by Carrie Carr
"I'm not sure. She did say she was going to make a phone call, but I don't know to whom." Jacob looked up as the door opened.
A dark-haired man wearing a white lab coat walked purposefully into the room. He glanced down at the clipboard in his hand and looked around the waiting room. "Are there any relatives of a Miss Amanda Cauble here?"
Jacob made his way over to the smaller man. "I'm her grandfather, Doctor--"
"Barnes." The weary doctor looked up into the older man's concerned eyes. "Why don't we go into the consultation room, and I'll brief you on what I know."
Jeannie, Frank, and Lex joined Jacob in the walk down the hall. "How's my granddaughter, Dr. Barnes? Can we go in and see her now? Is she going to be okay?"
The doctor stopped and looked at the anxious faces surrounding him. "She's resting comfortably for now. But I really need to get some information from you first." Dr. Barnes consulted his clipboard again. "Has Miss Cauble complained of difficulty in breathing, or had any problems with coordination?"
All faces turned to Lex. Jeannie said, "You've been around her more that the rest of us lately. Has Mandy mentioned anything like that to you? She did seem rather quiet at dinner this evening."
Lex shook her head. "No. She hasn't said anything to me, although she seemed more tired tonight than usual. What's wrong with her, doctor?"
"As I said before, I really want to talk about her condition privately. Let's go into the consultation room." The doctor opened the door and ushered the group out with him.
Jacob stopped suddenly. "Wait. My wife. She's gone to make a phone call." He didn't want Anna Leigh to come back and see her family missing.
"I'll wait for her, and then we'll both join you," Frank volunteered. "You guys find out what's wrong, and you can update me in a while."
Dr. Barnes nodded. "Very well." He looked at the three remaining people. "You all are immediate family, correct?" All but Lex nodded. "Who are you in relation to the patient?"
"I'm, uh--" Lex looked at Jacob with confusion. What the hell am I? Friend? Family? Significant other? Damn. "She's my--uh--we're--"
"Never mind. If you're no relation to Miss Cauble, you can stay here while we meet in my office then. Immediate family only." He ushered Jacob and Jeannie from the room.
Jacob could be heard arguing with the doctor as they walked down the hallway. "You had no cause to treat her like that. Lex is a part of our family, too." The doctor's reply couldn't be heard.
Lex stood staring in shock at the half-open door. It opened wider, and Frank reached in to clasp her shoulder. "Come on, Lex. We'll wait for Anna Leigh to get back, and then she'll find out what's going on for us."
CHARLIE PULLED HIS cruiser up to the front entrance of the ranch house. He noticed that two old trucks were also parked nearby. Those are the trucks that the ranch hands use. I wonder what on earth is going on? Before he could finish climbing the steps, the front door opened and Martha bustled out.
"Thank goodness you're here." She rushed to the lawman and enveloped him in a fierce embrace. "Ronnie's in the den. He's really shook up, too. Lester and Roy are with him now, and I can't seem to get in touch with Lexie. There's no answer at the Caubles' house, and I get the voice mail message when I call her cell phone."
"Calm down, sweetheart. Everything's going to be okay." Charlie rubbed her back before pulling away slightly. "What seems to be the problem? You said on the phone that Ronnie found out about his brother and became upset. Does he blame Lex for Matt being back in jail?"
Martha allowed her fiancé to lead her back into the house. "No, he somehow feels responsible for what his brother has done and is trying to leave the ranch." She stopped when she heard several loud voices coming from the den.
"Now just calm yourself, son," Roy's deep voice rumbled. "No sense in you getting all upset."
"I don't deserve to stay here." The young man tried to race from the room, only to run into Charlie in the hallway. Ronnie stumbled back and then paled. "Sh--Sheriff Bristol?" He looked at Martha, and then to Charlie. "I guess you're here to take me back to the detention center, aren't you?" He raised both hands up in front of his body. "Might as well put the handcuffs on me. I'm no better than my brother."
