Brothers Born in Adversity Page 4

  "It fits," Blair nodded. "Erotomanics will often inexplicably switch love objects. The guy who killed Rebecca Schaeffer actually stalked singers Debbie Gibson and Tiffany for a while. However, it sounds like this one has focused on Steven, so she's leaving the others alone."

  "Lucky them," Jim replied.

  "How's Steven holding up?" Blair asked.

  "At the moment, it's a toss up on what's scaring him more: the stalker or the presentation for the company big wigs tomorrow."

  "Just what he needs," Blair replied with a shake of his head. "He's got to learn a way to relieve stress, or he's going to have a heart attack before you do."

  "Hey, Ellison!" Henri Brown approached with his bright smile. "Got your mail." He dropped the envelopes onto Jim's desk.

  "Thanks, H." Jim began sorting through the stack. "Steven was working out in the gym regularly, but hurt his shoulder last week."

  "Yeah, I noticed he was trying to loosen it up during dinner the other day. Has he tried--"

  "What the..." Jim interrupted, pulling a letter out of the pile.

  "Isn't that the same color stationary--" Blair began.

  "That Steven's stalker is using." Jim pulled out a drawer, his right hand searching before Blair helpfully yanked out a pair of gloves for him. Taking the gloves, Jim suddenly stopped. He leaned over the envelope, sniffing.

  "What is it?" Blair asked softly, glancing around to make sure no one was watching them.

  "A faint musk fragrance. It was on the other letters Steven's received. Smells familiar, but I can't place it." Shoving the mystery to the side for the moment, Jim swiftly slipped the glove onto his hand, then gingerly felt for anything suspicious. Sensing only a folded piece of paper inside, he opened the envelope and pulled out the letter. With Blair leaning over his shoulder, Jim unfolded it and read:

  STEVEN IS MINE!

  Stop interfering with our love or you will be sorry!

  "Great," Blair muttered darkly. "There's the first threat, and it's against you."

  "Too bad she picked the wrong person to threaten," Jim growled, anger glowing in his eyes. "She'll get to Steven over my dead body."

  Blair ran a hand through his hair nervously. "Yeah, well, that's what I'm afraid of."

  Wednesday evening, Steven's office

  Steven leaned back from the computer, rubbing his eyes with one hand while holding his cell phone to his ear with the other. "Yeah, Jim, I know it's nearly nine... Maybe another half hour... No, she had that concert tonight... Well, she did volunteer, but I had already told her she could go. Not her fault this got dumped on me... Maybe, but she's really worked hard for me this week... Yeah, I kinda wish I'd gone to more concerts when I was her age, too... I could take a taxi home, you know... Okay, I'll be ready to leave then... See you, bro." Steven folded up the phone and sighed. Moving the mouse, he set the next color slide to print. He stood up and stretched, wincing at the pull of his sore shoulder. It seemed to be getting worse instead of better. Probably stress. Trying to hold back a yawn, Steven walked out of the office and down the hall to the group's only color printer.

  Once he was gone, a shadow fell along the wall of Lily's area. Hands in black gloves popped open the lid of the coffee pot, pouring a liquid in with the freshly made drink. After swirling the contents around, the hands replaced the pot and the shadow disappeared.

  Steven returned, sorting through the slides in his hand. Setting them down on the open folder on Lily's desk, he noticed that the coffee was finally done. His mind still three quarters on how to set up his last slide, he picked up his mug and walked over to the maker. After pouring a cup and taking a drink, Steven jerked back as he wrinkled his nose. "Yuck," he muttered as he picked up the sugar dispenser. "I thought I did it right." He poured in a generous amount and stirred it. Taking another experimental sip, he grimaced in disgust. "Guess I did something wrong." He walked back into his office, mind already back on his presentation.

  Twenty minutes later

  "...think he'd go for some Chinese?" Blair's voice drifted down the hallway as the elevator door opened.

  "I hope so, Chief. I'm starved." Suddenly, Jim paused in the hallway, head tilted.

  "Don't... Don't touch me."

  "Steven!" Jim was instantly flying down the hall, Blair quickly recovering to follow him. Before they had reached Griffin Enterprises main desk, both spotted someone in the shadows dashing out of the hall leading from Steven's office. The same fragrance from the letter tickled the sentinel's nose. "Freeze! Cascade PD!" The person simply disappeared around the corner.

