Page 100 of Night Watch
The police said the boyfriend looked like he’d been tortured. Maybe they were trying to get him to tell them where the denture plate was located after they searched Wanda’s house and the lab and didn’t find it. Then Kennedy and Erik saw him at Wanda’s place, so he wanted to take them out too.
It was all making sense, everything fitting together and tying up with a neat bow. Sure, they would have to get Miller to confess and tell them who was behind inDents, but Erik figured that would happen in time. Time Erik didn’t have before Kennedy disappeared again. He needed to tell her about all of this now! Before she left town. If she hadn’t already gone.
25
Kennedy recognized the voice and knew the identity of the man lurking in the shadows. Oscar Edwards. He stepped into the light from the lamp as she tried to figure out what he meant when he said they had something to end. She had no idea.
“How did you get in here?” she asked, trying to remain calm.
“Your mother used to hide a key under one of the pots.” Edwards held the key out on his palm. “I guess she didn’t tell you.”
“Why would she tell you?”
He shoved the key into his pocket. “I had to meet with her every week, and we sure couldn’t meet in public where video cameras are everywhere nowadays. And you know your mom. She often got bogged down in her research and forgot everything else. She was often late and gave me a key to let myself in.”
Kennedy couldn’t imagine her mother being so secretive. “Why were you meeting with her?”
He lifted his shoulders, and a cocky smile spread across his face. “She was trialing a denture plate I’ve perfected to deliver medicines to the wearer.”
Kennedy tried not to gape at the man, but what he was saying was crazy. “Medicine through dentures?”
He lifted his chin. “Researchers have been experimenting with 3-D printed dentures to deliver antifungal medicines to denture wearers. They were so shortsighted. Why stop there, I asked? Why not try other meds too? Just imagine it. The denture wearer—often seniors who forget to take their meds—will have them seamlessly delivered, and they only have to change out the dentures every so often.” His shoulders rose, and he let out an arrogant huff of air. “I’m going to make a fortune.”
Ah, now things were becoming clearer. “You’re behind inDents.”
“IaminDents.” His shoulders rose even higher. “Every brilliant thought behind it.”
“And you gave my mom her heart medicine that way, but it failed and killed her.”
He frowned. “Once I get the dentures back, I can investigate the failure. Of course I also have to make sure no one learns of it.”
In his dreams.“But you can’t keep it a secret. My mom was buried with them, and the police have the spare set.”
“No worries.” He tossed off an easygoing shrug. “The pair your mother was buried with will soon be recovered.”
She cringed at the implications behind his statement. “And the other pair? The one Jeremy Miller stole? Do you know him?”
“My sort of nephew.” Disgust deepened Edwards’s tone. “He botched things up one too many times. He’s on his own, butyouwill get the pair back that the police are now holding.”
So he did it. This man killed her mom. Sure it was an accident, but he was responsible.
She opened her mouth to spew her anger at him but held it in check, curling her fingers into fists. This creep wouldn’t get away with killing her mother, but anger would get Kennedy nowhere right now. She had to get the details from him. Then she would find a way to get free and see him punished.
“Sort of nephew?” she asked, surprised by how calm she managed to sound.
Edwards’s lip curled as he rolled his eyes. “My sister once fostered a teen. Jeremy Miller. She always begged me to think of him as family. Not easy. Not when he was so rough around the edges.”
Edwards shuddered. “The boy pushed the boundaries and got into trouble with the law too many times for my liking. Now, he’s become fascinated with guns. He’s one of those militia fanatics you hear about on the news. Disgusting, but just the guy I needed. He was more than glad to break into all the places where your mom might’ve kept her spare denture and recover it.”
Oh, Mom, you trusted the wrong man. Totally trusted the wrong man.“You had a key and code for the lab too?”
“Your mother was kind enough to let me do my research there late at night. After all, dispensing drugs without going through FDA protocols isn’t exactly approved.”
Her mother really must’ve trusted him, as being generous with her lab wasn’t common for her. “Which is why you paid her so much money. You both knew this trial could kill her.”
He grimaced. “That’s a bit extreme.”
“Extreme!” Kennedy finally lost it and charged across the room, her blood boiling. She was going to grab her gun and…Stop. Calm down and think.“That’s exactly what happened.”
