Ezra had finally gotten tired of watching the kid pace and sent him for coffee. Not that he really wanted it, but it did give the kid a chance to unravel his tangled nerves. He was now sitting in the ER room with Josiah Sanchez. The older man seemed to be resting, but the gambler could tell he was in considerable pain. They’d hooked him up to a heart monitor and an oxygen mask, but there was still no clue as to what was causing the symptoms. The test results were due back any time, and Standish kept looking at the clock on the wall. Buck had been down to tell them what Jackson said and they were waiting for word on it. He looked up and placed his finger over his mouth as JD came into the small room.
“I got your coffee,” the kid whispered.
“Thank you, JD,” Standish said softly.
“How is he?”
“He’s resting right now.”
“Any word?”
“Not yet I’m afraid. Hopefully the results will be back soon.”
“What’s taking so long?” Dunne hissed and frowned at the soft moan from Josiah Sanchez. He waited for the older man to go back to sleep and breathed a sigh of relief as he heard the even breathing.
“JD, this is a large hospital and these things do take time. I’m sure they’re working as fast as they can,” the gambler told him.
“Yeah, I know, Ez, it just seems worse when you’re waiting to hear about someone you care about.”
“Yes, it does, JD, it always does.” Standish watched as the kid leaned against the wall and the room was quiet once more.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Bridger nodded as Foster looked over the test results and told him what needed to be done. They’d already decided to put Larabee on a Lidocaine drip and transfer him back to the ICU as a result of the irregular heartbeat. Now, the results of the tests confirmed the toxin from the flower and they could start treating the two sick men. Sanchez’ symptoms didn’t seem as bad as Larabee’s but the older man would be spending a night or two in the hospital until they were sure the poison was out of his system.
Bridger knew Tanner, Wilmington, and Jackson were in Larabee’s room and he knew they’d remain in close proximity now that the medic’s suspicions were proven right. There was no way the presence of the toxin in the water was an accident. The fact that this was the second attempt to poison Larabee in two days was enough to bring the police into it.
~~~~~~~~~~~`
Vin sat beside the bed, holding his friend’s left hand in his own. Larabee was listless as he tried to get comfortable on the bed. Nothing the doctors did helped him, but he seemed to realize his friends were there and tried to keep most of the pain inside.
“Easy, Cowboy,” Tanner said as he released the fingers and gently swiped at the stray strands of sweat soaked blond hair.
The sick man opened his eyes and tried to focus on the man beside the bed. “V...Vin.”
“Yeah, I’m here, Chris. So are Buck and Nathan.”
“J’siah’s s...sick.”
“Yeah, he is, but you’ll both be okay once the docs find out what’s going on,” Tanner told him as the nurse checked the portable heart monitor beside Larabee’s bed.
“D...don’t f...feel so g...good r...right...now.”
“I know you don’t, but it won’t be much...” he stopped as the door opened and Bridger and Foster came in.
“If you gentlemen could wait outside I’ll be out in a couple of minutes to tell you what we’ve found,” Bridger told them.
Jackson knew they needed to let the doctors treat Chris and he looked at Wilmington and Tanner.
“Come on, you two. Let’s let the doctors do what they need to do,” the medic said.
“We’ll be back, Chris,” Tanner assured his friend, their eyes met and a silent signal passed between them. An assurance that whatever happened, Vin Tanner would always be around to watch Larabee’s back and vice versa.
Wilmington nodded to the blond as moisture built in his eyes and he hurried from the room before Larabee could see how much this affected him.
Bridger looked at the patient as a nurse pushed a cart into the room. “Chris.” He waited until his patient looked at him.
“Nathan Jackson was right about the toxin in your system, It’s from the plant called lily of the valley. We’re going to give you a shot of Atropine and I need you to take something for me.”
“Wh...what?” the blond hissed.
“It’s called activated charcoal and it’ll help neutralize the toxin,” Bridger said as Foster injected the atropine into the IV.
“C....can’t...” Larabee muttered tiredly, not wanting to eat or drink anything as the pain in his abdomen continued unabated.
“Chris, you need this,” Foster tried.
