CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Angus walked into the emergency room and saw Terrance Jefferies right away. He headed in his direction, seeing the worry on the teen's face. "Terrance?"

"Please, find out something. They haven't told us anything yet." Terrance gripped Angus's arm. "They'll talk to you."

Angus heard the grief in the young man's voice. He couldn't blame him for his worry. With all he'd dealt with over the last week, he had every reason to be upset. "Easy. They'll come out as soon as they have something to tell us. For now, why don't you tell me what happened?" He glanced past Terrance to the two adults who had stood when Terrance had grabbed Angus's arm. His brother, who hadn't even looked up from his phone, sat slumped in a chair. "You must be Terrance's parents. I'm Detective Young, and this is Detective Franks. We've spoken on the phone."

"Yes, Detective, thank you for coming." Mr. Jefferies gripped his son's shoulder. "Let's take a seat and try to stay calm."

Terrance looked ready to argue, but took a deep breath and sat down. "Sorry, I'm just so scared. He was turning blue. He said his chest hurt and it was hard to breathe, then he had a seizure. I freaked out."

"Does Tom have any medical conditions?" Franks asked as he sat down beside Angus.

"No, none. He's never had any problems." Terrance's eyes were filled with tears. "Do you think someone tried to kill him?"

Angus recalled that Tom's most feared way of dying was to be poisoned. That was exactly something that might cause these medical issues. "I don't know. Let me go see if I can talk to the doctor and get an update. I'll be right back. While I'm gone, tell Detective Franks what exactly happened." Angus stood, wanting to let the doctor know to check for poisoning. If this was related to the case, it should be the first thing they look for. He quickly made his way to the nurses' desk up front and showed his badge. "If I could speak to the doctor treating Tom Eckhart, I may have information he needs on his condition."

"Go on back." She glanced at her computer screen. "Room seven."

"Thanks." Angus made his way back. He weaved through people and gurneys that lined the area until he saw room seven. He watched several people in the room doing different tasks but didn't see the doctor. He took a step into the room. "Excuse me, I'm Detective Young. You're going to want to check him for poisons. This is related to a case I'm already working on."

He saw one of the nurses frown. "Do you know what kind of poison?"

"No, it could be anything, but I'm guessing he was exposed to something. Probably ingested it." Angus stared at Tom who was unconscious as he lay flat on the gurney. Angus could see his chest rising, showing that he was breathing, but knew from experience that the numbers on the machine by the bed weren't good. His blood pressure was low, as were his oxygen levels.

"Suicide?" the nurse asked.

Angus shook his head. "No."

She frowned deeper. "I'll let the doctor know." She swept by him and into the hallway.

Angus stood there a bit longer, watching as a woman drew blood, then labeled each vial. When she stepped out, Angus went farther into the room to stand beside Tom's bed. He placed his hand on the boy's arm, feeling how cool his body was. "Terrance is in the waiting room. He needs you. Stay strong and hold on for him," Angus said softly. He had to find out who was doing this to the kids. Right now, his attention was on everyone who lived at Terrance's home. He really doubted Terrance would hurt Tom, but he couldn't take his doubt as a sure thing. He'd been shocked in other cases. He didn't think it was the parents, and that left Terrance's brother, Johnny. But his size and age made Angus hesitate. It wasn't impossible that he could have lifted the girls, but did he even have a driver's license? Where would he get a car? And what reason would he have to kill off his brother's friends? It was all stuff he would need to look into.

Angus leaned close to Tom's ear again. "You're strong. You can pull through this. Keep holding on."

"Detective?" A man walked into the room.

Angus straightened. "Detective Young." He offered his hand.

"Dr. Monroe. You say you think this boy was poisoned?" The doctor raised a brow.

"Long story, but a case I'm working has several teenagers dying. All of them, including Tom." Angus nodded toward the bed. "Talked about how they would hate dying most. Every single one who has died has died in the way they feared. Tom's fear was being poisoned. I can't tell you with what or how, but it would be the first thing I looked at."

