"Damon, you were implicitly told in no uncertain terms that you were not to bring up the Bradley's. What the hell is wrong with you?" Elijah sneers, his voice even but I can see the anger brewing behind those dark eyes of his.
"We owe it to the Bradley's to do everything in our power to help bring the killer or killers to justice. We made this promise when we showcased Ben's story on that episode. How can you wash your hands of it now?" Damon snaps, his blue eyes blazing hot as well. They stare at each other for several seconds before Elijah steps back. And when he does, Damon turns on Mayor Lockwood.
"Mayor, you promised that you would help us out when we started this show," Damon yells, throwing up his arms in frustration. When Tobias added his two cents worth, demanding that we don't bring up this case again, Damon stormed out, knocking over a chair on the way out. I started to go after him but he was already in his car, squealing the tires as he drove off into the night.
As soon as I walk back inside the station, the three stooges are still in a huddle. Obviously upset, I watch Elijah run his hand through his always perfectly coifed hair. I've never seen that happen before. Tightening my lips, I walk over to join them.
"Just what was that exactly?" I ask, my gaze darting from Elijah to Tobias and finally to Richard. Why did you three jump all over him? What did he say that hadn't already been said on our previous shows that set you all off?"
"The Bradley's have been through enough, Elena," Tobias says, looking down his nose at me.
"The Bradley family wants answers. You know this, Elijah."
"That may be, Elena, but you two were told in no uncertain terms not to bring up the Bradley case and Damon chose to ignore my warning."
"What are you going to do about this, Mr. Fell? You hired Damon for a reason. From what I know about his work in Chicago, once he got his nose in a story, he didn't give it up till there was a resolution. Isn't that what you want in a reporter?"
"Elena, now that's enough," he says dismissively.
"If you didn't want a bulldog journalist, why did you hire him and offer him his own show? Was this unsolved mystery format what you hired him for?"
"Elena," Richard starts to say in a placating tone. Knowing what's in Amber's diary, I have a hard time even looking at him. Somehow I manage to slip the mask on when I turn my eyes to his.
"What, Mr. Mayor?"
"The Bradley family is distraught and overcome with grief. They should be left alone to grieve their son. Wasn't it enough that their daughter killed herself?"
"Mayor Lockwood," I fume. "If this was Tyler, would you not want everything humanly possible to be done to identify his killer?"
"What are you getting at?"
"You know very well what I'm getting at. And another thing," I start to say, my voice full of contempt. "Where do you get off, any of you for that matter, speaking for the Bradley family? I talked to Mrs. Bradley. She wants her son's killer found, tried and convicted. You have no right to deny them the justice that they seek."
"Enough, Elena," Tobias says, interrupting. You are dismissed for the night."
"I'm dismissed, I'm dismissed!? What the hell? Where do you get off dismissing me?" I snap, my voice full of disdain. With my temper flaring, I throw my arms up and start to walk out, stopping in my tracks when I hear Elijah's voice.
"Elena, please wait for me in my office. I'll be in shortly."
"Fine," I seethe, anger erupting in every cell of my body.
"Did you really need to use that language with Mr. Fell?" he asks, finally joining me in his office.
"Yes, as a matter of fact I did," I add, not giving him an inch.
"Look, Elena, it took a hell of a lot of convincing to talk Tobias out of firing Damon. You two opened a can of worms with this case, you do realize that don't you?"
"Why is it such a can of worms unless there were some important people connected to it, either directly or peripherally? Something is very wrong here, Elijah and you and I both know it."
"I realize that Elena but you already have a target on your back, Damon too, which is why you two need to tone it down till things settle a little bit."
"I'm not going to let Richard Lockwood's thugs stop me from solving this case. I'm sure Damon would agree."
"Elena, please listen to reason. I don't want anything to happen to either of you but especially not you, you're family."
Dropping my chin to my chest, I just sit there for a few moments to get my bearings. When I look finally raise my eyes, Elijah is glancing at his watch.
"I have a little paper work to do yet. Let me know when you're ready to leave so I can walk you to your car?"
"Thanks, I'm going to go to Damon's office for a little bit. If he doesn't come back, I'll take you up on that offer. I'm hoping that he'll return once he's cooled off a bit. Frankly, I don't blame him for blowing up the way he did."
"Elena, I understand why he's upset too but you two are going to have to be looking over your shoulders," he warns. Nodding, I get up, turning around for a moment when I reach his door.
"I'll be in his office when you're ready to leave," I tell him, after he acknowledges me, I walk out and pull his door closed behind me.