“...just c...can’t...s...sick...”
“Yes, you can!” Bridger snapped impatiently. He knew the man on the bed was not feeling very well, but he needed to have his cooperation.
“Sh....shit!”
“Come on, Chris,” Foster cajoled. “At least give it a try.”
Larabee looked at the nurse and saw the sympathy on her face as she readied the powder. He closed his eyes and nodded his head slightly, knowing they were trying to help him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ezra looked up as the door opened and Stanfield and an ER nurse hurried in.
“Tell me you’ve got something!” Standish said hopefully.
“We do. It appears your friend ingested a toxin from the lily of the valley,” Stanfield said.
Sanchez’ eyes opened and he tried to focus on the people in the room, but the pounding in his skull made his eyes slam shut before, he recognized anyone.
“If you two will excuse us for a few minutes we’ll try to make Mr. Sanchez a little more comfortable?” Stanfield said.
“Let’s go, JD,” Standish said and hurried the younger man out of the hospital room.
“Mr. Sanchez, we need you to take something called activated charcoal. It’ll help neutralize the toxin in your stomach.”
“O...kay...”
“It’s not going to be pleasant, but I need you to try and keep it down. I’m also going to give you a shot of Atropine and then we’ll get you in a room.”
Sanchez nodded as the nurse readied the necessary medication. He let his eyes slide closed for a few minutes until the nurse asked him if he was ready and the fight to swallow the charcoal began. His mind wandered to the man in the room upstairs and he prayed Chris Larabee would be all right.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Bridger came out of the room and found the three men standing in the same position he’d found them earlier. He hurried towards them and gestured to a small conference room across from the nursing station. He held the door until the three men were inside and followed them in.
“Have a seat,” he said.
“What’s going on, Doc?” Wilmington asked as he sank heavily into a chair.
“You know about the toxin so I won’t go into that. We’ve given him activated charcoal to help neutralize it. We’ve also started him on a Lidocaine drip...”
“Shit!” Jackson hissed.
“What’s wrong Nathan?” Tanner asked.
“It means they’ll be transferring Chris back to ICU,” the medic said and saw the truth of his words in the doctor’s eyes.
“What? Why?” the ladies man asked angrily.
“Irregular heartbeat,” Jackson said.
“That’s correct,” Bridger said. “There’s cardiac involvement here and in Chris’ weakened condition it’s extremely dangerous. We need to get him stable and hopefully the lidocaine will do that, but he needs to be under constant care. We’ll be moving him to ICU immediately.
“Will this fuckin’ nightmare ever end?” Wilmington hissed.
“Easy, Buck,” Jackson said. “How long before we can see him?”
“Give it at least an hour. Check with the nurses at the desk before you go in.”
“We will, Doc, thanks,” Jackson said.
“You’re welcome,” Bridger said and looked at the pale man seated in the chair. “I think you need to get Mr. Tanner back to his room.”
“I’m fine...”
“No, you’re not, Vin. This is hard on all of us and you’re already a patient here.” Jackson warned.
“Come on, Vin, we’ll get you back to bed...”
“Gotta see Chris...”
“In the morning, after you’ve had some sleep,” the medic said.
“Listen to your friends, Mr. Tanner. Get some rest and you’ll be in better shape to help your friends,” Bridger said.
Vin stood up and swayed drunkenly and knew they were right, but that didn’t make it any easier. He looked at Wilmington and nodded, as if turning over the watch to his friend.
“Come on, Vin, I’ll get you back to your room. Buck, you check on Josiah.”
“I will, Nathan,” the ladies man said and the four men left the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~
During the hours they waited for Larabee and Sanchez to be situated the four healthy men talked to the police and tried to come up with a list of suspects. The list was small, but each person had an opportunity, if not a motive.
Anne Sheridan denied having sent the flowers and the police were checking her story. She was not to be allowed into Larabee’s ICU room until her story was checked out and that would not happen until they talked to the owner of the flower shop.
Other names on the list included Barrett, Milliard and three other people who had contact with Chris Larabee from the beginning of his stay at Washoe. Of all the names on the list, one seemed to stand out above the others.