  "I've got it!" Blair shouted, waving Jim towards his brother while he chased the shadow. Dashing down two dim halls, Blair barely kept the shadow in view, only catching a glimpse here and there. At one point, the shadow shoved a rolling table with folders in front of him. He barely managed to dodge the cart on wheels without falling on his face. When he finally thought he was gaining, the chase was cut short when a tall body suddenly stepped into his path. Blair and the other man collided, sending plastic viewgraphs flying in all directions.

  "You should watch what you're doing!" the man yelled. "Now I'm going to have to do these slides again! I could have you fired for this!"

  "Good luck," Blair muttered as he jumped to his feet. He raced down to the end of the hall. Though he could clearly see in three directions, there was no movement. Heart in his mouth, Blair chose one and carefully crept down it, checking the doors and entryways, wondering what was going on with Jim and Steven.

  Steven's office

  Fear adding speed to his steps, Jim raced to his brother's office. "Steven?" he called out as he paused by Lily's desk. Moans and rustlings drew him into Steven's main office. "Steven? Answer me." He paused a moment in the doorway, shocked to see Steven sitting on the floor in a corner, pulling at his blue shirt. The sentinel immediately noted the dazed look and dilated pupils. Ah Steven, what has she done to you? "Stevie?"

  Blinking slowly, his younger brother attempted to work loose the buttons on his shirt. "It scratches, Jimmy," the shaky voice announced.

  Jim eased himself down to his brother's level, kneeling on the floor a foot from him. "What scratches?"

  "The shirt. And, and the room's cold, and so dry it's pricking my skin, and it's spinning around, around, around..."

  Jim's stomach clenched. Steven's voice was higher than normal, almost like he was drunk or high. Knowing his brother hated drugs and had been concentrating on his presentation, Jim was certain he hadn't had anything stronger than coffee. At least, nothing he'd know about. Could he have been slipped something? His experience in covert ops and PD told him yes, especially considering the shadow creeping out of the office. "Steven, do you remember someone being here?"

  "Don't touch me," Steven yelped as he flinched, jerking away from his brother. He began to tremble, staring out into space. "Hurts to touch. And, and my shoulder, like it's on fire, it hurts so deep. And everything's spinnninngggg. My head, my eyes, my tummy..."

  Spotting the subtle change on Steven's face, Jim just barely grabbed the trash can in time. As Steven emptied his stomach into the container, Jim swiftly reviewed his options. One stood out in the forefront he had to get Steven to a hospital as quick as possible, in case he got too much of whatever it was that he was slipped. Absently, he yanked off his own leather jacket and draped it over his brother's trembling shoulders as Steven finally sat up.

  The jacket immediately caught Steven's attention. "Soft." His fingers lightly ran over the material. "Ripples turning and curving... Warm and fuzzy. Jimmy, I'm going to be sick again." As the slim body was again wracked with dry heaves, Jim wrinkled his nose as he reviewed the can's new contents. Wasn't much more than coffee in there. Figures, since Steven had been too stressed to eat much the previous night. Jim briefly wondered if the younger man had eaten anything the whole day. Certainly wouldn't help matters, especially if this was something he had ingested.

  Blair slid through the doorway. "Sorry, Jim. I ran into some
body, literally, and lost her." He noticed the pair on the floor. "Jim?"

  "Never mind." Jim waved him off, still concentrating on Steven. "Call an ambulance, tell 'em to meet us downstairs. We've a victim given an unknown substance. Then help me with Steven."

  Steven flinched back from their hands, throwing his arms at them. "Don't touch me! Hurts!" Perplexed, Blair's brow puckered. He suddenly realized he had pieces of a puzzle in his hands, he just didn't know what to do with them. Deciding to figure it out later, he flipped open his cell phone.

  "Steven, look at me." Jim finally caught his brother's eye. "Concentrate on me. We need to get you out of here. We won't hurt you."

  "Jim?" Steven stared straight into Jim's eyes, tremors still shaking his body. Seeing the muscles contract and relax, Jim wasn't sure if Steven was chilled or about to seizure. "Warm?"