Looking around in Damon's office, I have to smile when I see a picture of his family. He's very young because it's one of his parents, Katherine and him. There's an autographed baseball on his desk too along with some of the ribbons and trophies he won in high school. I had no idea that he still had these. The day Kol put Ulysses in here comes to mind, a laugh escaping despite myself. I'll never forget the look of sheer terror on Damon's face. Kol and I laughed incessantly after that little joke of his. But Damon surprised me when Kol accidentally on purpose let Achilles loose in his office. Never did I dream that Damon would actually pick up a spider, at least not one as big as that tarantula. To this day, I don't know what Kol saw in some of his creatures. Feeling a hint of tears beginning to prick at my eyes, I quickly wipe my eyes. I can't afford to get emotional right now, I need to keep my wits about me.
After trying to call Damon on his cell several times without any luck, I pick up his land line to dial my grandma to see how she's doing. I haven't seen her since the last time Damon and I drove to Richmond to see his dad. She did text me to say that she and James came back to Mystic Falls at Joe's behest. Apparently, he's doing so well that his doctor expects him to be released in another two or three days.
"Hi Grandma, I say when I hear her pick up the line."
"Hello, sweetheart. I've missed you child."
"I miss you too, Grandma. Listen, I need to track down Damon. Have you or James seen him in the last couple of hours?"
"No, Elena. Is something wrong?"
"No, everything is fine, it's just that he left before I could talk to him about something so I wanted to catch him before I go to bed."
"You're sure everything is alright?"
"I'm sure," I say, lying smoothly because I really don't know if something happened to him or not. If he doesn't touch base with me soon, I'm going to give Brady a call.
"I'll let you go, grandma. I'll try to stop by tomorrow. I love you."
"I love you too, dear. Bye now," she says, hanging up the phone. Feeling frustrated, I drop my head on my forearms, looking up only when I hear a rap on the door. Just as I start to look up, I see Elijah peeking his head through the crack.
"Are you ready to go, Elena?"
"Yeah, I'm ready." Sighing, I getup and follow him out after I leave Damon a note in case he comes back here. As soon as I'm safely inside with the door locked, Elijah walks away. Before I turn on the ignition, I try to call him one last time.
"Damon? Where have you been, I've worried sick. Why haven't you answered my calls?"
"We need to stir the pot as it were, Elena. Somehow we have to find some evidence so I'm going to see if Mason is at the Grill. I'm going to rather casually mention Amber's diary to see if I get a rise out of him. I mean, Richard is his brother and you and I both know that if anything were going on, Mase will immediately go to Richard. "
" I agree Damon but isn't that like dangling the red cape in front of the bull? If Richard has some complicity in her death, he already killed once, maybe even twice. Please don't do this, Damon. It's too dangerous."
"I'll be careful, Elena. What I need you to do is to take the diary to Brady. Just don't tell him about my plan or he'll ruin it."
"Damon, please listen to reason. Let me come with you."
"No, Elena. I need to know that you're safe. Take the diary to Brady so he can lock it up... Oh, and Elena," he starts to say, pausing for a moment before continuing, "I love you."
"Damon?" I whisper, suddenly feeling like a freight train has slammed into me.
"It's true and it's been true for a very long time. I have to go. I'll give you a call later. Bye now," he says, clicking off the phone. Both frustrated and terrified, I turn the car on, back out and begin the drive to the police station.
As soon as I park my car, I run into the police station to see if Brady is in. I suppose I should've called first but he practically lives here so I figured that I'd try my luck. Once inside, I look all around. When I don't see him, I go to his office. I breathe a sigh of relief when I see a light on under his door. Raising my fist, I rap on it. When I hear him bark out to come in, I take a hold of the doorknob and turn it, pushing my head through the crack.
Looking up, he exclaims, "Elena? What are you doing here?"
"Did you watch the show tonight?" I ask, walking in and pushing the door closed so we're not overheard.
"No, why?"
"We were practically ordered not to mention the Bradley case but Damon did anyway. Elijah, Tobias Fell and Richard Lockwood were all livid. There's something sinister brewing in this town, Brady."
"You have my interest, drive it home," he says, tenting his fingers while keep his gaze fixed firmly on me.
"Damon and I found this." Reaching into my purse, I pull out Amber's diary and hand it to him.
"Where did you find this?"
"It was under a floor board in Ben Bradley's room. Aimee let us in the house to look around. Damon found it."
"Did I or did I not tell you two not to go there?"
"Yes, Brady but we're trying to solve a murder and I guess we though you had a vested interest in that too," I ask, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Of course, I do, Elena. Why are you bringing it to me now?"
