Secrets and Suspense Read online

  Silence fell around the room as everyone processed what that meant. “So, you’re saying if they put this in the water supply or find a way to disperse it in the air, it would infect a lot of people?” Makenna’s voice held the serious tone that Cara saw displayed on every face around the room.

  “Unfortunately, that’s exactly what I’m saying. It’s possibility as a weapon of bioterrorism is one reason that we were studying it. The military wanted to be ahead on a vaccine in case this ever happened. I don’t want to scare the public yet which is why I’m not holding a press conference, but if we see a case, I’ll have my boss notify the CDC. I don’t think they’ll come until we have an active case anyway, but there’s one more thing we need to consider.”

  Jordan caught her eye, and she could tell from his gaze that he knew the issue. “If they find a way to mutate it, none of this will matter, will it?”

  “Probably not,” Cara said. “The good news is that mutating a virus is hard, but there’s always the chance it mutates on its own which is why we all need to be vigilant. We need to keep our eyes open for anyone acting suspiciously and especially for any cases that come in. We need to know how they got infected.”

  “And what about the military?” Jack Stone asked in his deep, gravelly voice. As head of the Special Investigations Unit, Cara had decided he had to be involved though he was the only man in the room who actually intimidated her. His name fit him to a T as she had rarely seen a smile break through his stony exterior.

  “I’ll be continuing to work on a vaccine. Perhaps my boss can send some other researchers to help, but we weren’t that close before now, so I’m not as hopeful on that front. Of course, I’m sure he will be trying to find out who took the research as well. Finding that out will help us determine their next moves.” Cara paused as she stared out at the people that she called friends. “I know this is a shock and not what we want to hear but thank you all for coming.”

  8

  Cole

  Cole still wasn’t sure how to feel about Cara. His gut told him she was a victim, especially after listening to her tell her friends the truth. That couldn’t have been easy, and while they had stuck by her, promising to help in any way they could, Cole had felt the tension in the room. It permeated the air, remaining even after the last person had left.

  “Where are we going?” he asked as he quickened his pace to keep up with Cara. Though she was shorter than he was, she took long strides and covered distances quickly.

  “Fire Dreams. It’s Jordan’s restaurant. I don’t know about you, but I needed to get out of the bed and breakfast for a bit.” She stopped and turned to face him. “Besides, they have great food.”

  His stomach rumbled at the mention of food. He didn’t think he had eaten since breakfast. The day had been a whirlwind after that with Cara showing him her trashed room and then the discussion with her friends.

  She pulled open the doors to the restaurant, a casual place with a homey feel. The lowered lighting invited intimate conversations and the color palette appealed to the eyes.

  “Hi, Cara,” the hostess behind the podium said as Cara approached. “Two today?” A wide, sincere smile lit up her face as she grabbed two menus.

  Cara nodded before addressing the woman. “Hi, Ginny. How’re you doing?” She obviously knew the woman, and Cole wondered again how close knit this community was.

  “Pretty good now that life has calmed down,” the woman said, stepping out from behind the podium.

  “You seem to be settling in well,” Cara said as Ginny led them to a table.

  The woman’s smile grew even larger as she stopped at a table. “I am. Graham and Jordan have been amazing bosses, and I can’t thank you enough for helping me out when I first got here.”

  “It’s what I do,” Cara turned her attention to Cole, “and I am always happy to help.”

  The hostess looked between them for a minute as if sensing the tension. Then she handed them each a menu. “Well, thank you. Here are your menus and your server should be with you shortly.”

  “Is there anybody in this town you don’t know?” Cole asked when the hostess was out of earshot.

  “Of course, the town isn’t that small.”

  No, it wasn’t. While it had a small-town feel, the town was rather large which prompted him to ask the question that was on his mind. “I know this is all a guess, but what do you think the odds are that Fire Beach is the target?”

  Her smile faded as his words hit home. “Honestly, I doubt it. Although it’s possible something gets released here, I fear there is something much bigger and more nefarious underfoot. Fire Beach is a nice place, but we have nothing political to be gained here.”

  “Unless it’s personal.” Cole hoped it wasn’t. He was beginning to like Cara, and as much as he wasn’t sure he liked the feelings he was having towards her, he didn’t want her to be the bad guy. Nor did he want anything to happen to her or her friends.

  “Let’s talk about something else, shall we?” Cara switched the topic as she opened her menu. “You said this might be your last job, but you look too young to retire. What do you plan to do next?”

  That was a very good question and one which Cole didn’t have an answer for. He honestly didn’t even know for sure this would be his last job. What he did know was that, for the first time in years, he was lonely and tired of it. The fact that he was a criminal investigator made it hard enough to find a woman who wasn’t afraid he would use his skills on her, but add to that his time away from home and keeping a relationship was impossible. Or at least it had been the few times he had tried it after… No, he wasn’t letting his mind go there.

  “To be honest? I have no idea. I guess I’d just like a job where I could be home more than I am. Living out of hotels is only fun for so long.” He held her gaze for a moment before dropping his eyes to the menu. It had been a while since a woman had affected him the way Cara did, and he wasn’t quite sure how to handle the emotions coursing through him.

