Page 11 of Trick of Light
But Barnaby found himself irresistibly drawn along in Luke’s wake as his brother bounded across the grass to the sawhorses. It was possible that those long brown-skinned legs of Gabby’s were to blame; he was just a man, after all.
Heather and Gabby straightened up from their work, paintbrushes in hand. Luke dodged Heather’s brush as he dropped a kiss on her lips. Gabby caught Barnaby’s glance and gave a little eye-roll, a “here they go again” kind of thing.
“What’s all the hubbub down at the dock?” Heather asked, once Luke had released her lips.
“Another medical incident.” Luke explained the situation. “That’s two now.”
Heather exchanged a glance with Gabby, who gave a nod. “Actually, it’s three.”
“What are you talking about?”
“There’s someone we know who had a very similar episode,” said Gabby. “But they didn’t want a big fuss. So they made us promise not to tell anyone.”
Luke frowned at her, then at Heather. “When? How long have you been keeping this to yourself?”
“It just happened yesterday.” Heather was clearly trying to reassure him, but Barnaby could tell Luke was irritated by this news. “We’ve been debating the ethics of it.”
“Well, what can you tell me? What happened?”
“This person, who is about nineteen years old, had a sudden attack of bloody vomiting,” said Gabby. “I happened to be there at the time. I remembered how you handled the situation with Safiya, so I got him—them onto their side and made sure their airway was clear. When the vomiting stopped, I told them I’d seen this before, just recently, and did they want me to call for help. But they were feeling better and said no. They were embarrassed and haven’t always had good experiences with the medical system. I respected their request and that was that.”
“But you told Heather?”
“Of course. You have to admit it’s interesting, given what happened to Safiya.” Her eyes sparked with that look Barnaby recognized—the newshound look, the “I’m onto something” expression.
Barnaby groaned. “Please don’t tell me it’s your latest podcast topic.”
“It’s an ongoing investigation, so no, it’s not,” Luke said pointedly.
“Maybe not, but we’re definitely intrigued.” Heather set her paintbrush on the can. “So what’s your prevailing theory?”
Luke scrubbed a hand across the back of his neck and swore. “I can’t tell you guys that.”
“That’s fair.” Gabby smiled at him, clearly trying to think up some other angle. “Totally get it. How about this? Ask whatever you want about this incident and I’ll try to answer it while respecting their request for privacy.”
His eyes narrowed. “Is this a trick?”
“The only tricky part is I’m trying to maintain journalistic integrity while helping you out.” Gabby blinked innocently at him. Barnaby wanted to laugh at the way she’d backed Luke into a corner.
After a few flexes of his jaw and muttered curses, Luke asked them, with exaggerated politeness, “Is there any chance this third victim was taking any home remedies, such as powdered capsules or so forth? Teas made from unusual sources, that sort of thing.”
“That’s very cryptic, and the answer is…” Gabby beckoned Heather for a consult, and they put their heads together for a moment of whispering. “We really have no idea,” she said when they were done. “It’s possible, given the, uh, family environment.”
Luke straightened up and clapped his hands together. “Thank you, Gabby. You’ve actually been a big help. Catch you later.”
He wheeled around and headed for the truck, with Barnaby following behind. “The Highgroves,” he muttered. “It has to be. It must have been Andy. Gabby knows him well, and he’s a big guy so this toxin would have affected him less?—”
“Wait!”
They paused as Gabby came running after them. “At least let me come with you, since I was there with him. I want to explain in person how you found out.”
Luke nodded and gestured toward the back of the truck, but Barnaby shook his head. “Go ahead and get in the front seat,” he told her. “I have something else to do.”
At Luke’s curious glance, he shrugged. He didn’t owe Luke an explanation.
But he did owe someone else a warning. Everything was starting to converge in a direction he didn’t like.
6
