Page 32 of Degrees of Innocence
“You don’t have to thank me, Katarina. There are some bottles of water in the refrigerator that you can take with you. It’s almost eleven thirty and the hottest part of the day will be in the next few hours, so you’ll also want a good sunblock. The cabanas are very nice and offer a good amount of shade this time of day.”
“You sound like a sunscreen commercial. Don’t worry, I’ll stay in the shade,” I reassure, giving him a kiss before getting up to leave.
I rummage in my overnight bag and see that I won’t have to stop by my room. Whoever packed for me thought to include a swimsuit? I spritz sunblock on my skin before slipping into my suit, pulling on the matching cover-up, and heading into the kitchen to throw a couple of large bottles of water into my bag. Jay follows me from a distance until we get to the beach and I’m happy that he doesn’t tag along too close. The Ridalgo has its own private beach and the expanse of coastal property is impressive. I slip off my sandals and cover-up before sliding into the luxurious comfort of a double-sized cabana offering a perfect view of the turquoise Caribbean. The warm breeze and pounding of the surf are relaxing and it’s not long before I find myself drifting off.
“Excuse me, Miss,” a voice says, rousing me from a light slumber after an hour or so. I sit up and a man with a colorful island shirt is holding out a creamy looking drink. “Compliments of the resort, it’s one of the island specialties and non-alcoholic,” he says with a broad smile, handing me the glass.
“Thank you very much,” I say sleepily, taking it from him as he moves on. The Ridalgo sure knows how to pamper its patrons. The drink smells a little like piña colada and as I start to take a sip, Jay calls to me while approaching my lounge chair. “Kate, hold up a second. What did the bartender say to you?”
“He was just handing out complimentary beverages and told me it was non-alcoholic,” I explain, confused at his inquiry.
“Kate, the drink did not come from the resort,” he says, taking it gently from my hands. I look around and do not see the bartender anywhere. Jay hits a contact on his cell. “Sheldon, don’t lose him. No, he told her it was complimentary. I’ll see Kate back to the room and get it tested,” he says into the phone.
“What is going on, Jay?” I ask, self-consciously putting my cover-up on and gathering my bag.
“I’m sorry, Kate. We’ve had even closer eyes on you since the incident yesterday. The man is not an employee at Ridalgo. I don’t mean to scare you, but we think the drink may be laced with something.”
The apologetic look on his face tells me that he is quite serious. “Jay here,” he says answering his cell, leaving me time to absorb what he’s just said. “No, she didn’t ingest any. Sheldon is tracking him right now. I’m taking it to Dr. Mederea. They’ll be able to test it in the clinic lab. I’ll contact the police once we know what we’re dealing with. I was going to say I would have her up to the suite shortly, but I see you and Matt are already here,” he says, disconnecting the line as Chase and Matt come into view walking briskly along the beach toward us.
Chase puts his arm protectively around me. “I want to know everything there is to know about this man and the men from yesterday. Find out if there’s a connection. Any common friend, businesses, groups online, anything— no matter how small,” he says through gritted teeth to Jay.
“We’re on it, Chase. Our intel team is already working on portfolios of the men from yesterday. I’m going to have Matt see you back to your room so I can drop this off at the lab. I’ll let you know as soon as Sheldon checks in,” he says before heading toward the far side of the resort with my drink.
Matt takes up vigilance outside Chase’s room and as soon as we’re alone in the privacy of his suite Chase takes me in his arms. “Baby, are you okay?” he asks, pulling me tight against him.
“I’m just bewildered. I have absolutely no idea what is going on. I can’t believe someone would want to poison me, but Jay seems so sure of it. I wasn’t going to argue with him or make him feel bad, but there must be some mistake, Chase.”
“Katarina, I hope for everyone’s sake it turns out to be nothing, but I’ve known Jay a long time. He’s seldom wrong and I trust him completely,” he says, pulling me closer into his arms before capturing my lips with his own. He pulls away slightly to check an incoming message. “Jay and Dr. Mederea are leaving the clinic now and on the way up.”
“Alright, I’m going to get changed before they arrive,” I say, wishing I could instead crawl into bed and go back to sleep. Hopefully we can get the situation cleared up relatively quickly and then Chase and I can have a conversation about what is and what is not acceptable about all this security.
Jay and Dr. Mederea are seated on the couch in the living room when I return and Jay’s face is grim. “Chase, the test results were positive. I’ll let Dr. Mederea explain the technical aspects and then we’ll need to talk about logistics,” he says.
