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After a thorough examination, having my blood drawn, and being hooked up to an IV for a couple of hours, I started to feel much better and significantly calmer about my own situation. Dr. Morris was an older gentleman with a smooth head and forehead. He had warm hands and I liked that he was straight shooter.
“You’re very lucky,” Dr. Morris said. “You and your mother both must have breathed in a lot of carbon monoxide. Everything as far as you are concerned is checking out okay, but we’re going to need you to come back for a follow up visit.”
“I understand, but you said my mother is doing all right?” I asked anxiously. I hadn’t had the opportunity to see her yet, and I was starting to get a little shaky.
“Awake and alert,” he promised as a nurse poked her head in.
“Kate, your husband is here,” she said.
Anger rolled through me, my blood ready to boil.
Hadn’t I told the man to stay home with the baby?
“Does he have a baby with him?” I asked.
“No?” the nurse looked confused.
“Never mind. You can tell him to come in,” I said.
Jim scooted into the room, and he hurried to my bedside, leaning down to kiss my forehead. Despite my initial anger it was wonderful to see him and clutched his neck and pressed his check to mine.
“Are you all right? How are you feeling?” he prodded.
“I’m fine, Jim,” I said. “Thank you for coming. Where’s Laurie?”
“I called Paula, and she came and picked her up so that I could drive you home,” he said.
Jim introduced himself to Dr. Morris and started asking playing twenty questions with the man who answered everything as politely as he could.
“The police,” Dr. Morris said, looking in my direction. “They have informed us that someone hooked up a tank of carbon monoxide into the steamer. It was like a hot box of poison in that room.”
A hot box of poison?
Chills rose on my arms.
“You want me to go check on your mom?” Jim asked.
“We’re finishing up Kate’s discharge paperwork now, so if you can wait a few minutes you two can go together,” Dr. Morris said, and I smiled at him.
“Thank you so much,” I said.
“You mom...she’s quite a character...she feisty, isn’t she?” Dr. Morris asked, and Jim and I laughed.
“That’s Mom,” I said. As the doctor was turning to leave the room, I called out to him. “Oh, I do have a question really quick! I breastfeed our daughter, is it okay if I—”
“To be safe, I would give it two weeks,” he said. “Does your daughter do okay with formula?”
“I have a bunch of breast milk stored in the fridge,” I said, frowning.
No breastfeeding for two weeks! Laurie was going to be so cranky; she always got cranky when she was neglected that special mommy daughter time.
“Continue to pump for the next couple of weeks for your comfort and to keep your supply up, but get rid of it and don’t give it your baby,” he said. “Just give me a few minutes, and one the nurses will be back with your discharge paperwork.”
He disappeared, and once he was gone I let loose a loud sigh.
“You all right?” Jim asked.
“I’m fine,” I said and smiled at him. “I’m actually glad you’re here. Sorry I got so snippy on the phone about you not coming down here; I just really didn’t want you to bring Laurie.”
“I understand,” he said and bent down to offer me another quick kiss.
I exhaled again; I could feel myself becoming melodramatic. There was just so much on my mind. The thought of not being able to breastfeed Laurie for two weeks upset me.
Then there was my mom. Someone had hurt her, and it had been intentional. She could have died if I had decided to stay in that hot tub any longer, and that made me irate.
“This is really personal now,” I practically growled.
“Slow down there, cowgirl,” he said. “I know you’re mad, but I don’t want you doing something stupid.”
“Not stupid. You know I don’t do anything without thinking it through,” I said. “That’s not me. I want to catch whoever is doing this. Why would someone target me and my mom? Is it possible someone is trying to keep me quiet? Probably whoever killed Kelly is trying to keep me from looking into things, so maybe that means I’m onto something, right?”
“Maybe,” Jim said.
“Ugh!” I exclaimed. “This is so frustrating! Who would want to hurt my mom? The same person who hurt Kelly? Where’s the motive there? I couldn’t find a motive for Kelly’s murder, so I don’t know if I will find one for this either. Are the two incidences even related?”
“I doubt this is coincidental,” Jim said. “Someone is trying to scare you off, and that worries me. I don’t want you to get hurt, Kate. Maybe you should let Galigani handle this one?”