"His symptoms match several types of poisoning. I've got the lab rushing his blood work. Until we know what he ingested, I can't do much more than we're already doing. He's improving with what we're doing and hopefully will continue to do so as we find out more." The doctor checked something on the computer, then turned back to Angus. "I'm about to go out and talk to his parents now."

Angus sighed. "His parents are out of town. He was staying with his best friend. They are as close as brothers. I know you are limited in what you can share with them, but I promise you that Tom will do better if you allow Terrance to be with him for a bit. I'm sure the parents are on their way home now, but until then…" Angus's voice trailed off.

"I will do what I can. Right now, my main concern is getting his blood pressure up and finding out if he has been poisoned. Will you be staying as well?" the doctor asked.

"No, but if anything should change or there are problems, you can call me anytime." He handed his card to the doctor. "If our investigation finds anything that might help you, I'll call you, but you're probably going to find answers before we do."

"Let's hope so. Horrible that someone is attacking our teens. I've seen the news. Is this part of that drowning and strangulation?"

Angus nodded. "But let's keep that quiet for now. The last thing you need is media attention while Tom's recovering." And Angus prayed that he would recover. Looking at how pale the kid was right now, he wasn't sure.

"Agreed." The doctor sighed. "I'll walk out and talk to the family, but as they are not Tom's family, I'm limited in what I can share. I'll do my best to keep them informed, but let the parents know they can call me if they're going to be a while getting here. I will allow Terrance to see Tom for a few minutes, but then he needs to go. Tomorrow, we'll have a better idea on Tom's condition and perhaps he can spend more time with him then."

"Thank you. That will mean a lot to the boys." Angus was glad Terrance would at least get to see Tom for a few minutes tonight. Angus and the doctor walked out to the waiting room.

The moment Terrance saw them, he ran toward them. "Is he okay?"

Angus gripped Terrance's shoulder as his family came to stand behind him. "I saw him. He's not out of danger yet, but he's better than when they brought him in. We need to give them time to work on him, then if he's stable, you can go see him."

The doctor nodded. "I'm Doctor Monroe. The detective is correct. Give us some time to make sure he's stable and I'll let you in to see him for a few minutes. Not long, mind you. We're still working out what is going on. Does he have any food allergies or medical issues that you know of?"

Terrance shook his head. "No, nothing. He's healthy. He plays basketball. He can eat anything. I'd know if he had any allergies. We've been friends for years. I know everything about him."

"What did he eat today?" the doctor asked.

"We had pancakes for breakfast, then made a frozen pizza for lunch, and Mom made meatloaf for dinner. It's all stuff we've had before." Terrance glanced at Angus. "I was with him all day. No one got near enough to poison him. Mom and Dad were at work. Tom and I just gamed all day. We didn't leave the house. Hell, other than the kitchen and bathroom, we didn't leave the basement. We heard about Gail and were upset and scared. We were extra careful."

"Johnny, were you there all day?" Angus asked.

The young boy's head snapped up from where he'd been paying attention to his phone. "What?"

"Were you home all day too?" Angus repeated.

"Yeah, I was. I was in my room. I ate breakfast with them, but I skipped lunch. Mom made me come out for dinner, then again to come here." He shrugged.

Franks met Angus's gaze, and he knew that Franks was thinking the same thing he was. It had to be someone in the house that somehow gave Tom poison, if that was really what was wrong with him. Right now, they had no evidence. He couldn't arrest someone on a hunch. He needed to wait this out and see what the hospital tests found, then he'd start interviewing family members. He rolled his shoulders, trying to figure out how to play this. Making accusations he couldn't back up with evidence would just upset everyone.

"I'll be back out with another update soon and perhaps you can see him then. We are doing everything we can for him. Please, if his parents arrive, let the nurse at the desk know." Dr. Monroe gave the family a nod, then turned left.

"I can't believe this is happening." Terrance fought to hold back tears.

His mother pulled him to her, hugging him tightly. "We'll get through this. It's been a horrible week."

Terrance towered over his mother, but in that moment, he looked like a frail child as he clung to her, his head buried against her shoulder. "I love him, Mom."

"I know you do. We'll be here until we know for sure he's going to be okay. We won't leave him." She rubbed her hand over Terrance's back.

