The Journal: Fault Line (The Journal Book 5) (19 page)

“I’m confused. How did she come to be
here
?” Marty asked.

“The Jones’ are - or
were
- her foster
parents, like I said. I know they were likely too old for the
chore, but they were the only ones that volunteered to take the
girl. Janis and her parents belonged to the same church as the
Jones’. In spite of the great age difference, it worked out well on
both sides. Aida was very patient with Janis, and taught her how to
function in society.

“Even though Janis is now twenty-six,
mentally she’s only fifteen. A
smart
fifteen, but still a
teenager, who can function quite normally, and can cook, sew, clean
house, and do laundry. All things that Aida was starting to have
trouble doing. They balanced each other, and the Jones’ really did
love Janis like the daughter they lost. Even though it wasn’t
intentional, they sheltered Janis, and few knew she was even
here.

“Once Janis was of age to be on her own, the
Jones’ asked her to stay. They were a family. Janis was smart
enough to know she needed someone to watch over her.”

“Wow, Doc, I would never have guessed all
this. I was ready to bet she was a con artist who’d latched onto an
opportunity.” Marty looked at his longtime friend and asked, “How
is it you are involved?”

“Oh, that’s simple. Janis has been a patient
of mine since the day she was born. I delivered her. I still give
her regular checkups, and I make sure she takes her medication. She
can get anxious over certain things and tends to act out, like a
typical teen. A little bit of Xanax works wonders for her.”

“Can she stay here alone?” Marty asked,
concerned.

“For now, yes, but at some point she might be
better off in an assisted living situation.” Doc sighed before
going on. “Since now
I’m
her legal guardian, I’ll have to
check with our lawyers about what to do. I do know that the Jones’
left everything to her and that she is well provided for.”

“I think I should get back to Trevor and
Christine and let them know what’s going on. I’m afraid I added to
their fears and I need to fix that,” Marty said. “Care to come
along and fill in the details for them? We might even be able to
coax a cold beer out of Trevor.”

“I’d be glad to, Chief. Besides, there’s
something else I need to discuss with them.”

“Will Janis be alright by herself, or should
I leave a deputy here?”

“She’s been on her own for weeks, Marty.
She’ll be fine. Besides, she’s sleeping now.”

***

The four friends sat in the living room
enjoying their drinks. Trevor and the off-duty Marty had a beer,
while Doc and Christine had coffee. Doc explained the situation to
the young couple.

“So that’s where it stands for now,” he
finished.

“And I have to apologize to both of you for
weaving the worst case scenario before having all the facts,” Marty
added.

“So do you think this recent storm may have
triggered her unusual behavior, Doc?” Trevor asked.

“No doubt in my mind. Any storm is going to
result in flashbacks for Janis. Can you imagine being trapped in a
car with the bodies of your parents for hours? Add the storm on top
of that, and you’ve got emotional scars that aren’t going
away.”

“Why did it take so long for help to get to
the wreck?” Christine asked.

“It happened on a back road, and the other
driver was also killed. No one knew there was even an accident
until another car happened by and saw the cars off in the ditch,”
Marty said. “The more we talk about it, the more I remember it.
This happened right after we moved here and I joined the force. New
policies were implemented then about cruising some of those back
roads. Of course, now many of those roads are heavily populated so
incidents are reported quickly.”

Christine sighed. “Now I feel badly about
suspecting her of anything wrong.”

“Without all the information it would be easy
to jump to the wrong conclusion,” Doc said. “Now, I’ve got another…
situation I need to discuss with you.”

Christine got up and refilled their coffee
cups.

“The CDC wants some blood samples from the
two of you,” Doc said.

“What?” Trevor said. “Why?” He stood to
pace.

“Trevor, you caught this deadly flu, in fact
you were one of the first to get sick. Yet you survived it, and got
better rather quickly. The Centers for Disease Control, wants to
know why. And you, Christine, were in constant contact with Trevor
and never got sick. Again, they want to know why.”

“That’s it, just give a
blood sample?” Trevor asked, skeptically.

“That’s what they told me,” Doc Adams
confirmed. “They’ve set up a facility on State Road 135 near the
country club. That’s not too far from here.”

