I shift in the seat, reaching for the door handle. “Why would he come to Star Meadows for my father’s funeral and then decide to go to the doctor? Unless maybe he’s sick. But he didn’t look sick to me. And it’s weirdly coincidental that he’s here at the precise moment we happen to be here.”
“Shit,” Ellis mumbles. “I don’t know why I didn’t think of that.”
“Probably because you were distracted by Jason’s assholery, which he may have wanted to happen. It’s kind of his thing.” I shove open the door, lower my feet to the asphalt, then bump the door closed.
Then I meet Ellis at the front of the SUV. I start to head toward the doctor’s office, but he extends his arm out in front of me.
“Wait a second.” With his arm barricading in front of me, he fishes his phone from his pocket and dials a number.
“Who are you calling—” I jolt as thunder grumbles from the sky.
Ellis’ gaze elevates to the clouds. “Owen. I want to see if he can let us in through the back. That way, Jason won’t see us come in.”
Relief cascades over me. The truth is, while I may be acting brave, beneath the fragile shield I’m absolutely terrified.
I blink as a raindrop hits me between the eyes and splatters across my flesh. “It looks like a storm is coming,” I mutter, the words feeling both literal and metaphorically.
Owen agrees to let us into the back. However, he informs us that he’s breaking rules. But he also wants to help.
“This town has too many secrets,” he states after letting us in, holding the door open for us. “I’m getting so sick of it.”
The back door we enter through leads us to a hallway lined with a few shut doors. At the end is a doorway,, and through it is the hallway where the examination rooms are located.
“Are you from here?” I ask as he locks the back door up.
He shakes his head. “No, but my cousin is, and she’s told me all about the suspicious deaths that frequently happen here. And about the drug problems.”
Ellis and I nod, but don’t remark.
Owen guides us down the hallway and to an empty examination room. Then he goes to see if he can figure out which room Jason is in, if any, and tells us he’ll be back in a few.
“I feel like I’m trapped,” I mumble as I take in the walls and then the door, the one way out of here.
If Jason entered this room, I wouldn’t be able to leave unless he allowed me to.
“I promise nothing will happen to you,” Ellis assures me, but his pacing suggests that he’s just as uneasy. “I won’t let it.” His shoes squeak against the linoleum floor, leaving faint scuff marks.
I watch him move back and forth, but then he hastily halts and retrieves his phone. He reads something on the screen, and then his attention snaps to the door.
“Owen said that Jason is in the hallway right now.” Ellis hurries by me and with a deep breath, carefully cracks the door open.
I inch toward the door, and the hushed whispers of Jason and my uncle filter into the room.
“You have to get a hold of it,” Jason hisses. “If you don’t, stuff will start to unravel.”
“Stuff is already starting to unravel,” my uncle snaps. “This is your fault. If you had stayed here and kept your place, none of this would’ve happened.”
Jason lets out a dry laugh. “Keep telling yourself that, but this started unraveling long before I ever got involved. And it’s not my goddamn responsibility. My father may be okay with this shit, but I want to live my own life.”
“You’re such an ungrateful shit,” my uncle growls.
“Fuck you. Just get the goddamn sample, so we can move on from this. Because if you don’t, I’ll take care of it myself,” Jason threatens him. “And you know how I deal with problems.”
A skip of silence.
“Owen, I need to speak with you for a moment.” My uncle says, his voice growing quieter, as if he’s moving away.
Ellis quietly closes the door, and an exhale eases from his lips. “Well, I think we can officially say that the possibility of your uncle altering the coroner’s reports is extremely high.”