  “I can understand that. I enjoyed moving around with the military at first, but I’ve come to appreciate having a place to call home.”

  He caught the subtle hint of sadness in her voice. “Will you have to go back to active duty when this is over?”

  Cara bit her lip and shook her head. “I don’t know. I only have a few more months before I’d need to re-enlist. I had planned on it because I couldn’t imagine leaving the project unfinished, but now? I’m not so sure.”

  The waitress approached then and took their order. They ate in silence when the food came, but Cole could feel the tension still lingering between them. “What’s your next move?”

  Cara blinked at the sudden question and swallowed her food before answering. “Um, a call to my boss I guess, to see if he can spare some other researchers, and I need to purchase a new laptop. I can’t do much until I have that. Then I’d like to follow up with the hospital to make sure they have the medicine.”

  It wasn’t a detailed plan, but Cole wasn’t sure they could get more specific until they knew more. “Well, I’m not sure what help I can be, but whatever you need, you let me know.”

  Her eyebrow lifted. “You’re staying then? Even though I’m not Steve’s killer?”

  Did she want him to leave or did he hear a note of relief in her voice? “I figure whoever attacked Steve and then you may still be in the area. Until I know for sure, I think it’s best that I stay close. Besides, I have no other clues yet. My lab tech will call if she finds anything else out, but for now? My best chance of catching Steve’s killer is helping you.”

  He meant the words, but he also didn’t mind the fact that his lack of clues gave him an excuse to remain near Cara.

  9

  Cara

  Cara picked up the phone and dialed Malone’s number. After their meal at Fire Dreams, Cole had gone with her to purchase a new laptop, and now that it was up and running and she had downloaded both her and Steve’s most recent research, getting Malo
ne’s help was the next step. She hoped that he could spare some help.

  She hadn’t been close to finding a vaccine on her end, and neither had Steve unless he’d found something in the last month. Without his help, it would take her even longer to find a vaccine and with the looming possibility of an exposure, that was time she didn’t have.

  “This is Malone.”

  “It’s Cara.”

  “Cara? Are you okay?” It had been fewer than forty-eight hours since she’d last spoken to him, but the concern in his voice made it seem as if it had been weeks.

  That was certainly a loaded question considering what she’d been through in the last two days. “I’ve been better. Someone attacked me when I got back to my place yesterday morning. I fared better than Steve, but all of my research is gone as well.”

  “So, whoever did this now has both of your research?”

  “I’m afraid so. I was able to get a new laptop, and Steve and I had both uploaded most of our research to a cloud server. I haven’t checked to see if he had discovered anything new yet, but I was wondering if you could send anyone to help. I have friends here, but none of them are researchers.”

  There was a long pause on the other end. Long enough that Cara held her cell phone out to make sure she hadn’t lost the call. “I’m not sure. It’s been a little busy here, and we’re short staffed already.”

  Was he serious? She knew the department was small, but was there really no one he could spare? Had he forgotten how serious Melioidosis was? “What if they unleash it here?”

  Malone sighed. “I understand your concern, Cara. Somehow, I doubt Fire Beach would be the target of an attack, but I’ll see what I can do. Give me a few days.”

  “Fine.” Disgusted, Cara ended the call. She had hoped Malone would be available to help, but it appeared she was firmly on her own.

  “No luck?” Cole stared at her, sympathy oozing from his gaze.

  Cara shook her head. “Not much. Malone said the department is short staffed, so he isn’t sure he can send someone. Of course, he also believes Fire Beach isn’t the target, so that probably explains his nonchalance. Regardless, one would think he would want a vaccine found for this virus sooner rather than later. Especially now that someone has our research.”

  Cole stood from the chair he had been sitting in and crossed to Cara. “What can I do to help?”

  She issued a sarcastic chuckle and leaned against the fireplace mantle. “Can you map an epitope or run an antigen test?”

  Confusion clouded Cole’s face, and he shook his head. “I’m not even sure what you just said qualifies as English.”

  “Now you see my problem. Fire Beach isn’t exactly teeming with medical researchers and most of what I read would be Greek to everyone else.”

  “Fair enough. You might be the only researcher here, but you seem knowledgeable. I have no doubt you can get the job done.”

  His eyes locked with hers and Cara’s breath stilled. The concern and care in them was so deep and so warm that she felt unable to look away. He felt like a safe haven, a port in the middle of a storm. Why did he have such an effect on her? Before he could say anything else, his phone rang, breaking the connection.

  Regret flooded his face as he retrieved his phone from his pocket. “Sorry, I have to get this.”

  As she watched him exit the living room, her heart fluttered in her chest. She needed to get a hold of herself. She had no time for relationships and certainly not with a man who had come here believing she was a suspect.

  10

  Cole

  As soon as he ended the call, Cole grabbed his laptop from his room and returned to the living room where Cara was immersed in her own screen. “You have a minute?” he asked as he set his laptop on the coffee table.

  She glanced up at him. “I can. What’s up?”

