Our story so far: A hospitalized Tessa is unable to account for her whereabouts or happenings, while a dead neighbor lies decomposing in his home, where she was found partially nude, and trapped under his obese, lifeless body. With his seminal fluids in and on her, it adds to the confusion and the consternation. Surrounded by police, she is unable to answer their questions, and they are suspicious of that. Meanwhile, her husband, who has been having his own difficulties, cannot raise her on the phone, which lies alone, ringing in their fire-damaged home.
Two would-be paramours, Ofi and Andre, are in the off-ground, though at least one has plans in play, for Tessa, and possibly for Dan as well...
To remind the readers, the Author has been writing this series of stories at the request of a friend. The descriptions and behaviors, as well as incidents and developments are all written with the goal of satisfying those requests of the friend. Due to this, while constructive criticism is welcomed, anonymous, or otherwise spiteful, hurtful, or denigrating commentaries will be ignored, if not outright reported to the hosting site.
The Author hopes that the audience enjoys this series to the fullest...
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"I don't remember..." Tessa replied. The latest query had been nothing but a re-hash of the last several.
"How did you get there? Who else was present? Why were you there? Are you and the deceased lovers? Did you fight?" The list of questions the female police officer asked. The wording was different, and the order of them varied, but they all boiled down to the same thing. "Tell us what happened?" They wanted to know. She couldn't, because she didn't.
"I want to go home now, please." Tessa started to insist. "I haven't done anything. It's like I told you... The last thing I remember was putting some chicken and rice on the stove. The next thing I know, I'm here, and I'm feeling really groggy. I want to know where my clothes are, and why you are yelling at me?" Tessa, for her own part, had been pushing her own line of questions, and was beginning to sob in frustration. These were questions to which the police either could not, or would not answer, including being able to call her husband. That was beginning to really irk her. Proper wife or not, she was beginning to lose her temper, and she snapped at them, finally. "Either let me call my husband, or get out!"
A police detective, however, did not appreciate her circumstance, or her attitude, and barked back. "Lady, you are luck you are not in jail right now, so tell us what you know!"
"I already told you! I don't remember! I don't know anything!" Tessa replied sharply, and she began to cry now. Why would they listen to her?
The last exchange caught not only the doctor's attention, but the nurse's as well. Coming from the nurses' station, she barged in and in a hushed, but very direct tone, asked the police a question in general. "Is my patient under arrest?"
"No." the policewoman replied.
"Then get out." The nurse instructed. "You will not badger my patient anymore. Or show me a warrant that allows you to hold her. Until then, she is my responsibility, not yours, and you no longer have the right to speak to her in my ER. She is under my care, and she is not leaving right now."
The nurse's sharp tone left no room for discussion. They were the police, but this was the emergency room, and this was her domain. She carried a multitude of the tools of her trade, including a stethoscope, and knew how to use them all, even better than some physicians. Even doctors tread lightly around angry nurses. Tessa's nurse was growing mighty upset, indeed, as Mama Bear Nurse had come out to play. "She will not be able to answer any more of your questions right now, she needs a vitamin shot." The nurse tersely concluded, as she injected some vitamins into Tessa's vein. For Tessa, almost immediately, the lights went out, her eyes rolling back in her head, and her body went limp.
"What was that you just gave her?" The detective asked with his serious, even upset tone.
"I told you. A vitamin injection. The fact she went to sleep means she was badly in need of it, and probably fluids. Go home, or where ever it is you go when you aren't bothering my patients."
As the detective and officers left, the nurse walked back to the nurses' station and discarded the needle in a Sharps container. "What vitamin did you give her?" The doctor who was observing the whole scenario asked. He had been content to let the nurse do the fighting for him. The last thing he wanted was more hassles with insurance, lawyers, or the police. "I didn't prescribe anything."
The nurse gave a very Cheshire-cat's smile. "Vitamin H, for Haldol. Now sign here." And she held out the medical chart, for the doctor to sign off on the drug, which gave Tessa some peace for the next few hours.