Dancing with the Dead ✔

Chapter Thirty-Three - Fast Times at Casa Nova High

"YOU DID WHAT?!" Lucas' roaring voice forces me to hold the phone a foot away from my ear. I can hear his ragged breath through the phone.

Looks like he's really furious, huh? Then again, who can blame him? After all, it doesn't even take me a week before I break my promise. Although in my defense, I only said I'd try.

After a while, I can no longer hear his voice from afar. Thinking I'm already out of harm's way, I bring the phone closer to my ear with caution.

"It's been only five days and now you're telling me you've accessed your patient's personal information for your own personal gain and breaking into someone's house on the same night?"

Great. He even counts the days.

"I know, I know. But—"

"How did you get into the house anyway?" He pauses for a quick second before he continues, "No, don't tell me. It must have something to do with that ghost you're seeing, isn't it?"

Wow. Bullseye.

"Look, I know you're angry, and you have every right to be, but I have a new clue in Jill's murder," I say, trying to get his attention and possibly tone his anger down.

He doesn't answer right away, but I can picture him raising his eyebrow as we speak. "What clue?" his voice lowers a bit, sounding interested.

A winning smile finds its way to my face. "Remember when we talked about a supposed drug dealing concerning Sheila McKinney and Stephen Stephens?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Doctor Brighton was the one who prescribed the Adderall that Sheila has been consuming. I'm pretty sure he prescribed Stephens with steroids and possibly other drugs too," I explain.

"And you know this how?"

"I found the pill bottle in Sheila's room," I answer. "Oh! Should I give it to you?"

Lucas lets out a disapproving sound. "Don't. It won't be any use. Just put it back where you found it and make sure no one knows you were there."

"But this is condemning evidence, right? If doctor Brighton is caught selling prescription drugs, surely this would be more than enough to... I don't know, get a warrant or something!"

He lets out a sigh. "Need I remind you how exactly you got that evidence, doc?"

Oh. I hate to say it but he has a point.

"Evidence collected illegally are inadmissible in court, and not only that, his lawyer could possibly turn this in our faces and blow up our case!"

His explanation causes my hope to vanish almost entirely. "So, you're telling me I commit crimes for nothing?"

"Not exactly nothing," his words give me a tiny little light of hope. "At least, now we know where and who to investigate."

"So what do we do next?" I ask.

"I," he stresses on the word, "am going to try to make Sheila McKinney and Stephen Stephens to talk. Right now, they're our best chance."