The Girls in the Snow (Nikki Hunt #1) - Stacy Green Page 0,67
Her brief vindication quickly ebbed. “The local hospital? Not the state lab?”
“Stillwater used the hospital lab back then,” Rory explained. “That was before the state lab started doing all the testing for every county. Anyway, there’s no record of the test, but the paramedic says you had more than just alcohol in your system.”
“But I didn’t.” Nikki’s mouth had gone dry.
Rory glanced at her. “He said you kept talking about not being able to wake up. He thought it was nonsense at first, but you started talking about the party and that you couldn’t wake up no matter how hard you tried.”
Nikki couldn’t speak, her mind cartwheeling with the information. She’d only had a few drinks that night, but they had been more vodka than cranberry juice. She remembered talking with John and his friends and then …
Did she actually remember making the decision to lie down? John had said something about her needing to lie down, but suddenly Nikki realized she didn’t remember going down the hall and into the room.
“I swear I didn’t do anything other than drink. I think a couple of people at the party had pot, but there weren’t any hard drugs lying around.”
“Is it possible someone slipped something into your drink?” he asked softly.
“No one really knew about the date-rape drug then,” Nikki said.
“Liquid ecstasy was also legal at the time,” Rory said. “I know it wasn’t deemed an illegal substance until 2000. In the eighties and nineties, athletes used it as a performance enhancer.”
“I’m aware of that.” The high dose of GHB in liquid ecstasy made a person helpless when combined with alcohol. While a smaller dose produced a euphoric effect that some athletes claimed gave them an edge, research proved that to be false. She knew what Rory was getting at. John and his friends all ran track in college. Maybe one or more of them used the drug because they believed it made them run faster. “John was by my side most of the night. If one of his buddies tried to put something in my drink, he would have noticed.”
“I’d imagine he would.”
The words hung between them, their implication clear. “John had no reason to drug me. I mean, we’d already…” Nikki flushed, annoyed at how easily Rory could get to her. “And frankly, the only person with motive would have been Mark. He’s the one who tried to attack me.”
Rory’s jaw clenched, and for the first time looked like he was ready to lose his cool. “Then why did Hardin bury the tox test?”
“I’m sure he didn’t. It was probably misplaced at the hospital.” Did she really believe that anymore?
Rory stopped in front of the county government building. “I hope you’re right, but if you aren’t and news about the tox report comes out, everything changes. I called Patsy this morning and asked her not to leak it. She said that she had no intention of talking to the media unless the report was actually found. But if word gets out, the protestors are really going to be after you.”
Nikki stared at him, the flush on her cheeks morphing into a rush of emotion. “You called her to protect me?”
Rory shrugged. “I told you that I saw you as a victim. Besides, you’re here on a case. It takes precedence. Get this bastard off the streets, and then sit down with the evidence. That’s all I ask.”
“I will, I promise.” Nikki hopped down from the truck. She didn’t want to believe Hardin could have been so bitter he would let a killer go free in order to punish Mark for sleeping with his wife. But if her tox screen had come back with drugs in her system, her entire testimony would have been thrown out.
Had Rory used his conversation with the defense attorney as a way to make Nikki feel obligated to look at the evidence file? Nikki realized she didn’t care if he had. It was still an act of kindness she desperately appreciated. “Thanks for the ride.”
Rory stared at her a beat too long. “You’re welcome.”
Twenty-Four
Nikki sat down in one of the conference room chairs and stared blankly out of the window. Could she really have been drugged that night? It seemed impossible, but even if the paramedic had been wrong in his assessment, he had no reason to lie about the blood test. Was Hardin so blinded by his anger at Mark Todd that he’d risked his job and buried the test?