I have actually heard of this happening in a small hotel in Serbia and thought it was quite amusing.
Serena watched as Henrik grabbed a first aid kit from the far corner of the room, pulling out a pair of latex gloves and immediately going to work on the man. She kneeled down beside him, feeling his pulse. It seemed strong enough.
"The damage doesn't seem too extensive," Henrik said, examining the man.
"Would you care to explain what exactly happened here?" Serena looked at John.
"We were all just having a good time."
"Yes, it looks that way," she rolled her eyes, holding up the man's shirt for Henrik to get a closer look at his wounds. "Why was he stabbed?"
"I'm not sure," John answered.
They all paused as they heard the shattering of glass and a loud scream.
"Now what?" Serena huffed, getting to her feet and rushed after John back into the restaurant.
"He just collapsed!" Someone shouted.
Serena turned her gaze to the man who had been standing at the bar who was now sprawled out on the floor. "Oh for goodness sake," she mumbled, hurrying over to him. She reached for the knife, hesitantly handing it to John before feeling for a pulse. It was slow, but he was definitely still alive. "Well, at least we have the knife," she said. "Did anyone see what happened?"
"He just fell over," a woman said.
"Did he say anything before he collapsed?"
"He mumbled something about a cat."
"A cat?"
"He said it was chasing him."
Serena stared back at the woman. She didn't seem like she was intoxicated. Serena checked the man's eyes. His pupils seemed fully dilated, as one would see in a drug addict. "Did the emergency services give you a time of arrival at all?"
"No, sorry."
"Okay," Serena took a deep breath.
"He's lucky," Henrik said as he walked into the room. "The lacerations aren't too deep . . ." Henrik paused as he noted what had happened.
"Help!" A woman called from the reception area. "My husband's collapsed!"
Henrik and Serena exchanged looks and both rushed into the reception where and elderly man was lying on the floor. "What happened?"
"He said he felt disoriented and just collapsed," the woman wailed.
Henrik went to his aide as Serena tried to calm the woman down. "You said he felt disoriented? Had he been drinking?"
"He had a glass of wine at dinner with his mushroom tagliatelle."
Serena nodded, watching Henrik work. She noticed his pupils were dilated as well.
"He seemed out of sorts."
"How so?"
"He kept saying he was seeing a shadow following us."
Serena paused. "A shadow?"
"Is that significant?"
"He didn't happen to mention a cat, did he?"
The woman gave Serena an odd look. "No."
"Ms Campbell?" Henrik looked at her.
"Was he on any medication?"
"No."
"This may seem like a stupid question," Serena couldn't help but smile at the thought. "But do you know if anyone else had the mushroom tagliatelle this evening?"
"Not many," the woman answered. "Most of us had the burger."
"Uh, bear with me for a second," she said to Henrik as she spun around and moved back to John. "What did this man have for dinner?" She motioned to the man who was unconscious in the bar.
"The tagliatelle," he answered without hesitation.
"You're sure?"
"Yes," he nodded. "There were only four portions left."
"Okay, can I have a word with the chef?"
"He's in his room," the waitress said. "I can take you up."
Serena nodded and followed the waitress through the reception area. "Care to join me?" She asked Henrik who got up and followed them up the stairs.
"Would you care you explain to me what's going on?" he asked as they made their way up the stairs.
"Mushroom tagliatelle," she answered, giving him a sly smile.
"I'm not entirely following."
"Remember when we passed the potential murderer in the bar? He looked like he was in some kind of trance? His eyes were glazed over. And then just before he collapsed, he told someone that a cat was chasing him."
"A hallucination?"
"That's what I'm guessing. The man in reception?" she pointed back down the stairs. "He thought a shadow was following them and was disoriented."
"Are you saying you think they may have ingested some kind of . . . magic mushroom?"
"Well, it's a possibility."
"This is his room," the waitress said, knocking on the door. "Daniel! It's Melanie. Can you open up, please?"
They waited for an answer.
