Final Act by Dianne Yetman (best free ebook reader .TXT) 📕

has gone back to shape up the roster for two detectives we’ve seconded from the county to investigate Camira’s death.  I don’t want you involved in that either.  Stay focused on the Stone’s murder, get us his killer.”  He brushed the crumbs off his shirt.  “Okay, let’s get back to work.

***

Roger opened his eyes and looked around the room.  He fought to keep his eyes open but could feel himself slipping back into the darkness.  Jumbled thoughts fought for space. What day is it?  What year is it?  Who won the Indy 500?  Do I have a pile of disability cheques waiting at home? Where the hell is everybody?  The thoughts scattered as he felt his body elevate.  He opened his eyes but all he could see was whiteness.  Had he died?  Was he on his way to the next world? The lifting sensation ceased and he looked into the face of his Aunt Eva.

Oh my God, I’m in hell. 

His aunt slid out of his line of vision and his mother was there.  She stepped to the side and he looked at Randy and Sara.  He knew he was in serious shit.  He swallowed and tried to speak.

”Where am I?  What’s happened”, he asked.

“You’re in the hospital,” his mother said.  “A gang of thugs put a beating on you.”

“How bad did they do me?”

Sara leaned in.  “Don’t worry about that right now. Relax, try to stay calm, the doctor is on his way.  He’ll speak to you.”

“Calm, Sara, you want me to be calm. I’m lying in a hospital bed unable to move.  I don’t know what works and what doesn’t and I can’t remember anything.  You’re a doctor, tell me what’s wrong?”

I can’t Roger; I’m not your doctor.  Eric’s coming into the room now, he’ll fill you in.”

A tall, thin man smiled down at him, rubbed his hands together, shot a look behind him, turned back, began to speak very slowly, and told Roger about the extent of his injuries and the prognosis.

Roger looked confused, fearful.

“Lucky to be here is what I hear you saying Doctor.  Now I’m grateful for all you did and everything but I’ve got a major stumbling block.  I can’t remember what happened and that scares the crap out of me.”

“Yes, the inability to remember can be a frightening thing but believe me what you are experiencing is only temporary.  It’s called TGA – Transient Global Amnesia.  There are many different types, yours is associated with the trauma of the assault.  In this type of memory loss, you can remember distant memories and events only weeks gone by.  You can retain immediate recall, as well as language recall, attention, visual-spatial and social skills, but the memory of what caused the trauma is blocked.  It will come back, no need to fear.”

“How long will it take to come back?”

“I can’t say, it varies with individuals.  But I can tell you some of what you will experience.  You will have difficulties remembering recent occurrences and you will be unable to retain any new visual or verbal information for more than a couple minutes. Now it’s obvious you remember your own identity, but you will find yourself confused by surroundings and people – continuously asking about what is happening.  For example, where you are, who is with you, what is happening?”

“Christ, how long will that last?”

“No more than one or two weeks.  I’m recommending you receive psychological counselling. Anyone who’s been through this type of trauma really needs to come to grips with the fears and anxieties surrounding the event.  This is going into the official report I will be submitting to your Police Chief.”

Roger could feel himself fading – fast.  So fast, he never heard the conversation between his mother and the doctor.  And that wasn’t a bad thing.

Chapter 10

Kate opened the door to her office.  Shirley, sitting at Roger’s desk, smiled up at her.  Placing a large, double-double on her desk, she acknowledged the smile and removed her hat, gloves, parka and took her seat.

“I hear Roger is out of the deep waters?”

“Yes but I don’t think we’ll see him back here for a while.  I’m glad you’re on board Shirley.”

“Thanks. I’m willing to learn and hope to gain yours and the team’s confidence.”

“Fair enough.  Now let’s begin. Gordon tells me you were able to tap into Roger’s notes.  What did you find?”

“He made good notes, clear, concise.  He believes there are a few people we can eliminate as suspects.  The night the poison was put in the bottle, Charlotte, James, Philip, and the lighting crew hit the bar scene - swilling scotch at The Five Fishermen.   June was at the hospital with her sister-in-law whose youngest was rushed in around 11:00pm and wasn’t discharged until 2:00am.  Nurse on duty confirms her presence.  Andrew, Brenda, Henry, Eleanor, and James all claim to have been at home watching TV, listening to music, raiding the fridge or tucked up in their beds”

“Always good to knock a few off.”

“He thought he know how the killer may have gotten hold of morphine used to sedate Camira, phoned around and discovered there was a break-in at the QEII hospital, three vials of morphine were stolen, four days before her death.”

“Good.  Jeffrey’s poison was much rarer, harder to come by.  We were working on that one together.  Any new notes?”

“Yes, he’s narrowed it down to one possibility, G & M Manufacturing.  He had an appointment to meet with them at 2:00pm tomorrow afternoon.  Did you want to cover it or shall I go?”

“You take it on; I’m going to do a one-on-one with Catherine Stone. I hear the company is rehearsing the next production.  Soon as we finish I hear, I think we should pay them a visit. I’ve got something else to run by you but there a few things I need to clear out of the way first.”

Kate scanned her e-mail.  The usual – updates from the Union, lists of upcoming workshops and seminars, monthly