Page 43 of Inevitable Secrets

Taylor was quiet for a minute. “I don’t want to fight,” she said.

“Me either,” Derrick agreed, “but you have to release control on me and take it back at the office.”

Taylor chewed on her lower lip. He was right, but it was hard to leave him. What if he needed her? What if something happened?

“Let me get you some coffee,” Derrick said, getting up. “It will cheer you up and make the fact that you are not my mom clearer.”

“Ha ha ha,” Taylor said as her husband left. He was moving easier every day, she didn’t see him wince ever, so either he had become aware he was doing it or he was feeling better.

It was time to cut the cord.

There was a knock on the office door. “Come in,” Taylor beckoned, and Henry slid through the doorway. “Hey, Henry,” Taylor greeted.

“Taylor,” Henry said giving her a nod, “where is Derrick?”

“Coffee run,” Taylor said smiling.

Henry nodded, “I have some reading material for you.”

“Do tell,” Taylor said dryly. “The last time you brought me reading material it was an autopsy report.”

“Well, I do hate to be predictable,” Henry said, handing a stapled document over to Taylor, “but it's another autopsy.”

“Whose this time?” Taylor asked looking at the documents.

“Tappen’s.”

Taylor looked over the document quickly. “Well, no shock here, cause of death was a bullet wound,” she murmured. “Was this released to the public?”

“Nope,” Henry said and Taylor knew better than to ask any more questions. “It wasn’t the cause of death that drew my attention, as much as the toxicology report.”

Taylor was skimming the long and hard to pronounce words on the report when Derrick returned to the room with nectar of the gods—coffee.

“Henry,” Derrick nodded to the other man. “Whatcha reading?”

“Tappen’s autopsy,” Taylor said without looking up.

“We have got to get you a subscription to Vogue,” Derrick said, resuming his seat.

Taylor’s eyes landed on a word that looked familiar. “What’s this here, this Datura stramonium?”

“It’s a drug that can be used as a mind control drug,” Henry answered.

“Mind control?” Derrick asked.

Henry nodded.

“Have you seen it used before?” Taylor asked Henry.

“Aye,” he said, “its mechanism of action is not a precise thing. I have seen it used where it makes the victims pliable, they just do whatever they are told. That’s a mild response.”

“What does a severe response look like?” Derrick asked.

“Delirium, violent behavior, paralysis, and even death. It has gotten recent exposure by being used in Mexico on tourists—thieves slip it in their drinks and coerce them to empty their bank accounts.”

Taylor’s mouth fell open. “This explains things. This explains Tappen’s behavior,” she said stunned.

Henry nodded, “Someone got to Tappen and fed him a pretty hearty helping of this plant the day he came to the hospital.”

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