Sealed In by Jacqueline Druga Read Free Book Online

keep it a secret?
    Allowing a one- to two-day incubation period, combined with the fact that someone had knowledge of the bug, Edward pinpointed his ground zero day.
    The day it all started. But what? Was it released? Was there an accidental experiment?
    Edward would solve this mystery. He was bound and determined to find out what happened out of the ordinary in Hartworth, Montana, on December 16 th .

Chapter Five
Hartworth, Montana
     
December 16th
     
    “Thank you, Vivian, thank you so much.” Roman was excited and rightfully so. Everything was falling into place, and Vivian Morris was the final piece he needed to put it together. Three employees other than him worked for his father. Vivian was the only person available to cover for him.
    Enthusiastically he sent a text to Heather, his fingers fumbling and making spelling errors. He couldn’t help it. They both wanted to see the concert in Billings but couldn’t afford tickets when they went on sale. When they had the money, the concert was sold out, all 22,000 seats. The concert was huge, three bands. So when he won those tickets from the radio station, Roman was through the roof. He had tried six times a day, day and night, for a week to win them. Problem was, he had just won them, and the concert was tonight.
    H e needed his shift covered for the evening and for the next morning, because he and Heather would stay overnight in Billings, and Vivian Morris pulled through.
    Heather’s mom would watch the baby, another dilemma solved.
    His father was fine … sort of … with him going, he just had to make sure all the work was done and ready for the morning.
    Roman set down his phone, grabbed a tablet, and started making a list. The clinic door opened and he looked down to his watch as he stood behind the reception window.
    “Hey, Mr. Rudolph, you’re a little early.” Roman said.
    “I know. I know. The wife had to shop ,” the older gentleman said as he hung up his coat. “I’ll wait.”
    “No problem. Relax.” Roman had all the charts pulled for the day. He grabbed Mr. Rudolph’s chart, tucked it under his arm as he walked to the back, placed the chart in the basket of exam room one, and headed to his father’s office.
    “Dad,” Roman knocked on the door and opened it. The room was empty. “Where the heck did he go?” The clinic wasn’t that big. He headed back down the hall. That was when he noticed the basement door was ajar. He opened it slightly and called down the steps. “Dad? You down here?”
    “Yes, Roman, I am.”
    He took a few steps downward. “What are you doing down here again?”
    “The temperature has dropped,” Val replied. “I am just checking my storage things. I will be moving them after the holiday.”
    “Really?” Roman reached the bottom of the stairs and his father stood before a closed trunk. “I thought you said this was just all old junk.”
    Val nodded.
    “Why are you worried?” Roman asked.
    “Because it is junk that has been with me for years. Just because I called it junk does not mean I want it to be ruined.”
    “Ah, okay. Mr. Rudolph is here.”
    “Fine. Thank you. Please leave.”
    Roman cocked back some at the harsh dictate of his father. After a shrug, he walked up the stairs. He looked back as he reached the top and closed the door.
    Odd. He found his father’s behavior odd. It was the third time in a week his father had gone down to the basement to check on those items.
    For something so worthless, his father was acting as if he held a priceless secret down there. But to Roman, it couldn’t be all that important if it was just stuck in a basement.
     
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Lincoln, Montana
     
    Like he did every morning, Stew perched himself in his favorite booth at Bonnie’s diner. He was already on his second cup of coffee after dropping Richie off at school. He called Heather and asked her to join him, and she said she’d be right down. That was forty minutes earlier. Stew would wait.
    His work was