Chapter 17
“How long will it take to get results?" I asked Brenda at her office after she’d done the draw.
"I can put a rush on the toxicology screening. Probably take a couple of hours.“
“I don't think you’re going to find anything standard about her tox screen.” I described Kara’s symptoms to Brenda.
"It could be any number of things. But I'll see what I can do."
She had all the tools at her disposal, like gas chromatography mass spectrometry. If she dug deep enough, I was sure she could find something.
I made a call to Piper via an encrypted messaging app.
She was a contact I had made on another adventure.
The 19-year-old goth girl was the definition of rebellious, but she was a damn good hacker.
This would be right up her alley. But our connection was uncertain at best. She’d been working with a vigilante group whose actions I couldn’t necessarily condone.
I didn’t know if she’d be willing to help. Plus, she was almost an hour away.
"Didn't expect to hear from you," she said when she answered.
"Well, you know, I just like to keep in touch from time to time."
She laughed. "What do you want?”
"I have something that might be a fit for you.”
"A job?”
"Something like that.” I gave her a basic overview of the situation and talked about the constraints we faced with the data files.
"There are ways around all that.”
"That's exactly what I wanted to hear. Can you make it happen?”
"Given enough time.”
"Time is not our friend. We’ve got less than 48 hours at this point.”
"Why so urgent?”
"Lives depend on it." I told her the story.
"Are you asking for a favor, or is there a fee involved?”
"Name your price.”
"My skills are in high demand, and qualifications are few and far between.”
"Give me a number.”
She did, and it was reasonable. Piper probably thought she was coming in high, but it's all relative.
"There's a catch. You need to come to Coconut Key.”
"What for?”
"For reasons mentioned. I don’t have time to drive up there, and I can’t send it to you. This is high-level stuff that requires absolute secrecy.”
"This is sounding interesting.”
“Can I count on you?”
She scoffed. “You wouldn’t have called otherwise. You know I’m solid.”
I knew Piper was loyal and committed to causes she believed in. She’d helped Savannah and me in the past.
“I need gas and meal expenses, plus a per diem,” she added.
I laughed. "That's fine. Just get your ass down here.”
"When do you need me?”
"Yesterday.”
"Give me an address.”
I told her where she could find the Avventura.
I hesitated, then asked. "How’s Savannah?”
Piper didn’t respond right away. "You know I can't discuss other associates.” After a pause, she added, "But she's good.”
There was an awkward silence, and I thought it best to leave it at that. Savannah and I had parted ways amicably. We both thought it was the right thing to do given our current trajectories, which were sometimes diametrically opposed to one another.
"I can be down there in an hour and a half,” Piper said.
"Call me when you're twenty minutes out.”
"Copy that.”
I ended the call and slipped the phone back into my pocket. Then we set out to talk to the waiter who served Kara the day she took the job.