Chapter 14

Psychedelic Hollow

itsmeocean@hotmail.com

[Bro. Justin and Colin in Bayport Hospital. J in danger. Told Connie. Come now. Joe.]

Frank paced down the corridor leading into the emergency room with Nancy following close behind, unable to catch up with his hurried strides. Joe's curt message elicited a sharp U-turn, screeching of tires and numerous angry drivers in their wake; the onerous discussion temporarily cast aside as worry for Justin's condition took control of all their actions. Nancy held on to her armrest the entire time as Frank flouted traffic rules and regulations- the car practically skidded to the hospital. However, he wasn't the only one in a race against time- at the turn into Bayport Hospital, Conrad's Harley zoomed past, scraping some paint off the side of Frank's Lexus. It was then, as he jammed brake after the contact, did he realize that he would probably not want Nancy and him to greet Joe from stretchers.

"…how is he? Can I see him?" Conrad, who was ahead of them, was shaking Joe hard by the shoulders when they arrived. A nasty bruise on Joe's right forearm explained why his kid brother was grimacing in pain when, usually, he would have pushed himself away from the rough contact with ease.

"Easy, Conrad. The doctor is tending to him… look, he's out…" Joe pointed to a stocky, bespectacled physician who had pulled the green curtain to one side and emerged with a look of grimness on his face. Immediately, Conrad let go of Joe and barged his way right through towards the doctor. Frank stood beside his brother but they might as well be a hundred miles apart. After exchanging small smiles of recognition, Joe nodded to the Conrad who was listening to the doctor detailing Justin's condition with intensifying anguish clouding his mien.

"… complications. He was convulsing badly and so, we have to paralyze and ventilate him. Right now, his condition is critical but we think we have the situation under control…the drugs he took may be contaminated or maybe he had an overdose…"

"Once Colin's out of his drug haze, the police are going to charge him with possession of drugs- you won't believe what's being found in that little garage."

"And Justin? What did he take that caused this?" Frank asked gravely. Joe shrugged, his lips pulled back tightly.

"Ecstasy probably. I don't know. They are still running the tests but there's definitely Ecstasy found in the scene, or what looks like Ecstasy. Maybe we'll get more information from Nancy. She's having a good time talking to Con, from what I can see."

Frank did a double take and saw Nancy in muffled discussions with Con Riley, taking down notes into her notebook. He was about to walk over to them when Joe pulled him aside, preventing him from hitting the gurney being wheeled out, transporting Justin out of the ER. Conrad followed hastily behind the doctor and nurses, oblivious to the brothers standing at one side.

A sudden flashback overwhelmed Frank. Instead of seeing the immobilized Justin on the gurney, he saw Joe with a spreading pool of crimson blood over his abdomen. Joe was fighting for his life a little more than a couple of months back and right now, after almost losing his brother to death that would have ripped his mind to shreds, he was being bitter because Joe and Nancy shared a kiss.

When you aren't even supposed to be angry about. How idiotic can you get?

"I'm sorry, Joe." Frank muttered, staring at the diminishing back view of Conrad Daye, praying with all his heart simultaneously that Justin would pull through alive. He would never wish such a fate on anyone- Conrad's life would definitely fall apart if Justin couldn't claw his way out of danger.

"Huh?"  Joe released his grip and rubbed at his bruise absentmindedly. "Whatever for?"

"For, you know, being a jerk."

"Oh, yah. I have forgotten about it… really." Joe draped his left arm over Frank's shoulders and guided him towards Nancy and Con Riley, "But if you want to make it up, you can always make it up to me by giving me a pay rise and…"

"And?" Frank stopped and spun around when Joe suddenly retracted his hand and halted in his strides.

"With Justin's condition as it is and this case, I know you're probably feeling stressed out. But you have to make up your mind about the two ladies. There are some things that you cannot keep procrastinating on and I think you have delayed long enough."

Trying to muster up a smile but failing miserably, Frank swiped his head towards Nancy and walked ahead of Joe towards the two occupied law officers.

