave him a firm look. “I need you to stay here for a few minutes while I grab the supplies. Okay?”

  He rubbed his face with both palms and sighed heavily. “Okay. I won’t move till you come back. But I’m gonna call my wife and tell her I’m fine.”

  I could understand why he felt the need to talk to her. If I believed that my life was in danger, the first thing I'd want to do is call my son to hear his voice. “Okay. Call your wife, but please keep it brief. Don't give her any details. No point in having her worry.”

  He nodded in agreement as he got on his cell phone and made the call.

  I exited the car and trudged up the dirt road to Rachel's cabin. When I knocked on the door, it opened immediately.

  Rachel ushered me inside, her expression filled with confusion. “I just got a call from Carter. He said Barry was poisoned?”

  “Yes. Shefke must’ve gotten into his office prior to today and tampered with his Gatorade. Carter is going to test the liquid then keep the bottle for evidence.”

  “Is Barry okay?”

  “I think so but, needless to say, he's a little freaked out right now. He didn't want to go to the hospital.”

  “Why not?”

  “He’s paranoid. Anyway, Carter is working on securing a witness. Hopefully, someone saw Shefke entering Barry’s office in the past few days.”

  “This screws up everything.” She remained quiet for a few seconds then asked, “Did you tell Barry about me?”

  “No. I thought you might want to do that yourself.”

  With stoic resolve, she got to work. “Okay. Let me grab an extra lantern and we'll go talk to him together. I hope he doesn't faint when he sees me.”

  As we walked back to the car, I asked, “Where’s Logan and Michael?”

  “Michael wanted to go back to the city so Logan drove him there.”

  “I don’t understand. Earlier, he seemed so content to be here with you. What happened?”

  “It’s what always happens,” she said. “Michael gets restless. He can’t be inside a room for more than a few hours. It’s part of his condition, I guess. I’ve never been able to figure it out. The important thing is, he knows I’m always there for him. That’s why I had to tell him that I was going away for a while. I knew the police would approach him to give him the news of my death, and I knew he wouldn’t believe them.”

  “Is Logan planning on coming right back here after he drops off Michael?”

  “Yes. I called him right after I spoke with Carter. He doesn’t like the fact that Barry is here, but what could I say?”

  As we approached the Buick, Barry got out of the car and stared at Rachel like he'd seen a ghost.

  “Holy Mother in Heaven,” he said.

  Rachel kind of looked like an angel of death as she held the lantern under her chin, casting an eerie glow on her face. Like something in a horror flick. “Hello Barry,” she said, voice barely audible. “I guess I have some explaining to do.”

  Barry took a step toward her, held out his hand and then stopped himself. He clearly wanted to touch this apparition standing in front of him, yet was afraid at the same time. “I can't believe it. Is it really you? You're ...alive?”

  “I know this is a lot to process,” she said, nodding her head toward the empty cabin. “Let's go inside so you can get comfortable, okay?”

  Barry nodded in agreement but said nothing as he followed us into the cabin that smelled of wood decay and mildew. Rachel placed the lantern on the coffee table.

  She invited him to have a seat next to her. “I know it isn't five-star accommodations but this place has been my home for the past two months.”

  “You did all this because you were afraid of Shefke?”

  Rachel nodded. “It’s more complicated than that, but yes. He’s the kind of guy who gets what he wants.”

  I felt my cell phone vibrate in my pocket. Checking the caller ID, I saw it was Carter. “Hey, I have to take this. I’ll go outside so you two can chat.”

  The temps were back down into the forties, but the moon was big and bright in the black sky. I tried to shake away the shivers and a feeling a foreboding. Hopefully, Carter would have some good news for me.

  “Hey, Carter. We just got here. Barry and Rachel are inside one of the cabins catching up. He almost peed his pants when he saw her face.”

  “Yeah, I bet he did.”

  “Were you able to find any witnesses?”

  “No, but I did test the Gatorade. The results came back negative.”

  I paused, wondering if I’d heard him correctly. “Negative, as in you didn’t find poison?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Maybe there's something wrong with your kit.”

  “No.
I even took a few sips from the bottle and swirled it around in my mouth. It tastes just like Gatorade. Nothing more. I’m certain of that.”

  “But Barry got sick and threw it up. Why would he do that?”

  “I don't know. But now it makes sense why he didn’t want to go to the hospital or the police. He faked being poisoned.

  A troubling thought occurred to me, and my hands went numb. “On the way to the lake, Barry mentioned that Dr. Linzer had taken sleeping pills before his accident. I thought it was strange because that was never mentioned in the newspaper article about his death.”

  “Barry said he was out of town when Dr. Lenzer died. That convention for Alternative Medicine.”

  “I remember. Maybe he lied about that.”

  “Where is Barry right now? Do you have eyes on him?”

  “Yeah. He’s still sitting with Rachel inside the cabin, and it looks like they’re having a heart to heart conversation. What should I do?”

  “Don’t do anything till I get there. I’m on my way.”

  When I ended the call, I remained outside, shivering. Surrounded by darkness, the chilly air seemed to penetrate my bones.

  Through the window, I could see Barry and Rachel still huddled on the couch, talking. I was about to go inside when I noticed a flash of light coming from the road. A vehicle was slowly heading in my direction. Thank God, it must be Logan returning but as the car came closer, I noticed it wasn’t the blue sedan. This was a white Honda.

  When Tracy emerged from the driver’s side door, I froze. What the heck was Barry’s wife doing here? She was supposed to be heading to her parents’ house in D.C.

  Then it hit me.

  Barry had called her as soon as we got to the cabins. He must have given her the location. But there was no way she could’ve gotten here so quickly, unless she never actually went to visit her parents.

  “Hey, Sarah.” She approached me cautiously, a weird expression on her face. The way she had her hands buried into her coat pockets made me wonder if she was concealing a weapon. “Barry called and asked me to meet him here. Where is he?”