The lawman shook his head and was about to speak when Martha moved between them. "Now you wait a cotton-pickin' minute. Don't you dare compare yourself to the likes of that man." She reached out and grabbed the teenager's shoulders and pulled him to her with a light touch. "My Lexie would be the first to tell you that you can't judge a person by their family." She felt Ronnie's arms wrap around her body. He buried his face in her ample chest and began to cry. "It's all right, honey. This is your home now. No one's going to send you anywhere, I promise."
Charlie watched with pride as his wife-to-be comforted the upset boy. She's so good with kids. It's a shame she never had any of her own. Well, I should take that back. Lex is more like her own than anyone could ever be. And she's done a fine job with her. He motioned for the other two men to join him in the hallway.
Lester smiled at the scene as he passed. "Sorry you had to make the trip out here for nothing, Charlie." He led the other two men down the hall to the kitchen. "Might as well make some fresh coffee, right?"
"Sounds good to me," Charlie said. "And I was about to drive on out here anyway."
Roy laughed. "That's right. I hear that congratulations are in order." He slapped the lawman on the back good-naturedly. "You're not planning on taking Martha away from the ranch, are you?"
Charlie shook his head and sat at the kitchen table. "Like I ever could." He saw the relief cross the foreman's face. "Are you kidding me? I'll have to tie her up and kidnap her just for the honeymoon."
"Don't we know it? I'll bet that--" Lester's remark was cut short by the ringing of the nearby phone. "Let me get that." He limped over to the cabinet and picked up the receiver. "Rocking W ranch, Lester here."
"This is Anna Leigh Cauble. Is Martha available?" Her words came out in a rush.
Lester looked at the phone in his hand. "Mrs. Cauble? Is everything okay?" He covered the mouthpiece with his hand and raised his eyes to the other two men. "Go get Martha--it's Amanda's grandmother."
"I'll get her." Roy jumped up and hurried from the room.
The sheriff stood and accepted the phone from Lester. "Anna Leigh? This is Charlie. Is everything okay?"
Anna Leigh sighed heavily. "Charlie. I'm so glad you're there. We're at Parkdale General."
"Hospital? What happened?" Charlie heard footsteps and then felt Martha lean up against him. "Martha's here, Anna Leigh." Neither noticed as Lester limped quietly from the room to give them privacy.
She breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "Great. Can you bring Martha up here? We brought Mandy in over an hour ago, and poor Lexington is beside herself with worry."
Martha allowed Charlie to hand her the phone. "Did I hear something about a hospital? What's going on, Anna Leigh?" She felt her fiancé wrap a comforting arm around her.
"Mandy developed a dangerously high fever this evening and we couldn't rouse her, so we rushed her to Parkdale General. We're waiting on word from the doctor. Could you possibly come up here and help us with Lexington? I'm afraid she's not taking this whole situation very well."
"Oh, no! That's terrible for Amanda. Of course we'll leave right away." Martha felt relieved at Charlie's agreeing nod. "Is there anything we can bring?"
Despite the gravity of the situation, Anna Leigh almost laughed. "Well, you might want to bring Lexington a change of clothes. She's pacing around here in her pajamas, and I can't get her to put on the jeans and shirt I brought."
"Don't tell me she's wearing a pair of those cartoon shorts and a tee shirt?" Martha closed her eyes in resigned disbelief. I swear that girl is going to be the death of me yet.
Anna Leigh chuckled at the tone in the housekeeper's voice. "I'm afraid so. Everyone in the hospital has seen the Grinch in all his glory."
Martha groaned. "Dear lord, not t
hose. Okay, then. We're on our way." She paused for a moment and turned serious. "My prayers are with you and your family. I know that Amanda is going to be just fine."
Anna Leigh took a deep breath and smiled into the phone. "Thank you, Martha. I'll see you both in a little while."
The housekeeper hung up the phone and looked up into the worried eyes of her intended. "Poor little Amanda's sick, and our Lexie needs us."
"Let's get going, then." Charlie kissed the top of Martha's head and led her from the kitchen.
DOCTOR BARNES WAITED until Jacob and Jeannie were seated in front of his desk before he spoke. When the older man opened his mouth, the doctor raised a hand to forestall him. "Please, Mr. Cauble. We've been over this already. Hospital policy states that if a person isn't related to the patient, we cannot release information to them."
