(Hey guys, so glad you want to read more of this story. Here's Chapter 3, Enjoy~!)
~The Next Morning~
"Has anyone seen my glasses?" asks Matt feeling around for his missing eye wear. The gypsy boy pulls them out of his pocket and hands them to the struggling man. With a sigh of relief, Matt places them on the bridge on his nose.
"Great, where did you find them?" he asks.
"Let's just say a curious cat had found them and never returned them till this morning," Malcolm says smiling.
"Jessica," Matt replies chuckling a bit. "So where is she now?"
"Hopefully sleeping, poor girl didn't get an ounce of sleep last night" Malcolm replies sadly. He rummages through the kitchen for a couple of cups for hot tea. Walking into the kitchen, Matt leans against the counter feeling the steam from the hot liquid being poured. The aroma was...unusual, yet familiar.
"What's in that tea? Mint? Chamomile? Lemongrass?"
"Catnip." Malcolm replies. "Works great for relaxation."
Stunned, Matt swishes the liquid around looking for any foreign substances that might have slipped in his cup. Nothing detected, he takes a small sip of the tea feeling instantly calm.
"Good tea right?" his friend asks.
"Really great. Should we get a cup for Jessica?"
"Nah, she's not much of a tea drinker. Besides, she takes a medication for the um 'nightmares'."
"Nightmares?"
"Yeah, she has recurring dreams, scary ones. Started to become too much for her so I prescribed this." He passes a small bottle filled with a strange brown elixir. Matt pops the cork off and puts the lid up to his nose. This liquid he knew all too well as the smell churned in his stomach. He had smelled this from many people who entered the church back home. Most of them, deceased. It reeked from the open casket ceremonies.
"Belladonna," he says with a hint of anger.
"You are correct Mr. Murdock."
"You do realize that Belladonna is a highly toxic substance that can kill someone in minutes."
"Yes, in large quantities."
"But how is it that someone like Jessica has not killed over from this?"
"If I told you, you wouldn't believe it." The lawyer questions his friend and the elixir.
Suddenly they hear a loud cry coming from Jessica's room.
"What's going on?" Matt asks.
"Just as I told you before, the nightmares." Malcolm motions him into the room as Jessica is thrashing on the bed.
"Ok I need you to hold her down as I get her to swallow this."
The blind man follows his orders as Malcolm holds Jessica's head back and pours the liquid into her mouth. They wait a second before she throws it up over the side of the bed.
"I don't understand, it always works till now."
"Let me try something," Matt holds her head and begins to chant a prayer. The girl relaxes in his hand and falls back into a deep slumber.
"What did you do?" the gypsy boy asks.
"Recited the Lord's Prayer."