Arthur protested.
Dominic silenced him with a look.
Clare took Ellie toward the doorway.
“Stay close,” Dominic said.
She nodded.
When the doors closed, Vincent stood opposite the desk.
“Ask.”
Dominic looked at him.
“Did you delete the footage?”
“No.”
“Did you alter my brace?”
“No.”
“Did you cut my brakes?”
Vincent’s face hardened.
“No.”
“Are you lying to me?”
“No.”
Dominic leaned back.
“Then give me your weapon.”
Vincent stared at him.
Neither man moved.
Finally Vincent removed his pistol.
He set it on the desk.
Then his backup weapon.
Then the folding knife at his ankle.
Dominic almost smiled.
“Anything else?”
“You know me too well.”
“Apparently not.”
That hurt Vincent.
Dominic saw it.
“Where were you yesterday at three twelve?”
“Security command.”
“Footage?”
“Available.”
“Bring it.”
Vincent took out his phone.
No signal.
He cursed softly.
Then he looked toward the corner camera in the library.
“The internal archive.”
Dominic pressed the intercom.
No answer.
He pressed again.
Nothing.
The lights went out.
Darkness swallowed the library.
Clare screamed somewhere in the corridor.
Dominic rose too quickly.
Pain ripped through his knee.
Then came the sound of breaking glass.
Gunfire erupted downstairs.
Vincent grabbed Dominic.
“Floor!”
Dominic struck his shoulder away.
“Clare!”
Vincent reached beneath the desk, opened a hidden drawer, and produced another pistol.
Dominic almost laughed despite everything.
“You said no more weapons.”
“I lied about that.”
Another gunshot cracked through the house.
Emergency lighting glowed red along the baseboards.
Dominic reached for his cane.
Vincent grabbed his arm.
“If somebody is attacking the estate, they want you moving.”
“They have a child.”
That stopped him.
Dominic shoved past.
They reached the corridor.
Clare stood against the wall clutching Ellie.
Arthur was beside them holding a revolver.
Mercer had vanished.
“Where’s the doctor?” Dominic asked.
Arthur shook his head.
“He ran toward rehabilitation when the lights died.”
Vincent cursed.
“Stay here.”
Dominic stopped him.
“No.”
“Boss—”
“We go together.”
They moved through the darkened estate.
The great room windows reflected lightning over Lake Michigan.
One guard lay near the security station, alive but unconscious.
Vincent checked his pulse.
“Stunned.”
Arthur pointed toward the terminal.
The protective panel had been removed.
Wires hung loose.
“Inside job,” he said.
Vincent glared at him.
“Thank you, detective.”
They reached rehabilitation.
The door was open.
Mercer stood inside.
He was holding a small black case.
Vincent raised his weapon.
“Drop it.”
Mercer obeyed immediately.
“It isn’t what you think.”
Dominic entered.
“What’s in the case?”
Mercer looked at him.
His eyes were wet.
“Your blood.”
Dominic stopped.
“What?”
“Samples. Eleven weeks’ worth.”
Arthur approached.
“Why?”
Mercer swallowed.
“Because somebody has been poisoning you.”
4
The word hung in the room.
Poisoning.
Mercer opened the case.
Inside were tubes labeled with dates.
“After the crash, your bloodwork was abnormal. At first I attributed it to medication and trauma. Then the levels continued changing.”
“What levels?”
“Sodium-channel suppressants. Small amounts. Too small to kill you.”
Dominic felt his stomach tighten.
“But enough to worsen nerve conduction.”
“Yes.”
“To make my leg weak.”
“Yes.”
Arthur looked at the brace.
“So the brace was only part of it.”
Mercer nodded.
“The pressure increased inflammation. The drug amplified the neurological response.”
Vincent asked, “What drug?”
Mercer named a compound Dominic had never heard of.
“Where was it administered?”
“I couldn’t determine that.”
“Food?”
“Possible.”
“Injection?”
“Possible.”
“Medication?”
Mercer hesitated.
Ellie appeared in the doorway.
Clare tried to pull her back.
But Ellie was staring at the bottle on the counter.
Dominic followed her eyes.
A prescription bottle.
His prescription bottle.
Ellie pointed.
“That one changed.”
The room fell silent again.
Dominic stared at her.
“What changed?”
“The top.”
Mercer picked up the container.
“It’s a standard child-resistant cap.”
Ellie shook her head.
