A Time to Live and a Thyme for Murder! (Outer Banks Baker Mystery Series Book 3) (2 page)

It had been a tough night for everyone. Jason had worked until dawn as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) had been called in by the governor of North Carolina to investigate the outbreak of illness in their small beach town. Of course, the mayor wanted his best and brightest detectives helping out the Feds. Krissy had been so distraught over nearly running over the already dead body of Mrs. Burnside that she had not argued about staying the night at Melissa’s cottage.

As the sun peeked over the Atlantic Ocean, Melissa sipped her second cup of coffee as she relaxed on the back deck as the two teenagers still slept. Sleep eluded her most of the night as she realized her dreams of a peaceful, uneventful summer were dashed. Now, her beloved town may be in the death grips of a new and strange virus as well. With Mrs. Burnside dead and many others in the hospital, Melissa felt a twisting in her gut that this was just the beginning of another mystery. “Why couldn’t they have just one normal summer?” she asked herself.

A soft knock on the front door came around 5:30 AM. Standing at her door was an exhausted Jason. Worry was etched in the frown lines of his forehead. He had not wanted to leave his daughter that evening, but knew she was in good hands with Melissa and Logan. She hugged him tightly. No words were needed between them. They had only been together two years, but they already had the kind of relationship where sometimes they didn’t even need to speak to know what was on each other’s heart and mind. This was one of those times.

After several moments, Melissa withdrew from Jason’s embrace long enough to close the door behind him. Hand in hand, they walked back out to the deck so they could converse without waking the slumbering kids. With a huge sigh, Jason settled down in the cushioned loveseat he bought for Melissa last summer. Her deck had been littered with single chairs. Unconsciously, she had held back from purchasing seating for two since she had never imagined she would cozy up with someone else after the death of her husband, Kevin, several years earlier. Jason noticed though. The loveseat purchase had been like a test to see if she was indeed ready to give her heart to someone again – to him. She accepted the gift, but it had taken her several weeks before it became her “go-to” chair when Jason was there. The middle-aged cop accepted that all things worthwhile took time, so he willingly waited, uncomplaining.

“So how’s my little girl? Give you any trouble last night?” he finally asked in a weary tone. She assured him Krissy was fine. They spent the night watching corny Mystery Science Theater movies and generally tried to forget about the events of the day. Krissy had balked at the idea of needing a “babysitter”, but thankfully had not put up too much of a fight. It was the one time in years that Jason had put his foot down when it came to his daughter. She was not going to be alone after discovering a dead body earlier that afternoon and that was final.

“Tell me, any connection between poor Ethel and all the folks sick in the hospital?” Melissa asked. She had been shocked when Jason couldn’t get off work to be with his daughter because the CDC had been called in by the governor. The elderly woman had been up there in years, but she had been as spunky and feisty as someone half her age. No one believed she just keeled over from old age. If there was a nasty virus going around affecting the residents of Kill Devil Hills that may explain her sudden passing.

Jason replied, “We’re still waiting on her autopsy report and the lab results from the patients in the hospital. Everyone’s showing the same symptoms; however, the severity of symptoms differs greatly. One young man is mostly recovered already, while poor little Angela Vega is nearly comatose. It’s a mystery.”

Just then Krissy poked her head out of the back door and ran out to her father. It was sweet to see the father and daughter embracing. “Dad, can we go home now?” Melissa intervened by asking if they wanted some breakfast before heading back out, but the young woman already returned to her previously stand-offish attitude. She tersely thanked Melissa for allowing her to stay the night, but was anxious to get home. A chuckle from the doorway indicated Logan was up too. As a teenager, he knew the truce called last night would be short-lived. Jason chose not to argue with his daughter. Thanking Melissa again, he kissed her on the cheek and the duo left. Logan couldn’t resist rolling his eyes as the door closed behind them. He loved his aunt completely and knew Jason did too. He couldn’t understand why Krissy threw up a wall around herself when it came to Melissa. Didn’t she realize just how awesome his aunt really was?

After a quick breakfast of turkey bacon and clementines, the two set off for the bakery on foot. Logan knew better than to broach the subject of Krissy’s attitude with his aunt, but he was reaching the end of his patience with Jason’s daughter. Instead he shifted the conversation to the upcoming picnic with the Hawkins’ family on Friday night. He wanted to surprise his girlfriend Emily by baking something for the event himself. He had helped out in the bakery and knew his way around the kitchen a bit, but he desperately wanted something that would be of his own creation.

