Page 97 of Ruled By Fate

Rashida shook her head. “That’s the thing. The compound disappeared from every single sample you sent down. It completely disappeared before my eyes without leaving a trace.”

Brie sank into a chair.

Without leaving a trace that you can see.

“So, I was too late.”

“No, you weren’t. I got it into the machine right away. I took a video of the tests and the results. There’s a video of the substance disappearing.” Rashida sat beside her. “We might not be able to study the toxin itself, but because of you, at least we have an idea of what we’re dealing with. Because of you, dozens of families will get closure. And I’ll send that video to the CDC first thing in the morning. They’ll know what to do.”

No, they won’t.

Rashida stared at her vacant expression, then put her arm around her in a friendly hug. “You’ve had a helluva day. What do you say we go to a bar and get hammered? Maybe find me a handsomely crafted soccer player to give me a ride home?”

Brie couldn’t summon any enthusiasm, but she nodded. “I need to give my statement to the police first.”

“You go do that while I change. We’ll meet back here when you’re done. Say half an hour?”

Brie shot a look at locker number five. “Let’s just meet in the parking lot.”

Chapter Twenty: Darkness Falls

?

Brie gave her statement to the police three times. Repeating it didn’t help it make any sense. No matter how hard anyone tried, they simply didn’t understand how she knew Kylie had been poisoned. She didn’t think telling them that her magical necklace had somehow clued her in would be in any way helpful. She was seated in an abandoned conference room across from two detectives who stared at her like she was mentally disturbed. She did exactly what Denise had told her to do and stated only what she knew, which wasn’t much at all.

“But, how did you know it was a toxin?”

“I have no idea. I just knew.”

“You can understand why that’s a woefully insufficient explanation, right, Miss Weldon?”

“Yes.”

“Can you help me straighten that out?”

“If I could, I would, but I truly cannot.”

Three times she relived the story. Three times she remembered how it felt to hold Kylie’s hand as death tried to get a better grip on her little body.

By the time they were done, she was utterly spent. She walked out of the room and straight into Rashida, who had kindly come to wait for her to finish up with the police in her cocktail dress and heels. Together, they walked to the lowest tier of the parking lot in silence.

It was nearly eight, and the sun had dipped low on the horizon by the time they got to the pub, an Irish place called Tartarus. Rashida ushered Brie up to the bar and ordered two double shots of tequila. They licked the salt from their hands, tossed back the shots, and promptly ordered two more. As they bit into their lime wedges, they surveyed the scene.

Mike and Cameron were sitting together at a table, laughing as Sherry regaled them with a story that involved some grandiose hand gestures. The angel had two columns of bloodstained tissue jammed up his nose. The rest of the soccer team was crammed into booths and perched around tables surrounding them, laughing and chatting away.

It was a happy scene. One that Brie felt very much separate from.

“There he is.” Rashida had caught sight of her goalie. She smoothed her hair and dress, casting a discreet glance over her shoulder. “How do I look?”

Brie looked at her and said honestly, “You’re a vision. Go have some fun, okay?”

With a girlish grin, the woman sauntered over to the tables, pausing a moment to speak with her friends. Cameron glanced up when she approached, then automatically scanned the rest of the room for Brie. He pushed to his feet the second he saw her, but Rashida caught him by the arm.

“Give her a minute,” she murmured.

Brie startled, then looked around at the general clamor.

How did I just hear that?

---