Chapter Seven
“Think about it. Two deaths with heart issues, your own heart issues, my father’s suspicious death which may have been an overdose or someone murdering him,” explained Parker.
“The fact that four people in our family have died or been very ill in such a short time is suspicious and the odds are astronomically against it. I wouldn’t be surprised if Gabe and I had gone to the police, that Gerrit would be locked up for a crime he didn’t commit. ”
Parker thought Gerrit was innocent.
“Isn’t there any video of what happened to the drug?” asked Henry.
“No. It was set down and multiple people were passing the cart. It disappeared. However, I can track Gerrit leaving the hospital. Unless he had an accomplice to be there at the perfect moment, he didn’t take it.
Besides, it all is a matter of coincidence.
He never would have gotten the code to the drug dispensary without the resident who talked to Gerrit and he verified Gerrit’s story.
I fully believe it was a set up,” repeated Parker.
“The resident was nervous and told me someone else, a person he didn’t know, had identified Gerrit as Gabe to him.
It could be a total coincidence or on purpose.
It’s hard to say and there is no real evidence. ”
“Someone means ill for our families,” murmured Henry.
“Yes,” agreed Parker before suddenly stopping. “Oh, no.”
Henry looked at Parker in confusion. His cousin’s face held sympathy and sorrow. Looking forward, he saw Molson Colborne sitting on the floor, leaning back against the hallway wall with a hand over his face.
“Does this mean the little girl died?” asked Henry. He had forgotten what Tremblay’s daughter’s name was. She had a genetic disease of some sort and Molson had been frantically trying to save her life over the past two months.
To the point where Ramesly Pharmaceuticals had secretly supplied a drug which wasn’t on the market in an attempt to help. The problem was, if anyone found out, the company could lose its standing with the FDA and be essentially out of business. It was a huge risk Noah had taken.
All because Tremblay, drug king of the city, was holding Molson’s girlfriend Holly hostage.
“Isla Tremblay. I’m guessing so,” replied Parker as he walked over to Molson, crouching down in front of him to talk.
Henry walked to the door frame of the hospital room to find a woman sobbing while holding a small child’s hand.
The child was still, unmoving in the bed and the machines had been turned off.
Henry turned his back on the mother’s grief, looking to Molson who was slumped with defeat against the wall.
He looked almost as bad as Henry, which was saying something.
Parker was still talking softly to Molson who didn’t seem to be listening. A movement down the hall caught Henry’s eye.
Someone was watching them.
Without taking his eyes off the stranger, Henry walked towards him. The man was tall, wearing normal clothes, and had an air of authority. He watched Henry approach.
“She’s gone, isn’t she?” the man asked.
Henry realized he had a tattoo on his neck, similar to one of the ones Molson had on his. “Mr. Tremblay?”
His lip moved in a quirk of a half smile even as his eyes were filled with sadness. “People simply call me Tremblay. Has my daughter passed?”
“Yes,” Henry informed him.
Tremblay nodded. “It’s a shame the drug trial medication didn’t work.”
“You knew it was unlikely it would,” guessed Henry. Tremblay didn’t seem that surprised by his daughter’s death in Henry’s estimation.
“Yet I still had to try. I am her father and I had to give her every chance I could. Anyone would understand that,” replied Tremblay, looking past Henry towards the room where his daughter was.
“Molson did everything he could. I hope you understand that,” cautiously ventured Henry, trying to get a sense of Tremblay’s mood and what he might do.
“I do understand that. His debt is considered paid,” responded Tremblay.
“What about Holly?” questioned Henry.
Tremblay looked at Henry, a mask coming over his face, hiding his grief and making his eyes cold. He pulled out a piece of paper from the inside pocket of his jacket, handing it to Henry. “Dr. Urshman is here. Molson might want to hurry. It’s rather cold.”
Henry looked up from reading the address on the card but Tremblay was already walking down the hall, leaving.
Taking out his phone, Henry put in the address. It was a local park in the city. A large one. Looking over the note, there was nothing else written on it.
“Henry, I’m going to take Molson to my office. Maybe we can continue our discussion later,” said Parker from down the hall as he helped Molson to his feet.
Henry shook his head. He hadn’t realized that both Parker and Molson hadn’t noticed Tremblay was here.
