Chapter Twenty-Nine

 

Julia walked into the Elkins Clinic and Hospital that night with her nurse's uniform on. She prided herself on living in a world where her rules of laws dominated. Unleashing a facet of her life she'd never exposed before, greed made her hunger to change the mundane in her life. She had a spirit of recklessness, and a dash of the devil himself inside her. She wasn't polished at being a villain, but she'd learn. Her confidence spurred her to danger itself. She easily overrode her ignorance. It was exhilarating, and she knew instinctively she could get to liking it.

She was nearing the nurse's station now. The night nurse was on the phone. She waited for her chance to slip by, confident that she could carry out her own mission.

She passed a few people in the front hall and they all stared at her, but she kept moving. There were only a skeleton crew on duty. It would be easy to slip in and give Melanie the dose of poison that would surely kill her. She formed a mental picture of her success. She had been a firm believer that success had to be envisioned, before it became a reality.

She had her syringe in her pocket. He confidence soared.

That is until she saw the cop at the end of the hall. It had to be Melanie's room. Now what was she going to do.

She spoke to him and he followed her into the room.

Tension filled the room. What was she going to do? She couldn't do it in front of him. When he turned his back on her, she stabbed him with the syringe.

Damn, she hadn't planned on that.

She drug him into the bathroom, laying him in the shower and pulling the curtain so he wouldn't be noticed right away. She hadn't brought enough poison for two. She changed clothes, leaving her uniform stuffed inside the bathroom trash can, she put her street clothes on and left.

It would have to wait until another time.

She ran out as soon as the hall was clear and slipped out a back door. It meant she had to walk around the entire complex, but at least no one saw her. There was no moon to betray her either.

She walked forever, until she got back on the street she came in on, she'd broken a heel and she had to take her shoes off to walk. It wasn't that far to her car now and she found her car in a crowded parking lot where she'd left it. There was no attendant, but she could pay the fee and the rail guard would open for her. She slid behind the wheel and put her head on the steering wheel. Frustration climbed all over her. She'd taken such a risk and killed the wrong person. Nothing was going right. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around herself. "It's almost over now. I can't give it up now. We are too close."

She sighed, then beat the steering wheel. "Dammit, how long is this going to take!" She beat the steering wheel.

After a half hour of fussing at herself, she drove back to Mercy Hospital. She went up to Pediatrics and went into Patricia's room. "Are you ready hon?" She asked her.

"Yes ma'am." The pretty young girl lying in the bed had been crying. She stared at her.

"This will be the hardest part. But believe me, she's going to a woman that will love her forever. I promise you that. I wouldn't be doing this for you, if she wasn't."

"I know Miss Julia. It's just kind of hard since I've seen her and she's so pretty." She glanced at the portable bassinet by her bed.

Julia shot the baby a glance.

"Yes, she is. But hopefully, this will give you a better life and you can have more children later."

The girl nodded without saying anything.

She took Patricia and her baby down a back stairway and a private entrance for nurses and doctors. They slipped out to her car and she got behind the wheel. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes ma'am. The lady sounds like she really wants a baby. And I can't afford to take care of her. So yes, I am."

"Fine. We're on our way then."

It was early in the morning by the time they reached Dex's apartment. Dex answered the door, in his pajamas and robe. Norma was sitting on the couch in her clothes.

"Well, we've got your baby." Julia announced proudly.

Norma got up and faced them. Her face was red, and her happiness overflowing when Julia put the baby in her arms. Norma cried tears of joy. "Oh, you precious little doll." Norma looked at the young mother. "Please, don't worry. I'll be very good to her."

The girl stared down at her baby and turned her back on her. "I know…"

"Oh, this is Patricia." Julia explained.

"Hello, I'm Norma."

"She's beautiful…" Norma gushed. The baby stretched, yawned and went back to sleep in Norma's arms. Norma closed her eyes with satisfaction.

The girl hung her head.

Norma looked at her. "Did you have a name you wanted to give her?"

"I thought about Mercy…. like the hospital."

"Oh, that's lovely. Then I'll name her Mercy, just for you hon."

"Thank you. I can tell you love her already." The girls said. "I'm glad. I don't like giving her up, but I know I can't afford to support her. It would be years before I could. This is the best I can do. I'm just so happy you like her."

"I certainly do."

Dex walked up to the baby and stared. She was all pink and squiggly. He didn't know much about babies, but he wasn't sure he wanted to either.

