The next morning, I wake up with my arms wrapped around Elena, her back flush against my chest. "Umm," I whisper before dropping a kiss to her ear.
"You up for another round?"
She turns to face me as she raises an eyebrow. "You mean four times last night wasn't enough?" she teases.
When I show her my best pouty face, she giggles.
"You're laughing at me?" When she nods, I roll on top of her and begin tickling her. Her laughter is contagious and soon, I'm laughing right along with her.
When I'm suddenly quiet, she asks, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing really. It's just been so long since I had anything to laugh about, you know," I whisper morosely.
"Listen, we should plot our next move. I found the guy that killed Katherine. There's more to it though. I found a picture of him with a guy I met at the benefit the night Katherine died."
"Really? Tell me more."
"My buddy, Stefan introduced us that night. He was a sales rep for Biometric Pharmaceutical. Say, Do you think you could do some digging on that company?"
"Sure. Maybe we should get up and get busy. We have a mystery to solve." She leans in to press a kiss to my lips before swinging her legs over the side of the bed and getting up,
"I'm going to shower then I'll make us some breakfast."
After we eat, I kiss Elena then excuse myself to take my turn in the shower. As the water pelts against my skin, I try to put the pieces together in my head.
I had dozed off on the couch. Katherine awakens me with a nudge before handing me the phone. "Dr. Salvatore, this is John at the hospital. Dr. Andrews would like you to come to assist him with this case. His coags are high but he's still throwing clots.
"Tell Dr. Andrews I'll be there as soon as I can.
"Katherine, they need me at the hospital. I'll be home as soon as I can." I kiss her on the cheek before walking out the door.
After I scrub in and enter the surgical suite, Dr. Andrews brings me up to speed. "You say he's a test patient for the new Biometric ACE inhibitor?"
"Yes. According to his history and physical, he's been on the drug for about six weeks," he says perplexed.
"He's bleeding like crazy?" I say as the surgical tech hands me clamp after clamp. I can't seem to get the bleeding under control no matter what I do. Look at the liver, Jim. It looks like end stage liver disease. You said he's not a drinker?" I ask just as the circulating nurse steps in and wipes the sweat from my brow.
"Let's get six units of FFP and platelets along with some IV Mephyton stat to see if we can turn around his coags. This is unreal, "I utter, shocked that this drug would ever be considered for FDA approval.
"Damon, breakfast is ready," Elena says when she cracks the bathroom door open.
Her voice snaps me from my reverie. That incident occurred just a few weeks before Katherine's murder. Did they an inkling that I had planned to file a complaint about the drug? How could they possibly know that? Was I the intended target instead of Katherine? My knees weaken causing me to collapse to the shower floor in disbelief. Tears begin to leak from my eyes when the implications of all of this slam into me like a freight train. Katherine had planned to spend that night with her sister. But she was exhausted so she came home with me..Oh dear God,. it's my fault she's dead.
"Damon, are you okay?" I hear Elena ask. I look up as she steps into the bathroom again. "What is it? What's wrong, Damon?"
Hanging my head in shame, I whisper, "It's my fault she's dead. They were after me, she was a convenient target."
She turns off the water before wrapping herself around me. "But you were at home right? If you were the intended target, you'd be dead. Don't you think the plan all along was to frame you? Why else would he go after Katherine when you were right there? You can't place that weight on your shoulders. That man killed Katherine, not you. Damon, you are not responsible for her death. Whoever spun this web and that man are the guilty ones," she says with conviction.
When I raise my eyes to hers, she leans in and presses a kiss to my lips. "C'mon. Let's get you dressed so we can plot our next move."
Nodding, I take the hand she offers pulling myself up.
"Thank you," I whisper before pulling her into my arms and holding her tightly.
Marshal Saltzman:
After much discussion, Bonnie and I decide to pay Dr. Lang another visit.
"Mr. Saltzman. What can I do for you?" he asks rather smugly.
"Hello Doctor. Could we have a minute?"
He gestures for us to enter after opening his office door.
Once we're inside, I whip out the photo I took from Connor Jordan's apartment, then hand it to him. "Do you know either of these men?" I ask.
Turning his eyes from me to the photo, he stares at it a few moments before handing it back.
"He's a security specialist with Biometric Pharmaceutical. Salvatore broke into his apartment."
"I don't know him. You're getting pretty desperate aren't you, Mr. Saltzman? I told you, you wouldn't find Damon." He wheedles, clearly enjoying this.
"Have you had anymore contact with Dr. Salvatore? Has he asked for anymore help, money or otherwise?" I ask, focusing my eyes in on him.
"No, he hasn't. And it seems like we've already been over this ground. Now if you'll excuse me," he says, standing up to show us the door.
I grab ahold of his arm, forcing him to look at me. "Dr. Lang, do you know the other man in this photo?"
"I've never seen him before. Now if you don't mind, I have work to do," he says, gesturing for us to leave.
"Ric. Look at this," Bonnie says while handing me a flyer she lifted from the receptionist's desk when we walked out of his office.
"This says that Dr. Lang is scheduled to speak tomorrow evening at a medical gathering. Hmm, "Advances in Nuclear Tissue, Pathology and Research." I utter.
"Yeah, I bet people are lining up for tickets in the nosebleed section to listen to that," Bonnie laughs.
Nodding, I laugh right along with her.
Damon:
"I need to get a hold of Stefan," I say, turning my eyes to Elena.
"Umm, okay?" she replies.
Picking up the phone, I dial his office. "I need to speak with Dr. Lang."
After hearing the operator tell me he wasn't available, I press on, "It's very important I reach him."
Soon I hear someone saying, "I'm sorry, sir. I know you said you didn't want to be bothered but they said it was an emergency."
"Hello, this is Dr. Lang."
"Can you talk?" I ask.
"Damon! Yes, what's going on?"
"I found him, Stefan. I found the guy that killed Katherine."
"What?" he says, shock clearly evident in his voice.
"It's all about that new heart drug, Stefan. They framed me for Katherine's murder. He did it to get me out of the way. It's because I was going to file a complaint about it."
"Who?"
"Biometric Pharmaceutical and Fell. Fell was supervising the protocol for the drug. He knew I found out about the bleeding problems and liver damage it was causing."
"Can you prove this about the drug?" he asks.
"It was Fell, Stefan."
"Damon, Fell is dead. He was killed in a carjacking last summer."
"Wha.. What?" I ask, stunned.
Thank you to Eva. You make my stories so much better. Thank you all for the reviews. I appreciate them so much. I hope you all have a wonderful day. Until next time...