As aunt and nephew brainstormed ideas, they rounded the corner to the main street through town. Both immediately stopped speaking and stood completely riveted in place at the sight before them. The entire block had been cordoned off with police tape with guards set up to keep everyone out. On the other side of the block, they could see news vans with large satellite dishes. However, it was the mini-army in HAZMAT suits that shocked them. There had to be at least 50 men and women – couldn’t tell with the full body suits and helmets – roaming the streets with beeping machines and clear garbage bags.

Regaining her composure, Melissa approached one of the cops standing guard on the sidewalk. She didn’t recognize him, so she assumed he belonged with the CDC or another agency. Since dating Jason, she knew all the cops up and down the Outer Banks of North Carolina. “Excuse me, sir,” she began, “Can you tell me why the entire street is roped off? My bakery is just down the block. Will I be able to get there sometime today?” Not one for conversation apparently, he shook his head and pointed to another gentlemen just walking up behind her. The man was clad in a sharp looking business suit with flaming red hair and spectacles.

“May I help you, mam?” he asked politely as she blocked his path. Melissa repeated her question. He sadly replied that the entire area would be off limits for an indefinite period of time while they investigated the apparent outbreak in town. Without another word, he donned a HAZMAT suit handed to him by the guard and walked away.

Melissa and Logan stood there a few moments longer surveying the spectacle their town had become. Their tiny seaside town no longer looked inviting and bubbling in summer fun. It resembled something more out of a horror flick, or even the scene in the movie E.T. when Elliot’s house was taken over by the Feds investigating the little creature from another world. As they turned to walk back home, Melissa’s phone buzzed in her pocket. It was Cheryl, her friend and owner of the soup and sandwich shop across the street from the bakery. She sounded dismayed as she reported that she was at the hospital now with her husband, Ronnie. He now exhibited the same symptoms as the other patients. She was already scared for her husband, but the CDC representatives at the hospital were only making her more frightened. Melissa vowed to get there as soon as possible. Hanging up the phone, she filled Logan in on Ronnie’s condition and the two briskly walked to the next block to hail a cab.

The hospital was bursting at the seams with the recent onslaught of patients with symptoms suspicious of a viral outbreak not seen in the United States in decades. Two entire floors had been reserved just for those patients and CDC personnel. In order to get onto either floor, one had to cover themselves in yellow, bulky HAZMAT gear. No one was allowed off either floor without first being sprayed down with a chemical sanitizer and changed into fresh clothes. Since neither Melissa nor Logan were related to any of the suspect patients, they had to wait for Cheryl to come down to a special waiting room in the basement of the hospital.

Melissa had never seen her friend so pale and distraught. Cheryl had aged at least ten years overnight. She attempted a faint smile as she exited the elevator and saw Melissa. Her friend wasn’t fooled though. She knew Cheryl was petrified for her husband. The three sat down at a small round table in the far corner of the room where a soda vending machine hummed loudly. Wiping a stray tear from her cheek, Cheryl told them all that she knew of the situation. Last night Ronnie started feeling queasy after dinner. Within minutes he was vomiting uncontrollably and so weak he could no longer stand on his own. The paramedics were so concerned about contracting whatever was causing everyone to be sick that they wouldn’t even enter the house until the CDC arrived with sanitization equipment and more HAZMAT suits. To make matters worse, the CDC representative told her that morning that she couldn’t go back to her own home because it was under quarantine. She couldn’t even pick up fresh clothes or her toothbrush. Every patient exhibiting the same symptoms also had their homes or businesses shut down as well.

Melissa explained to her friend that the entire block where their businesses were located had also been quarantined by the CDC. These guys meant business. Cheryl laid her head down on the table in despair. Putting a comforting arm around her shoulders, Melissa vowed to bring her back some clothes, as well as toiletries and some decent food to help keep her strength up. “Whatever you need,” she assured her friend, “I’ll take care of it.”

As Melissa and Logan left the hospital, they passed the same CDC representative they encountered earlier in town. Intrigued by all the high drama ensconcing their town, Logan approached the tall, slender man and introduced himself. “Sir,” Logan began, “can you tell us anything about what is making everyone so sick? We have friends in there and no one is telling us anything.” The gentleman was polite, but obviously in a rush to check on the patients in the hospital. He gave the quintessential “We, the CDC, cannot confirm or deny a viral or bacterial outbreak at this time. We promise to keep the public informed as much as possible. With that response, he hurried into the building.

