Hot Springs Murder Read online

  “I’m not sure,” Nolan explained. He stood up and began walking back and forth. “The old lady could have sprayed out the entire bottle or had some left over. I didn’t see Noel take the spray bottle into the basement—I didn’t see the spray bottle at all, for that matter.”

  Amanda felt like screaming. “You said Noel could save us. Why wouldn’t she admit that fact—that very important fact—that very, very, very important fact—to us?”

  “Because she wants to die, and she wants to take you down with her,” Nolan told Amanda in a hurt voice that seemed out of character for a man of his make. “She blames herself.”

  “Blames herself for what?” Sarah asked.

  Nolan stopped pacing. “Noel is a certified genius,” he explained, in a very serious voice. “She was chosen to work with one of the smartest men alive.” Nolan walked back to the bed and sat down. “She helped Kraus develop the virus—unknowingly. Kraus deceived Noel and when Noel’s parents began to warn her about Kraus, Kraus killed them and used her sorrow to draw her deeper into his sticky web of lies. Without Noel, Kraus was nothing, and he knew that.” Sarah folded her arms and listened. Nolan placed his hands together and continued. “Noel began having concerns about Kraus and began confessing them to me. I don’t exactly know the entire story because I was working in Atlanta at the time. But what I do know is that Noel called the boss at Viral Green and spilled the beans that Kraus was breaking policy. It wasn’t long after that when Kraus tried to kill Noel.”

  “Noel was telling the truth about that, then,” Sarah said.

  “Yeah, she was,” Nolan agreed. “She was telling the truth about a lot of things she told you—mingled in with some deception. The truth is Noel doesn’t want you leaving this place. She wants to die.” Nolan shook his head. “In her mind—she sees me as the enemy. She honestly thinks I escaped with the virus. She thinks I sprayed the virus.”

  “Why?” Amanda asked.

  “Noel always told me that she was very fond of old lady Kraus. She said the woman was like a second mother to her. Then she was forced to kill her. I think that finally pushed her over the edge. After losing her parents, Noel clung to Mrs. Kraus. It nearly killed her to turn on Dr. Kraus, even though she had no choice,” Nolan shook his head again. “I’m assuming this is true because honestly, I don’t know what’s going on in Noel’s head. I heard her tell you that she was worried I might spray the virus in a large, crowded area—disobeying direct orders from the White Cell and obeying the highest bidder. I kept wondering why she was telling you that. Then I realized she was deflecting blame. She was hiding her pain, and running from the truth.”

  Sarah stretched her back. Her mind felt exhausted. Trying to keep pace with Noel and Nolan while desperately attempting to discover the truth was very tiring. “Nolan, we’ll come back to Noel in a minute. First, I want to talk about Mrs. Kraus. Why would that woman kill her husband and then spray the virus? Surely she must have known she was committing suicide?”

  “Lady,” Nolan said, “your guess is as good as mine on that one.” Nolan reached into his pocket and snatched out a cigarette and a pack of matches. “You mind?”

  “I mind,” Amanda griped. “I may be dying, but I still care about my lungs.”

  “Tough luck,” Nolan told Amanda with a dismissive roll of his eyes, and he lit up, blowing a huge cloud of smoke out into the already dusty, still air of the cabin.

  Amanda balled up her fists, then relaxed. She walked over to Nolan and slapped the cigarette out of his mouth. “Learn some manners,” she berated him. “We’re all stuck in here. Have some compassion for your fellow man. You’re lucky I didn’t punch you.” Nolan stared at Amanda in shock but didn’t make a move in her direction. Instead, he ground out his cigarette and nodded his head, giving her a look of begrudging respect. “That’s better,” she said. “Thank you, Nolan.”

  Sarah sat down in a wooden chair and rubbed her face, trying to dispel the tension in the air. “Nolan, I found this journal. I believe it belongs to Dr. Kraus. It seems to be written entirely in German, at least from the first couple pages I glanced at.”

  “I saw you find the journal,” Nolan told Sarah. “That’s why I decided it was time to talk. I didn’t know it was in German, but that makes sense—maybe Kraus was trying to hide it from Noel. She never learned the language, but I did, when I was stationed on an army base there. Maybe he wrote down a cure for the virus in his journal.” He paused and rubbed a tired hand over his face. “Noel can save us—she knows how—but I’m not going to lay down and die just because she refuses to try, ladies. I worked as a virologist for ten years before joining forces with the White Cell in order to find my wife.”