"I can appreciate that, Doctor. But what I don't appreciate is the manner in which you dismissed Lexington. She's as much a part of our family as I am." Jacob was proud when Jeannie nodded in agreement.
"That may be true, but policy is policy." Dr. Barnes had worked two double shifts in a row and was completely exhausted, and less than empathetic. He flipped through the notes on his clipboard. "Let's just get a few questions out of the way. Then we can worry about my manners, or lack thereof." The pair across from him looked disgruntled, but nodded. "Please don't take any of these questions personally. I'm trying to help Miss Cauble, so I'll need you to be as truthful as possible."
Jeannie looked questioningly at the physician. "Believe me, we'll do everything we can to help my sister."
"Thank you." Dr. Barnes consulted the papers in front of him. "Does Miss Cauble use drugs, even recreationally?"
"What?" Jacob jumped to his feet. "Are you out of your mind?"
"Grandpa, please." Jeannie grasped his arm gently and pulled him back down to his chair. "No, she never has."
A timid knock at the door made all three heads turn in that direction. Anna Leigh poked her head in. "I'm terribly sorry I'm late. The nurse at the front desk told me where to find you." She noticed the upset look on her husband's face. "What's wrong?" The small woman moved the rest of the way into the room and stood next to Jacob.
He pointed a shaky finger at the startled doctor. "This man insinuated that Mandy is on drugs." Jacob glared at the seated man.
"Mr. Cauble, I wasn't insinuating anything. Due to the nature of my patient's illness, I had to ask that question." He waited until everyone was seated again. "We can rule out drug use, then." Dr. Barnes spoke more to himself as he wrote something on the clipboard. "Did I hear you correctly, that she spends most of her time with that woman in the lobby?"
"That's right, Doctor," Jeannie offered helpfully. "Amanda has been living at Lex's ranch for over a month now."
Dr. Barnes continued to write, then looked up with a hard gaze. "How well do you all know this woman? Does she have a history of drug use?"
Anna Leigh couldn't help herself. She laughed. "Good lord, no." She patted her husband's arm to keep him calm. "I've known Lexington for most of her life. She's the most anti-drug person I have ever met. Why all the questions about drug use?"
"After running several tests, we've concluded that Miss Cauble's illness was brought on by sodium barbital poisoning." Seeing the blank looks on everyone's faces, he continued. "This is something that cannot be accidental."
Jacob felt his wife's fingers dig deeply into his arm. "Poisoned?"
"Is she going to be okay?" Jeannie asked shakily.
"We hope so. The next twelve hours are crucial. Once she gets past that, she should be fine."
"How could she have come in contact with this? Are you sure it wasn't somehow an accident?" Anna Leigh questioned. Why would anyone want to hurt Mandy?
The doctor set his pen on the desk with a weary sigh. "I'm afraid not. This had to be administered either orally or by injection. From the traces we found in her bloodstream, she was given a very large dose. Today." He sat back to allow the family time to adjust to the news. Before he could go over Amanda's condition, a knock on the door sounded, and a slender blonde nurse entered the room.
"I'm sorry to disturb you, Dr. Barnes, but Dr. Sanderson thought you should read this." She handed him a clipboard, then quickly exited the room.
"Thank you, Francis," he called after the woman. After reading for a few moments, Dr. Barnes looked up at the people seated across the desk. "You're from Somerville, isn't that right?"
"That's right," Anna Leigh answered, and then looked at her husband in confusion. "What does that have to do with Mandy's condition?" she asked quietly.
The doctor looked up from the notes with concern. "It appears that an elderly woman was brought into Somerville Community Hospital earlier this evening with the same symptoms as your granddaughter."
"An elderly woman? Do you think that she may be able to tell us how Mandy was poisoned?" Jacob asked expectantly. "It's too much of a coincidence to ignore, isn't it?"
"You're right. But I'm afraid she won't be able to help us. The woman died this evening before she was able to tell anyone anything. We need to find out where Miss Cauble has been today--it's the only way we can figure out how it happened, and possibly keep others from being exposed to the poisoning agent."
Anna Leigh stood. "I'll go get Lexington. They went shopping today, and she would be able to answer your questions better than we can."