“I think I’ll pass,” Christine scowled. “I
don’t like needles.”

“Giving a bit of your blood could help them
find a cure, or at least develop a vaccine that could save many
lives,” the doctor pressed.

Christine crossed her arms over her chest and
remained silent.

“Just think about it, okay?”

***

Trevor parked the PT Cruiser in the country
club parking lot, second row back, on the end facing out. He pushed
the glass doors opened and stepped into the facility, immediately
being assaulted by the astringent smell of alcohol and
disinfectant. Christine clung tightly to his hand. He checked the
paper Doc Adams had given him with a contact name.

“May I help you?” a pleasant looking young
man asked them from behind the reception desk.

“I’m looking for a Dr. Marcus Hebert,” Trevor
replied.

“First hallway, third door down on the left.”
He pointed the way and went back to his computer. As they walked
past, Christine looked back and saw the young man was playing
Free-Cell on the computer.
Cushy job,
she thought, which
reminded her she was still unemployed.

Trevor tapped lightly on the designated door.
A voice from within beckoned them to enter.

“What can I do for you?” the doctor
asked.

“Doc Adams said you were looking for blood
samples,” Trevor replied.

“Ah, you’ve had this flu! Excellent!” Hebert
was suddenly animated.

“It wasn’t so excellent when I was sick,”
Trevor responded.

“Oh, no, of course not. Not at all, not at
all. I understand it was particularly debilitating. Personally I
never caught it, was never even exposed to it,” the doctor
babbled.

“How did you manage to escape it?” Christine
asked.

“They had me hiding in a room with my
microscopes,” he said with a laugh. “Have a seat and tell me about
yourselves. Oh, I need you to fill out these forms first, so I
don’t repeat myself.”

Trevor looked at the form but didn’t pick it
up.

“It’s basic information, Trevor,” Christine
coaxed after she looked over the questionnaire.

She picked up the offered pen and filled in
her name, age, and phone number, skipping her address and social
security number. Her dad taught her to never, ever give that out.
She added some basic health information and the dates she had been
exposed to the virus.

Christine smiled when Trevor filled in his
info too, knowing they could be doing a good thing by providing
needed information that could possibly help others.

“Good, good, thank you both,” Hebert said,
taking their forms. He picked up Christine’s first. “So you didn’t
get sick? What would you attribute that to, Miss Tiggs?”

“I followed Doc Adams suggestion that I
always wear gloves and a mask whenever I was near Trevor, and to
wash my hands frequently.”

“That’s good. Did you do anything else? What
did you eat? Or drink?”

“Mostly we had chicken soup. I would give
Trevor the broth and I would eat the noodles. I don’t care if I
ever have chicken soup again,” she answered. “Oh, and juice, I
drank orange juice and cranberry juice, sometimes green tea.”

“Anything else?” Hebert asked seriously. The
sudden change in his demeanor sent a red flag waving at Trevor.

“I’ve always taken a multi-vitamin, that’s it
though,” Christine added straight faced, a signal Trevor
caught.

Dr. Hebert made some notes on the second
sheet, never once questioning the areas she left vacant. “And what
about you, Trevor?” He glanced at the questionnaire, making sure he
had the name right, a tactic he’d found helpful to gain trust. No
one liked to be called by the wrong name.

“To be honest, I was pretty much out of it
the entire time,” he said smoothly. “When I could, I ate what
Christine spooned into me and I drank the tea she gave me. I do
remember there was a lot of honey in it and it made my throat feel
better.”

“I see,” Hebert made some notes. “Do you know
how you contracted the flu?”

“I’m not sure, Dr. Hebert,” Trevor glanced at
the guy’s name badge, letting him know he understood the tactic. “I
started feeling bad a few hours after getting a stock shipment for
the store. And I remember that as he was leaving, the truck driver
coughed.”

“Hmm,” Hebert looked up from his notes. “If
that cough infected you, why didn’t it infect Miss Tiggs?”

“I don’t know.” Trevor thought a bit before
continuing. “I shook his hand, Christine didn’t.” He glanced over
at Christine, realizing he just discovered something important: the
virus transmission was by contact.

