Page 25 of Cade

CHAPTER TWELVE

The hotel’s restaurant was almost as good as the one they’d had the first night. With their orders taken and everyone with a drink, they reviewed their day once again to be sure they hadn’t missed anything. From their seat, they could see the lobby of the hotel, and Cade saw Leo Walker. He waved at him, catching his eye as he moved into the dining area.

“Evening,” he said, smiling at the table. “I didn’t mean to disturb your meal. I was just going to leave you a note.”

“Please, join us,” said Trevor, pulling up another chair.

“Thank you. I wanted to let you know that we haven’t been able to find the doctor that was on the bridge. We’ve searched every VA in the state, and he doesn’t work at them. I attempted to find the corpse as well but haven’t had any luck with that. I did, however, have luck with one thing we found on the preliminary toxicology report.”

He slid the sheet of paper across, one thing highlighted. Carbon Steel.

“Carbon steel?” said Trevor. “That’s an alloy.”

“Yep, and unless that young man was drinking carbon steel protein shakes, someone has placed something metal within his body that shouldn’t be there.” He looked at the table of people frowning in his direction. Cassidy’s top two buttons of her blouse were open, and he stared at the scar. Catching his eye, she looked down.

“I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “I didn’t mean to stare. In my line of work, you tend to recognize things like that.”

“It’s okay,” she said, shaking her head. “I was attacked a while back. Cade actually helped to save me, but I was clinically depressed and considering suicide. He chased me down and changed my mind.” She grinned at the other man, but he wasn’t grinning at all.

“You don’t want to do that,” he whispered.

“No, I don’t any longer,” said Cass, staring at the trooper.

“I didn’t mean to step into your business. It’s just that I lost a sister to suicide.”

“Oh, God, I’m so sorry,” she said. Ashely and Bree stared at the man.

“That’s how you knew something was wrong with him,” said Bree. “You recognized more than just a man wanting to jump.”

“He didn’t want to jump. He was just in pain, and it wasn’t emotional pain. It was physical. I could tell the difference. My sister, she was full of life and love and happiness all the time. She was three years younger than me. It was as if when she turned fourteen, everything changed. Suddenly, she was dark and moody, closing her bedroom door all the time.

“My dad, he was a cop, too. He thought maybe someone was bullying her or touching her, but I followed her to and from school. She pushed all her friends away, didn’t touch any of her hobbies any longer, nothing. This beautiful, bright, infectious light in my life was suddenly dimmed. I left for college on a Saturday, she was dead by Monday. Shot herself with one of my father’s handguns.”

“Fuck, I’m sorry, brother,” said Doc. He shook his head.

“I’m not sure why I told you all of that,” he grinned. He looked up at Cassidy. “You have too much to live for to end your wonderful life. You’re too young. Too beautiful, and I’m sure, too talented.”

“Thank you, and yes, I know how very fortunate I am,” she said, nodding. “I’m sorry your sister didn’t figure that out.”

“Well, I’ve got the midnight to eight shift, so I won’t see you tomorrow, but if you need anything, this is my number.” He slid the card across the table, and Trevor pocketed the card.

“Be safe out there,” said Doc. “If we can’t find this guy, he might be pissed that we’re digging into what happened. Protect yourself.”

He left the restaurant as the others waited for their meal. Cass seemed deep in thought when Bree reached over, touching her hand.

“Is something wrong?” she asked.

“I’m just wondering what could have been wrong with his sister,” she said.

“It could have been anything, Cass. Even though he didn’t see bullying or violence, it didn’t mean that it wasn’t happening. It could have been a teacher or a friend, anything. It could have been something as simple as depression or something more complex. It sounds like she didn’t get all the help she needed.”

“I’m glad I have all of you,” she said, looking at the table. “If I didn’t thank you all before, I’m so grateful that you came up here with Cade. I can’t tell you what that means to me.”

“Honey, there is nowhere we’d rather be,” said Doc. “I think we need to figure out what in the hell happened to McDonough. If we can find his friends, maybe they can tell us a few things.”

Doc heard the tap in his ear and knew the boys back home were listening and had something to add. He dialed the number, letting them know they were in a public place.

“You’re not going to like this,” said Hiro.

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