***

"Kertamine, Ecstasy, weed, crack cocaine… you name it, the kid's got it. But right now, he's too incoherent for us to obtain anything. The prosecutor may be charging him with drug possession and intention to supply. Additionally, unless he can prove that the drugs Justin took came from Justin himself, the future doesn't look bright at all for him." Con Riley summarized the police findings thus far and Nancy chewed over them for a moment after jotting the details down in shorthand.

"Is it known now what he took?"

"Not until the test results comes back. From the looks of it, I think it's Ecstasy. There's an opened packet filled with those tablets and we have two deaths in Bayport a few months back owing to overheating from consumption of Ecstasy. Almost the same symptoms- convulsing, high fever, excessive sweating… I'm no doctor though. Kinda of sad when kids succumb to such fate…" Con Riley raised his head up and grinned wearily, "Hello, Hardy. I have told Agent Drew here everything we know."

Nancy threw a glance behind to see Frank giving Con Riley a dry smile.

"What about telling me? When will the test results be out?"

"We're rushing it. Should be able to interview Colin in a couple of hours' time. They are keeping him under observation just in case he took whatever Justin took as well. But if you ask me, he's just as high as a helium balloon. Sorry about Justin though. But looks like your brother called for the ambulance just in time." Con Riley raised a hand up in greeting, "Hey, Joe."

"Hi, Con." Joe wet his lips, his arms akimbo, "Hi, Nan."

She smiled at Joe apologetically, glad that he wasn't being difficult after what happened. Her attention reverted to Con Riley again; she flipped back a few pages of her notebook and traced the writings with the other end of her pen for what she needed.

"What about Lisa McCain? Have you brought her in for questioning?"

"We can't. Nothing concrete against her. Thought you may want to interview her yourself."

"All right." Nancy circled the name, "Joe, I need a favor. Can I borrow your wheels?"

Joe gave her a half-shrug, "No problem. I'll throw in the car's body and interior as well. Can't do much with just wheels. You need me around?"

"I'll like to visit Justin and talk to Conrad for a little while." Frank interrupted quickly. Nancy exhaled heavily, a little peeved at what he was assuming- that she might suggest he follow her. As the earlier tension pressure down on them, Frank added grimly, "It's something I need to do for a friend. Nothing more, nothing less."

"And I'll want to proceed along in my case, alone." Nancy commented coolly, deciding to make it easier on the Hardys. Noting the mark of helplessness on Joe's mien, she did feel rather culpable but enough history and confusion had been stirred up by her presence- it was time to do some damage control.

"Okay. I'll go with Frank then." Joe spoke in a small voice and Frank patted his shoulder lightly.

"It's all right. I can be by myself too."

"Well, who knows? I want to be alone too! Think I'll just loiter here and hang out, all by myself! So much for the apologies!" Joe ranted gesticulating wildly before leaning against the wall, crossing his arms furiously only to let out a slight yowl as he rubbed at a large, purplish bruise, "Dang! Dang, dang, dang!"

"Don't be a grouch, Joe. I'll hang out with you. Have to wait for the hospital's lab technician to come back with the results too which shouldn't be too long. Maybe you can take a peek at the results later. If you're lucky, I'll even let you follow me as I question Colin later. Just don't let Chief know." Con Riley nudged the younger Hardy, teasing him for acting like a child. That infuriated Joe more and Nancy watched on in amusement as Joe's cheeks and ears took on a bright pink shade.

"Joe, the key?"  She stretched her hand out and Joe grudgingly grabbed the key from inside his jeans' pocket and placed it in her palm.

"Don't crash it! It's not totally mine. And be careful, right Nan? Call if you…"

"Joe, I have gone through extensive training before I become a FBI. I'll be fine. See you later… see you too, Frank."

"Bye Nan." The brothers chorused as she left. She heard the guilt in Frank's voice and a new side of Frank was unveiled to her- an aspect that she wasn't sure she liked. Indecision struck the typically composed and assured Frank when volition was of great paramount. Nonetheless, with Justin in critical condition and her case, even though she barely even knew the guy, she felt reprehensible for still being pre-occupied with her own perplexing relationship woes.

***

Frank found Conrad in the waiting lounge of the Intensive Care Unit, a place he was unwillingly familiar with. Sensing the newcomer, Conrad raised his crestfallen mien up and forced a strained smile.

