"Ruth and I can help. You go to sleep. I need a pair of scrubs. Beth's not much bigger than some of the kids I operate on. We won't tell the hospital. I’m well-schooled in advanced administrator handling," Joyce said in her rapid staccato speech.
After ushering Elizabeth's new guardians inside, Bruce Steele took a protective stance between Austin's and Elizabeth's rooms. "Eric, you better sleep in the on-call room. Mike snarled the traffic in smashing style."
Eric handed Joyce his stethoscope. "Thank you, Dr. Bey. I need four hours unless you need me sooner."
Joyce Bey might have appeared scattered, but Pete was impressed with how she helped care for her friend.
Joyce smiled at the man entering Elizabeth's room, her gaze devouring Patrick. He seemed impressed with the blonde surgeon too. "Good morning. Ruth and Joyce, I presume. I got a call from Nebraska. They found a high concentration of grayanotoxin, likely from azaleas and nicotine, in her fluids and the samples from her home and office. Those levels decreased in the later samples as we anticipated.
“What's more concerning, the mass spectrometer also picked up fluorine in her blood samples. The level after admission is three times higher than the samples taken from her on arrival. I double-checked. With the layers of the poisoning and the aneurysm, symptoms overlapped. I researched every med she is on—no fluorine. I did a search for all drugs that cause similar symptoms. Flecainide is an anti-dysrhythmic with fluorine that can produce what we are seeing. The lab confirmed it is present in a high concentration. We need to neutralize it and find out why the levels went up since her admission. Pete, I'll put in an order for a lipid emulsion; keep fighting the acidosis. I need to check Martin and Austin. I want Austin out of bed today. I want Martin in bed. I'll be back."
Pete typed in orders for some additional medications. Joyce was quiet as her eyes followed Patrick. "He's single."
"I didn't ask," Joyce said, blushing.
"I know, excuse me. Bruce, I need you to send someone downstairs to the pharmacy for me. I ordered more meds for Elizabeth. I also need you to alert the day supervisor. We got some of the tox results back," Pete kept his voice muted.
Bruce tapped his ear, "Bean requesting Tiger to the ICU.”
"You are all so stoic. Secret agent stuff." Joyce pulled a ball of wool and a crochet needle from her oversized bag. "Keeps me settled."
Martin groaned. He needed the mechanics of the bed to sit up. "What's the number of the bus that hit me? What time is it?"
"Almost noon." Tuck took his vital signs. "Headache?"
"Not bad. How's Elizabeth?" His voice was scratchy. "Fine. Hurts like hell."
Tucker poured him some water after noting his vitals. "The situation is complicated. Nebraska confirmed two poisons: azaleas and nicotine. Each can be fatal."
"Azalea and nicotine?"
Tucker warmed his stethoscope in between his palms. "The honey, her coffee, and tea. Tighe instituted a trace. Deep breath—we’ll need to repeat the scan for that bruising."
Martin gasped. "Complicated?"
"A third substance was found. Problem is its concentration increased after admission."
He squinted from the bright sunlight. "How? Please, I need to be near her."
"You're a patient too. Let me finish my exam, send labs, and manage your pain. That rib pain will stop you from taking adequate breaths. You can't afford to contract pneumonia. Then I'll help you clean up, and if you promise you’ll rest in the recliner, you can rest in her room."
His hand flopped up and down; he didn't have the strength to argue. "Did you figure anything out from the records?"
"Yeah. Beth's brilliant. I read the charts a few times." Tucker opened one chart to show Martin what she found.
Martin flinched more from the pain. "I need a phone."
"I'll lend you mine. First," Tucker gave Martin a urinal, "Tighe will be here soon. I'm warning you: your injuries are no laughing matter. You need to listen to us. Hedges needs to examine you."
After his exam was completed, Martin requested a conference call with Ian and Kieran. "You’re supposed to be resting," Kieran's voice boomed over the line.
Martin dangled his legs off the side of the bed. "I am. Elizabeth is caught up in Brynn's matter. She found proof of prisoner abuse."
"Damn. This confirms what we were thinking," Ian said.
"Can you have Pete clear me for duty? I need to run logistics, and I don't want to stop each time to run it through you." Martin wouldn't stay down.
"Logistics only. You go operational, and we’ll take the clearance away. We'll notify Pete. Martin, be careful. This is becoming complicated," Kieran said.