Dr. Barnes stood as well. "That's a good idea." He looked at Jacob with a self-deprecating smile. "It would also give me an opportunity to apologize to her." He edged around the desk and headed for the door. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go check on my patient. I also have to contact the authorities and notify them of the latest development." He left the room quickly, not waiting to see if they followed.
Chapter Seventeen
FRANK WATCHED AS Lex tossed the blanket from her shoulders and paced the waiting room again. She looks like hell. He stood and tried to keep up with her. "Lex, why don't you get dressed, and we'll go get some coffee? I'm getting cold just looking at you." It was true. The waiting room felt like it was about sixty-five degrees, and the sleet slamming against the windows made it feel even cooler.
"Why won't they tell us what's wrong with her? They won't even release the damned room number to me--just that she's in intensive care." Lex ran a nervous hand through her disheveled hair. She stalked over to the window and peered out at the late night gloom, trying to control her urge to slam her hands against the glass.
Frank stood behind Lex and put his hands on her shoulders. "I'm sure it's just a precaution. She going to be fine--you've got to believe that." Neither one of them heard the door open behind them.
Martha stood inside the doorway holding a small overnight case. "Lexington Marie Walters. You get yourself over here and put some clothes on this instant."
Spinning around, Lex almost knocked Frank down. "Mada?" She rushed forward as tears spilled down her cheeks.
Martha crossed the room to meet Lex halfway and gently embraced the distraught woman. "It's going to be all right, baby. I'm here now." She dropped the case behind Lex and held her close. Allowing Lex a few moments to get herself together, she then pulled back a little and gave Lex a no-nonsense look. "Now, you're going to put some clothes on and go wash your face."
"But what if--" Lex argued, until her mouth was covered with Martha's hand.
"No arguments, Lexie. Charlie and Frank can wait here while we get you presentable. You don't want Amanda to see you looking like this, do you?" The housekeeper wiped at Lex's face with a cotton handkerchief.
Lex smiled slightly. She always seems to have one of those things stashed somewhere. I don't know where they come from. "No, ma'am, you're right. I'm a mess." She took the handkerchief away from Martha and dabbed at her eyes.
"Come on, let's get this over with before the doctor comes back."
Lex kissed the graying head beneath hers before she bent down to get the case.
Charlie's dee
p voice rumbled from behind Martha. "I'll get that for you." He picked up the overnight traveling case.
"Thanks, Uncle Charlie." Lex wrapped her arms around the lanky sheriff and squeezed. "I really appreciate you both coming."
The lawman cleared his throat and returned the hug one-handed. "No place I'd rather be than here with you." He rubbed her back comfortingly then took a step back. "You two go take care of business, and I'll stay here with Frank. We'll send word if the doctor comes back before you do, okay?"
Lex nodded. "Please, do." Lex kissed his cheek and took the suitcase from him. "Thanks again. I don't know what I'd do without you." She allowed Martha to lead her from the room.
Charlie watched her leave with a sad look on his face. I wish I could take that hurting look away from her. He looked over at Frank, who was also watching Lex as she left the room. "Have you heard anything at all?"
Frank shook his head. "No. Not a damned thing." He stood and stretched. "It's been several hours since they brought Mandy in. The doctor came to get Jacob and Jeannie about twenty minutes ago. I thought we were going to have a fight on our hands." He brushed off the front of his jeans and sat back down.
"A fight? Did Lex do or say something?" Charlie dropped down next to the brawny man. "I know she's not the most patient person in the world, but--"
Frank shook his head. "It wasn't her. Jacob got upset when the doctor refused to allow Lex in the consultation room with them. The doc claimed he could only talk to the immediate family."
The older man sighed. "Damn. I'd forgotten all about that rule. No wonder Lex looked so upset when we came in. I'm just glad that Anna Leigh thought to call us."
"She called you? I was wondering how you two heard about this so quickly." Frank stretched out his long legs. "I keep debating as to whether or not to call Amanda's parents. I honestly don't know if they would even care."
The door opened and Anna Leigh bustled through it, looking around anxiously. She saw the two men sitting down nearby and rushed over to them. "Charlie. Thank goodness you could make it. Where's Lexington?"