"They made me leave the room for a while. I need a breather too." Conrad hunched over, clasping his hair back with both his hands, "I shouldn't have let him go out after yesterday. But he said he needed some air and would be back with lunch. Who knows, huh?"

"He'll be fine."

"The doctor told me his might develop some renal failure crap. Something to do with the kidneys. I don't know. Ever felt anxious and angry at the same time? Feels like a hollow in your chest when you think about what a waste it is."

"Waste?"

Conrad gestured vaguely down the hall to where the glass rooms are, working up a rage. "Justin. Wasting his life on drugs. Renal failure? I don't know what that is but I know he may just die any moment! I'm angry that this happened after we talked for the very first time last night. I'm angry that he down those rubbish pills in his throat after giving me a promise to go clean! And I'm angry at him for putting me right here, right now, worrying to death over his condition! I don't need this shit! And he jolly well doesn't too!"

For emphasis, Conrad slammed a fist on the armrest of the couch hard and scared the other three visitors in the lounge. A passing nurse scowled at Conrad and placed a chastising finger on her lips.

Recognizing Conrad's need to talk it out, Frank kept quiet, remembering those endless nights he spent in the lounge waiting for Joe to rouse. He understood how Conrad felt perfectly- recalling how anxiety could corrode his insides so painfully and how he was willing to trade places with the then comatose Joe. As long as Joe was safe, he would do just about anything.

"He's such a promising kid, Frank. He's not stupid and he's healthy. I don't know what happened- it feels like this entire thing now- this awful stuff- is completely my fault. If this is his way of hero-worshipping me by following my footsteps, then I guess I'm guilty."

"We have been through this before, Conrad. Go easy on yourself. What good can you do self-blaming now?"

"What good can I do now with anything?" Conrad stared at his open palms remorsefully, "I can't do a thing."

"Yes, you can." Frank clapped his friend's broad back firmly, "You can pray and you can stay by his side. Talk to him, tell him what you long wanted to say but never found the chance or moment. He can hear you and your support will work wonders. The best thing you can do for him now is to be his pillar of strength because he has none if you crumble. Then, when he's all right, the both of you can work properly to pick up the pieces."

"And if he doesn't get well?" Conrad asked, his eyes brimming, "What if he doesn't make it?"

Keeping his tone steady and his expression stoically calm, Frank squeezed his friend's shoulder, "We'll cross the bridge if we have to come to it. Right now, you have to believe that he's going to be okay."

Dejectedly, Conrad nodded before letting out a frustrated sigh and slumping back against the couch, "If it's not too much trouble, Frank, can you just stay here for a while until I can go in and see him again?"

"No trouble at all." Frank replied sincerely, "Just glad I can be of help."

"By believing in Justin, you're helping more than you know." Conrad nodded towards a vending machine in the corner, "Coffee?"

***

"My son has not done anything wrong and he's not talking. I have called my lawyer and Colin shall say nothing until he arrives. You can all get your asses out of here right now." Marcie Brown stood up from the chair next to her son's bed, crossing her arms sternly. From Frank's description, Joe had a rough idea of what Marcie would be like. However, knowledge didn't make dealing with Marcie easier. She had clearly earned the ire of the police officers and caused her son to wince more than a few times when her overbearing nature spilled over the boundaries of 'barely tolerable."

"Mrs. Brown, may I remind you that we found an assortment of drugs in the garage…"

"Which must belong to either his good-for-nothing friend or idle father. Colin is but a victim of ill-influence." Marcie spat, laying a protective hand on Colin's shoulder, to the scowling kid's disgust, "Now, must I sue all of you for disturbance? And what is this young man doing here?"

"I'm Joe Hardy, a private investigator, Mrs. Brown…"

"Hardy… from Hardy Investigations? I regret the day I ever spoke to someone else from your firm. Good day." Marcie waved him off irritability. The splenetic woman got a rude shock of her own when Colin shrugged her touch away, a picture of blatant defiance.

"They are talking to me, not you." He groused softly, turning to one side, facing away from his mother. Marcie Brown, enraged, grabbed Colin by his shoulder to pull him flat on his back again.

"Don't be insolent now. I have just enough of you, young man!"