"Well, I've got to take Patricia to her parents. I guess I won't see you again Norma. Good luck…"

Julia and Patricia walked out of the apartment. Julia wrapped her arm around the girl, after all her parents were good friends of hers.

Dex watched Julia leave then turned his attention to Norma.

Norma didn't say anything.

Dex stood there staring at Norma and the baby, and shook his head. "Look Norma…."

Norma shot him a quick glance.

"It's alright, I understand. We'd have been good together though. But I knew even when you said you would that the baby would be the deal breaker. You just aren't ready for a family. But…. I am."

"Yeah, maybe you are. I'm happy for you."

"She's gonna be ticked about the money." Norma reminded him.

"I know. I'm not sure what to do now." Dex looked a bit confused. "It'll take forever to transfer that much money and they might catch us before it's complete."

"That's for sure. I wish you luck, Dex, but I think I really should go. She could come back any time now, and I want to be gone."

He pulled out the money that Norma had handed him. "Take this, and it'll help get you started somewhere else."

"But that's your money. Julia will be pissed."

"I know, but I can handle her."

"Can you?" Norma's brow shot upward.

"Most of the time, at least." He grinned.

"Listen," she took the money. "If you ever need a place to crash for a while. Come to Oregon. I'll put you up. I'm going to a small town there, Eagle Valley. If you ever change your mind, or need my help, look me up."

"Thanks honey, I might just do that." He grinned and kissed her.

"I sure wish you'd go with me." She sighed.

"I gotta try to see this through." Dex explained.

"Well, you did your part, you got the money coming. It will take forever though to get all of it. I don't think we can wait around."

"Well, Dex, you can't stay here, you said they were on to you, especially about Melanie."

"I know. Well, good luck Norma." He came and kissed her on the lips. She swooned and smiled. "You're a good kisser, Dex. I'll miss you, and Julia is lucky to have you."

"What are you going to do?"

Norma smiled. "I'm going to take a train to Oregon, see a few sights along the way. I'm going to enjoy being a mother, and I'll get along. The invitation is open for you any time."

"I'll remember that babe." He kissed her again.

"Want a quickie before I go?" She suggested with a grin.

"What about the baby?"

"She's asleep. I'll put her on the floor on a pallet."

"Dammit babe, I do." He sighed staring into her eyes now.

After Norma made the baby a pallet on the floor so she could see her. Dex locked the front door, then he came back to her and tipped her chin up with the crook of his finger. She stared into his eyes for a long moment.

Then he kissed her and she lost it. Her arms went around him and she kissed him back for all she was worth. He slowly peeled her clothes off and his own, then he took her to the bedroom and they made love. It was sweet and tender, unlike Julia who was as tigress.

"If I change my mind in the next few weeks, will I still be welcome?"

"You bet." She whispered and kissed him tenderly. "I'm in love with you Dex. How could I not be?"

"You got a way about you Norma."

She smiled. "Don't forget me…" she whispered.

"Never." He smiled, and pulled her back into his arms and kissed her until she was ready for him again.

It was midafternoon before they got out of bed.

She put her clothes on, and he watched. A sadness hit him like he'd never known before. He could fall in love with Norma. He knew that, maybe he already was. She had every attribute Melanie had except she liked kinky sex and so did Dex.

When she pulled on her t-shirt, he came over to her and kissed her solidly on the lips. "Keep that door open Norma…for me."

"I will," she cooed. "I meant it when I said I loved you."

"I’m not gonna tell you goodbye," he told her.

"Good. We'd be good together Dex, and you know it. But I understand."

"I gotta see this through first." He told her.

"I know. See ya…" she kissed his jaw.

He stood there in the doorway, watching her walk away and knowing he wanted to go with her. But he was knee deep in this shit and he couldn't just walk off.

He waited for Julia to come back. But she didn't.

He wondered what happened. Was she truly seeing that doctor?

She called later.

"Did Norma leave?" She asked.

"Yeah, she's gone."

"Did you or Norma find the card yet?"

"Yeah," He sighed heavily. "We found it and went to Lone Oak."

"So, are you coming by?" She asked in an agitated voice.

"No, not tonight. Look, Norma and I found the card, we went to the bank, but it didn't go well."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean it didn't go well. We couldn't get as much as we wanted withdrawn." He exclaimed. "Where are you?"

"I'm at work, and trying my best to stay awake. What went wrong."

"Her bank, that's what. They have a policy that you can only withdraw so much a day. Or they report it to the IRS. So, we had an automatic withdrawal put on her checking account. It won't all go in, and at this rate it'll take six months to get it all."

