Terrence is frozen, holding up a champagne glass while staring at the commotion on our side of the table. More and more guests stand so they can see what’s happening. I’m shaking like a leaf as they lay Jamie down on the floor.
“This looks like poison,” Asher says, loosening Jamie’s tie.
“An ambulance is on the way,” Cole replies.
Toby wets one of Katrina’s fancy wedding napkins with the silvery corners, and uses it to pat Jamie’s face. It’s the only thing to do, as Jamie shivers and twitches, going in and out of consciousness.
“They’re pumping his stomach now,”Cole says as he walks out of the emergency room.
Toby and Asher stayed at the reception, trying to contain the ensuing panic, while the police secured the scene over a suspected poisoning.
“Oh, God,” I mumble, sinking back into the plastic chair, one of a dozen in a not-so-crowded waiting room.
“They’ll keep him on fluids while they wait for the test results. We don’t know what kind of poison or toxin he ingested, so they’re doing a full panel,” Cole says. He moves closer to give me a worried once-over. “How are you feeling?”
“I didn’t even think about me. I’m okay, I think.”
No dizziness. No nausea. No urge to suddenly collapse, foaming at the mouth. I’m pretty sure I’m in the clear, but the concept of a poisoning at the wedding still makes my insides churn.
“Did anyone else get sick?” I ask Cole. “What are the police saying?”
He checks his phone again. His brothers are constantly updating him with messages.
“No one else got sick,” he says. “The police think this was a targeted incident, so they’ve secured and are testing his plate and his drink in the portable crime lab they set up outside Thornwood Manor.”
To think that Jamie and I were both thrilled about the wedding boosting our revenue. All the business cards he gave out. Good grief, if he makes it out of this alive, he’ll be so pissed. I know he’ll get started on damage control before they even take the IV out of his arm.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Cole asks me, then gently tucks a lock of hair behind my ear. I give him a reassuring nod.
“Just scared out of my mind. Who would do such a thing?”
“The police will ask you all the standard questions: Does Jamie have any enemies? Did he seem upset or concerned about something lately, and so on.”
“I wouldn’t even know what to tell them, except that Jamie was in a great mood despite all the stress we incurred putting this wedding together. He was anxious but excited.”
None of this makes sense. And the more I think about it, the more I go over today’s events, the more confused I get while my friend and business partner struggles to survive. Cole senses my anguish and takes me in his arms. I welcome his comfort, his strength.
For a moment,I am safe.
“It’ll be alright,” he says. “Jamie was conscious at one point when they brought him in. Maybe he didn’t ingest enough poison for it to be lethal.”
“God, I hope you’re right…”
Finally, the ER medic comes out and takes his gloves off, tossing them in the nearest bin. Cole and I both get up, eager to hear what he has to say.
“How’s Jamie?” I ask, my voice trembling with emotion.
“Stable so far,” the doctor says. “We suspect strychnine poisoning, but we’re still waiting on the lab results to confirm. It wasn’t enough to kill him, fortunately. We’re giving him ample fluids to flush it from his system. He should make a full recovery.”
Cole’s phone rings. He takes the call, and I catch a glimpse of Toby’s name on the caller ID.
“He doesn’t have any immediate family here in New York. Can I go in to see him?” I ask the doctor.
“They’ve just finished pumping his stomach. I’d say give him a few more minutes,” he says. “But I don’t think it should be a problem. Just wait until they move him out of the emergency room and into a room.”
“Thank you, Doctor.”
Cole gets off the phone with a dark look on his face. I have a feeling the worst of this nightmare is yet to come.