"Damon has a plan. He asked me to bring it to you."
"And just what would that plan be, Elena?"
"If you read some of Amber's thoughts, she talks about Richard in it, Brady. I don't know, she all but spells out that Richard was the father of her baby."
"What?" he asks incredulously. Nodding, I get up and walk around to his side of the desk to point out pertinent diary entries.
"I can see why you two are chomping at the bit over this but tell me, Elena, where is Damon?"
"He didn't want me to tell you."
"Elena, need I remind you what happened?"
"No, of course not and surely you know that I don't want anything to happen to him."
Shaking his head at me, he reaches for his phone. He tries several times but it seems Damon has decided to stay off the radar again. Gosh damn it, I think to myself.
"Elena, you have to tell me where he was going?"
"Fine, he said he was going to go to Mason to see if he could maybe prod him into going to Richard about the diary."
"He just couldn't leave it well enough alone, could he? Did he say if he was going to the grill or to Mason's house or what?"
"He didn't say, Brady," I add, frustrated myself. After both of us try a few more times to reach him without success, he grabs me by the hand, pulling me outside with him. Pulling open the car door for me, I hop in. As soon as he pushes my door closed, he jumps behind the wheel and takes off down the road. We stop first at the grill. When we don't find him here, Brady asks Ric if he's seen him. He tells us that Damon and Mason were drinking together and that Mason left but Damon stayed long enough to have another drink before taking off.
"You just missed him," Ric adds. Brady tightens his lips, his eyes darting from Ric to me and then suddenly he slams his fist on the bar top.
"Hey man, what's your problem?" Ric asks, raising an eyebrow at Brady.
"Did he happen to say where he was headed?"
"No, he and I talked a little bit. And after he finished his drink, he left. That's all I can tell you."
"Come on, Elena. Let's go," Brady says, taking me by the wrist and leading me outside.
"Where are we going?"
"To see the Mayor."
Speeding, Brady nearly runs every stop light on the way over here. It seems pretty obvious that he's upset that Damon took matters into his own hands despite his admonition not to. As soon as he turns into the Mayor's driveway, I nearly jump out of the car. "Elena, wait till I stop," he cautions. When he finally turns off the ignition, we both get out and hurry to the door.
Impatient, I push the bell several times until finally one of their servants comes to the door. All Brady has to do is flash his badge, the woman stepping aside to let us in.
"Emily, what's going on here?" Carol Lockwood says, stepping into the foyer. After giving us an uncertain look, she asks, "Brady, Elena, what are you doing here?"
"We're here to see Richard. Is he home?"
"Yes, can I ask what this is about?"
"I would prefer to talk to him privately. It's important, Carol."
"Follow me," she says, eyeing us suspiciously.
"Richard, people are here to see you," she announces, attracting his attention from the TV show he was watching.
"Brady, Elena, why are you here?"
"We need to talk to you in private."
"What's this about, Brady?"
"It's about the Bradley case."
"Fine, follow me, he says, giving me a heated glare before leading us into his study.
"Why don't you enlighten me?"
"You have to help us with their case, Richard. We need to exhume Amber's body. We have reason to believe that her death wasn't suicide."
"What? Do you have any proof?"
"We have her diary and she implicates you in it, Richard."
"Are you insinuating that I killed her?"
"Did you?"
"No, of course not. And unless you have something concrete, I'm not going to authorize an exhumation. Please tell me you didn't talk to her parents about digging up her body?"
"Not yet but if you refuse to aid in this investigation, I will. You and I both know that they will give us permission."
"It doesn't matter, the cemetary is on city property and I have to approve it."
"You're wrong, Richard. We'll just take it to court and ask the judge to issue us a court order. Do you really want that?"
"Richard, give them permission," Carol says, walking into his study.
"Carol, this doesn't concern you."
"Look, I know full well that Richard is anything but virtuous but I also know that he couldn't be the father of her baby. He had a vasectomy years ago. Richard didn't have an affair with Amber, Mason did," she reveals, looking pointedly at her husband.
Stunned, my mouth drops for a few seconds. Shaking off the momentary stupor, I turn to face my companion. "What are we going to do now, Brady? We really need to find Mason. Do you have any idea where we can look?" I ask, a feeling of unease running up my spine.
"Try his house first. He usually keeps Meredith in the loop."
"Do you think that Damon would have followed him there, Brady?"
"I don't know, Elena," he adds, his focus on Richard. Come on, Elena. Let's get over there," Brady says, following behind as soon as I walk out of his study. The two of us hurry out to Brady's car, hop in and drive towards Mason's house, panic surging deeper inside of me each time I dial Damon's number and get no answer.