"We can't stay here six more months." She protested.

"Well then since you are the brains, you figure out how we can do it!" He hung up.

He was so frustrated and so angry he couldn't talk right now. Julia hadn't come back; the money wasn't all going to be there and they needed to get away. He suspected she wasn't even at work. But calling from that doctor's house.

Julia called him back a few minutes later. "Look, don't panic. We'll think of something."

"Norma is gone. And the money will be transferred every day until it is all in the checking account. Did you take care of Melanie?"

"No, I couldn't."

"What?"

She could hear his anger.

"There was a cop by her door. I killed him instead. I didn't have enough to take care of both."

"You killed a cop? Great. I got my bags packed, I'm leaving."

"Leaving?" She cried.

"You heard me. I'm not gonna stick around and get arrested." He told her.

"Where are you going?"

"Don't know yet. Just getting out of this area for a while."

"Dex, don't do anything impulsive. There might still be a way…I'll take care of her tonight." She promised.

"Yeah, you gonna kill another cop too?" He asked.

"W-well…. I…. Dex, don't leave me!" She cried.

"Look Julia, we better lie low for a while. You better get yourself out of that hospital."

"Why, I'm not a suspect."

"Maybe, but the cops aren't dumb. See ya Julia…."

"Dex…." He hung up.

 

***

 

 

But as Dex sat in his car at the airport the next evening, he pondered on what had transpired between him and Julia on the phone. It had all gone so wrong. And now that he thought on it, he realized that Norma had the debit card.

He slapped himself in the head. So, Norma was the winner. He almost laughed. Hard to believe that he and Julia had been out maneuvered.

Still, she had invited him to come to Oregon, and he had to get out of town. Maybe all wasn't lost. Maybe Julia would be the one to pay the price, and rightfully so, she was the one that dreamed the whole thing up. It was her fault. She was the one that murdered the cop.

He hated leaving her, but he hated that she just kept killing people too. It wasn't right. He counted himself a lot of things but murderer wasn't one of them. Julia killed too easily. What would stop her from killing him and taking all the money. What if someday he made her mad and she decided to kill him. Yeah, it could happen.

Then he looked at the card that he grabbed from Julia's purse, the other night it was a clinic hospital card. Feeling guilty and proud at the same time he dialed the number. He sighed heavily, maybe this was not a good move, but murder wasn't either.

"Hello, Elkins Clinic and Hospital."

"Yes, I'd like to report that a Melanie George is about to be poisoned. She's a patient of yours."

"Poisoned. How do you know this sir?"

"Look, I don't want her to die. So, if you feel the same way, check her IV tonight closely will ya. Keep an eye out for a woman in a uniform."

"Who's going to poison her?"

"A nurse." Then he hung up.

Saving Melanie made him feel much better about his life now. He'd realized quickly that he wasn't the criminal type. He didn't want to spend his life in jail. And, he didn't want any more to do with a woman who could kill so easily. Julia was the perfect woman, in most ways. He knew that. But she wasn't the perfect person.

Even he didn't want to be involved with a killer. They'd look for him, but they wouldn't find him. He had a plan.

But honestly, he hadn't killed anyone. He's made Melanie very sick, and he wasn't proud of it, but he didn't kill her. He hadn't even compromised her. He had a plan in his mind. Every time the police thought they would catch him, he'd move to a new location.

It was perfect.

 

***

 

Late that evening, the young nurse ran into Melanie's room and went directly to the IV. She checked it. She squeezed it and realized a small amount of liquid was on the floor.

"Oh, dear God, someone has been in here."

She took the connection off and removed the bag, then she laid it on a portable table and went to get a new bag. She had no idea if the man that called knew what he was talking about, but a new bag wouldn't do any harm as long as she pulled the right bag. She worked meticulously, then checked all her vitals and recorded them.

Once she had the new bag on, she went to the desk to call the doctor and the police. She was a wreck, afraid for the patient and for her job. As she dialed the number her fingers shook. This was just too much responsibility.

The police showed up first. "What's going on here?" The Sarge asked, trying to wake up, he'd been home asleep when they called him in.

The little nurse looked up at him, and in a voice that croaked a bit answered. "Someone called me about eleven this evening and told me that a nurse was going to poison Melanie George through her IV tonight. So, I went and took it down and here it is for you to check out. It scared me since we found that dead officer in the bathroom this morning. I put a new IV in and called the doctor and you." The Nurse replied still shaken from the incident.