Patrice Milliard, the lab tech who lost her job because of her lack of respect for the patients. The woman quit her job, but Wilmington and the others knew how anger could make a person long for revenge. The list was now in the hands of the police, but the four healthy members of Larabee’s team planned to do a little investigating of their own.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Buck sat on the chair in ICU and rubbed at his burning eyes. Lack of sleep and worry for his friends had combined to make him short tempered. He looked up as Betsy changed the IV over Larabee’s head. He was familiar with the nurse and knew she’d do everything to make his friend comfortable. He looked towards the door and saw the police officer standing in front of the window.
“Damn, Chris, I thought Vin was the trouble magnet, but, hell you seem to have your own magnetic personality lately and it’s attracting the wrong kind of people.”
Larabee heard the familiar voice and fought to open his eyes. He felt lousy and for a brief moment couldn’t understand why. He licked his lips and frowned at the gritty feeling in his mouth. Memory returned and with it came the fight he’d had to get the activated charcoal down and keep it there.
The ladies’ man watched as Larabee’s head rocked back and forth on his pillow, before the eyes finally made it open and stared at him.
“Welcome back,” he said solemnly.
“Thanks, Buck,” Larabee hissed, his voice cracking dryly. He turned towards the nurse as she offered him a glass with a straw. He sipped the cold water, but stopped when his stomach churned.
“Just let me know when you want more, Chris,” Betsy told him.
“I will,” the blond assured her, before turning back to Wilmington.
“I gotta tell you, Chris, I’m starting to think this is a conspiracy.”
The injured man frowned and asked. “What?”
“Adding years...”
Ah, hell, Buck, don’t start,” Larabee laughed, knowing the next words would tell him how he was adding years and grey hair to the scoundrel’s life.
“Well it’s true...”
“You’ve given me just as many...”
“Yeah, and we know you can’t afford them, but that doesn’t seem to bother Anne...”
Chris shook his head, knowing his friend would always try to lighten his dark mood. ‘Hope you never change, Buck,’he thought and took a deep breath, wincing as it tugged at sore ribs.
Wilmington saw the change come over his friends face and grew concerned.
“You alright, Chris?”
“Yeah, just thinking.”
“Dangerous thing to do in here,” the ladies’ man said softly.
“Don’t I know it. How are Josiah and Vin?” he asked, dreading the answer.
“Vin’s ready to get out as soon as Milano okays it. He’d be up here now only he doesn’t want to miss her.”
“What about Josiah?”
“He’s gonna be staying in for a couple of days,” Wilmington said and saw the pain on Larabee’s pale face. “He’s gonna be fine, Chris. The doctor says he didn’t ingest as much as you did. It also helped that he was healthy to start with and means he won’t need to stay as long as you do. He really is going to be fine.”
“Thank God,” Larabee whispered and lifted his gaze to meet his friends once more.
“Buck, what the hell happened? I mean I remember bits and pieces, but nothing seems to fit. How the hell did me and Josiah end up poisoned?”
“We’re not sure yet, Chris. What do you remember?”
“Seem to remember someone saying something about lily of the valley...and the water being mixed with ours...and having to eat charcoal,” Larabee’s tongue flicked out and a look of distaste covered his face. “Not touching that shit again, think the toxin would’ve tasted better.”
“Probably,” Wilmington laughed. “Seriously, Chris, Josiah’s gonna be fine, and so will you as long as you do what the doctors say.”
“So how did the toxin get from the vase into the water we drank?”
“That’s what we’re working on finding out. So far we’ve got a list of suspects who might have wanted to hurt you...”
“Me? What about Josiah?”
“Are you forgetting this is the second time you were hit with a poison?”
“Oh, hell, my mind’s just not working properly,” Larabee winced as his head seemed to be on the verge of exploding.
“Headache back?”
“Yeah, don’t think it left. So who’s on the list of suspects? Can’t be too many...don’t know that many people here and only remember one Pariah,” Larabee said, closing his eyes against the pounding in his skull.
Wilmington’s mind was working overtime as vague images of a blond lab tech flashed before his mind.
 |
 |
 |
 |