Dr. Mederea gets straight to the point, foregoing preamble. “When I ran the test I found that it was heavily laced with GHB. It’s the street name for a drug called gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid. It comes in the form of a clear and odorless liquid and can cause severe damage, or even death. The drug is frequently used to overtake sexual assault and rape victims because it’s quick. It takes effect in about fifteen minutes, and it’s hard to detect after the victim wakes up. It’s usually completely untraceable after twenty-four hours with a urine test, so unless the victims report it right away, it’s hard to prove they were drugged. You are one very lucky girl. I don’t mean to scare you, but the levels of GHB contained in that drink were extremely high. I don’t believe you would have survived had you ingested it,” she says.
Chase’s arms tighten around my shoulders and I feel the rock hard tension in his body. She asks me a few questions about my head and ribs before turning to Jay. “I’ll keep the evidence along with the results in the lab until the police arrive. Please let me know if you need anything else, but I must return to the clinic,” she says as Jay walks her to the door.
I feel nauseated and slump on the couch. “I want to know how the fuck they knew where she would be yesterday and how they got onto the grounds today, Jay,” Chase says, ominously quiet as he sits next to me and pulls me into his arms. “I want a plan by the Ridalgo security team submitted to me by tomorrow morning outlining the steps they plan to take to ensure the safety of its patrons going forward. Likewise, move forward with Katarina’s security plan. She and I will discuss it later,” he says, taking in my uplifted brows.
“Chase, the police are going to be here momentarily. I’ve already contacted our teams at home and we’re in the process of deploying additional men to the island. They’ve been instructed and should be in the air momentarily,” he says.
“Good. I can’t thank you enough for what you and the team did today,” Chase says.
“Jay, I think I’m still in denial, but I really do appreciate everything you have done. I would be dead if it weren’t for you,” I say, tears slowly slipping down my face as the reality of the situation starts to sink in. Chase’s arms tighten around me.
“You’re welcome, Kate. That’s what we’re here to do. We’ll find out who is behind this and why it’s happening. In the meantime you’re in good hands,” Jay says.
“Do you think the mugging was random now or do you think someone is targeting me?” I ask, noting the cursory look of hesitancy flash in Jay’s eyes as he glances at Chase.
“Baby, it’s really too early to know for sure, but they are working on every lead we have right now. Jay and I need a few moments to talk,” Chase says, pointing the way toward his office in the back of the suite.
I pour myself a glass of white wine and settle into one of the overstuffed reading chairs hoping to calm my nerves. It’s all so surreal. I don’t understand who would want to hurt me or why. I am pulled back from my thoughts by a knock on the door and the sound of Jay inviting the two uniformed police officers in. They each remove their hats in unison and introduce themselves as Detectives Hasan and Ahmad. Chase shakes hands with both of them while Jay explains what happened on the beach and informs them of the test results. There is a sharp rap on the door and Jay answers it letting Sheldon in. He appears disheveled and there is a rather large cut on the right side of his lip. The officers take notes of Sheldon’s recount of pursuing the perpetrator. He stayed with the man disguised as a bartender as he left the resort, but the guy must have realized he was being trailed and called for assistance. “I was almost on top of him when two thugs jumped me in the alley right behind the Altera Sports Bar. I was able to hold my own, but by that time he was long gone,” he says.
“Miss Meilers, I’m sorry for your distress today,” Detective Ahmad says. “You can rest assured that we will be putting out an island-wide search for whoever did this. The Ridalgo has security cameras and we’ll be able to use them to help us identify him. I know you’ve been through a lot already, but we’re going to need to ask you questions about today and the attack yesterday and also, we’ll need a detailed written statement from each of you for each incident.” When they finally leave Chase pours himself a glass of wine and me another one. “I am sorry this is happening. I’m not going to let anything happen to you, Katarina.”
“Do you think the police will find out why someone is trying to hurt me?” I ask.
“I’m not sure if they will, but Jay and his men will get to the bottom of this. What Jay didn’t mention to the police was the real bartender noticed right away that he didn’t have a resort wristband, but thought the guy had wandered onto the wrong beach area and let him buy the drink not to cause embarrassment to him or the others patrons. He recognizes him from one of the local bars where they shoot pool. Jay is getting teams in place to stake it out, as we speak.”
