Page 49 of Juan

“The dick deserved it,” Juan said, the memory of that moment rolling over him again. How hilarious it had been and how serious they’d all had to pretend to be. “And then she flipped him off on a flyby,” he said, unable to keep from laughing as he remembered the officer’s face. His brothers soon joined in, and for the first time in what felt like too long, he let go and laughed, really laughed. The kind of laugh that comes from the belly and fills the body.

And as they stood in the kitchen reminiscing, reliving the ridiculous and hilarious, his world tipped to rights. Unknowns still underscored so much, but this was only a point in time, and his foundation was solid. He and Amber and the family were solid. However the future unfolded, he was more than ready for it.

***

“Do we have some fun stuff for you tonight, ladies and gentlemen,” Callie said, waltzing into the clubhouse, followed by Philly and Leo.

“Fun enough that we can get Anthony arrested already?” Amber asked, looking up from the game of Clue they were playing with Daphne and Lovell.

“Not that fun, but close,” Callie replied without skipping a beat. “Gather round, everyone, we don’t want to have to shout.” She paused and looked around. “Especially not since we’d wake Zoe. Is she down for the night?”

Juan reached over and massaged Amber’s neck as she nodded. “We had a long day,” she replied. “Zoe didn’t nap on the boat; it was too exciting. Then we had a late nap that wasn’t nearly long enough. She made sure we all knew it at dinner. Good news is I survived my first tantrum without bursting into tears myself.”

“You did great,” Juan interjected. It hadn’t been easy. He’d seen her struggling with her emotions as she tried different ways to calm Zoe. He’d offered to help, however she needed, but what she’d needed was to figure out how to move through the imaginary milestone—that felt very real to her—on her own. So he’d kept her dinner warm, and when she finally managed to sit and eat, he stayed beside her.

“Bathing and a warm drink before bed made the world a better place for her. Me, too,” Amber added, pointing to her wet hair, then nodding to the hot toddy he’d made her.

Callie grinned. “So much to look forward to.”

“At least we’re bringing good news. Or potentially good news,” Leo said, dropping his computer bag on the floor before taking a seat on the couch. They abandoned the board game and joined him and Callie in front of the empty fireplace. The others did the same, pulling additional chairs over as needed. Juliana let out a tiny yelp as Stone tugged her onto his lap, nudging the chair she’d been about to sit in toward Grace, who’d arrived ten minutes earlier. Lina perched on the arm of Viper’s chair, her legs draped over his lap and her bare toes tucked between the arm and the cushion.

“Who’s going to start?” Callie asked Leo.

“Ladies first,” he replied.

“I took a look at Bios’s purchasing history. They don’t technically purchase scopolamine because, unlike most pharmas, they grow their own plants and manage the extraction process themselves at one of their manufacturing facilities. But the research branch of the business does have to place an order for it. They track it for internal financial reasons, not because of the substance itself,” Callie clarified. “In the past year, they ordered a new shipment of fifty grams, on average, every twenty-eight days.”

“That seems like a lot, but is it?” Juan asked.

“What was their average the year before?” Grace chimed in.

Callie winked at the agent. “That’s the right question. In the prior three years, they ordered the same quantity an average of every thirty-five days. As to your question, Juan, it is a lot from a layperson’s perspective, but it’s around average for a research facility that conducts the type of research Bios does.”

He nodded. “Are there other reasons why they’d be going through more per month now?” he asked.

“Another good question,” Leo said. “I scanned their research, and if anything, their use should be going down. Two scientists who used it for their research have moved on to different projects. One’s work proved too inconclusive to continue, given his target market. And the other’s research has gone into development. It’s in the testing phase now, so fewer lab trials.”

“Do we know how long Anthony and Johanna have been seeing each other?” Grace asked.

Callie glanced at Amber. Juan picked up her hand in preparation for whatever shit update Callie delivered next. “I’m sorry to say this, Amber,” she said. “But I found more unexplained expenses today that Leo chased down. It looks like he met Johanna about six months before you left him.”

Her hand tensed under his. He hated this for her, even as it didn’t surprise him to hear her take a deep breath and rally. “I should thank her then,” Amber said. Out of respect for her and what she went through, the room fell quiet. “She’s probably the reason I was able to carry Zoe to twenty-nine weeks without him noticing. His attentions were fixed elsewhere.”

On Amber’s other side, Clara reached over and gave her hand a pat. “I’m grateful for that, too, but I wouldn’t mind if he caught the clap or herpes or something extremely itchy and uncomfortable with the way that man slept around. It’s the very least he deserves.”

Juan bit his lip, but when Amber snorted a laugh, he joined in. As did the rest of the room.

“There was a charge for a doctor’s visit in Maryland. I didn’t look into it, but I will if you want me to,” Callie offered with a grin.

“Let’s see how the night unfolds. I’ll let you know later,” Clara responded, drawing a few more snickers.

“So Anthony starts seeing Johanna on the side and about six months later, her research facility is going through more scopolamine than can be explained,” Grace said. “It’s not hard evidence, but it’s certainly interesting.”

“We have a lead on some potential hard evidence,” Leo said. “Not evidence linking Anthony to the excess scopolamine, not yet, but we might be able to tie the deaths to the drug. Or at least to four of them. The two suicides, Masterson’s mother, and the man who turned into a bank robber,” he explained. “In each of those cases, the police collected evidence that contains bodily fluids. Blood to be exact. The department that handled Masterson’s mother was happy enough to turn it over. The chief suspected something wasn’t right, but a higher-up—he wouldn’t say who—pressured him to close the case. Sucks for him, but he’s motivated to keep our request quiet, which is good for us. The other three were a bit trickier since they were handled by the department in your former hometown,” Leo said, directing the comment to Amber.

“And let me guess, the chief of police is a buddy of Anthony’s?” Grace said.

Amber inclined her head, her long hair brushing his shoulder. “He cultivated relationships that were useful to him. Being poker buddies with the chief while out committing crimes was, is, exactly his style.”