I pulled up outside the police station just as Nathan was crossing the street. I hopped out of my car and snatched one of the coffees he was carrying. "How did you know that was yours?" He asked.
"The big 'L' on the side was kind of a giveaway," I said. I pecked him on the cheek before taking a sip of my mocha. "Miss me?"
"Did you really have to fly down to New York to meet with your publisher about a book you're never going to finish?" He asked.
"Oh that's what I meant to tell you! I finished my first draft. I stopped by the Haven Herald after we bumped into the Teagues a few weeks ago and they were a huge help coming up with ways to write around the Troubles. My publisher agreed to let me stay around at least until my book is finished. I'm hoping I can push that process out a few extra months and then my contract will run out and I'll be free."
"So you're planning on sticking around?"
"Most definitely, you guys need me around." I grabbed the paper bag he'd been carrying and peeked inside. "Ooh doughnuts." I pulled one out and took a bite as we went inside. "Now what's this business I hear about you not being the chief anymore?"
"Gerst accused me of falsifying police reports to hide the troubles, probably on orders from the Rev."
"What do they expect you to do, tell the truth? Anyone who reads those things would think you were crazy. Of course that's probably exactly what the Rev wants everyone to think."
Nathan held the door to his office open for me. Audrey glanced up at me from the blush she was applying. "Hey, Leila. How was New York?"
"Fabulous as ever. Going somewhere?" I asked.
"I'm going to the parade with Chris. Nathan's taking the graveyard shift."
I made a face at both of them. "I would have stayed in the city another night if I'd known that."
"You don't have to stay here," Nathan said.
"What am I going to go do? Sit at home with my TV and a carton of Ben & Jerry's and lament my lack of a social life? I think not."
"You could go to the boat parade," Audrey suggested.
"I'd rather stay at home."
"Got a visitor for you up front, hun," Laverne said over the intercom. "It's Crocker."
Nathan and I went out into the hall and saw Duke coming towards us. "Leila, you were right," Duke said.
"Whoa, hold on. Did Duke Croker just tell his little sister she was right? Say it again I need to get it on tape," I said.
"This is serious, Leila." He looked at Nathan. "Evi stole your file on the Troubles and gave it to the Rev, she's the reason you aren't chief anymore."
"I knew it! I told you from the beginning, I didn't like her."
"I don't need you to rub it in my face, trust me, I know."
"Is she here?" Nathan asked.
Duke nodded. "I figured here was the best place to do it."
"Let's put her in the break room."
We all turned to walk back down the hall. Right in front of us was a slowing growing puddle of black liquid leaking out from under the bathroom door. "What is that?" I asked.
"Get Audrey," Nathan told me.
I ran back down the hall to his office and opened the door. Chris was standing inside with Audrey and I had to refrain from rolling my eyes. "Nathan needs you, there's something gross coming out of the restroom."
"Isn't that what a janitor is for?" Chris asked. Audrey and I met Nathan back and the door. He'd gotten a key and when he unlocked the door we all say the source of the liquid, one of the officers was lying dead on the ground looking a horrific shade of black.
"What the hell is going on here?" An older man in a suit asked, coming up behind us.
Duke and I stared at the man. "This is Chief Merrill," Nathan said.
"Who are the two of you?" He asked.
"Leila Crocker, I'm a consultant," I told him. Duke slipped around the corner before he had to introduce himself.
"Is that one of my officers?" Merrill asked.
"What caused this?" I asked. Though I had a feeling I knew the answer.
"Could be chemical weapons," the chief said. "You should look into local fanatics, see if anyone would have a reason to attack the police station." He waved us away.
OoOoO
An hour later Audrey was going through a box of things that could possibly contain some sort of poison. "This is stupid," I told them. "Sure the Rev is insane but he isn't crazy enough to kill a bunch of people like this, I doubt anyone in this town is. We should be looking for a Troubled person."
Duke brought Evi over to us. "Are we going to do this now?" Nathan asked.
"Show them what you showed me," Duke said. Evi flipped her hands over and showed us that her fingers and veins in her hands were turning black.
"How long has she been like that?" Merrill asked coming over. "Did you touch the victim, or any of his belongings?"
"No," Evi said.
"This thing is biological and airborne," he said. He turned to address the rest of the room. "Ladies and gentlemen, we may have a biological agent in the building. We cannot allow this contaminate to spread further. Until further notice no one leaves this building, we are on lockdown."
As soon as he was out of earshot I turned to Audrey and Nathan. "This is a Trouble, it has to be. We can't waste time looking for some spiked mail or scrubbing the vents. We need to interview people, find out who they are and who started this."
"Duke, you and Leila should take Evi back to the break room," Nathan told us. I nodded and walked with my brother and Evi towards the other end of the building.
"Am I going to die?" Evi asked.