  Sarah raised her head. She studied Nolan’s face and then tossed him the journal. “Take your best shot.”

  “Love?” Amanda asked worriedly.

  “If Nolan wanted us dead, we would be dead,” Sarah told Amanda. “Sit down and let rest your legs, okay?” Amanda looked at Nolan with weary eyes and then plopped down in a wooden chair beside Sarah. Nolan nodded his head, opened the journal, and began to read. Sarah fought back a yawn and waited. Amanda began picking at her thumbnail. After a solid, tense half-hour passed, Nolan finally looked up from the journal. “What?” Sarah asked.

  “Either Kraus is lying, or Noel is lying,” Nolan said in a weak voice.

  “What do you mean?” Amanda asked.

  Nolan closed the journal. “It can’t be—it just can't be. Kraus has to be lying—he has to be lying,” Nolan pleaded.

  “Talk to me, Nolan,” Sarah begged. “What did Kraus write in his journal?”

  Nolan closed his eyes. “Kraus wrote that Noel murdered her parents, then tried to murder him. He claimed it was Noel who was transforming the virus into a weapon to attack humans instead of crops and ecological targets.” Nolan looked at Sarah with confusion. “Kraus claimed Noel used Viral Green to destroy him by claiming he tried to kill her.” Nolan tossed the journal back to Sarah. “Kraus writes that he escaped with the virus, but feared Noel would never give up searching for him—that’s why he went to the White Cell—for protection. Bad move on his part.”

  “Keep talking,” Sarah ordered Nolan.

  Nolan stood up and walked over to the cabin door. “Kraus assumed Noel would never return to this location. So he came here himself a few years later and began trying to find a cure for the virus Noel created. A cure. A cure!” Nolan stopped talking. He looked at Sarah. “Could it be old lady Kraus was spraying what she thought was a cure instead of a virus? Could it be we’re not infected?”

  Sarah felt her heart jump with hope. She stood up and looked around the room. “Nolan, what else did Dr. Kraus write?”

  “In the final entry, he wrote that he feared Noel had located him, and he wanted to try and get his wife as far away as possible while he tried to hide his research,” Nolan explained.

  Amanda stood up and looked at Sarah. “That’s why he sent her to Florida ahead of him. And one tube was missing—two remained,” she said, in a curious voice. “Could it be, love, that those two tubes are the cure and not a virus?”

  “Maybe,” Sarah admitted, and drew in a deep breath. “It could also be that Noel came here to infect Dr. Kraus with the real virus, along with Mrs. Kraus.” Sarah bent down and took out her gun. As she did, her head began to feel funny. She dropped down to one knee and placed her left hand on the floor.

  “Love?” Amanda asked, and dropped down to her knees in panic. “What is it?” she asked.

  “I don’t know—all of a sudden I just became very dizzy,” Sarah explained, and shook her head. “Please—help me stand up.” Amanda helped Sarah stand up. “Better,” Sarah promised. But when she looked at Nolan and read the concern on his face, she knew she wasn’t better. On the contrary, she was far, far worse. “Nolan?”

  “Dizziness is one of the first symptoms you experience when infected by the virus,” Nolan said in a weak voice.

  “No,” Amanda cried, �
�no! We are not infected, we can’t be! Mrs. Kraus—she had to have been spraying the cure—not the virus.”

  “Maybe Kraus didn’t create a cure that just stops the virus,” Nolan suggested. “Maybe he created a second virus to kill off the first virus, an infection to neutralize it. Remember, he was working for the White Cell. The boss man is a cruel person. I doubt he would have allowed Kraus to waste time and money working on a cure instead of a virus.” Nolan stepped away from Sarah.

  “Wait, wait, wait,” Amanda yelled. She struggled to clear her mind while holding Sarah’s hand. “Why would Mrs. Kraus shoot her own husband and begin spraying a virus in the air? None of this makes sense.”

  Sarah felt anger rise in her heart. She wanted answers but felt the weight of confusion eating at her mind. For a brief second, a theory made sense and gave hope. Now she was being kicked back down a dark hole. “Nolan, what do we do?” she asked, still feeling dizzy.

