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I’d almost forgotten how nice a hot tub was, as I slowly sunk down into the water up to my shoulders.
“Ooh, yeah, that’s the good stuff,” I moaned and leaned my head back, shutting my eyes while I listened to the jets slowly bubble up around me.
Jim and I should totally get a hot tub.
The warm water soothed me almost as well as the massage had earlier. I’d never get a hot tub though—I ’d be afraid Laurie would somehow get into it. I was already paranoid about pools, and Laurie couldn’t even crawl.
Ugh, I sure was a nervous wreck this first year of her life. Everything was a potential hazard for Laurie in my eyes, but I suppose most new moms are that way. Paranoid and convinced everything is out to get your little one.
“What took you so long getting in here?” my mom asked, stretching her legs beside me.
If only I could eventually become as relaxed a mother like mom.
I know she worried about me like any mother did, but surely at some point the constant paranoia of what might harm or maim your child eventually goes away, right?
“After I finished speaking to Sean O’Neil I ran into Hannah, the masseur who was with Kelly when she died.” I said.
“They are still letting her work here?” my mom questioned, and I nudged her.
“Not funny,” I said. “Yes, they are because it’s not her fault. You should have seen the way she freaked out that day.”
“Are the police investigating her?” my mom asked.
“Well, she says they just slapped her with a negligence charge,” I said. “Hopefully I can figure out who did this soon so that I can help her get cleared of any charge.”
“Kate...” my mom said, sitting upright and looking at me with a serious gaze—a look my mother seldom wore. “How do you know Hannah isn’t involved? I mean, for all you know there’s a connection between her and Kelly that hasn’t been uncovered yet. I don’t mean to sound like I don’t have confidence in you, sweetheart, but really when where talking murder...”
“I guess you’re right. I really don’t think Hannah had anything to do with this, but I can’t just overlook. She probably gave Kelly water, or tea or whatever, like they do when someone enters the massage room. The water could have had the poison in it.”
“Hmm.” Mom said. “What motive would the girl have?”
I looked at her with the same look I’d had given her for the last thirty years. “Motive? I don’t know, mom, but weren’t you saying there was a possible hidden connection?”
Mom shrugged. “I don’t know. But you’ll figure it out. I’m going to go check out the sauna. You want to come?”
Frustration boiled within me. Just like me mom to suggest a direction and then change her mom.
“Give me a bit,” I said. “I just got in the tub. If you want to go on and try it out, I’ll meet you in there.”
Mom pulled herself up out of the hot tub, pausing a moment to pat my head like I was a little puppy dog. I sunk deeper into the water until the occasional bubbles bounced up and tickle my nose.
At least I can enjoy this.
To be fair, this was the second weekend in a row I’d gone to the spa. That was far from a normal amount of leisure time. I probably needed it more than I realized.
I’m not entirely sure how long I was in that hot tub, but eventually I decided to join my mom. I’d seen her enter into the sauna room on the far side of the wall; there were about five of them, so I don’t know what called her to the one furthest away, maybe the others had been occupied.
I walked to the door, but something in the pit of my stomach nagged at me. There was a small window on the door that allowed you to look into the sauna, and I paused to peer in.
I was planning on making a goofy face at her because we were having a good time that day picking fun at each other a bit.
But when I peered through the foggy window, I saw my mom laid out on the ground.
My heart practically leapt of my chest. Panic and adrenaline rocketed through my veins, and I yanked open the door.
“Mom!” I screamed.
Steam blew into my face, but I ignored it, clawing my way to my mother.
Suddenly, I felt dizzy.
Something is wrong!
I grabbed my mom, dragging her out across the tiled floor ground to get her out of there as quickly as I could. The steam from the sauna made me cough convulsively.
I toppled to the ground next to mom.
Oh no.
My vision started getting blurry and the last thing I remember before passing was Jane’s shrieking, “Call 911!”
When I came to I was on a stretcher, being loaded into the back of an ambulance.
“What’s the—” I bit my tongue. When you become a mom you suddenly have the heightened sense of, I don’t know what you’d call it, I guess my kid might hear me say that and repeat it syndrome. I had never been one to cuss too often even before Laurie, but after she was born I had instantly became terrified I would say the wrong thing and accidentally make that her first word.
“Miss, can you tell me your name?” a paramedic asked me.
“Kate Connolly,” I said. “Where’s my mom?”
“Don’t worry, Kate,” the man said. “She’s in another ambulance already on route to the hospital. She’s going to be just fine. You got to her just in time.”
“What happened?” I asked.
“We think carbon monoxide poison,” the female paramedic said as they strapped my stretcher in.
I struggled to sit up but the female paramedic put on my shoulder to keep down.
I realized they had strung an oxygen tube around my nose, and I wanted to yank it off, but I decided to behave myself and be a good patient.
The two paramedics in the back with me were very sweet and soothing, and I think they’re the only reasons I didn’t have a complete freak out in the back of that ambulance. They reassured me my mom was doing fine too, so I think that helped.
“Can I call my husband and let him know what’s going on, please?” I asked.
The female paramedic fetched me her cellphone, and I thanked her.
I was antsy to talk to Jim. He answered the phone peppy as ever—poor guy, I was about to ruin his day.
“Hey, hon! How’s the spa day going?”
“Well...” I said. “Don’t panic or anything, but mom and I are on the way to the hospital.”
“Babe!” was all he could muster.
“Looks like someone tampered with one of the saunas. The paramedics think that carbon monoxide was somehow released into the sauna. Mom was in there for a while. I don’t know how long, but she was passed out when I got there...and when I pulled her out of the sauna room, I passed out too.”
“You passed out!” he exclaimed.
“Only a little.”
“Only a little! You don’t only a little pass out, Kate,” he chastised me for trying to make light of the situation. “What hospital are you headed to?”
“UCSF Medical Center,” the male paramedic said to me with wink, obviously able to hear my husband’s screechy voice of panic.
“UCSF,” I said to Jim. “But don’t you dare bring Laurie up there! I mean it. Stay home. We’re fine.”
“Kate—” he started to plead, but I cut him off.
“I’m serious!” I snapped. “You’re not bringing our five-month-old daughter to a gross, germy hospital where she could catch something. If you do, I’ll be really mad at you.”
“Honey—” Jim protested.
“Jim,” I said. “Promise me you won’t bring Laurie up to the hospital.” When the line was silent, I upped the wattage on my voice, “Jim,” I repeated.
“Okay, fine,” Jim said. “But you better call as soon you reach the hospital.”
“I don’t think I have my phone on me. It’s in the locker at the sauna,” I said. “But once I get access to a phone, I promise I’ll call. If you don’t mind, let Galigani know what happened—knowing him he’ll want to peek in on mom.”
I was feeling a little wozzy, and the last thing I wanted to do was scare Jim by passing out while on the phone with him, so I cut him off. “I’m going to let you go so that you can get back to Laurie. Please don’t worry too much. We’re okay.”
“Okay, okay,” he said. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” I said and hung up the phone. The paramedic returned it to her personal bag. “Should I still be dizzy?” I asked.
“You’ll probably feel dizzy for a while, but let’s try to stay awake, okay?” the male paramedic said to me.
I was thankful for the oxygen they had me breathing.
It was soothing, and I was trying to not have a meltdown.
Yeah, easier said than done.
