Flame Series #18: Physician Heal Thy Self
CHAPTER 13
Baby Girl
"Isn't Cooper going with you?" Kitty tickled the little girl's belly, causing her to giggle and tighten her grip around Poppy's neck.
"He's with Festus and besides I'm not going to fish." Doc shifted Hadley to a more comfortable position on his hip. "Tia is putting together a snack for us and a bag of day-old bread. Then we're going to Moskin's Pond to feed the ducks. Isn't that right? The old man turned to his little companion to confirm.
Red curls bounced, as her head bobbed up and down. "Poppy got food for ducks… and me. Wanna come wif us, momma?"
Doc appeared almost fearful, as he waited for Kitty to answer. He no longer trusted his own judgment and he wondered if his family felt the same. Hopefully, he was still competent enough to feed some ducks.
The apprehension in those old gray eyes did not go unnoticed by Kitty. She laid a loving hand to his forearm. Right now, she felt the best place for her to be, was with the Cannons. With Calleigh and Newly immersed in finding a solution to Doc's illness, Matt suggested she keep a close watch on the visitors, until he heard back from Barlow.
"I can't right now, baby girl, but you and Poppy have a good time." She directed the child's attention to the lady at the table. "Do you remember Mrs. Cannon?"
"In a contradictory gesture, her head bobbed up and down, but her answer was, "Nope." Patience was not a developed trait for the little Dillon either. "C'mon Poppy. Go feed da ducks!"
"Well hold on! We have to wait for Tia to bring us the food and bread."
"You're just a silly girl." Before Kitty could take her daughter for a kiss, Darcy had returned to the table.
"I was told to deliver this to you, Dr. Adams." Darcy held out the brown paper bag. "The waitress said you were taking this little lady to feed some ducks." He flashed a smile of perfect white teeth, as he pinched the rosy cheek of the toddler. "She also said for you not to get excited, because there was coffee in that flask, not whiskey." His smile ushered in a laugh. "You two have a nice afternoon."
Doc left with Hadley, but instead of returning to his seat, Darcy began to beg off of the lunch date. He reminded his wife of an errand he had to run and agreed to meet them both later. His departure was so quick and unexpected; Kitty didn't have a chance, or a reason, to stop him. Phoebe didn't appear to be concerned by his actions, nor did she offer any explanation.
"You were telling me about building the Prairie Rose. Was Dodge excited at the prospect of a fancy restaurant?"
Kitty was quiet for a moment, trying to decide if she should stay with Phoebe, or go tell Matt that the young man had taken off so abruptly. By the time she could get to the jail, it would probably be too late, so she opted to stay with this half of the Cannons. "I think they were excited. People had been complaining about Delmonico's for years. If this town was going to grow, it needed some new businesses."
"That's…uh…very true." Phoebe words were cut short, when she noticed a familiar face, standing across the street in front of the jail. Vince Morgan? What was he doing in Dodge City? Had he been talking to the marshal? She had to find Darcy, to warn him. This man could ruin all of their plans.
"Phoebe, are you all right?" Kitty was confused by the woman's sudden lapse into silence. She turned; looking out the window in search of whatever had captured the young woman's attention. "Did you see something out there?"
"Uh, no, I just remembered I promised Darcy I would go by the mercantile and pick up some cigars for him." She tried not to act as nervous as she felt, but she wasn't successful.
Kitty watched Phoebe hurry out of the restaurant. First, he leaves on the spur of the moment and now Phoebe goes running out. "They truly are a strange couple." Kitty murmured, as she gathered her things and headed over to the jail.
CalleighNewlyCalleighNewlyCalleighNewly
Calleigh fell back against the cushions on the window seat in Doc's room. "This is ridiculous. We have searched everything in this room. There is nothing that could be causing him to act this way."
Newly closed the drawer to the older man's desk and walked over to his wife. "We need a break. Let's go get a cup of coffee and take a breather."
She pulled her arm away when he tried to guide her to the kitchen. "NO. I don't want coffee. I don't want some stupid platitude of how things will work out. I want…I want…" She tried to hide behind the anger and shouting, but in the end, Calleigh surrendered to the tears.
Newly took her in his arms, holding her quietly while she cried. "The truth is, baby; I don't have any answers for you. If it helps to scream, then go ahead. I'll even join you, if you want me to."
The thought of Newly raising his voice caused her to smile. She managed a bittersweet smile as she leaned back enough to look up at him. "Is the coffee fresh?"
Ignoring the question, Newly kissed her on the forehead and turned her around toward the kitchen. "You sit down; I'll get it for you."
Calleigh drug her weary body into one of the chairs. "I swear, this has been one of the longest weeks of my life. Nothing has gone right since we got home. Poppy's sick. That annoying couple won't go away. Poor Gert died." She reached out to take the cup that her husband sat in front of her. As she blew on the steaming liquid, Calleigh noticed the strange expression on Newly's face. "What?"
"This has been a bad week."
"I know. I just said that."
Newly gave his head a quick shake. "No, think about what you just said. And what you said the other night."