Somehow they had missed the entire conversation.
“No. We need to get to your car as quickly as possible while Molson calls his brother Drew. We need as many people as possible to start a search for Holly.”
“Henry, everyone available is already searching for Holly,” Parker patiently told him.
“Do they know where she is? Because Trembly just gave me an address.” Henry held up the slip of paper. “And she may be alive. He said to hurry because it’s cold outside.”
Molson stumbled forward, snatching the paper out of Henry’s hand. Scanning it, he turned, racing down the hall.
“Molson!” yelled Parker before turning back to Henry in surprise. “Are you serious? Tremblay was just here?”
“Yes. Do you have the detective’s phone number?” asked Henry, pulling out his phone.
“No. I think Max does,” offered Parker. “Molson took the paper with him. Where is he going?”
“To Fountain Park. That was the address. Can you go to the park to search and keep an eye on Molson? I will call everyone and ask them to meet us there,” said Henry as he put the phone to his ear.
Parker nodded, jogging down the hallway towards the elevators.
Henry made his way at a more sedate pace, willing Max to pick up the phone. “Come on, come on.”
“Blow It Up Demolition, Max speaking.”
“Max, we have a lead on Holly’s whereabouts, but I need you to phone Molson’s brother Drew so he can get the police on it,” Henry relayed the address. “It’s Fountain Park.”
“I will call Drew and meet you there with my construction crew,” offered Max. “The more people, the more chance of finding her.”
“I will call Everett, Gabe, and Ben,” mentioned Henry as he made his way onto the elevator. “Good luck.”
He waited until he was on the ground floor before going to the front desk and asking them to call him a taxi while he relayed the information to Ben over his phone.
In the cab, he managed to make the other two calls, requesting an ambulance on standby from Gabe since they didn’t know what kind of condition Holly might be in.
At the park, Henry paid the taxi driver, and wished he were wearing better winter clothes.
It had been a warm day for the first week of March but now that the sun was setting, the cold was creeping rapidly in, reminding him that winter wasn’t quite finished.
Henry hoped they would find Holly soon as a chill went through him from the breeze which seemed to be picking up.
He should have thought about buying flashlights. Henry went on his phone, looking for a local hardware store and gave them a call. He paid an excessive amount for flashlights, blankets, gloves, and a warmer jacket in his size to be delivered to the park.
While he waited for the delivery the ambulance showed up and parked in the parking lot. Then Max and a bunch of other guys showed up in some trucks and vans bearing his company’s logo.
“Do you know where Molson is?” questioned Max as he approached Henry.
“”No. I assume he and Parker went into the park, that is if Parker caught up to him,” responded Henry as he rubbed his hands together.
He knew he wasn’t going to be able to keep up in a walking search but maybe he could help coordinate or something.
Fountain Park had a lot of walking paths, trees, scrub, a river running through it, and some buildings with a few fountains around.
At this time of year it looked dull and desolate.
Hardly anyone was around. The lighting was also poor in the park.
“We will start around the buildings,” decided Max as he talked to his crew. “Check if doors are open or locked. Look in trash cans, dumpsters, everywhere. Don’t think that any place is too small. Check it all over. You all know what Holly looks like from her picture and the last search.”
The men nodded and broke into groups, bringing out flashlights as they walked towards the buildings.
“The police will recheck anything we do anyways but I don’t want to just stand here and wait,” said Max grimly as he looked at the park.
“You can go in. I’m waiting for some flashlights and gloves to be delivered,” mentioned Henry.
“I have extra,” offered Max.
Soon Henry was outfitted with a large flashlight, some work worn gloves, and a heavier coat. The pair of them started walking through the park, looking around for any sign of Holly. In the distance they could see more cars arriving in the parking lot.
“Police are here,” noted Max. “I should probably talk to Drew, tell him what we have covered.”
Henry nodded and kept slowly walking along.
He had no intention of taking any of the harder paths or going through the scrub.
It would be too much for him. He was making his way along one of the walking paths by the river, running his flashlight methodically over the area when the beam reflected back a black garbage bag.
Surely Tremblay wouldn’t? hoped Henry.
Looking around, he could see there was a group near the front of the park, getting instructions from the police on grid searching. They were too far away to yell at and from this angle, likely wouldn’t see Henry.