Unsatisfied, Logan decided to seek out his buddy Tanner Wiggins to see if he could help him snoop around. Not the brightest bulb in the socket, Tanner had the access he needed and was always easy to talk into just about anything. Of course, Logan didn’t want to worry his aunt so he excused himself on the premise of using the time to catch up with his surfing buddies since they couldn’t go into the bakery that day. Melissa suspected something was up with her nephew, but was too engrossed in her own concerns for her friend to worry about him.

As Melissa went back to her own house to round up some clothes to fit Cheryl and some travel size toiletries, Logan called up Tanner to meet him at The Surf Shack in thirty minutes. Tanner was the son of the county coroner and a complete beach bum. It wouldn’t take much convincing to get Tanner on board with his plan. He wanted a preview of the autopsy results on Mrs. Burnside. Then, if anyone else unfortunately died of the same thing, they could conclude whether there really was a disease incapacitating the local townsfolk or something else entirely. He had heard of outbreaks of diseases that had been considered eradicated reappearing in the Midwest, but never anything all the way out on the east coast. Almost as an afterthought, he called up Emily on his way to meet Tanner. She was the smartest person he knew, and she had confided to him earlier in the year that she hoped to pursue a career in medicine. He hoped she would research the symptoms so they could narrow down what they were dealing with. Logan wasn’t happy people were getting so sick and he was less happy about the town being overrun by the CDC, but he loved a good mystery. Perhaps they could figure this out before the Feds did.

Emily readily agreed and went to work immediately. She even called up her father, Joey Hawkins, who worked for the State Department in Washington, DC. Perhaps he could light a fire under someone there to find out what the CDC knew already and wasn’t telling anyone. Tanner was already waiting for Logan at The Surf Shack with a bag of Crab Chips and two sodas. Since last summer, he had stopped disguising beers as sodas. His dad had discovered a Yeti cooler with several such camouflaged cans and had not been amused. Tanner also spent the first part of the school year in an alcohol abuse prevention program that had scared the boy mostly straight. At least enough to not take unnecessary chances getting caught.

Logan unveiled his plan to Tanner who was not as keen on the idea as Logan had hoped. Apparently, Dr. Wiggins had his son on a lockdown after catching him going through bags of unclaimed personal belongings left at the morgue. He had only been looking for money, but it had been enough to infuriate his dad. As the boys discussed the strange goings on in the town, a radio blared from inside The Surf Shack with the familiar beep of the emergency broadcast system. The message following the beeps was downright frightful. The CDC representative, introduced by the mayor as Dr. Brian Nelson, explained that the entire town of Kill Devil Hills was under a federal quarantine until such time as the CDC could determine the cause of the outbreak, treat everyone infected, and until such time as they could conclude the town was free of the contagion. He instructed everyone to go about their daily business, but to limit exposure to anyone outside their own home and to completely avoid contact with anyone exhibiting symptoms of the disease – nausea, vomiting, and dizziness. As the camera zoomed in on the doctor’s face, he sternly advised that medical attention be sought at the first sign of illness. “The governor has declared a state of emergency in Kill Devil Hills until this situation is resolved. Blockades will be set up around the perimeter of the city. No one, including tourists, can enter or leave the area until otherwise advised.” The doctor concluded his speech by informing residents that anyone acquainted with the patients already in the hospital would be interviewed by CDC personnel within the next 24 hours. Logan and Tanner looked at each other incredulously. Both shocked to find their little town on a government-mandated lockdown.

Almost immediately after the broadcast, Logan’s phone rang. It was his aunt’s boyfriend, who also happened to be a local police detective. Logan and Melissa were needed at the precinct for questioning by the CDC. He couldn’t relay any specifics to the young boy. However, he indicated that the Feds had a working theory of the origins of the outbreak. Based on the current list of patients in the hospital being treated, they all had eaten at Cheryl’s Seaside Sundries in the last 72 hours. Seeing as Melissa’s bakery provided all the breads for Cheryl’s shop, both establishments were under intense scrutiny. Logan hurriedly said goodbye to Tanner and raced off towards the precinct just a few blocks away.