Sula breathed deeply and repeated her mantra. Every moment I have with him is precious, and I will see him again. As she pulled out into the street, her cell phone rang, startling her. She received so few calls. She fumbled it out of her purse and finally managed to get it next to her ear. “Hello.”
“Was that your son?”
Rudker’s voice was in her ear, asking about Tate. Sula’s heart stopped for a moment, then raced like a frightened rabbit. She was too stunned to respond.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” His voice was calm, quiet, and terrifying. “You want him to be safe, correct?”
She pulled off the street and parked, unable to think straight. How did he know about Tate? Was the bastard watching her? She looked around, but didn’t see his Jeep. “What do you want?”
“The envelope sitting on the seat next to you. And any other files or evidence relating to Nexapra’s clinical trials.”
Sula pulled the phone away from her face. How did he know about the envelope? Had he been watching her house? She cursed herself for not stopping at the post office on her way to the center. She had been running late and didn’t want to give the Chapmans an excuse to leave.
She stared at the small silver phone and noticed the name on the caller ID said Dan Parker. Who was he? A tiny version of Rudker’s voice was coming from the phone in her lap. Sula put it back to her ear. “What did you say?”
“The boy has nothing to worry about if you give me the files you took from the Puerto Rico clinic. Is that what’s in the envelope?”
Dear God. Would he actually harm Tate? How could she have endangered him like this? The game was over. The stakes were too high. “You can have it.”
“Great. Meet me at the fire station at the top of McBeth, where it intersects with Fox Hollow.”
“Why so far?”
“It’s a nice drive. Don’t bother calling the police. You’ve already been arrested for stealing from Prolabs, and my high-ranking friend in the department has a reason to believe you’re a little crazy. In addition, your boy might just vanish some day in the future. I’m following the minivan now, just to see where it goes.”
Sula wanted to scream obscenities, but instead she tried reason. “Sooner or later, the truth about Nexapra will come out. You can’t run from it forever.”
“You must let it go. It’s healthier for the mind. Now get moving.”
Sula hung up. Tears of rage swelled in her eyes. The bastard. It was one thing to exploit a group of depressed patients for profit, but to threaten her child…Rudker was evil.
She would rather set fire to her evidence than give it to him, but the outcome would be the same. Was there any way out of this? Could she get the DNA evidence out, leaving only the cassette, and reseal the envelope without him knowing? If she was at home, maybe. But not here, not without scissors or tape. Shit. Another thought hit her. What if the FDA investigated the Puerto Rico trial some day on its own? Would Rudker blame her? And take revenge by hurting Tate?
Sula pulled a U-turn on Chambers and headed up the steep grade. She cursed out loud at the slow-moving van in front of her. She was not in a hurry to confront Rudker-he scared the hell out of her-but she was anxious to get the evidence that could hurt Tate out of her hands.
The road curved at the top then dropped sharply down to Lorane Highway. Sula turned right. On this side of the hill, city gave way to country. Houses were father apart, vastly different in size, style, and age, and set back from the road. Under different circumstances, she would have taken her time to enjoy the scenery. Instead, she pushed the truck and took the curves faster than the posted sign allowed. The road sloped gently downward, then the grange appeared on the left. Sula pressed her brakes and took the turn in a wild swing. For a second, she felt as if the truck were out of her control. It straightened out and she vowed to keep her speed down.
McBeth Road wandered past a shooting range, then headed sharply up into the south hills. Sula spotted a group of cyclists in bright yellow-and-black jerseys pumping their skinny asses up the steep curves. She slowed and gave them a wide berth.
At the top of the hill, she turned on Fox Hollow, then made a quick left into the parking lot of the volunteer-manned fire station. No firefighters lived or worked there, only engines occupied the building. She left the truck running. It seemed important to be able to leave in a hurry.
As Sula sat and waited, a cloud drifted in front of the sun. Her skin cooled and she shuddered. She couldn’t believe it had come to this. Rudker had actually threatened her son. He was clearly more desperate and unstable than she’d imagined. For the first time, she realized Rudker might be planning to harm her. Dear God. Would he?
Sula turned on the heater, then looked behind the seat of her truck for a possible weapon. A tire iron stuck out from under a plastic Fred Meyer bag. She grabbed the iron and laid it on the seat next to her envelope. After another minute, her cell phone rang. Her hand shook as she answered it. “Yes?”
“Put the envelope on the concrete near the doors and drive away.” He sounded so serene, almost cheerful. Sula wondered about his sanity. “Then forget about all this. It’s the safest thing you can do.”
She hung up on him. She would comply with his demand because Tate’s life was at stake, but she would not forget. Sula grabbed the FDA package and the tire iron, just for security, and scooted out of the truck. She crossed the gravel and stood on the concrete pad in front of the big overhead doors. Her hands held tightly to the envelope, creasing the edge. Letting go of the evidence she had worked so hard to obtain was not easy.
Sula tried to think of an alternative. A way to beat Rudker at his own game. But the risk to Tate was always there. She set the package down and hurried to her truck. Before getting in, she looked around to see if she could spot his car parked somewhere, but the road curved in both directions and the pine trees were thick on either side of it.
Small sobs bubbled up in her throat as she drove back down McBeth. She vowed to write it all down when she got home, every detail from the very first conversation she’d overheard to her last exchange with Rudker, including his threats to her and Tate. Next she would give two copies of the document to her lawyer, with instructions to turn one over to the FDA and one to the police, should anything ever happen to her.
She would also track Nexapra’s development and approval. When the first wave of suicides hit the press, she would send a copy of her testament to the media. By then, Rudker would be too busy fending off bad publicity and lawsuits to come after her.
Sula suddenly realized she was moving too fast for the next curve. As she lifted her foot to hit for the brake, something slammed into the back of her truck. She flew forward into the steering wheel. Her nose smashed against it, blinding her with pain. She bounced back and her foot slipped off the brake. Sula struggled to orient herself, only to realize she was headed straight, while the road curved sharply left. She found the brake again but it was too late.
The truck was airborne.