Linwood Barclay - The Twenty-Three

“Guess this is one for the Dumpster,” she said. She looked at the title. “Deadly Doses: A Writer’s Guide to Poison.”

“I’ll take that,” Naman said, extending a hand.

Gale gave it to him. “Guess you won’t want that one around when you’ve got nutcases accusing you of awful things.”

She offered an awkward chuckle.

“No,” said Naman. “I guess I don’t.”

DAVIDHarwood went straight home.

His father was in front of the TV in the living room, watching CNN. “They just had something on Promise Falls,” Don said as his son walked through.

David wasn’t interested. He was headed for the kitchen, where he kept a laptop tucked at the far end of the counter. He grabbed it, set it up on the table, and sat himself down.

He heard someone bounding down the stairs. A second later, Ethan was in the kitchen.

“Did you find out what happened to Carl?” Ethan asked. “Did he drink the water and get sick?”

“No,” David said, opening a browser and tapping away with his fingers to fill in the search field. His eyes were on the screen. “I mean, not that I know of.”

“Why were you asking if he was in school?”

“Ethan, I’m doing something here.”

“What about his mom? Did she drink the water?”

“Ethan!” David snapped. “I’ll talk to you later.”

Ethan frowned, turned, and walked out of the kitchen.

David had entered “Brandon + Worthington + Boston + bank.”

He figured adding “bank” would narrow the search down, pinpoint stories about the Brandon Worthington who had been sentenced to prison for bank robbery.

Up popped some stories. The initial arrest, a short story about his sentencing. David knew, from his brief experience working at the BostonGlobe , that trials were not covered the way they once were, because there weren’t enough reporters to go around. It was only the more sensational cases that made the papers once they went to court. But Worthington’s case had attracted some attention because there was an interesting element to it: His father worked for the bank he’d robbed. Not the same branch, but the same financial corporation.

Brandon was also mentioned in more recent stories about the arrest of his parents in the brief kidnapping of Carl by Ed Noble. Also, they were being investigated for their involvement in Noble’s failed bid to kill Samantha Worthington at the Laundromat. That had ended in a shoot-out with Cal Weaver, and Noble’s arrest.

The shit Sam had been through with these people, David thought. A bunch of total lunatics. Willing to do anything to separate Sam from her son, to take him away and raise him themselves.

But these stories contained no new information for David. This was all ancient history, if something that had happened only a few days ago could be called ancient. What he was looking for was something much more recent. Something that would explain why the owner of the Laundromat would say someone named Brandon had been by looking for Samantha.

He narrowed the search to the last seven days.

And up popped an item from a news station in Boston. A segment called “Hank Investigates,” which he remembered from his time there. Hank, a woman reporter, was always digging into something, and this time it was the ineptitude of local corrections officials. The story was that after Garnet and Yolanda Worthington had been arrested, they were brought back to Boston to be arraigned, and shortly after that, Yolanda had what appeared to be a heart attack.

She was admitted to hospital, at which point Brandon, who was being held in Old Colony Correctional Center in Bridgewater, made a request for a supervised release so that he could see his mother. Yolanda’s condition was, for a period of time, deemed critical, and there were fears this might be Brandon’s last chance to see his mother in person.

A supervised release was approved.

Just before going into the intensive care unit to see his mother, Brandon asked his escort for his cuffs to be removed. Was it right, he’d asked, that his mother, in what might be the last time she would ever be with her son, see him in handcuffs?

The cuffs were removed.

Brandon was allowed to enter the ICU unaccompanied. After all, his police escort figured, there was only one way out. The officer took a seat just outside the ICU entrance. Gave Brandon ten minutes.

According to the police, Brandon was behind a curtain, talking to his mother, when a male, uniformed orderly came in to check on her. Brandon saw an opportunity. He put the man in a choke hold, and in ten seconds the orderly had slipped into unconsciousness.

The orderly did an on-camera interview. “He was about my size, but man, he was strong. Hooked his arm around my neck, and brother, I was gone.”

Brandon stole his uniform and walked out the ICU door, right past the cop.

He hadn’t been seen since.

His mug shot was displayed on-screen, and the public was asked to call the police if they spotted him. “Police advise that this man should not be approached,” the news reporter said. “He is believed to be dangerous.”

David watched the segment a second time, wondering if he’d missed anything. Like, where the police thought Brandon might be headed, and why.

Nothing.

But he was pretty sure they knew. And he was betting someone with the Boston PD, or the prison system, had given Samantha a heads-up.

No wonder she’d vanished.

David wondered if the local police had been notified, if they were watching for him. He got out his phone and brought up the cell phone number he had for Barry Duckworth. He knew the detective would have his hands full this morning with the water contamination, but he didn’t care.

Duckworth answered on the fourth ring.

“Duckworth. David?”

“Yeah, it’s me.”

“If this is about your boss, I don’t care.”

“Randy?”

“If you’re looking for him, he’s handcuffed to a door at the water treatment plant.”

“What?”

David felt as though the chair beneath him were swaying. He thought about his earlier conversation with Finley, about how lucky it was that he’d been cranking up production in the days leading up to this disaster.

Was it possible?

Could Randy have somehow-

“I don’t understand,” David said. “What’s he done? Because-I don’t know if this means anything, but he cranked up production before-”

“He’s been getting in the way, that’s what he’s been doing. You’ve got some smarts. You need to talk to him, get him to back off.”

“Getting in the way where?”

“Everywhere I go, pretty much, but especially out here at the water plant. He thinks he’s back in the mayor’s office and I’ve got news for him. He’s not.”

“Okay, okay, but that’s not why-”

“Make it fast, David.”

“Do you know about Brandon Worthington?”

“Who the hell is-”

“You know about Garnet and Yolanda Worthington? They hired that idiot to grab Samantha Worthington’s kid, and then at the Laundromat-”

“Right. I know. Carlson-Angus Carlson-he worked on that, but I know what you’re talking about. Brandon’s the son? The one who’s in jail?”

“He’s not anymore.”

“He got released?”

“He escaped.” David quickly gave Duckworth the details from the news video. “I think he’s in Promise Falls.”

“I’m sure Boston PD’ve been in touch. Look, David, if you see him, call me. But I’m up to my ass in alligators.”

“I’m worried about Sam and Carl. I think they’re on the run and-”

“David, I have to go.” Duckworth ended the call.

“Well, thanks a fuck of a lot,” David said.