Part 39 (2/2)
”And you're telling me you found flunitrazepam in the puparial casings I sent?”
”The ones a.s.sociated with the upper body contained flunitrazepam and two of its metabolites, desmethylflunitrazepam and 7-aminoflunitrazepam. The concentration of the parent drug was much greater than the metabolites.”
”Which is consistent with acute rather than chronic exposure.”
”Exactamundo.”
I thanked Lou and hung up.
For a moment I just sat there. The shock of discovery had curdled my stomach and I felt I might throw up. Or maybe it was the Moon Pie.
Flunitrazepam.
The word had finally roused the stored memory.
Flunitrazepam.
Rohypnol.
That was the wake-up call my brain had been sounding.
With trembling hands I dialed the Lord Cartaret Motel. No answer. I redialed and left my number on Ryan's pager.
Then I waited, my sympathetic nervous system broadcasting a low-level alert, telling me to fear. Fear what?
Rohypnol.
When the phone rang I lunged for it.
A student.
I cleared the line and waited some more, feeling a dark, cold dread.
Rohypnol. The date rape drug.
Glaciers formed. Ocean levels rose and fell. Somewhere a star spun planets from dust.
Eleven minutes later Ryan called.
”I think I've found another link.”
”What?”
Slow down. Don't let the shock interfere with your thinking.
”The Murtry Island and St-Jovite murders.”
I told him about my conversation with Lou West.
”One of the women on Murtry had ma.s.sive amounts of Rohypnol in her tissue.”
”So did the bodies in the upstairs bedroom at St-Jovite.”
”Yes.”
Another memory had slammed to the surface when Lou spoke the name of the drug.
Boreal forest. Aerial views of a smoldering chalet. A meadow, shrouded bodies arranged in a circle. Uniformed personnel. Stretchers. Ambulances.
”Do you remember the Order of the Solar Temple?”
”The wing nut wors.h.i.+pers that offed themselves en ma.s.se?”
”Yes. Sixty-four people died in Europe. Ten in Quebec.”
I fought to steady my voice.
”Some of those chalets were wired to explode and burn.”
”Yeah. I've thought of that.”
”Rohypnol was found in both locations. Many of the victims had ingested the drug shortly before they died.”
Pause.
”You think Owens is rezoning for the Temple?”
”I don't know.”
”Think they're dealing?”
Dealing what? Human lives?
”I suppose it's a possibility.”
For several moments neither of us spoke.
”I'll run this past the guys who worked Morin Heights. Meantime, I'm going to shove a deadbolt up Dom Owens' a.s.s.”
”There's more.”
The line hummed softly.
”Are you listening?”
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