“What! No!” I practically shrieked. “I’ve got this. I’m going to figure this out. I just have to look for a new angle like what Galigani said. There is something I’m missing. I just haven’t figured out what it is yet. I’ve been looking into her friends and family – mostly those who were present for the bridal shower. Maybe there is someone else who had a vendetta against Kelly? It’s really starting to drive me a little crazy.”
“You haven’t been on the case that long,” Jim reminded me. “Step back and take a breath. It’s hard to think when you start to feel the stress of something, you know?”
“Well, I did just enjoy some time at the spa,” I joked.
“Not what I meant. It doesn’t count when someone almost kills you. That is definitely not what I meant by stepping back. I just mean you don’t need to overwork yourself, or you really will drive yourself crazy,” he said.
“I know, I know,” I moaned. “I just wish I didn’t feel so stuck.” I crossed my arms in frustration and poked out my bottom.
Jim laughed at me. “Kate, please tell me you’re not pouting.”
“I’m not pouting,” I said. “This is my contemplative face.”
“Oh, is that what it is?” Jim asked with a smirk. “You’re going to figure this thing out, Kate. I know you, and you are one of the smartest people I know. You will catch whoever did this to Kelly.”
“Thanks for the confidence boost, Jim,” I said.
We were quiet for a moment, and I watched the arms on a clock hanging on the far wall tick by.
How long had Dr. Morris been gone?
I was starting to feel anxious about my mom again. She’d been in that sauna for a while before I had decided to join her.
Sure, the doctor told me she was doing fine, but I wasn’t going to feel better until I saw her for myself.
That alone was enough to have me on edge – forget the case! I wanted to check in on my mom.
“Really quick is hospital lingo for several hours,” I moaned. “You and I both know it’s going to be forever before they come back with my discharge paperwork. Would you go check on Mom and come tell me how she is doing?”
“Of course,” he said, leaning into me. “Honey, I’m so glad you’re all right. You’re my whole world.” He straightened. “I’ll be back in a minute. They said she’s down the hall, right?”
“Right,” I said, and I smiled at him as he dipped out of the room. I could breathe a little better already knowing that Jim was going to go check in on her. Again, it’s not that I didn’t believe the doctor or anything – it was my mom, though. A girl is going to worry about her mom.
As though the universe just wanted to prove me wrong about hospitals, the doctor arrived in the room just a few seconds after Jim had left.
That was a lot quicker than I though.
Dr. Morris entered and handed me a clipboard with a substantial amount of paperwork to sign.
“I’ll have a nurse help you into a wheelchair. We’re not allowed to let you walk out of here. Hospital policies.”
“Really?” I questioned. “I feel fine. I’m sure I could walk.”
He nodded. “Sorry, but you have to be pushed out of here.”
“Fun,” I said, handing him the clipboard. “My husband will be back in a minute. I sent him to check on my mom, so I guess he’ll and do the pushing.”
“Good, we’ll wait until he gets back then. Oh, and don’t worry. Even though you passed out, we don’t believe you breathed in enough carbon monoxide poison to hurt the baby,” he said. “We’ll be sure to monitor the baby’s growth and development carefully the next couple of months to be sure.”
What?
I was so confused by that statement.
“Um... I thought you told me to not breastfeed for a couple of weeks and that she would be fine.”
“Oh, no, I’m talking about the other baby,” he said.
“What other baby?” I asked.
The man looked just as confused as me. Clearly, we were not talking about the same thing. I sat upright, the thought registering with me.
“Oh, you think I’m pregnant,” I said with a laugh. “No, we just have the one. Our daughter.”
Then Dr. Morris laughed – quite hysterically, in fact. “Ma’am, I thought you knew. We just tested your blood to see how extend the carbon monoxide poisoning was. You’re all right, but Kate, you are pregnant.”
“I’m not pregnant,” I said, and he nodded and smiled at me. “I’m pregnant?” I asked.
“You’re pregnant,” he said.
“Oh!” I exclaimed, and I felt a bit woozy. Jim and I had not been planning on having another little one for a while. In fact, we hadn’t even talked about when a while would be.
I’d just started my own business.
Jim was working a new job.
Laurie was only five months old for crying out loud!
But, the thought of a new baby made me grin. “Wow!” was all I could say, and a warm feeling filled my heart.
We are officially expecting baby number two.
