Heather had been so quiet, Caden had almost forgotten she was there, but when they headed out of Wilmont’s room, following the detectives and one of the members of hospital security down the hall, she stayed with him. “Can I see that?” she asked.

Elliott raised a brow but handed her the directions.

“I know where this is,” she said. “It’s actually a room used as storage.”

“You want to lead? It’ll be easier than trying to read that chicken scratch.”

“Sure.”

The CID agent brought up the rear.

When they arrived at the storage closet, the security officer swiped his key card, opened the door, and flipped on the light.

Caroline took the lead, weaving her way toward the back of the room. Metal shelves lined the walls, and more were placed in the center of the room, effectively creating a hidden area in the back, not visible from the door. Caden walked toward a bathroom while Elliott headed toward a pile of blankets against the back wall.

“Found the backpack,” Elliott called.

“And I found Mr. Xia,” Caden said.

After ten minutes of research, Gavin leaned back into the sofa cushion. “They’re all vets, obviously. A lot of them are dead. Suicides. Several survived suicide attempts.”

She frowned. “It’s the drug,” she said. She shivered and grabbed a sweatshirt from the back of the sofa and pulled it over her head. “Whatever that drug is, it’s not working and they’re covering it up.” She paused. “I wonder how close it is to being approved by the FDA?”

“That’s a good theory,” he said, “but Dustin said it was working, remember?”

She sighed. “Right. That doesn’t make sense. Then again, if you think about it, everyone we talked to said their relatives’ mood changed almost lightning quick. Brianne’s friend even said she was gone for less than an hour. When she left, Brianne was fine and planning a trip to Hawaii. When she got back, she was in the pit of despair.” She stilled as part of a conversation floated to the forefront of her mind. “Wait a minute.”

“What?”

“Dr. Kilgore and the other man I heard in the hallway of the hospital were talking about a drug. One asked if Brianne was on it, and when Dr. Kilgore said yes, the other guy told him to take her off of it.”

Gavin blinked. “Okay. What if it’s not the drug itself that causes suicidal thoughts . . . er . . . actions, but the withdrawal from it?”

She nodded. Then frowned and shook her head. “But Wilmont took the drug too, remember? Has he displayed any suicidal symptoms?”

Gavin pursed his lips. “No, but maybe two pills simply weren’t enough. He wouldn’t have withdrawals from that, would he?”

“I wouldn’t think so.”

“Then why was Max sending those pills to Brianne? To keep her from having withdrawals?”