page68 (1/2)

“We’re going to make it easy on you,” Claire said to Lorraine

She ordered the Tuesday Night Special, seven-dollar-aplate spicy shrimp dinner, all around And then Claire asked me to tell what I knew about the complaint

But I wasn’t supposed to talk to anyone, right?

“No, I’o ahead,” I told Claire

“You sure?”

“Start talking, Claire, or so to beat you to it”

“Okay, then,” she said “Get this One of the EMTs who picked up Sarah Nugent outside the Adister at the time”

Claire had our full attention Forks paused in midair

“What did he remember?” I asked

Claire said, “He saw a utter So now he and his partner drive over to the hotel and find this empty vial It’s labeled ‘succinylcholine’”

Cindy asked, “What’s that?”

“Sux is a colorless, odorless muscle relaxant, a shortterm paralytic used primarily for intubation,” said Claire “It can be administered intravenously It can also be injected intramuscularly”

I said, “I see where you’re going You think the victims were injected with that?”

“It makes sense,” said Claire “If used intravenously, sux works within a minute or two If you’re not on a respirator, you will stop breathing and you will die Intraer for the paralysis to hit, so you buy anotheron a respirator PDQ, you will die”

Yuki asked her, “Why didn’t the tox screens pick it up?”