Calleigh frowned. "What did I say?"
He pulled his chair up closer to the table. "Doc didn't get sick, until Darcy Cannon came to town. Calleigh, I think he's behind this somehow. Try to remember everything that has transpired between Darcy and Doc."
"I know he's been sneaking up to the clinic while I'm on rounds. But Poppy got sick before he started doing that." She toyed with the handle on her cup. "I asked Poppy if he left Darcy alone in his room and he didn't remember, but-"
"Wait. Phoebe got those toothpicks for Cooper. They were made special, all the way from New York, but… how could she have gotten them so quickly?"
"I don't know. I really didn't pay much attention." She began to blink faster and with each, the sparkle returned to her eyes. "Come on, I saw that little pouch on his desk. He finally ran out of toothpicks."
With the redhead leading the way, the two returned to the old physician's bedroom. Calleigh snatched up the silk pouch and turned it inside out. She smelled the traces of powder but the peppermint dominated the scent. The taste was more revealing. "I can taste the peppermint, but I can also detect a salty, metallic taste." With eyes wide open and clear with understanding, she looked up at her husband. "I think I know what's causing his symptoms; but why? Why would this stranger want to harm Poppy?"
"I don't know." Newly jumped to his feet, pulling Calleigh up with him. "You said your dad was checking him out. I think we need to tell him what you discovered."
"What WE discovered." She said as they left the room. "You were the one to figure it out."
Moskin'sPondMoskin'sPondMoskin'sPond.
Doc pulled the buggy up under the spreading canopy of the mature, white oak. He dropped the carriage weight to the ground and lifted Hadley from the wagon. Her feet had scarcely touched the dirt, before she was heading for the water. Doc grabbed a handful of green smock and pulled her back. "You wait for Poppy. Let me get the blanket spread out and we'll see what Tia put in the bag."
"Okay, Poppy. I wait." Hadley stood—with tiny hands clasped to her chest and short, chubby legs bouncing anxiously—as she watched him spread out the red and black wool blanket. "Now?"
"No not yet. Just sit down for a minute." He pointed to the space beside him and reached into the sack. "Look what she put in here for you." Doc unwrapped the cloth to reveal a jelly sandwich. "I think its grape. Your favorite."
"Gwape is my favowite!" She clapped her hands with excitement. " What else in thea, Poppy?"
Doc fished around in the sack, pretty sure he knew what she was hoping for. Wrapping his fingers around the glass jar, he pulled it slowly out of the brown paper, bag until the bright colors began to emerge.
"Jeebees! Jeebees!" Hadley reached for the container of red, yellow and green candies, but Doc held it out of reach.
"You eat that sandwich and let Poppy drink his coffee. Then you can have the candy and we'll walk down and feed the ducks."
She looked at the water…at the jellybeans…and at the sandwich. "Okay." Hadley scooted up close to her Poppy and took the first bite of the sandwich. Grape jelly oozed down her chin and a quick swipe with her free hand, smeared it across her face before Doc could wipe it off.
He grinned at his little granddaughter. "Looks like we're going to have to borrow some water from the ducks, to wash your face."
Doc finished off his coffee and leaned back against the tree. The breeze was perfect, just gentle enough to caress and cool enough to be comfortable. He had no way of knowing that it was the drug that Darcy had slipped into his coffee, that was slowly putting him to sleep. The flask fell from his hand, as he fell back in a dizzy fog.
"Poppy?" Hadley pushed at her grandpa, but he simply grunted and let his head slump to one side. "You seep Poppy?" She pulled at his eyelid and stared at the old, gray eyes. "Okay, you seep. I go feed da ducks."
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Darcy managed to get close enough to watch his prey. Not close enough to hear them, but he could see the old man drinking the spiked flask. It didn't take long at all before he slumped over onto the ground. He watched the little girl try to wake him and then head down toward the pond.
This was more than he'd hoped for. Phoebe was right—this was perfect. If the child were to die because of the old man's carelessness, Adams would be ruined. No longer would he be the esteemed physician, adored by all of Dodge City. Galen Adams would be known as the old fool, that slept while his granddaughter drowned.
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Hadley wandered down to the pond with the sack of bread Tia had sent. She watched the white, fluffy water bird, skimming along the top of the water, with four little ones trailing behind. "Looka, babies. See Poppy." She looked back at the sleeping man and then edged closer to the water. Clumsy, tiny fingers reached into the sack, grabbing a handful of broken bread. Even though she put forth a great effort, the tossed crumbs barely made it into the water.
"Hewa, momma duck. Des for you babies." Hadley was unconcerned that the tops of her shoes were covered with water, as she tossed another handful of breadcrumbs. Once again, the bread didn't fly as she intended. When she looked down, she could see the bulk of the food stuck to her jelly stained fingers. "I dewty. I need do wash da sticky off."
The edge of the pond was muddy and she tried to keep her footing, as she walked toward the water to wash her hands and face. Little feet were unable to stand their ground and the toddler lost her balance, falling head first into the pond.
TBC