"Who called this in to you?" The Sarge scrunched up his face with disbelief that anyone would warn them.

"He just said he was a friend."

The Sarge looked at Phil, "Dexter Cooper. I'd bet my life on it."

"He said a nurse in uniform, did it?"

"That's what he said."

The Sarge went into Melanie's room and looked around. He saw Jesse had left his jacket on the chair. Obviously, he'd stepped out for some coffee or something. He checked to see if Melanie was still breathing, she was. She was in a coma now, but they had hopes of trying to bring her around in a couple of days. Still, this could complicate things again. The girl didn't seem to get a break.

He pondered if Dexter Cooper had been the one to call? And why?

He looked about the room, there was nothing. He went into the bathroom and discovered a nurse's uniform in the trash and an empty syringe. He called it into the station. He called for an investigative team.

He took out some gloves in his pocket that he kept for this sort of thing and picked the clothes out of the trash and a syringe fell out of his hand, he carried them to the front desk. "If you think of anything else you can tell us, here's my card." He handed it to the little nurse. "She must have changed into street clothes when she got ready to leave. Maybe she came in with others during visiting hours and stayed until later to do it." The Sarge explained to the little nurse.

"Yes sir. Was it poison?" She asked.

"We won't know until we check it out. I'll call to let you all know once we do." He told her.

"Thank you."

The police left.

The doctor showed up minutes later after the police left. The young nurse related the story to him and he went to check on Melanie's vitals and the new bag the nurse had installed. Melanie was still alive and only time would tell if she'd make it out of this. But he figured her chances went down now.

He ordered some stronger drugs to be put in the IV and told them to call him if there were any changes in her condition.

The little nurse looked at the doctor, "Is she going to make it?"

"I don't know. Depends on the poison and how much was given and if the cleansing will help. I'd say at this point we should pray. But I'm glad you changed the IV, and I'm glad whoever it was that called in to tell us too."

"He didn't leave his name, just said he was a friend. The poor little thing."

The doctor smiled, "The two of you saved her life tonight, maybe."

The doctor was called before dawn with the report on the poison and he could administer more dialysis for her and more gut cleaning. It meant keeping her in a coma longer, but in the long run it would be better as this would wear on her body and her ability to cope.

 

***

 

Jesse showed up that morning bright and early, he'd taken care of a few more things and the nurse filled him in on the worst news.

He rushed to Melanie's side, taking her hand in his he kissed it. "I know you've been through a lot. I'm so sorry, wish I'd have been here for you. But you've just got to make it."

He wondered if she could hear him. He prayed she could. "I love you Melanie, I always have."

He sat there for hours, talking to her, kissing her and trying to help her have the strength to fight this.

The Sarge called him.

"How is she?" He asked.

"She still breathing." Jesse answered.

"Good, she must be quite the fighter." The Sarge told him.

"What happened, do you know?"

"A man called the desk last night and informed the little nurse that she'd been poisoned through her IV again. That if they wanted to save her they'd change the IV. So, the nurse did, and called the doctor."

"Who called in?"

"We suspect it was Dex Cooper."

"Why would he?" Jesse sounded confused at that news.

The Sarge was silent a moment. "I'm not sure. But I think he finally figured out, he's not a killer, and whoever the other party is, is."

"Do you know who it was?"

"Not for sure, no, but we've got some suspects. We'll know in a few days now."

"Can you prove it?"

"Not yet."

"Is it a man or woman?"

"It's a woman."

"Is there anything I can do to help you?"

"No, but I'm gonna call the desk and ask them if you can spend the night with her until she gets out. I think you are what she needs, and I think you'll do as well as any officer I might put on the duty." He chuckled. "If anything will save her, it's love."

"Thanks for the confidence," Jesse smiled sadly.

"She might be back, if she finds out about it didn't work." The Sarge told him. "So, you be careful, hear?"

"I hope she is. Because I intend to protect Melanie no matter what." Jesse told him.

"I knew you would. Stay cool. Talk to you later."

Jesse nodded, and grabbed Melanie's hand.

The doctor came in several times, to check her medicine and see if the pumps were working, then Jesse asked him point blank. "Is she going to make it?"

"Can't say. The dose of poison was big enough to end her life. But she didn't get all of it. So, I think she's got a fighting chance of making it. It's rather odd that someone thought enough of her to call and warn us."

"Yeah, that's kind of strange, isn't it?"

"Very much so."

"Thanks doc."

The doc nodded and went on his other rounds.