“Last night?” An orange cat jumped onto her lap. “I was here.”
“Can anyone corroborate that?”
“Well, Biscuit can, but unless someone speaks cat…” She laughed, but when no one joined her, the laugh died off. “Do I need a lawyer?”
“Not at this stage,” Luke said.
Jesse leaned forward. “A few nights ago, did you have drinks with Scarlett Calloway?”
“Yes. She came here, and so did Malcolm, Briar, and Helen.”
“Do you remember much about that night, Deb?” Holden asked, receiving a warning look from Jesse for the question.
“Oh, yes, it was a great evening.” She blushed. “I’m afraid we all drank far too much.”
“Did you eat some of Scarlett’s brownies?” Jesse asked.
“I did! They were divine. I actually need to get the recipe from her.”
Jesse’s brows rose. “Are you aware that she laced them with marijuana?”
Deb gasped and pressed a hand to her chest. “Oh, no. She wouldn’t do that.”
“She would, and she did,” Holden pushed.
“Oh my.” She started petting her cat, her hand shaking.
“Do you remember much of what was said that evening?” Jesse asked. “Any conversations that might have upset anyone? Many conversations about the hospital?”
“The hospital? No. We try not to talk about work when we’re away from it. We talked about the weather and the brownies. Helen made these meatballs that we all obsessed over. Briar spoke a bit about work, but she tends to do that. She complains a lot.”
“It’s the same as the others said,” Jesse told him quietly.
“Will Scarlett be in trouble?” Deb asked.
There was a small pause before Jesse answered. “Scarlett is dead, ma’am.”
She paled, and it was a moment before she spoke again. “Dead? What do you mean? What happened?”
“We’re not sure yet,” he answered. “We’re just gathering information at this stage. Can you tell me how things have been at the hospital?”
“The hospital?”
“There’ve been patients getting sick, haven’t there?” Jesse asked.
“You know about that?” When Jesse nodded, she continued, “Well…yes, but the hospital administration said we’re not allowed to talk about it while they’re investigating things.”
“NowI’minvestigating things,” Jesse said. “And I’d like you to tell me what’s been happening.”
She took a deep breath. “Well…Lauren Tabs died of heart failure after rotator cuff surgery. It shook everyone, because no one knew what happened. Since then, perfectly healthy patients have been randomly getting sick, everything from respiratory depression to seizures, but no one knows why.”
“Is there anything connecting the patients?” Holden asked. “Rooms? Medications? Procedures?”
“There’s only one thing connecting them,” Deb said quietly. “Malcolm’s their doctor.”
CHAPTER 20
Holden’s eyes shot open, and he went from dead asleep to wide awake in under a second.
