“Enlighten me,” Captious said. “How can we possibly use a high school science project to stop the drug cartel? With the exception of the chromatograph, the school’s equipment is very unsophisticated.”
“We don’t need sophistication. Munificent leaked information that the simple experiments we do in our lab would produce the base chemicals Old Torrents needs to make Psychedone 10. The base chemicals themselves are completely harmless. Old Torrents’ problem is that these chemicals aren’t normally used in a mental hospital. If they bought them openly, they would draw attention from the Feds. The Class Project is the perfect setup. Glassware and heaters are all we need. I included the chromatograph to keep Mason interested. With Munificent gone, Dalrymple is the only one on the police force who knows that the Class Project is part of a much bigger plan. The teachers think it’s just community service.”
“And now that I know, I suppose you’ll have to kill me.”
Miliron laughed. “Something like that. Ben, this is big, and you’re the only one left I can trust. I don’t know where Dalrymple stands.”
“I don’t trust the man.”
“There you have it. I need help to finish what Munificent started. Look, you know Mason. I know the drug ring. Maybe the two of us should work together instead of keeping secrets.”
“A bit dangerous, don’t you think, using our classroom and students to trap a drug cartel? Look at what just happened to Kathryn Hollister.”
“That was a shock. No one thought she was a user. But Kathryn overdosed on the real thing. I don’t know where she got it. Like you said, the Class Project is a setup. Even though what we make here is harmless, the advanced equipment at Old Torrents can make it deadly, so I added a time-released reagent that would decompose the drug after the final chemical reaction at Old Torrents. It still would have looked like Psychedone 10 to the drug boss, but by the time it reached the users, it would be no more potent than salt water.”
Captious put his hands behind his back like a little kid who had just stolen a cookie. “Who exactly is this drug boss, and what makes you think he doesn’t already know he’s been set up?”
“Nobody knows who he is. The guy’s too slippery. We know he’s behind the drug ring. We suspect he has something to do with the kidnappings. We don’t have a clue about his identity. The Class Project would have helped us to trace drug traffic from Mason to him, but now that it’s polluted with DMSO, we can’t pass it off as anything but toxic waste. Without the shipment to Old Torrents, we’re dead in the water. We have no other links. I think Munificent got close, though. Too close.”
Looks like I messed things up for the Knights and the police. Oops.
“Mason was kidnapping children for the recently defunct Norman LaReau,” Captious said. “What about that link? Not that it matters. The mayor already tossed it.”
Miliron’s eyes narrowed. “I read your report on that, but it never felt right. How do you know?”
Captious laughed. “I know everything about Mason.”
You wish, mister. Captious was obviously not as all-knowing as he thought. He sees Christie with Mason at the Shadow Passage, puts two and two together, and comes up with goose poop. Mason is linked to Scallion, not LaReau.
“Well, Ben, that’s your case, not mine,” Miliron said. “Hey, how convenient is it that LaReau died from a heart attack right at the station? Don’t get me wrong, it couldn’t have happened to a more deserving guy.”
“Yeah, I was there. It was beautiful. LaReau flopped like a fish. Dalrymple tried to resuscitate him. Don’t know why. I wouldn’t have.”
“He knew LaReau could lead us to Draudimon’s boss. What’s up with heart disease at the police station? Munificent died the same way. I hope it isn’t contagious.”
Captious laughed again. “Mason has to be pretty mad right now. Maybe he’ll do something stupid and lead you to his boss.”
“He doesn’t know anything about the contamination. He went home sick earlier today.”
Home sick? I needed to see what that was all about. Maybe a trip to Mason’s house would be worthwhile, since eavesdropping on the undercover brothers had led nowhere.
I crawled back through the ductwork and dropped into the boiler room. As expected, it was empty. I quickly removed my mask and hoodie and stuffed them in my backpack. There was no noise out in the hall, so I quietly left the boiler room. I thought about popping over to the Greensburg Library before paying Mason a visit, when a voice stopped me in my tracks.
“Hey, Rinnie, I didn’t know you were still here.”
I spun around. Egon was coming down the hall behind me.
“Hi,” I said, wondering if he saw me come out of the boiler room. “What are you doing here?”
“Aikido practice. Gotta get ready for a match. Wanna head to Mickey-D’s with me? I’m buying! Got four entire dollars to squander.”
My heart went into overdrive. “Oh, Egon, I wish I could…”