Angus swallowed hard, unable to avoid getting caught up in the emotion. A little over a year ago, this would have hardly affected him, but now that he had Lance in his life, he understood all too well how agonizing it would be to see someone you love clinging to life. He prayed he would never be in Terrance's position. "We're going to go, but the hospital will call us once they can give an update. Tomorrow, we'd like to come over and speak to you some more." He said the words to Mr. Jefferies but meant them for everyone.

"Sure, I have to work, but Wanda will be home with the boys. I can get away to meet with you. Just give me a call." Mr. Jefferies handed Franks his card. "We'll do anything we can to help. If this is related to the other teens' deaths, we want to put a stop to it."

"Thanks. We'll call in the morning and schedule things. If anything changes overnight that we need to be aware of, please let us know. Terrance, stay alert," Franks warned.

Terrance nodded. "I'm not going near anything that can fall on top and crush me." He said it with a joking tone, but his eyes were serious and scared.

"Good." Angus hated leaving the boy. He wanted to put him in protective custody to protect him, but he didn't have the evidence he needed to do that yet. He had to find a break in this case. He couldn't go off hunches. He needed something solid. Everything in his gut said to take Terrance with him, but he had nothing to back up that hunch. He'd get outside, talk to Franks, and hope that his partner could either calm his nerves or give him something to work with that he hadn't seen. "We'll talk in the morning." He said his goodbyes and followed Franks out to the parking lot.

"I don't like this," Franks said once they were alone. "If poison was used, it came from inside that house."

"I was hoping you'd tell me I was crazy for feeling the same thing." Angus sighed.

"Sorry." Franks paused under one of the streetlights in the parking lot. "We need to interview Johnny." Franks ran his fingers through his hair. "Other than the parents, he's the only other link. I don't think Terrance is killing off his friends. Especially now that Tom's been attacked. That kid is head-over-heels for that boy. He wouldn't hurt him."

"I agree. And I don't think it's the parents. What do we know about the family?" Angus started walking toward his car again.

"The parents married three years ago. Terrance and his mother moved in with Johnny and his father. No problems reported. Sounds like the boys never bonded, but they both are so into their own worlds that it wasn't an issue. Both boys are good students, no issues at school for either one of them. Both parents are successful and work a lot. The principal at the high school says both parents attend Terrance's games on a regular basis. Johnny is active in several computer clubs at school, and again, both parents have shown him support." Franks slid into the car as soon as Angus unlocked the door.

"We've got to find a lead. My gut says we need to take a closer look at Johnny, but I have nothing to back that up other than he was in the house when the death conversation happened. He could have overheard it. What I don't get is how he got a car and took Gail? How did he carry that bucket of dried cement and manage Fiona as well? He could have easily snuck out to attack Elizabeth. And how would he poison Tom with everyone around? It sounds like Tom and Terrance ate the same things." Angus started the car.

"I'm with you on all of this. We'll see if the parents will allow us to interview Johnny tomorrow. It's the best we can do right now. We can't even add Tom to the victim list until we find out for sure it was poison that caused his problems. There are a number of things that could have caused him to have a seizure. We should probably sit down one on one with each of the parents as well. We'll need to check Gavin's alibi for tonight, but I'm betting he hasn't left the house. Besides, Gavin's fear of death was starvation. That's not something easily accomplished. He'd have to be taken and held somewhere for days." Franks leaned his head against the window. "We can't do more until we hear from the hospital. We might as well get some sleep and start fresh in the morning."

Angus agreed. He drove them back to Lance's and Franks waved goodbye as he got into his car. Tomorrow would have to be soon enough. As Angus walked into the quiet house, he realized his weekend was shot and Lance would be on his own while once again he worked a case. It was becoming too common. Still, it was his job and Lance had signed on when they started dating, knowing what he was getting into. It just sucked that he was sacrificing time with Lance for the job yet again.

He quietly undressed and showered before sliding into bed beside Lance. When Lance wrapped him in his arms and kissed his neck softly, Angus finally relaxed. No matter how busy work was, he always had Lance to come home to, and that was everything to him.