Lethal People by John Locke

Author:John Locke [Locke, John]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781440151712
Amazon: 1440151717
Publisher: Bill
Published: 0101-01-01T08:00:00+00:00

23.

THE STATION I’D been watching had shown photos that chronicled the entire event, starting with the two women jogging out of the resort entrance and ending with pictures taken from the opposite angle, as the satellite moved out over the Atlantic. The final photo showed the van turning left onto a narrow overgrown path.

But CNN had dug up a computer imaging expert who was displaying close-ups of the three people standing by the van. Baxter Childers was on a split screen with CNN news anchor, Carol Teagess.

“Dr. Childers, good as these photos are,” she said, “we still don’t have quality resolution on the faces, though we’re told Homeland Security is moments away from providing definitive photos. Are you prepared to tell us at this point whether one of these women is your wife, Monica?

“There’s no doubt in my mind,” he said. “Monica’s the one standing between the other two. The jogging outfit she’s wearing in the photographs is the same one she laid out on the chair the night before she disappeared.”

“And you said she left the hotel room early Tuesday morning while you were sleeping.”

“She always jogs around sunrise, so yes I’m usually sleeping when she gets up.”

“Dr. Childers, if you’re right, this is visual proof that Monica was kidnapped by a man and woman driving a white van.”

A third person appeared on the screen, and Carol said, “We are joined by Duval County Sheriff Allen English, the officer in charge of heading up the search team. Sheriff English, you’ve had fifteen hundred people combing the area for four days. These satellite photos clearly show the kidnappers took Monica Childers a mere six hundred yards from the hotel room the Childers occupied last Tuesday. How is it possible you missed the van or any evidence of Monica?”

The sheriff gave a withering look and said, “Because the van and Monica were gone by the time we learned she’d been missing.”

“We now know the van turned left on a small path,” Carol said. “Any chance your people missed that particular spot?”

“None whatsoever. Our search began from the beach and moved inland to AIA, so we hit that area a few hours into the search.”

“I’m told that since these photos were released, you’ve had a forensic crew working at the site. Any new evidence yet?”

“Nothing I can report at this time,” he said.

“But you’re working on it?”

“We are,” he said.

“Thank you, Sherriff,” Carol said, and I muted the sound.

To Callie, I said, “I gave her a lethal injection. There’s no way she could have survived.”

“What did you use?”

“Botulinum toxin.”

Callie laughed. “Maybe she’s been pumped so full of Botox she’s become immune!”

“Maybe Victor had someone pick her up after we drove off, someone who gave her a dose of Heptavalent.”

“Is that some sort of anti-venom?”

“It’s an antitoxin, but yeah, it works the same way. Botulinum paralyzes the respiratory muscles, but its effects can be reversed with Heptavalent. It’s not a perfect science, and it takes weeks or even months.”

“Thanks, doctor,” Callie said sarcastically. Then she added, “You think Victor’s behind this satellite thing?”

“Has to be.

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