The Secrets We Keep Read online

  “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.”

  “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?”

  I didn’t like this one bit. I’d specifically instructed Barry not to tell his wife our location. “Your husband is fine,” I said. “You didn’t have to come.”

  “I’m very concerned. He said he was poisoned.” She turned her head slightly to the right and, noticing the flicker of light from the gas lamp, looked into the window of the cabin. Her eyes grew wide. “Heavens, is that who I think it is? Rachel’s alive?”

  Her act wasn’t that convincing. My God, I got the awful sense that she already knew Rachel was alive.

  Without much time to react, I decided to play along. “It’s quite a shock, isn’t it? We just found out this morning.”

  “And you didn’t think we should know?”

  I shrugged. “I’m sorry.”

  Tracy leaned against her car. If she was so concerned about her husband, why didn’t she go inside the cabin to see him? Her features were shrouded in the shadows, but I sensed she was feeling me out.

  “Is this where Rachel has been hiding out for the past two months?” she asked, with a hint of amusement. “I’ll be damned. She must’ve had some help.”

  I wasn’t about to give her Logan’s name. “Maybe.”

  “Where’s Carter?”

  “He should be here any second,” I lied. “And the police should be here any second, too. There’s no point in prolonging this charade any longer.”

  She took a step toward me and now I could see her face. The moon shone down, making her skin look pale and lifeless.

  “You called the cops?” She regarded me curiously, probably wondering if I was bluffing about that. She assumed a combative stance; hands still plunged deep into her coat pockets. I would have to tread lightly until I was sure what she was hiding. Too bad my pepper spray was in my purse, inside the Buick.

  “You told me Barry left the research group because you were afraid that Big Pharma would try to eliminate the competition,” I said. “That wasn’t the case at all. Barry got kicked out of the group. And he resented that.”

  She swallowed hard and nodded. “Just because he couldn’t find enough test subjects for the trial, they sent him packing. They said he wasn’t contributing enough to the research. It simply wasn’t true. My husband worked tirelessly for months and months, collecting data, putting his heart and soul into the study, only to be stepped on. He wasn’t going to get any credit. They would reap all the glory and the money. Now, does that sound like a fair deal to you?”

  “So he decided to murder Barry’s colleagues? Why? To teach them a lesson? Or so that Barry would publish the book himself and be the star?”

  “Barry?” She laughed. “No, Barry doesn’t have it in him. He’s too sweet and innocent.”

  “So then, it was you.”

  “I’ve always had to protect Barry. He’d never stand up for himself.”

  As we stood there in the dark, I wondered when she’d make her move. She wouldn’t have confessed unless she felt secure in her position. I had no weapon to defend myself, just the cell phone in my hand.

  At the sound of a screen door opening. I looked to my left. Standing in the doorway, Barry had a look of uncertainty on his face. “Sweetheart,” he said to his wife, eyes flitting nervously from her, then to m
e, and then back to her. “You got here fast.”

  “Yes, dear,” she replied with a sweet smile. “Sarah and I were just discussing how wonderful it is, that Rachel is alive. Isn’t it wonderful?”

  Barry nodded, but his mouth twitched. “Are you coming inside?” he asked us.

  “In a minute,” she said, calmly. “Go back inside and let’s stick to the plan, okay?”

  Barry bowed his head subserviently and retreated into the cabin. A second later, through the window, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw Barry swing his arm around and clock Rachel over the head with his clenched fist. She collapsed onto the floor like a sack of flour.

  I jerked my head around to face Tracy, blood boiling, my fists clenched into tight balls of fury. I lunged toward her, but she reacted with lightning speed and pulled the pistol out of her coat pocket. She aimed it at my head and, in complete control of her emotions, she said, “I’m sure you’re wondering if I’ve ever fired a gun before, and the answer is yes. So don’t try anything funny.”

  I quickly reviewed my options and decided I only had one.

  I slowly raised my hands in surrender, silently cursing myself for not making my move before this had happened. If I had been quick on my feet and beat her to the punch...oh, heck, there was no point in lamenting. “What’s the plan?” I said. “Kill a few more people? You won’t get away with it. If anything happens to me or Rachel, Carter will hunt you down.”

  She shook her head slowly, clearly unthreatened by my words. “I guess I should be thanking you, Sarah. You led us right to Rachel. Her death will be on you, now.”

  “So you knew Rachel wasn’t dead.”

  “I mean, really. It’s so obvious what she tried to do. I’m not an idiot, but she gets an A for effort. She was able to fool everyone else, but not me. I knew that Big Bad Pharma wasn’t killing Holistic doctors. I’m not a conspiracy nut.”

  “And Barry? He was in on this from the start?”