Megan nodded her head. “Is that important?”
“Could be. We tested the food ourselves independently, with separate samples of poison we had here in the office. Toxin absorption didn’t take long at all.”
Megan was beginning to get the gist of the matter. “Then if the poison on Tommy’s food hadn’t soaked in much, even by the time you got it in the lab …”
Barney nodded his head. “Then it hadn’t been there very long. One of the witnesses in the restaurant said their food had been delivered as much as twenty minutes before you arrived. There’s no way the poison was applied that long ago.”
“Then it must’ve been added later,” Megan said, thinking aloud.
“Right,” Barney confirmed. “It must have been added-well, not long before you arrived at the scene.”
Megan nodded her head slowly. “Or after.”
18
“Dinnertime, Mr. Cantrell.”
Carl snapped out of his reverie. The painkillers had made him forget all about the pain in his arm. What occupied his thoughts now was that woman. That priest-or ex-priest or whatever. He had almost forgotten what it was like to actually talk to another human being, to be able to explain how you feel, to have the sense that the person on the other end was actually listening. She truly seemed to care; when she said she would check into the situation, he believed her.
The candystriper plopped the plastic tray across his lap, attaching the metal clamps on either end to the rail of his bed. “Looks like they’ve got something special for you tonight.” She cast her eyes down toward the tray. “Red Jell-O with bananas and marshmallows. I love that stuff.”
“You’re welcome to mine,” Carl growled.
The candystriper laughed. “Oh, what a card you are. But I doubt if the docs would approve of that. Or the two guards at the door.”
“I’m surprised they let you in.”
She opened his milk carton and poured it into a glass. “Everyone has to eat, Mr. Cantrell. Even when they’re under guard.”
“Did they taste it? To make sure I’m not being poisoned?”
The candystriper wagged her finger. “I get the impression they’re more worried about what you might do than they are about what someone else might do to you.” She smiled, then sauntered out the door.
Carl stared down at the plate. The effects of all the alcohol he had downed earlier had faded, but he still didn’t have much appetite. Especially not for mystery meat. Or white milk. Or red Jell-O with bananas and marshmallows.
Well, he supposed he should eat something. He yanked the white napkin out from under the silverware.
A scrap of paper fluttered into his lap.
What’s this? He recovered the scrap, frowning, and unfolded it.
It was a note. A Post-it note folded three times over.
The text was simple enough: BE READY TO GO IN FIVE MINUTES.
Who was this from? he wondered, brow creased. The candystriper? Surely not. She must just be the courier- and probably an unwitting courier at that.
Bonnie? Tommy? Stop dreaming, he told himself. It was clear now that Bonnie wouldn’t lift a finger to help him, and Tommy was too young to pull off something like this.
The lawyer-priest? She did say she would do some checking. He didn’t expect anything like this … but it seemed the only possible explanation.
He glanced at his watch. At least a minute had passed since the candystriper left the room.
He scooted the tray away and climbed out of bed. He didn’t know what was going on, but if he really was going to have a chance to get out of here, he didn’t want to blow it.
He found his clothes draped over a hanger in the closet. They were in pretty bad shape, particularly the shirt, but at the moment, he couldn’t afford to be choosy. He slipped out of the peekaboo hospital gown, crawled into his clothes, collected his cell phone, and waited.
He didn’t have to wait long. A few minutes later, a huge explosion rocked the building. One moment he was leaning against the wall, and the next he was flying across the room, spiraling out of control.
Instinctively Carl gripped the bed. The floor shook violently, like someone had driven a semi into the foundations of the hospital. Everything that wasn’t nailed down began to rattle and crash.
He staggered to the door and peered through the glass window in the center. Everyone outside had been caught off guard. People were reeling, falling. Thick files tumbled down, sending paper flying in all directions. Medicine bottles smashed down, hitting the tile floor and shattering into pieces.
“Not again!” one woman cried, and Carl knew immediately what she meant. Not again, not another bomb in Oklahoma City.
After a few seconds had passed, the trembling began to subside. Dust and smoke flooded into the waiting area, adding to the general confusion.
“Over there!” he heard the nurse-receptionist cry. She pointed toward an operating room in the back. “It came from over there!”
Carl saw the two guards outside hesitate, glance at each other. They knew they were supposed to watch his door. At the same time they were the only authority figures in sight.
“In there!” the woman shrieked. “Hurry! I saw someone go in! There might be another bomb!”
A chorus of shouts and panicked cries punctuated her sentence. “Another bomb!” one of the interns cried.
That made the decision for them. The two guards raced across the waiting area, plowing through the smoke to the operating room down the corridor.
Carl knew this was his chance. Making as little sound as possible, he pushed the pneumatic door open and slid through the opening. With all the confusion and smoke and dust in the air, no one noticed. He passed quickly by the elevator and headed for the stairs. Another couple of seconds and he was in the stairwell, moving down fast, but not too fast. As far as he could tell, no one had spotted him.
He hit the ground floor and broke into a sprint. He didn’t really know what was going on, but he was smart enough to know he didn’t have much time. This had been a gift-a Christmas gift, if you will-but it wouldn’t last forever. Soon police and medics would be rushing to the scene of the explosion. And even sooner, those two guards would return to his room and see that he had hightailed it. When that happened, every cop in town would be looking for him.
He had to get back to his grungy apartment and collect a few things, before it got too hot. After that … well, he just didn’t know. Until five minutes ago, he didn’t think there was going to be an after that.
The brisk night air wrapped itself around him, invigorating him. He was glad to be out, to be free, but it didn’t stop that one central question from nagging at him, tearing at his brain.
He couldn’t kid himself-there was no way that lawyer-priest would set a bomb to bust him out of the hospital. So who did?
And more important-why?
19
When Frank came through the front door of the house, Bonnie was waiting with a perfect vodka martini, olive included. “Mission accomplished?”
Frank slid out of the thin white coat, took the drink, and downed it in a single gulp. He bit down on the olive, sliding the toothpick out between his teeth. “Mission accomplished.”