  "I'm right here, and I'll get you warm. I need to get you downstairs, okay? Can you ease your arm over my shoulder?"

  Talking carefully, calming Steven with his voice, Jim managed to help his brother onto shaky feet. Mindful of his precious burden, Jim followed Blair down the hall to the elevator.

  Two hours later

  Simon and Blair found Jim pacing one of the hospital's small waiting rooms. The grim look on his face did nothing to alleviate Blair's fears. "Jim?"

  Jim glanced up. "Find anything?"

  "Not yet," Blair replied worriedly.

  "Forensics is going over Steven's office right now," Simon assured him. "At Sandburg's request, the contents of the coffee pot and Steven's mug are on their way to be analyzed immediately."

  Jim gave Blair a weak smile. "Thanks, Chief."

  "I also sent Connor to track down Ms. Lancin," Simon added. "We thought that maybe she might be able to shed some light on what's going on."

  "Any word on Steven?" Blair asked anxiously.

  "They're waiting on the toxicology reports." Jim struggled a moment to hold on to his control. "It's been rough. The tremors kept getting worse. He'd suddenly fight against the medics and hospital personnel, especially when they tried to put in the IV. I was about the only one who could calm him down. His body temperature keeps dropping. I think one of the nurses said it was 96.2 at one point." Then Jim stared at the ceiling, fighting his emotions. "He stopped breathing once. They got him going again right away, but his breathing's still pretty depressed."

  Simon squeezed Jim's shoulder, realizing the incident had been too close to what had happened with Blair during his Golden OD. It must have scared his friend to the depths of his soul. "But he's still fighting, Jim. That's a good sign."

  "But why?" Pale blue eyes turned to Blair in agony. "I thought you said these erotomanics don't normally hurt their 'love objects'."

  Blair met his partner's eyes, trying to convey his worry. "They don't usually. However, what if this person wanted to kidnap Steven, and tried to drug him?"

  "And they got the amount wrong or something?" Simon suggested.

  "Or he had an unforeseen reaction to the drug." Blair again stared up at his partner. "He is your brother, after all. Maybe he reacts weirdly to medication just like you do."

  "But we know why I react weird," Jim pointed out, referring to his heightened senses. "That can't be it."

  "Are you sure about that?"

  Both taller men turned to stare at the young detective. Before either could form a question, Lily burst into the room, Megan on her heels. "Is he okay? What happened?"

  Simon stared at the young woman in full gothic regalia. The white streaks in her dark hair had been joined by red and purple ones, the latter matching the deep purple, lacy, sleeveless blouse that hugged tight to her slim curves. A short, black leather skirt, flowing black cape, and three- inch black platform shoes completed the outfit. A silver Celtic pendant matched her dangling earrings, while harsh hospital light glinted off her purple stone nose ring and the silver bondage chain encircling her waist.

  Blair, for once, barely noticed her legs. He lightly touched her thin shoulders as he bent a little to look her in the eye. "He's in with the doctors right now. We're waiting for them to come out and tell us something."

  Tears began to trickle from her eyes. "I knew I should have stayed and helped him with that presentation. But he told me to go to the concert."

  Jim had quietly inhaled the young woman's scent. Sweat from multiple bodies mixed with cigarette and pyrotechnic smoke, along with faint scents of pot, alcohol, and leather. In short, just the way his roommate always smelled when he got back from a concert. Yet underneath it all, the sentinel found the light rose fragrance Lily wore in Steven's office and the fruity scent of her shampoo. Neither matched the musk from the letter. Which meant he could officially remove her from the suspect list. "He wanted you to go. If you were there, you could have been affected, too."

  Lily shook her head as she wiped her face, smearing black mascara across her cheek. "Maybe I could have prevented it, though. That weirdo isn't after me. I should have been there."

  "Did you see or hear anything suspicious before you left, Ms. Lancin?" Simon asked, trying not to stare at her hair.

  "No, or I wouldn't have gone."

  A doctor stepped into the waiting room. "Detective Ellison?"

  Jim immediately turned to the lanky man in green scrubs. "My brother?"

  "Is in a very deep sleep at the moment. And we now know the reason why." The doctor looked at Jim intently. "Is your brother into bodybuilding?"

