Chemical Attraction by Christina Thompson

wasn’t an only child.
    Joe mockingly pushed Eva away. “It’s a great name and I predict brilliant things from that kid. And you have a big mouth. Where’s Matt?”
    “He’s in the backyard wiping down the patio furniture. Here’s a clean towel to help.”

    After kissing Madeline on the cheek, Joe left through the slider. Surrounded by privacy fence, the four deck chairs and the large wooden picnic table with an umbrella sat next to the gas grill.
    “Hey, how was your night?” he asked, holding out the clean towel.
    “Better than yours,” Matt replied, pointing to the other chair.
    He wiped it down and then sat in it. “Where’s David?”
    “He wasn’t too happy with us this morning, but he and his friends will be back. They always return for food.”
    “Do you ever fish off the boardwalk?”
    “Only when I want to catch carp. How was it this morning?”
    “I didn’t catch a damn thing.”
    Matt sat in one of the chairs and raised his eyebrow. “Are you going to tell me why you’re really here?”
    He leaned back against the cushion. “What do you mean? I’m here for your food.”
    “If you hinder my job in any way, I’ll kick your ass all the way to lockup. I won’t care who you’re related to,” Matt said causally.
    He sat forward in his chair and ran his hand through his hair. “What gave us away?”
    “I know you and I know Madeline. When she changed tactics so quickly, something was up. Eva’s suspicious, too.”
    “I’ll keep you informed. When I know, I swear, you’ll know,” he replied. Matt nodded as Eva shut the slider with her foot. She and Madeline carried long necks of Miller Lite. Handing one to Joe, Madeline sat in the chair next to him. “Thanks,” he said absently.
    If Matt had figured it out so quickly, so could others. This would create a major problem with his sister’s curiosity. Her interrogations in college always had him squirming. She would pick up on a look, a pause, or a word, then press him for its meaning. He’d seen Eva leave his friends disoriented, and they were cops. He hoped Madeline could hold her own until he had a chance to talk to her. He didn’t need their cover to fall apart already. This was one more thing to keep him up at night. He jumped realizing that Madeline had spoken to him.
    “Sorry. What did you ask?”
    “I asked if you were okay. You’re too quiet,” Madeline said.
    “I was just thinking.”
    “Don’t hurt yourself,” Eva said.
    “Okay, little Miss Stripper,” he replied, smiling.
    She grinned back at Joe. “Madeline, how many fish did you catch today?”
    “Okay, you two,” Matt replied, shaking his head.
    “Madeline, you talked to quite a few people last night,” Eva said, sipping her beer.
    She glanced at Joe. “Yeah, it’s the part of my job I hate. We always worry about our funding and need the support from just about everybody.”
    “How’s your research going?” Eva asked.
    “I’m working on helping the brain heal with nanodrugs.”
    “So you’re manipulating the brain?” Joe asked.
    “Well, sure, that’s what drugs do. They heal, but they also create chaos within the whole body. I want to make it specific to an area without side effects,” she explained, leaning back.
    “Have you gotten very far?” Eva asked.
    “We’re finally at the animal testing stage, but nanotechnology is being used in a lot of things you probably use now.”
    “I can’t image what,” Joe replied, chugging the rest of his beer.
    “Well, like sunscreens and water filtration. My sunglasses have a glare-reduced coating for protection. Even computers have nano-thin layers of magnetic materials for more storage. My lab’s working on a specific drug delivery system. Our drug, once implanted in the brain, will have huge potential,” Madeline said as David and his friends came through the gate by the side of the garage.
    “Hi, guys, there’s pop in the cooler,” Eva yelled. David gave her a cold look before he leaned over