Page 85 of Broken Wheels

“The detective’s part of this whole circle. He did question Josh. And no, I don’t believe the doc is involved.”

“But someone else does, is that what you’re saying?” Dix didn’t break eye contact. “Come on, Chalmers. You’ve gotten this far.”

“They think I’m the killer?” Doc’s jaw fell. “But that’s insane.”

“That’s what I told my boss,” Chalmers replied. “After all, I’ve been on Dr. Malone’s case for several years. I know damn well he’s no psychopath. But….” Another deep breath. “My boss told me they searched your apartment, Doc.”

Dix bristled at the word. You have no fucking right to call him that. It was all he could do to keep his hands on the table.

Doc widened his eyes. “Nice of them to ask. Did they water my plants while they were there? I’ve neglected them.”

“They found samples there.”

Dix froze. “Samples of what, exactly?”

Chalmers wore a mask of misery. “The same toxin that killed Vreeland.” He sighed. “I was sent here to feel you out, even though I told my boss I didn’t buy it. But he sent me anyway.” He swallowed, and in that moment, Dix felt a brief flicker of sympathy for the clearly troubled agent. Then he remembered who Chalmers worked for.

“Dr. Malone?—”

“Josh,” Doc replied.

“Okay, thanks—Josh. I asked to meet with you because I’m trying to find out what’s really going on here.”

Dix snorted. “You yourself said we don’t have a good working relationship with the government, so why in the fuck would we trust anyone who works for them? You know, like the goddamn feds?”

Chalmers ignored Dixon’s outburst. “Josh, do you remember the incident with the toaster? The one that had the helicopter hovering over your place?”

“Yeah, what about it?”

Chalmers tilted his head to one side. “Ever wondered why they didn’t simply kick down your door to get inside?”

Doc stared. “Now that you mention it….”

He nodded. “Me and my men were there, and we made them wait until we had confirmation of anything. They wanted you in cuffs, hauled out, and taken to an undisclosed location.” He gestured to their surroundings. “How about that time you were in here, waiting on your order, and you realized you didn’t have your wallet?”

Doc’s breathing hitched. “Now wait a minute. How did you?—”

“The owner said not to worry about it, didn’t she? But you were frantically trying to find someone to come pay for you. So while you were on the phone, I came in here and took care of it, then left.”

“That was you?”

Chalmers nodded. “We’ve been watching and trying to keep you out of trouble. And speaking of trouble, I’d say you’re in it pretty deep.” He glanced at Dix. “No offense, Dixon, but I have resources you might not have access to.”

Dix was done. “I think we’ve heard enough. Doc, we should get going. Did you grab enough eclairs?”

Doc blinked. “Yes. I got two dozen of them. One for Gary, one for Michael.”

“And the rest for the refrigerator?”

Doc managed a smirk. “Now would I do that?”

“Seeing as your performance eating one of them required an R-rating, I’d say yes.”

“The two of you are so cute together,” Chalmers said, then promptly stuck his finger in his mouth and gagged.

The flash of humor dispelled a little of the conversation’s intensity.

“Jealousy is an ugly color on you, you know,” Dix teased.