Chapter 2 - The Man in Purple)
Rachel walked into the hallway before anyone could stop her.
The man was gone.
She looked left.
Then right.
A nurse pushing a cart glanced at her.
"Ma'am, you need to stay near your son's room."
"Did you see a man in a purple polo shirt?"
The nurse frowned.
"A patient?"
"I don't know. He was standing outside my son's room."
"Family member?"
"No."
Rachel moved farther into the corridor.
Dr. Velez appeared behind her.
"Mrs. Moore."
"There was someone watching us."
"We need you inside."
"He works at my son's after school center."
That got his attention.
"You're sure?"
"No. But they wear purple shirts."
"Did you recognize him?"
"I've seen him somewhere."
Dr. Velez looked toward the nurses' station.
"What center?"
"Harbor House Youth Enrichment. On Ashland."
The doctor took out his phone and typed something into a note.
"Was your son there today?"
"Every weekday."
"Do they serve food?"
Rachel stopped.
"Snacks."
"What kind?"
"Fruit. Crackers. Sometimes smoothies. They have some kind of nutrition program."
Dr. Velez looked up.
"What kind of nutrition program?"
"I don't know."
The answer embarrassed her.
Rachel knew Tobe's teachers.
She knew his soccer coach.
She knew the names of most children in his class.
But Harbor House had always seemed safe.
Bright windows.
Clean rooms.
Smiling staff.
Educational programs.
A small indoor garden children were allowed to help maintain.
When the school recommended it, Rachel had enrolled him without much concern.
"Has your son mentioned eating anything unusual there?" the doctor asked.
"No."
"Gardening?"
Rachel looked at him.
"They have a garden."
"What kind?"
"Indoor planters. Maybe a greenhouse room. I don't know exactly."
Dr. Velez was silent for half a second too long.
"You think that's where this came from?" Rachel asked.
"I don't know."
His answer was technically neutral.
His face was not.
Back inside the room, Tobe had awakened.
"Mom?"
Rachel hurried to him.
"I'm here."
"Can we go home?"
Her heart broke.
"Soon."
"When?"
"When the doctors make your tummy stop hurting."
He stared toward the monitor.
"What was moving?"
Rachel looked at Dr. Velez.
The doctor pulled a stool beside the bed.
"We're still figuring that out, buddy."
"Is it a bug?"
"No insects," he said.
Tobe considered that.
Then he whispered, "Is it because of the moon vitamins?"
Rachel turned sharply.
"The what?"
Tobe looked confused by her tone.
"The moon vitamins."
"What moon vitamins?"
"The ones at Harbor House."
Rachel stared at him.
"Who gives you vitamins?"
Tobe's face changed.
A child's instinctive recognition that he might have said something he was not supposed to say.
"No one."
"Tobe."
He looked toward the blanket.
"Tobe, sweetheart, you are not in trouble."
Silence.
Rachel softened her voice.
"Tell Mom about the moon vitamins."
"They're not bad."
"Who said they were bad?"
"Nobody."
"Then tell me."
He rubbed his thumb against the edge of the blanket.
"They're powder."
"Powder?"
"You mix it in juice."
"Who gives it to you?"
Tobe hesitated.
"Mr. Wade."
Rachel felt cold.
"Who is Mr. Wade?"
"The purple shirt man."
Dr. Velez and Rachel looked at each other.
"Tobe," Dr. Velez said calmly, "what does Mr. Wade tell you the powder does?"
"Makes us strong."
"Who is us?"
"The garden group."
"How many children?"
Tobe shrugged.
"Like eight."
Rachel's phone was already in her hand.
She searched Harbor House.
Staff photographs appeared.
She scrolled.
Program director.
Teachers.
Volunteers.
Then she saw him.
Wade Keller.
Community Nutrition Coordinator.
He was smiling in the photograph wearing a purple Harbor House polo.
It was the man from the hallway.
Rachel looked toward the door.
"He was here."
Dr. Velez pressed the call button.
"Security needs to find this man."
But before the nurse answered, Rachel noticed something on the floor outside the treatment room.
A plastic identification card.
Someone had dropped it.
She stepped forward and picked it up.
The photograph belonged to Wade Keller.
But the badge was not from Harbor House.
It belonged to another organization.
Pioneer Childhood Wellness Research.
May you like
Under Wade's picture were three words that made Rachel's stomach twist.
FIELD SAMPLE COLLECTION.