  “Kraus didn’t write anything down that can help us,” Nolan complained, gesturing to the journal on the dusty bed. “All he did was turn the tables on Noel and point the finger at her.” Nolan kicked the floor. “I was warned not to fall in love with her. I was warned that she was a very dangerous person.”

  Amanda looked at Sarah. “Love, I need some fresh air.”

  “Me, too,” Sarah admitted. Grabbing the journal, she worked her way outside into the bright sunlight. As she did, she spotted Noel standing outside, a few yards away from the porch of the main lodge, searching the land. Sarah felt anger erupt in her heart, clearing away the dizziness. She drew in a deep breath, charged up to Noel, and pointed her gun at the woman. “You lied to us!” she yelled.

  Noel stared at Sarah with calm eyes then looked at Amanda. When she saw Nolan following behind Amanda, the calmness in her eyes transferred into rage. “I will kill you!” she yelled.

  “Shut up!” Sarah yelled. “You lied to us.”

  “I told you the absolute truth,” Noel promised Sarah, changing her voice into that of a victim. “That man is a hired killer. He sprayed the virus—”

  “Put a lid on it,” Amanda snapped. “I thought you were a friend—boy, was I ever wrong. You really pulled the wool over our eyes last night, sister.”

  Nolan stepped up beside Amanda. “Don’t do this, Noel. Please,” he begged. “I came here to take you away. To get you help.”

  “You betrayed me and allowed those men to shoot me in the back!” Noel spat. “I trusted you! You were supposed to be my husband!”

  “I didn’t know we were going to be betrayed!” Nolan yelled back. “I was sent to bring you in peacefully. I was assured your life would be spared if I helped capture you. What choice did I have? The boss man wasn’t going to let you walk into this place and kill his top scientist, Noel.”

  Noel threw her eyes at Sarah. “Shoot him—please,” she begged. “He has contaminated—”

  “Stop with the lies,” Sarah snapped. “Nolan told us that he witnessed Mrs. Kraus spraying the virus—or a cure—or something.” Sarah held up her left hand and presented Dr. Kraus's journal. “We found this journal. Dr. Kraus confessed many interesting truths. Now, it’s your turn to tell the truth.”

  Noel stared at the journal with poison eyes. “So he did manage to hide the journal after all,” she hissed.

  “I want answers,” Sarah yelled. “I trusted you to help us find a cure.”

  “A cure?” Noel said, and then leaned back her head and laughed. “There is no cure, you idiot.” Noel pointed a hard finger at Nolan. “You three have become my lab rats. It’s too bad I had to kill Mrs. Kraus. I really did like her, but she decided at the last minute I wasn’t paying her enough, and hid the virus she sprayed in the cabin from me.”

  “The virus—the real virus?” Sarah asked, trying to keep up.

  Noel let a hideous grin cover her once lovely face. “Kraus was working on a virus that could kill my own. A virus that White Cell believed was deadly but was, in fact, harmless to humans. It was only deadly to my own little creation. Mrs. Kraus assisted me in switching out the viruses.” Noel looked at Nolan and then back to Sarah. “I injected her with an antidote that protected her. I wanted to believe I could trust that woman, since she was like a second mother to me.” Noel narrowed her eyes. “I was wrong. After that woman killed Kraus and sprayed my virus inside the cabin, she waited for me and demanded more money. I had no choice but to kill her.”

  “Noel, you’re insane,” Nolan said. “Why are you doing this?”

  “To control the world. To control White Cell. To control everyone,” Noel snapped at Nolan. “If my virus acts as I suspect it will on human subjects, then I will have absolute power. Mrs. Kraus may have managed to hide one of my tubes, but I still have two more and I am very capable of making more. You see, you idiot, the time arrived to kill Kraus and put my plan into action, and seek my revenge on White Cell.” Noel glared at Sarah. “Kraus had to die because he knew my secrets.”

  “You killed your parents,” Sarah told Noel in a disgusted voice.

  Sarah’s words slapped Noel across the face. “I had to. They were growing suspicious of me,” she hissed. “When I confessed my plan to them, they threatened to report me to the CDC. My parents left me with no other choice.”

  “You are a sick woman, Noel,” Amanda said. “Boy, last night we were holding you and wiping away your tears. You really played us like an old violin, didn’t you?”

