Chapter 373

Ice smells like lemons!

That must mean John Cameron and his ilk are responsible for the flow of Ice into the country. And they were storing it under the Association!

It made sense. John and the faction had a lot of money financing his schemes. Selling a drug like Ice would generate that kind of cash.

It was a brazen move to store their shipments beneath the Association, but who would look in the ancient tomb? Nobody knew where the tomb was except them. I was there, but I couldn’t find it again.

Before finding the bomb, I saw men moving the boxes out of the passageways. Where did they move them to? They must have moved their operation nearby because Ice was flowing through Denhurst.

I had to find out and stop them from ruining any more lives. I’d start by finding the girl who introduced the Alphas to Sally.

I thanked Kyle for talking to me and promised I’d be in touch before going to the city college’s Chemistry Department to find Carla Cox.

According to Kyle, Carla introduced his girlfriend to the Alphas, who had brought Ice to the party.

Even though most of the college was on fall break, Professor Willis, the Chemistry professor, was in her office.

“What can I do for you, Miss Wilson?” she asked when I knocked on her door.

“I’m looking for one of your students,” I explained. “Carla Cox.”

“She hasn’t been to class lately,” Professor Willis said. “But I believe she resides in a dorm in Meade Hall.”

“Thank you,” I said. “I’ll look for her there.”

Meade Hall was the oldest building on campus. I had never been inside it, but it had a bad reputation for not following campus rules.

But I needed to find Carla. I walked across the campus to the old brick building known as Meade Hall.

The tiles on the first-floor entry hall were cracked and faded, and the building smelled of mold and something much fouler.

I asked a sleepy-looking girl where I could find Carla. She directed me to the third floor.

“It’s the room with the loud music blaring from it,” the girl said. “Between her music and the people going to and from her room, it’s hard to get any sleep around here.”

“Thanks,” I said and headed for the stairs.

The girl was right. I heard the loud music from the third-floor landing. The bass notes vibrated my teeth as I walked down the hall and knocked on the door.

The door immediately swung open. “Yeah, I’m out,” a chubby girl with short dark hair told me and started to close the door.

“Carla?” I asked.

She looked at me suspiciously. “Yeah. Who are you?”

“My name is Daisy. I want to talk to you,” I said.

“About what?” Her eyes narrowed.

I pulled a hundred-dollar bill from my jeans pocket and waved it at her. “It’s yours for ten minutes of your time. I’ll give you another if I think you’re telling me the truth.”

Carla opened her door wider. “Come on in.”

The room was a mess. There were food wrappers, soda cans, and dirty clothes covering every inch of the floor.

I gingerly stepped inside and closed the door. I didn't want to stay in the dorm room very long, so I came right to the point.

“Where do you get your Ice?” I asked.

Carla snorted. “Like I’d tell you. Are you a cop?”

“No, I’m not a cop,” I replied. “And you’ll tell me because I’ll give you another hundred bucks if you do.”

Carla’s eyes glittered as she studied me for a moment. “Are you planning on dealing? There’s a lotta customers on campus, enough for both of us.”

I was appalled at the thought of selling this garbage to people, but I had to let her think that’s why I wanted to know where to get the drug.

“Yeah, but don’t tell anybody about me, and there will be more money in it for you.” I pulled out another hundred-dollar bill and watched her eyes widen.

“Go see the janitor who works the second shift in the Reed Building,” she said. “Tell him I sent you, and he’ll hook you up.”

“Are you sure?” I studied her face to see if she showed any signs of lying.

“Yeah, he’s where I get my stuff,” she insisted. “And it’s good stuff. It’s lemon Ice. You’ll like it.”

I handed her the money. “Sally didn’t like it very much.”

“Sally, who?” Carla asked as she shoved the cash into her pocket.

She didn’t know or didn’t care that she had helped ruin two lives. After I found the source of the Ice, I had to turn her in to keep her from hurting anyone else.

“What’s the janitor’s name, and what does he look like?” I asked.

“They call him Rocky,” she said. “He’s got brown hair, and he’s tall and thin. And he always wears those green work pants like old guys wear.”

“What time is he there?”

I wanted out of that room. It was hard not to scream at Carla and ask her if she understood that she was hurting people just to get high.

But I had to follow her connection to his connection and so on until I found the source of the drug.

She looked at the clock over her bed. He should be there soon.

“Okay, thanks.” I hurried out the door.

I took a moment when I got outside to find out exactly where the Reed building was located. I knew it was even older than Meade Hall, and it was used for storage now.

Using my phone, I went to the college website to determine it was three buildings away from where I stood.

How convenient for Carla.

Waking in that direction, I soon found the building. I needed to watch for Rocky to report for his shift without being seen and found a spot behind a row of small spruce trees to stand.

Before long, a tall, lanky man in green work pants approached the building. His gait was stiff and slow, as if he wasn’t looking forward to putting in his eight hours.

He turned around suddenly before he reached the front door when someone called his name. It was Carla Cox. She waved the hundred dollar bills at him, causing him to shake his head in irritation.

“Not here,” he growled at her. “Meet me around back.”

Carla agreed, and I hurried through the decorative trees to a vantage point where I could see the back of the building.

I stayed still and quiet while Carla walked in front of the row of spruce trees to meet Rocky.

The landscape of the rear of the building was lower than the front. There was a loading dock at this end, accessed by a narrow service road.

Carla stumbled down a slight incline to the loading dock where Rocky was now waiting. She hurried to his side and presented him with the money I had given her.

He looked around nervously before snatching the cash from her and then reaching into his pants pocket.

Rocky handed her something wrapped in plastic. “Now get outta here,” he growled. “I told you to text me before showing up.”

“Sorry,” Carla whined. “But I need some. I’m hurting.”

“Just go,” he grumbled.

Carla stuffed her purchase into her pocket and hurried away toward her dorm.

I shook my head in disgust at the happy expression on her face. “Addiction has no conscience,” I mumbled. “It’s selfishness personified.”

Rocky watched Carla walk away, too. Then he took out a cigarette and lit it, dragging the smoke deep into his lungs before blowing it out in a massive cloud that obscured his face for a moment.

He was alone, and the loading dock was isolated from the rest of the campus. Maybe I should approach him now.

I wanted to know where he got the Ice he was selling. Was his supplier on campus too?

But I've never dealt with a drug dealer before. Well, other than Carla, that is. However, she was small potatoes compared to where Rocky got his supply of Ice, and he wouldn’t be as easily duped as Carla.

As I struggled to decide what to say to Rocky, a plain white van drove around the building on the service road and pulled up at the loading dock.

The driver in a ballcap got out of the van and joined Rocky on the platform. He pulled out a cigarette and borrowed Rocky’s lighter.

He took his first drag before pushing back his hat and looking up at the sky to exhale.

Surprise washed over me when I saw his face.

That man had gone missing after the faction evacuated The Association.

It was the ex-chief of security, now fugitive from justice, Rodney Wells!