“I guess we’re done for now. With the
interview, that is.” Hebert smiled broadly. “Next step is to draw
some blood to see if there is anything unusual or different about
your natural antigens. Please follow me.” He led them to the
adjoining room. “After you’re done here, this nice young lady will
bring you back to my office.”

“I really don’t like needles,” Christine told
Mary, the technician who was about to draw blood.

“I’ll go first,” Trevor offered. He sat in
the school desk styled seat and rolled up his sleeve. Mary swabbed
the inside of his elbow and withdrew a single vial of blood. “I
didn’t even feel it, Christine. Mary has a good touch.”

Mary blushed at the compliment while she
labeled the vial of blood with Trevor’s name.

Christine took Trevor’s seat and pushed up
the sleeve of her sweater. Mary attached the rubber tourniquet,
swabbed the skin, and then glanced at Trevor.

“How about we go to lunch when we’re done
here?” Trevor suggested, drawing Christine’s attention to himself
instead of the needle. “Maybe back to that sushi place?”

“That would be nice. I like that place.”

“All done,” Mary announced, smiling at the
two.

“I didn’t feel anything!” Christine said in
awe.

***

“Ah, I see you’re finished with the first
draw,” Dr. Hebert said, as the two of them settled back into the
chairs in front of his desk.

“
First
draw?” Christine asked.

“There may be another needed. We can only do
so many tests on one vial, and these particular tests need the
specimen to be fresh,” he informed them. “We won’t know if more is
needed until these tests are complete. You two may just be healthy
enough to have beat this naturally. In the meantime, I’d like to
ask if the two of you could help us with a survey. It’s still not
known who survived this flu. Many of the victims, like yourself,
stayed home and recovered without ever contacting their doctor.
Others sought treatment at the hospital or one of the walk-in
clinics. We know of you only because of Dr. Adams.”

“What kind of survey?” Christine asked. She
didn’t like this guy, though she did want to help if she could. And
as gentle as Mary was, Christine would rather do a survey than give
more blood.

“It’s much like what you filled in here,
questions about the flu, if they had it or anyone else in the
house, who survived, who didn’t, that sort of thing. The more
information we have and the more samples we can take, the closer we
will be to developing a vaccine,” he explained. “It’s helpful to us
to have locals do this legwork for us, because you’re likely to be
more tru… ah,
known
,” Hebert said, catching himself,. He’d
almost said
trusted,
and that would have given them the
wrong idea.
Or maybe the right one,
he chided himself. “And,
you get paid for doing this.”

“Paid? How much?” Christine asked.

Hebert grinned.

***

They sat at one of the cozy booths for two at
the sushi restaurant. Christine sipped on her tea.

“Why didn’t you tell Hebert about the sage
tea and the garlic pills?” Trevor asked, a slight smile tugging at
the corner of his mouth. Even though he knew being paranoid wasn’t
always good, a little bit could be helpful in the right
circumstance. He was proud that Christine was quickly learning to
not be so trusting.

“Marion said Dr. Adams wouldn’t believe any
of that would help. I think it did and I don’t like being mocked,”
she said bluntly. “Why didn’t you?”

“I was following your lead, babe, and I
figured you had a good reason. It’s a good thing we were questioned
together, I might have said something otherwise. Maybe we should go
over the details and make sure our stories match.”

“I don’t think that’s necessary, Trevor. If
we agree to not mention the sage in the tea and the garlic pills,
we can stick to the truth. Too many lies can trip us up.” She
leaned back and rolled her eyes at the ceiling. “Listen to me! I’m
sounding like this whole thing is some sort of conspiracy!”

***

Dr. Marcus Hebert set aside the recent two
files. Something about those two just didn’t fit. Nobody was that
naturally healthy. Or if they were, they might be the perfect pair
for a discreet trial. Once the girl asked about payment for doing
the survey, he knew he had them. They
had
to come back to
turn in the paperwork. He’d give them a couple of days then reach
out and convince them to come back in. He smiled to himself. This
might be easier than anyone suspected.