  Noel looked at Amanda. “I will carry out my plan,” she promised. “You three have less than forty-eight hours to live. You can run, but you risk infecting millions of innocent people. You have no choice but to stay and die. If you decide to stay, I will make your last hours on earth very comfortable and ensure you die as painlessly as I can.” She smiled with sickly sweet malice.

  Sarah balled her left hand into a fist and punched Noel in her face. The impact was sudden, fierce and powerful. Noel stumbled backward, dropped to the ground, and fell unconscious. “Nolan,” Sarah said, in an urgent voice, “Noel wouldn’t risk coming here without extra antidotes, right?”

  “Maybe—who knows?” Nolan said, staring at Noel’s unconscious body. “She—I saw them shoot her,” he said, in an angry voice and before Sarah could react, he aimed his gun at her. “Drop your gun, lady!” he yelled. “I’m taking my wife and getting out of here.”

  “And risk infecting millions?” Sarah asked, shocked. “No way!”

  To Amanda’s horror, she watched Sarah aim her gun at Nolan and wait. “Now—everyone calm down,” she begged.

  “If you try to leave, I’ll be forced to shoot you, Nolan,” Sarah warned.

  “I’m taking my wife and getting out of here,” Nolan yelled and held his ground. “Fire if you have the guts, lady,” he dared Sarah and waited. Amanda closed her eyes and began to pray.

  “You’re not leaving,” Sarah warned Nolan. “Now please, we can get through this. I need you to start searching the property for the antidote. Maybe Noel hid a vial of the antidote someplace? Amanda and I will check the cabin and—”

  “No deal,” Nolan yelled. “Once I take Noel from here and get her to understand what I’ve done for her—saved her from assassination—I’ll be able to convince her of my love. She’ll come around and inject me with an antidote,” Nolan narrowed his eyes. “That woman is my wife. I’m not deserting her. She needs serious mental help and I’m going to see that she gets all she needs.”

  “And risk killing millions?” Sarah asked, incredulously. “No deal.”

  “Then shoot me,” Nolan dared Sarah again.

  “Enough!” Amanda screamed. She spun around and pointed a hard finger at Nolan. “Take your wife and get lost, pal. I hope you have a swell honeymoon because you’re going to be dead before it even starts.” Amanda threw her finger at Noel. “If you think that woman is ever going to accept you as her husband again you’re barking up a dead tree. But that’s none of my business. So just take her and go. Sarah and I have an antidote to start looking for.”
Amanda grabbed Sarah’s left wrist. “Let’s go, honey. Time is wasting.”

  “I can’t let him—”

  “He’ll be back,” Amanda promised Sarah. “He’ll get halfway down the trail and come to his senses, you wait and see.”

  Nolan lowered his gun. “Take a hike, the both of you,” he said, and ran over to the unconscious Noel. Sarah and Amanda watched him hoist Noel onto his shoulders and step back. “Once I leave, you two are on your own. You can try to walk out of here, to reach a hospital or whatever you think is right. But if you try to follow me—I’ll kill you.” And with those words, Nolan turned and staggered away with Noel over his shoulder.

  Sarah aimed her gun at his legs, but Amanda shook her head. “Don’t,” she begged. “Let him go.”

  “He’ll infect—”

  “He’ll be back,” Amanda promised.

  “How can you be so sure?” Sarah pleaded, as she kept her gun at the ready.

  “Because as screwed up as that guy is—he has a conscience,” Amanda sighed. “Come on, Los Angeles, we have to start looking for an antidote—if there is one.”

  Sarah felt her arms grow weak. Her head hurt as the dizziness seemed to come back. She lowered her gun and watched Nolan vanish around the cabin and out of sight. “My head hurts from trying to figure out the truth, June Bug. Honestly, all I know is that Noel is insane, and Nolan is following right behind her.” Sarah looked around. “I don’t know how to make heads or tails of this.”

  “And you thought being a Los Angeles homicide detective was tough work, huh?” Amanda tried to joke, but stopped when she felt a sudden wave of dizziness strike her. “Oh my,” she gasped, “dizzy, too.”

  Sarah steadied Amanda and helped her up onto the front porch and sat her down on a rocking chair. “June Bug, even if Noel did bring extra antidotes with her—what are the chances that we would find them? I’m sure she hid them in a secure location. We don’t have time to play hide and seek.”

  Amanda rubbed her temples. “You know—I’ve been thinking—how did Noel appear in the kitchen? I mean, she kinda appeared like a puff of smoke, remember?”