"No, we'll figure out who's causing this," I told her.
"Leila's right, Nathan and Audrey know what they're doing," Duke told her.
Nathan opened the door and came in with a box. "Merrill wants everyone to surrender their cell phones and weapons."
"Are you kidding me?" I asked. "No."
"Leila, we have to cooperate, we have the badges."
I groaned and pulled out my gun and tossed it in. "I'm not giving up my phone. What if a moment of genius strikes me and I have to write down something for my book?"
"Isn't that what paper is for?" Duke asked.
I shot him a look. "Its not like I actually call people anyway, my only friends are in this building, he doesn't have anything to worry about. Plus if it gets cracked in there he'd owe me the repair cost."
"Fine, he won't notice anyways," Nathan said. He motioned for Duke and Evi to surrender their on cell phones. "I'm going to take this back to the chiefs office and then I'll be back to interview you."
I followed Nathan to Merrill's office. Audrey had some more phones and guns and sat them on his desk. "No one is going to leave this building," Merrill told us. "Anyone who does will be shot on site."
"Shot?" I asked in surprise.
"We cannot risk this getting out," he said.
"So you're willing to kill innocent people who might not even be contagious?"
"I believe you told me you were a consultant? Do your job and only speak when I ask you to consult."
"Has it occurred to you that you might be the one causing this?" Audrey asked.
"You think I'm Troubled?" He asked. "I'm here to stop your kind from taking over this town. The good citizens of Haven are tired of seeing these abominations allowed to break the law." The more he yelled the more the veins on his neck stuck out and quickly they began to turn black. Within moments his entire body was black and he dropped dead seconds later.
"Looks like Haven is out of a chief again," I mumbled.
"We need to find out who's causing this, before anyone else dies," Audrey said. "It probably won't affect me so I can start interviewing people."
"I should be fine too, assuming its transmitted through touch."
"I think that if it wasn't we'd all be dead by now," Audrey told me.
"Alright then, I guess you take half and I'll take half."
"Except Evi, she's mine," Nathan said.
OoOoO
"Did you have direct contact with Officer Stark of Chief Merrill?" I asked the man sitting in front of me. He shook his head and launched into an account of what he'd done since arriving at the police station. This was already the third person that I'd questioned and I was no closer to figuring out who was causing this. "You're free to go."
"Find anything?" Nathan asked.
"Not yet," I told him. "I could go around holding people's hands, eventually Evi's infection will start to go away and we'll know who it is. But I think people might object to holding my hand for the amount of time it would take to see a difference on the infected."
"Have you seen her?" He asked.
"Evi? No. Wasn't she with you and Duke?"
"She was but he can't find her anymore." He reached into his pocket. "Merrill's key card is gone."
"She wouldn't go outside would she?" We both ran towards the main door just in time to see Duke bring Evi inside. "Oh my god, is she ok?" He laid her down and I could see the gunshot wound.
"I'll go get help," Audrey said.
"Why did she go out there?" I asked.
"I don't know," Duke said quietly. He squeezed her hand.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. Her hand went limp in his and Duke stood up. He reached into his pocket and grabbed the key card. Before I could react Nathan had jumped between Duke and the door.
"You can't just run out there, be smarter than that," Nathan told him.
"If you will ever my friend-"
"Your sister is standing right behind you, do you want her to be the next person to lose someone they love."
"Get the hell out of my way," Duke growled. He punched Nathan and I gasped. Duke looked at me and Nathan managed to hit him in the back of the head with the radio to knock him out.
"Oh my god."
"Help me get him to a cell," Nathan said. We dragged Duke down the hall, he was surprisingly heavier than he looked, and into one of the cells. He was waking up as I closed the door.
"Leila, come on, you can't seriously lock me up in here," Duke said.
"Its for your own safety, I'm not going to let you get yourself shot," I told him.
"I'm going to go check on Audrey," Nathan told me.
He went down the hall and I turned back to Duke. One of his hands was resting on the bar and I put my hand on top of his. "I'm sorry about Evi."
"You don't have to pretend like you're upset she's gone," he said.
"No, Duke, listen to me. I am sorry. You cared about her and she cared about you and I didn't give her a chance because I was jealous of someone taking my big brother away from me." I took a breath. "Now I'm going to let you out of this cell, and you're going to promise to not go running outside." He nodded and I unlocked the door.
He stepped out and wrapped his arms around me. "You're the best sister I could ever ask for, you know that right?" He said into my hair. "No one could ever replace you."
"Its over," Nathan said coming back down the hall. "Audrey figured out who was causing the infection and the snipers are gone. We're free to go."
"I'm going to go…say goodbye," Duke said. I squeezed his arm reassuringly as we walked past me.
"Is he going to be ok?" Nathan asked.
"I don't know, I hope so."