"What are you doing here this time of the evening, Brady?"
"Hi Meredith, can we talk?"
"Um sure," she says, stepping aside so Brady and I come inside.
"Have you seen Mason this evening?"
"He said he was going to meet a friend of his at the grill. Why?"
"It has to do with one of the cases we're working on."
"Look, you and I have known each other for a long time, Brady. Be frank with me."
"Um, it's about the Bradley case," I mention, interrupting.
"Please be more specific, Elena."
"It has to do with Amber's death."
"Somehow you know don't you? You know about her and Mason?"
"Richard and Carol confirmed it. I'm sorry Mer."
"I knew all about it. I told him if he didn't end things that I'd take him to the cleaners in the divorce."
"We need a reason to exhume her body, Meredith. Can you help us?"
"Do you have a copy of the original autopsy report?"
"In my briefcase outside."
"Go get it," she says, running a hand through her hair. Brady gives her a nod and hurries outside. By the time he comes back, Meredith and I are embroiled in an uncomfortable silence. As soon as he rejoins us, he hands Meredith the file. She takes it and sits down, inviting us to have a seat too. On edge, I can't help but tap the floor with my foot as we watch her peruse the material. More than once, she gives me a disapproving look.
"The blood level of the narcotic wasn't high enough to be lethal. Her blood alcohol was negligible," she starts to say as she continues to scan the pages intensely. "It says that there was a tiny puncture mark on her neck but the tox report only shows the narcotic..." And then as if a light goes on in her head, her eyes widen and her mouth drops agape.
"What is it, Meredith?"
"I think I know what may have killed her. Anectine or Succinylcholine chloride is a paralytic agent. If she had been injected with it, she would've been aware of everything but she wouldn't be able to breathe because of the paralyzing effect of the drug. You need to have a toxicologist review her tissue samples and to check specifically for the metabolites of Succinylcholine, one of which is succinic acid. Sometimes it's referred to as the perfect murder weapon because it's almost untraceable once the person is dead."
"But how would he even know about it?" Brady asks, tilting his head slightly at her. "For whatever reason, I happened to have some in my medical bag. Mason had an accident when he was out on his motorcycle. I keep sutures and Lidocaine and stuff in my bag for emergencies. I had to stitch him up so I pulled the supplies I needed out of my bag, I just happened to pull out the vial of Sux too. Succinylcholine is a skeletal muscle relaxant. It's given intravenously or as indicated as an adjunct to general anesthesia and to provide skeletal muscle relaxation during surgery or mechanical ventilation. The drug causes profound muscle relaxation resulting in respiratory depression to the point of apnea which is the absence of breaths.
"What's this?" he asks, picking up the vial.
"It's succinylcholine. It's a paralytic that we use to facilitate some procedures. It's very dangerous and has to be used under strict measures. There has to be respiratory support available to breathe for the patient while he or she is under the influence of the drug."
"Interesting," he says, handing it back to me.
"How would Mason or one of his cronies get a hold of such a drug? Surely you can't go to a drugstore and buy it."
"Seriously, you even need to ask that, Elena? You both know that Mason has money, influence and power. If he wants something, he can get it."
"And that's also how he knew about the drugs effects?" I say, more to myself than asking a question.
"Are you accusing your husband of murder, Meredith?"
After staring at Brady for a long moment, she drops her eyes without saying anything. Staring at her, my reverie is broken when I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. Pulling it out, I sigh in relief when I see that it's a text from Damon.
"Mission accomplished, Mason just arrived at the boarding house."
Suddenly fear erupts, twisting my gut in knots. Feeling the hairs at the back of my neck prickle, I somehow manage to swallow past the lump in my throat. When the phone drops from my limp hand, Brady looks at me, concern visible on his features. "It's Damon," I utter, my voice almost incoherent, my eyes wide with confusion and stark unbridled terror.
Big thanks to you, Eva. Love you very much.
And a big thanks to all of you. I wouldn't be here if not for your support.
Chapter title: 'It's the Fear' by Within Temptation.
I can tell you that Eva and I are working on new stories. I want to get a few things written before I start posting the new. I like to have more than one story going at the same time. Still trying to write 'The Devil's Teeth'. It's slow going because it's quite complicated with the main plot and the subplots. I'm not giving up on it, it's just taking some time to get it right.
Please remember to click the review button. They really mean a lot and do stimulate the muse.
Again, thank you for your support. Be safe and have a wonderful day.