  “That was my lab tech, Wendy. She analyzed more of the items from the crime scene and sent them over. I thought that since you knew Steve better than I did that you might look at them with me to see if we can discover anything.”

  Cara narrowed her gaze at him. Was she too busy or did she perhaps think that he still considered her a suspect and was hoping she would reveal herself?

  “Sure.” She closed her own laptop and moved where she could see Cole’s better.

  He cued up the pictures of the crime scene that Wendy had sent. Cara winced as the first shot with the blood splatter pulled up. “Sorry.” He clicked past it quickly. It must have been hard for her to find her associate.

  “Wait, what was that?” Cara pointed at Cole’s screen and moved her finger in a rewind motion.

  Cole clicked to go back to the previous picture. The photo appeared on the screen and Cole leaned closer. “What is that?” The photo displayed a small gold circular item, but he wasn’t exactly clear what it was.

  Cara leaned closer as well. “Is that a cufflink?”

  A cufflink? Cole had never worn them, so he wasn’t too familiar with them, but he supposed it was possible. “Was Steve the type to wear cufflinks?”

  Cara shook her head. “I don’t know. He never wore them at work, but we had to split up about a year ago. Maybe he got into them during that time? Are there any pictures of the shirts in his closet?”

  Cole clicked forward to see if Wendy had taken pictures of Steve’s shirts. Sure enough, the next few pictures displayed a variety of long-sleeved shirts, but none of them had cufflinks.

  “It doesn’t appear it came from any of his shirts,” Cara said, “at least not any in his closet.”

  Nodding, Cole clicked to return the cufflink to the screen. “So, maybe the person who attacked him left it? Is there something on it?” He hit the zoom button to enlarge the photo and squinted. Though the image grew grainy, it appeared to be a snake on the gold circle.

  “Is that a snake?” Cara asked as she leaned closer.

  “I think so. Does that mean anything to you?”

  “No, but it at least gives us something to look for.”

  11

  Cara

  Cara was knee deep in epitope research when her cell phone rang. She had honestly been expecting it a lot sooner - she’d given her number to everyone at the meeting a few days earlier and told them to call her at the first sign of anything, but the last few days had been quiet. Quiet and nerve wracking.

  She’d spent the mornings researching and sitting on pins and needles waiting for a call. Then Cole or Makenna would force her outside for some air and time off her computer. She would agree and spend some time outdoors soaking in the sun and trying not to check her phone until she couldn’t stand not helping any longer. Then, she would go back inside and stare at the screen for another few hours.

  She hadn’t realized what a toll the waiting and not knowing had taken on her until she felt the tension in every fiber of her body at the ringing of the phone. Snatching it from its place beside her computer, she punched the call button without looking at the caller ID. It didn’t really matter who was calling. “This is Cara.”

  “Cara? It’s Nick. I think we might have our first case over here at the hospital. I’ve already alerted Jack Stone, but I thought you and Cole might like to come interview the victim too.”

  And there it was. The other shoe. Though she had been waiting for it to drop, this was her worst fear come true. She hadn’t wanted to be right about the virus being released on Fire Beach, but she hadn’t wanted it to get released elsewhere either. Perhaps it would be a false alarm. Maybe the case would just be pneumonia or the flu. “Yes, we’ll be right there.”

  Cole looked up from his spot across the room. He had been poring over the crime scene photos again as if something new would magically appear. “Has it begun?”

  A swift nod was all she could manage. “Nick thinks so, but if this is the first case, it won’t take long depending on how it was started. If they got it in the food or water supply…” She trailed off, unable to finish the thought.

  Cole was by her side in
an instant. His hand touched her arm, sending a jolt of electricity through her. “Hey, let’s not think like that. Nick said they had the medicine on hand, right?”

  “Yes, but if it mutated…” Again words failed her.

  “You said that takes time, right?”

  His hand moved up and down her arm, causing her concentration to falter even more. She nodded.

  “Good. Then let’s not jump to the worst-case scenario just yet, okay? We assess and then we act, right?”

  Assess and then act. She let the words wash over her and offered him a ghost of a smile. Cole had been refreshing to have around the last few days. Not only was he smart, but he had this calming influence, and while Cara didn’t often get spun up, knowing she had put her friends at risk had shortened her fuse.

  Squaring her shoulders, she took a deep breath and lifted her chin. “You’re right. We check it out and then we panic if necessary.” She offered the last part with a little humor and was rewarded with the wide smile that crossed Cole’s features.

  “Panic is never necessary.”

  He squeezed her arm before letting go to grab his coat, and she immediately missed the warmth of his touch. What was she doing? This was no time to be falling for anyone, even someone as handsome and intelligent as Cole.

  “You ready?” He paused at the door and turned to her.

  No, she wasn’t ready, but would she ever be? She issued a curt nod and followed him out of the room.

  The ride to the hospital was short and tense. Neither of them spoke, and Cara wished she had words to say, but for the first time in her life, they failed her. A sense of guilt that this was all her fault was the only thing she could think about.

  She pulled into a spot and turned off the ignition, but before she could remove the key, Cole placed a hand on hers. Her gaze locked with his.