"They're here!" Daniel yelled from inside.
"Who?" Melanie called.
"The police!" The door swung open and the man stood watching them in his underwear.
"Wow," Serena tried to avert her gaze.
"I didn't do it! You can't prove anything!"
Henrik stared back at the man. "We're not the police," he said.
"You're with the Gestapo!"
"Well this is awkward," Serena sighed. "Look at his eyes," she noted the glazed look.
"I'm attempting to avoid looking at him at all," Henrik glanced back at her.
She couldn't help but smile. "Can you tell us what you used to make the tagliatelle tonight?"
Daniel stared at her for a moment, before disappearing into his room. They all exchanged looks. What was he doing in there?
"Here," he tossed a transparent bag at them, containing a large portion of dried mushrooms.
"And where did you get these from?"
"My friend," he answered, his eyes still comically wide.
"Well, it seems you may have cracked the case, Ms Campbell," Henrik smiled. "Well done."
Serena couldn't hide the surprised look on her face. This was possibly the first time he had ever complimented her so openly. "Thank you."
"Now, I have to get back to my patient," Henrik waited for the ladies to join him, just in case Daniel decided to act up, before heading back to the chef's office.
They decided it was safe to move him to his colleague's bedroom. Henrik had managed to stitch a couple of the stab wounds sufficiently, but he would need someone keeping an eye on him until the emergency services could get to them.
The elderly man had been taken to his room to sleep off the effects from the mushrooms and Serena would check on him throughout the night.
Michael Owen – aka 'The Stabber' – as he had been dubbed by the hotel staff had been placed on a mattress in a storage room which was to be kept locked until the police could collect him. He, too, was sleeping off the effects from the hallucinogen that the chef had knowingly given to some of the guests.
Serena stepped into the room she was sharing with Henrik, having just checked on the elderly man and his wife. She felt almost comforted to see him sitting up on the bed, watching the news. "I've informed them to call us if we're needed," she said as she gently closed the door behind her. She moved to her side of the bed and rested her back against the head rest. "Anything good on the news?"
"It's not particularly as interesting as our night," Henrik answered, his lips twitching upwards.
"Oh God, who would have thought this would happen? Can you imagine explaining this to anyone?" She laughed.
"I'm particularly impressed by your deductions tonight regarding the infamous magic mushrooms," Henrik said.
"Well, with all the craziness going on, I felt it fit right in."
"It certainly seems to have done. I'm pleased it wasn't anything more serious."
"It could certainly have made for an interesting horror story," she smiled, rubbing her neck. Her whole back felt like it had become one big ball of tension.
"Are you okay?" Henrik looked at her.
"Yeah," she huffed. "I can't seem to run about as I used to."
"Here, let me help you," Henrik said as reached out and started gently massaging her neck. "You seem to carry quite a significant amount of tension in your neck and shoulders," he said clinically. "I can imagine this could cause severe back ache."
"No kidding," she said, leaning forward as she felt Henrik's hands rubbing the muscles in her shoulders and then making their way down her back. She loved it and could have begged him to continue all night if she hadn't felt that same strange attraction from earlier. This was not a good idea, and yet she couldn't force herself to ask him to stop. His hands were a welcome sensation. She felt him pause slightly and quickly took her cue to lean back. "Thank you," she smiled. "That feels much better."
There was something in the way he looked at her that made her keep her eyes fixated on him. She could feel her heart begin to beat faster, pumping more blood through her veins, filling her with adrenaline as Henrik moved closer towards her. She said nothing as he pressed his lips to hers. It was absolutely and categorically an enormous mistake, but she felt as though she had no control of her actions as she reciprocated and reached out to bring him closer to her, feeling his arm move under her back and pull her into him. She gasped as he gently kissed her neck.
The emergency services could reach the hotel at any moment and they would most definitely wish to speak to both her and Henrik, but she couldn't bring herself to ask him to stop. She needed the comfort of human contact as much as he did.