FULL CIRCLE
Chapter 38
After leaving the house, Miles just drove around for awhile. He was trying to come to terms with the fact that his father was indeed remarried and he had a little sister and he was also angry at his
father for not telling him. He tried to but couldn't pretend the kid wasn't related, she looked too much like him.
Finally in his aimless driving, Miles found himself in front of a bar. He spent a few minutes debating with himself whether to go in and get a drink and try to forget the past few days. He wasn't
normally a drinking man but after all that had happened he felt that he certainly deserved if not needed one. Getting out of the car, he headed for the door.
The bartender casually eyed the young man who took a seat on one of the barstools. "If you're gonna drink then I'm gonna need to see some ID," he informed him.
Miles shrugged and reached into his pocket, withdrawing the picture with his wallet. Laying the photo aside, he pulled out his Maryland driver's license. "As you can see, I am over twenty-one," he stated.
"The bartender looked from it to the man sitting in front of him. "Okay, Doctor, it looks real enough so I'll take your word that it's legit," he finally said and handed it back. "Now what can I get you?"
"A beer," Miles replied as he replaced his driver's license. "And I'll tell you when to stop." The bartender quickly drew the ice cold draft and set it in front of Miles.
By his third beer Miles was beginning to feel as if he'd had at least twice that many if not more. The alcohol was probably reacting with the codeine to give him a killer headache and he felt like he was onhis way to experiencing a major hangover. He was also aware that there was no way he should even attempt to drive back to the hotel in his condition.
The bartender had been observing the young man while he washed up glasses. "Had enough?' he asked.
"Yeah," Miles replied. He pulled out his phone and randomly dialed one of the preprogrammed numbers. Hopefully whicever team member who answered would just take him back to the hotel. They could yell at him later.
Natalie had finished up the last of the autopsies having discovered that the cause of death was the same in each patient. Now she was starting the reports when he phone rang. "Dr. Durant."
"Nat," Miles said relieved to hear her voice, his own sounding alittle shaky.
"Miles, are you okay? Where are you?" Natalie quickly asked.
"I'm at a bar. I-I don't think I can drive right now," he replied.
"What bar? Where?" Natalie asked patiently.
"I don't know," Miles said and handed his phone to the bartender.
"It's called "Harry's Place" and we're located at 814 East Wentworth Avenue," the bartender told her.
"How much did he have to drink?" she asked.
"I believe three beers. But he didn't finish the last one," the bartender answered. "He seemed okay when he came in but he's looking pretty bad right now."
"Let me talk to him again," Natalie instructed.
"All right." He handed the phone back to Miles. "She wants to talk to you."
"Miles, listen to me. Did you take anything with the beers?" Natalie asked.
"Just a couple of the pain meds about twenty-five thirty minutes ago."
"Tell me what you're experiencing," Natalie instructed.
"My head is really hurting and I'm beginning to feel sick and dizzy," Miles answered.
Natalie thought for a minute before replying, "This could be because of your concussion. But you could also be having a reaction to the alcohol and codeine combined. I want you to stay right where you are and I'll be there as soon as I can." She reached for her purse andkeys. She had a lot of questions as to why Miles had ended up at the bar. But the answers would need to wait since she needed to find out what kind of shape Miles was in.
Miles closed his phone and rested his head in his hands, fervently hoping that Natalie would get there soon.