  Jim raised an eyebrow at the unexpected question. "No. He works out, but mostly just to relieve stress."

  "Was he at a party?"

  "No."

  "Was he about to go to bed? Perhaps needed to take something to get to sleep?"

  "No, he was in his office preparing an important presentation." Jim glared at the doctor. "What's going on?"

  "We believe your brother ingested gamma-hydroxybutyrate, or more likely, one of the home brewed versions of gamma-butyrolactone. They can also be found in diet supplements like RenewTrient."

  "GHB and GBL," Blair condensed thoughtfully. "Liquid X."

  "Easy Lay," Lily chirped in, recognizing the names Blair listed.

  "Huh?" Simon stared at the two younger people, bewildered.

  "GHB is a naturally occurring nutrient that can be synthesized like a drug," Blair explained. "It has numerous uses, like aiding childbirth, promoting muscle development, and as a sleep aid. It is also sold at raves and can be used as a date rape drug."

  "One of the many reasons why my drink never leaves my hand while I'm out partying," Lily added. She frowned thoughtfully. "Guess we now know WHY the weirdo did it."

  "Weirdo?" the doctor asked, both impressed at the information Blair knew and still trying to get a handle on the situation.

  "My brother is being stalked," Jim swiftly explained. "Now, is Steven out of danger yet? Or do you have some antidote?"

  "There's no antidote." The doctor shrugged. "We can only provide support care until it works itself out of his system. Admittedly, many of his reactions would suggest he took a much higher dosage than we could find in his blood, but the worst should be over barring complications. His breathing will continue to be monitored, but he should sleep for the next two to eight hours." He glanced at the group standing around Jim. "You may as well go home. Nothing any of you can do tonight."

  "I'm staying, doc." Jim pinned the man with a glare.

  The doctor nodded. "I'll send a nurse down for you once they have him settled. Then let them know if you need anything."

  "Do you want some uniforms, Jim?" Simon asked.

  "Not yet." Jim stared thoughtfully down the hall as he watched the doctor walk away. "I honestly doubt she'll try anything tonight. We're just going to have to come up with a better plan to get this bitch."

  "Then call me in the morning." Simon ushered Megan and Lily out the doors.

  Jim turned to Blair, who was admiring Lily's legs. "You should go home and get some sleep, too."

  "No way, man." Blair de
clared firmly, returning his attention to his partner. "If you're staying, I'm staying. Besides, I'm too excited to sleep."

  "Excited?" Jim queried, trying to figure out where that came from.

  "Didn't you catch it? Man, I've wondered about it, but Steven's never shown any signs before. Of course, touch isn't the most obvious one, so--"

  "Back up, Darwin." Jim raised a hand. "Catch what?"

  Blair rolled his eyes at his partner's denseness. "Come on, Jim. Think about it. Steven's been having trouble with a shoulder hurting that drugs can't help. Remind you of anybody? Like, say, your shoulder before you got kidnapped by that Colonel?"

  Jim's eyes widened briefly, finally catching what his partner was thinking. "Doesn't prove anything."

  "But why do you think I know so much about GHB? After that incident, I started doing some digging into possible drugs that might have adverse effects on you. GHB was one of them."

  "What's special about that one?" Jim asked, still trying to follow his partner in the Sandburg Zone.

  "Remember the street name Lily mentioned, Easy Lay? That's because GHB supposedly enhances sexual activity. Besides lowering inhibitions, it's been reported that it enhances tactility." Blair wiggled his fingers in the air. "The sense of touch."

  "Where are you going with this, Sandburg?" Jim asked, too worried to be patient.

  Blair took a deep breath. "You are a sentinel with all five senses heightened. You and Steven have the same set of parents. I once calculated that since you're a sentinel, Steven has a 25% chance of being a sentinel, too."

  "But he's not," Jim pointed out.

  "True," Blair conceded. "There's another 25% chance that he doesn't have the sentinel gene at all. However, he also has a 50% chance of being a carrier. Which means not only can Steven pass on the sentinel gene to his kids, but that he'd most likely have one or two heightened senses himself."

  "Like the test subjects in your Master's thesis?" Jim frowned as he tried to follow. "So now you think Steven might have a heightened sense of touch like mine?"