Gritting his teeth, Henry slowly and carefully made his way down the riverbank. Nearing the bag, he got to his knees and set the flashlight down. Tearing it open, he picked up the flashlight, relieved to see it was only someone’s trash.
Henry had a moment of thanks before getting to his feet.
That was when he slipped in the mud and fell into the cold water.
The water was cold, immediately soaking his clothes up to his chest. It pulled at him, the current trying to make him lose his balance and drag him out further away from land.
In panic, Henry dropped the flashlight as he grabbed some of the shrubs on the side of the bank.
How far had he moved down the bank from where the trash bag was?
Henry didn’t know. Had he gone under? From the coughing fit he was having, Henry thought so.
Pulling himself up into the thicket and sliding in the mud, Henry managed to crawl up the side of the riverbank.
Somehow it had gotten quite dark while this happened and Henry wished he still had his flashlight.
Stumbling along the path, he headed for the light of the buildings and parking lot.
At the very least, the ambulance attendants would be there to assist him.
Shivering violently, Henry gasped for breath, his chest tightening. He wasn’t going to make it to the parking lot without taking a rest.
There was a playset nearby. Heading over, Henry gratefully sat down on the bottom of the slide, trying to breathe properly.
He felt in his pockets for his phone and fortunately it was still there.
He had put it in the inside chest pocket of the jacket and thankfully it was mostly dry even as the rest of him was soaking wet and muddied.
He would call Max, Henry decided. Max knew the building areas. He had seen where Henry had continued to search. He likely would best be able to locate Henry and get him some help.
Some searcher he had turned out to be , Henry thought ruefully as he dialed Max’s number with a shaking hand. He had almost gotten himself killed over a trash bag. He listened to the phone ring before it went to voicemail.
“Max, I’m by the playground near the river.
I’m sure I didn’t get too far from where you left me but I need a hand getting to the parking lot.
I’ll try Parker’s phone next but you're my best bet on finding me since I lost my flashlight,” Henry calmly stated but it was hard to keep the tremor out of his voice as he shivered.
The breeze was picking up to a full on wind at this point and was cuttingly cold.
“I fell in the river so I’m a bit wet. I would appreciate it if you could hurry it up. Thanks.”
Maybe he should call Ben. Ben might be able to locate his phone. He was always going on about technology and geo pins or whatever he called them. Henry was in the middle of finding Ben’s contact information when he noticed in the moonlight a hand resting palm up near his foot.
Heart racing, Henry shakily stood. He slowly moved to look inside the playset under the slide to find someone laying still and silent on the cold hard ground.
It took him two tries to make the flashlight on his phone work.
When the light shone over her, Henry sucked in a breath. Slowly going onto his knees, he placed two fingers on her neck, feeling for a pulse.
Was the pulse there, weak and thready ? Or was it just wishful thinking on his part? His fingers were so cold and his hand was shaking. Henry wasn’t sure. She didn’t seem to be any warmer than he was.
Putting the back of his hand in front of her nose, he could barely feel her breathing.
“Thank you,” murmured Henry.
Her long blonde hair was in a braid, she wore a peasant blouse and jeans. Her feet were bare. She wasn’t dressed for the weather at all. Just how long had she been out here?
He shook her shoulder, calling her name. “Holly. Holly wake up.”
She was limp and didn’t respond.
About to call someone, anyone who might help, Henry jumped when the phone rang in his hand.
Heart racing at the surprise, Henry looked at the display before answering the call. “Max, I need you to come to the playground.”
“We are just finishing this grid. It will probably be maybe five minutes if that’s okay. Can you wait that long?” asked Max distractedly as someone said something in the background.
“I found Holly,” stated Henry before lapsing into a coughing fit.
“What?” questioned Max. “I didn’t quite hear you. The signal is breaking up.”
“I found Holly. She’s alive. We are at the playground on the west side near the river,” rasped Henry. His chest felt so tight. He rubbed at it, wishing he had something warm to wrap himself and Holly in. “Did you hear me? I found her.”
“I’m coming,” stated Max.
Henry listened as Max shouted to the others that Holly had been found and where. It was hard to breathe, decided Henry as he sat abruptly on the cold hard ground. Thank goodness help was coming.
That was the last thought he had before he blacked out.