32. Chapter 32
Chapter 32
Elise
O f course, Detective Jerkface found a way to blame Tara’s situation on me, even though I’d tried to call the police ahead of time. What on earth made him think I would reach out to him in a crisis when all he’d ever done was dismiss, and insult me?
He was doing this because ignoring my warning made his department look bad now that Tara was in a coma. Better to let some girl he barely knew take the fall than one of his own.
I pressed the lock button on my car key multiple times while I rushed toward the stadium. Arguing with that idiot over the phone had made me late for practice. I’d be lucky if the team hadn’t already started their run by the time I got changed. Maybe I’d better give Pete a heads up that I was running behind before going into the locker room. Luckily, his office was on the way.
I rapped on the door once before swinging it open. Both Pete and Sophie’s heads jerked up. Pete was kneeling beside his daughter with a needle plunged into her upper arm. He quickly stood and jerked the syringe back.
“Ow,” Sophie whined, rubbing the injection site.
“Oh sorry, Sweetie. Here ya go.” He laid a Band-Aid over her skin, then rushed to shove the syringe and a few vials into a duffel bag. “Meet ya out on the track.”
Thumping her on the back, he turned his attention to me. “Somethin’ I can help ya with, Elise?”
A glaring Sophie stomped past me, clutching her arm.
“Um, what was that?” I pointed to the now closed bag.
“Oh, ya know, just Sophie’s regular dose of insulin.”
I shook my head. “Sophie always does her insulin herself and never before a workout—that could make her sugar dangerously low.”
Pete’s smile looked forced. “When did you become an expert on diabetes?”
“I’ve run with Sophie for over four years now, and I asked her a lot of questions about it in the beginning…” before she decided that she hated me.
“Well, today, we’re doing the type of workout that actually raises her sugars, and I don’t want her to get sick.”
“I thought today was a distance run. That’s the kind of exercise that causes lower sugar levels, not higher.”
Did I mention that I’d talked with Sophie a lot when we were first getting to know each other?
“That wasn’t insulin. What was it?”
Pete ran a hand through his silver hair. “Look, Elise, why don’t you close the door and have a seat?”
I took a step back, half of me inside the office while the other half was in the hall. “Are you doping Sophie with erythropoietin, or have you found a better drug?”
“Erythropoietin is something the body makes naturally. Adding a little extra just gives it a healthy boost.” Pete’s voice was lowered, his eyes pleading.
“It’s cheating.” My tone was icy. “Is this how you got so far in your running career? You do realize how reckless it is to use that stuff on your own daughter who already has health issues.”
“It’s natural. It’s produced in the kidneys.”
“You’re delusional.” I turned and walked back down the hallway.
“Elise wait,” Pete called after me. “We can work this out.”
“This is a joke. I quit the team,” I called over my shoulder.
Before he could say more, I broke into a run, not stopping until I reached my car. Obviously, Pete wasn’t the man I thought he was. So much for collegiate Cross-Country. What now, Dad?