"Fine! Then have enough! I don't want to have anything to do with you anymore!" Colin yelled into her face, a small smirk dancing on his lips when his mother paled, her mouth gaping as if he had just punched her in the solar plexus. Regaining her composure, she smiled acidly at her own son, a menacing glint in those dark steel eyes.

"If you want it this way, good. I wash my hands off you. You can go to your deadbeat father for all I care, Colin. Don't come crying when they decide to lock you away for years."

"I can't come crying if they lock me up. And I won't miss you." Colin glowered at his mother. His obstinate recalcitrance came as a blessing in disguise as Marcie heaved heavily, seemingly about to explode before she spun around on her heels and stormed right out of the room. Con Riley grinned at Joe as she left, apparently relieved and ecstatic.

"And don't think I'm so dumb as to talk to you guys before my lawyer comes. My mom's gone, doesn't mean my brains left as well. Why don't you guys leave? Go eat some donuts or whatever it is you do to waste taxpayers' money." Colin, spotting the look of triumphant in the officers' expressions, muttered condescendingly. Con Riley bristled from the sarcastic barb but wasn't deterred. Flipping through the lab technician's report which Joe had glanced through as well as asked for a copy, he eyed Colin warily.

"We are not so much concern about you as we are with your friend. He's in critical condition right now and we are hoping you tell us what he took."

"Justin?" Colin sat up straighter on the bed, his eyes instantly alert, "Critical condition?"

"Yes. He's not out of the woods yet. If you can tell us anything that may help, it'll be much appreciated because, according to the reports, something is very wrong with some Ecstasy pills found in your garage. Is that what he took?" Con Riley asked. Colin squeezed his eyes shut, as if trying to remember, before shaking his head.

"I don't know. Maybe one."

"Maybe one?"

"Maybe. Is his condition really that serious?" Colin demanded, his eyes flashing, "Can I see him?"

"He's in the intensive ward. Now, if you'll just co-operate with us. Do you know of strychnine?"

"Huh? What's that?"

"Rat's poison. It's found in a couple of Ecstasy pills we seized from your garage while the rest have a significant higher level of MDMA than…"

"What's MDMA?" Colin interjected. The police officer arched his brows briefly before sticking his nose back into the report.

"3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine… Anyway, that's the active ingredient in those pills you take to get high and the tablets found in your garage have a much higher composition of them than the usual street offerings. Just one tablet can easily cause an overdose reaction. The ones with strychnine are blue in color while those with a higher dosage are pink. Is your memory coming back now?"

"I don't know crap about MDMA or strychnine… I really don't. Now that you know what those pills contain, go and treat Justi…" Colin clamped his mouth shut, knowing he had said too much. Con Riley smiled grimly and whispered to his accompanying officer who nodded and left the room.

"We'll make sure the doctors knows about it and take the necessary steps though I doubt there's much they can do besides stabilizing your friend. He's in a lot of trouble. Can you tell us if you offered Justin the pills or did he bring them along himself?"

"I don't know." Colin bit his lips and clutched the blanket tightly in his fists, "I'm not going to talk anymore until my lawyer comes."

"Colin, sometimes it helps other people if you tell the truth. Maybe those bad drugs are circulating outside, killing more unsuspecting users. And if you know anything that can help Justin out of the mess he's in, isn't it worth telling us too?" Joe decided to jump in, appealing to whatever conscience Colin had inside. From what he had been quietly observing, Colin was genuinely concern for his friend and seemed like a good kid despite all the rough edges, "You know what mess I'm talking about."

"I don't know. Sorry. And since you're a private investigator, break this mystery, knucklehead. 'I'm not talking anymore'. Duh." The visage of a worried best friend quickly melted away, unveiling the mien of the cynical angst-ridden youngster. Con Riley rolled his eyes and slammed the lab report shut.

"Earlier, I have already read you your rights. We are going to transfer you to a holding cell after the doctor discharges you. And until someone posts bail, you are not going to get out. I just ask you to think about the situation Justin is in and hopefully, you'll find enough heart inside for your friend to tell us as much of the story as you know it."

Colin grunted, pulled the pillow out from under him and pressed it down against his face, shutting out everyone and everything around him.