wrath of the Sea Queen (214 page)

He decided to find something to eat to pass the time. 
That was a
nother improvement. 
Pete
hadn't eaten a decent breakfast in weeks because
food early in the morning
always made him sick.  His appetite waned considerably
with the worsening of his illness
.  Now, however, Pete was quite hungry. 

On his way to the kitchen, Pete noticed
a
light
down the hall
near the room
where Lorrie's clinic supplies were kept.  Perhaps Dr. Erickson was in there.  He decided to stroll down the hall to say
good morning
and share the good news with her. 
Pete
also wanted to thank her and ask her a few questions about the treatment. 
He
was curious to know more about how they would proceed.  Would he need more treatments?  Did she think this was a permanent cure or temporary
symptom
relief?  Pete was even more curious to know if his sudden improvement was the result of Dr. Erickson's treatment or C
a
eli
’s
magic trick.  Perhaps it was both.  All Pete knew was that h
adn't
felt
this good in months
and hoped it would stay that way
,
regardless of how it happened.

When Pete reached the room and looked inside, he
found
a dark-haired lady moving about, but it was not Dr. Erickson.  The lady was trying to be quiet as she collected a few items from the room.  In particular, she was collecting materials used in
his
treatment the prior evening.  Pete wondered why she would want any of that.

"
Lorrie?  What are you doing here?
"

The lady turned
suddenly
, startled to see
Pete
standing there.  Lorrie quickly dropped the items she h
e
ld into
the stainless steel
garbage can.

"
Pete?  Is that you?  My!  You are looking well.  Have you been getting treatment?
"
  Lorrie recovered quickly and put on her best smile.  She walked over to place her hand on Pete's shoulder and get a closer look at him. 
This was the first time
Lorrie
had
encountered him
since his father's funeral a few months ago.  She knew Pete suffer
ed
from the same exposure that killed his father, only on a smaller scale. 
Though he received less of the toxin, it was still killing him. 
It would take Pete longer to die
than the others
. 
In a way, Pete was not really the lucky one of the group that had been poisoned,
merely
the last one. 
It was a
drawn out and
miserable way to
die
.  Lorrie
had been
careful to
avoid
Pete
, knowing what was
in store for him
. 

Pete reflexively took a step back from her touch.  Lorrie shrugged, turning
away
to finish what she
doing
. 

"
Well, it
's good to see your improvement,
"
Lorrie said casually.

"
Thanks, Lorrie.  I am feeling pretty good today.  So, what are you doing?  Apela didn't mention that you would be here.
"

"
I stopped by to get some supplies for a patient I'm going to see, but I found all this mess and wanted to clean up before I left.  Leaving these used supplies lying around is a biohazard.  I
w
ould get into a lot of trouble if anyone saw this
mess
,
"
Lorrie offered a plausible explanation as she dropped a burning match into the garbage bin.  After the initial flames died down, Pete watched the rest of the
flammable
materials turn to ash in the can.  Lorrie continued to move about the room,
collecting
several items
and placing them
in
to
a backpack.

"
I won't keep you, Lorrie.  I just wanted to see who was down here,
"
Pete finally said as the flames died out.

"
I suppose you were expecting to find Dr. Erickson.  She must be the one who
's been treating you.  I
caught
her
presentation
.  She seemed so prim and proper.  I didn't figure her to be the messy sort.  Her husband,
on the other hand
,
is quite
an interesting fella.  I spoke to
Ben
and Vin for a few minutes, but didn't have
much
time to socialize, what with the fire and all.  I hop
ed
to get a chance to say hello today.  Where is everyone this morning?
"

"
Probably still asleep
;
i
t's only six o'clock.  I'm not even sure why I'm up this early.
"
  Pete
hadn't
realized that Lorrie knew about Dr. Erickson and the others staying at the hotel. 
Maku said their stay here was a secret.  Pete supposed that
Apela must have told
Lorrie
. 
I
t did make sense for Lorrie to be here
.  A
fter all
, t
his was her lab and her equipment.  Why, then, did Pete feel like he caught her with her hand in the cookie jar?  It must be like she said, because he expect
ed
to find Dr. Erickson and was surprised to
discover
Lorrie instead.

"
Oh well, maybe
I can catch up with them another time
.  I've really got to be running along.  Perhaps I
wi
ll see you later.  Say hello to your father for me.
"
  Lorrie nudged her way
around
Pete, who
block
ed
the door
way
.

Pete
wonder
ed
if he heard her correctly.  His father was dead.  As
Lorrie
slipped
by
Pete
,
a sharp object
stung
his arm. 
Looking
down,
he
realized
that Lorrie
had
pricked his
skin
with a needle
and injected a small amount of a clear liquid into his arm
.

"
Lorrie, what was that?  What did you do?
"
 
Pete
realized, too late, that
he
had, indeed,
hear
d
her
correctly
.

"
I'm sorry, Pete.  I truly am.  You should not have come down here.
"
 

Pete's vision began to
dim
.  He leaned against the wall for support and then slid heavily down it.  Lorrie hauled his unmoving body into the lab, pulled him into a corner, and threw a blanket over
the top of
him.  Hopefully, no one would
miss
him
before she had a chance to finish what she needed to do at the hotel
. 
Lorrie
turned out the light and made sure the door was locked as it closed behind her.  Lorrie silently made her way to the next room
on her list
.

Ben woke before Salma and went in to get a shower
, hoping to ease the stiffness in his back
this morning.  He
reached
around to the stitches that Salma had so carefully sewn
on his back
.  Her work was so precise that he could barely tell they were there.  It was handy having a
renowned
doctor for a wife. 
S
alma
was his w
ife.  It still sounded unbelievable.  Ben could hardly believe that
Salma
had
agreed to marry him
;
much less that
it had already been
three
incredible
months
since they were wed
.  Fortune
had
smiled on him the day he met
Salma
.

Now,
Ben
just
needed
to find a way to solve the last few pieces of this puzzle
in order to
keep her safe.  If he could
discover
the one thread that
linked Salma's troubles to C
a
eli's problems
and
how
those
related
to Max
,
Ben knew he could unravel it.
 
He already had the majority of the problem outlined, but that last piece, the reason for Scott's
specific
interest in Salma, still eluded him
. 
Because Ben knew Scott's father, he also knew that Scott was not in this for the secret to Salma's research like his uncle had been.  Scott would have had his own agenda.  Ben needed to figure out what that was before
it
was too late to do anything about it
.