Chapter Eight
Chip called Kowalski and Patterson, giving them a quick update and thanking them for their part in the search. They were more than ready to aid in any way at the cabin, but Chip released them to return to Santa Barbara; where, he suspected, they would continue Operation Captain's Watch unofficially in the Med Bay waiting room. He turned off the SAT phone, and lowered the antenna with a sigh.
"I know what you mean," Perkins said regarding Chip's sigh. They were currently taking the same dirt road they had just traveled back to the cabin, and both were still trying to make sense of the scene they had burst in on at the cabin; Lee lying on the floor, severely ill from a mean dose of snake venom; and Lauren, hovering over him with a bloody knife in her hand, and covered with her own blood.
"At least it's over now," Chip replied introspectively. "She'll never be able to do this again." He sighed again, lowering his eyes for a moment, before continuing. "Tom, I want to thank you for what you did. I know for a fact, that you saved Lee's life."
Perkins kept his eyes on the road, and nodded. "I wish I could have avoided her death; but, Chip, I saw the eyes of a maniac if I've ever seen them before. I knew if I didn't take her out, she'd use every last ounce of her strength to strike at Crane."
"You were right, Tom. Lee told me he was supposed to be dead husband number eight," he said with a side glance of disbelief. "We only knew about three others."
"Damn," Perkins replied softly.
"Yeah," he agreed wholeheartedly.
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Admiral Nelson wasn't one to display his deep concern openly, but anyone who knew him well could easily spot the intensity in his deep blue eyes and furled brow. Harry watched as Lee was unloaded from the chopper and placed onto the ambulance gurney, pursing his lips at the sight of the newly inserted breathing tube. The white pallor of his face indicated Lee was gravely ill, even though he had already been treated with antivenin. Jamie was attentive, completely ignoring Harry's presence; another sign that Lee's health was indeed precarious.
Med Bay staff strapped their patient down securely while Jamie barked out treatment orders as he trotted alongside the gurney. Harry knew this wasn't the time to ask for an update. He followed the gurney in, noting that Lee hadn't stirred for all the activity around him and felt his concern heighten. Uncomfortable with doing nothing, he pursed his lips in determination and turned for the nearest phone, dialing the number by heart and attempting to bring his strong emotions down a notch as Chip Morton answered.
"Morton."
"Chip, I'm going to need some details to report to ONI. Are you at a place where you can report?"
"Aye Sir, let me step out of the cabin…"
"Use the SUV," Harry heard in the background, assuming one of the officers on the scene had offered a place for Chip to report in the night air. Only a moment passed before he heard a car door open then close again.
"I'm in a secure location, Sir," Chip reported.
"Very well, I need everything you've got, Chip."
"Aye Sir. We arrived at the cabin and spotted Lauren's car out front. The cabin was shuttered, but there was smoke from the stove pipe and light shining through the shutters. We moved around quietly, trying to ascertain if Lee was ready for the extraction. We took a chance and unlocked a shutter in the back of the cabin; that's when we spotted blood on the floor beside the bed. So, we headed straight for the front door, there was no back way in," he explained, reporting the facts without emotion. "When we opened the door, we found Lauren over the top of Lee with a knife, a very big knife, ready to strike. She was wounded, a gut wound; the blood we saw was apparently hers. Lee was incapacitated, he may have been trying to make it to the phone, but at that point he couldn't move. I tried to reason with her, but she said something to Lee that I couldn't make out, and then tried to plunge the knife into him. Sheriff Perkins took the shot, she died instantly. And there's something else, Sir."
"Go on," Harry replied, utilizing his own substantial self-control to tamp down his own emotions.
"She was wild-eyed… crazy even. I think mentally insane, Sir. The Sheriff says he saw the eyes of a maniac in her."
Harry sighed through pursed lips. "What about the mission? Was Lee able to report?"
"A little, Sir; in the SUV."
Harry waited as Chip gathered his thoughts and continued.
"Lee confirmed that Lauren wasn't after Intelligence. He said that Rod hadn't even confided that he was ONI with her."
"Then what was her agenda?" Harry questioned as his forehead tightening in question.
"Lee described her as a homicidal maniac. He said there were more than three dead husbands, and that he was supposed to be number eight."
The silence on the phone was palpable as Harry processed the new revelation.
"I'm flabbergasted, Chip… she murdered seven men?"
"Aye Sir. Lee was pretty upset when he told me. He said she 'played' him and that he was fooled for a long time."
"Hmmm," Harry pondered. "I know he wasn't completely able to detach; but, I don't think he ever believed she was innocent."
"I agree, Sir. I get the feeling something else happened. Something he didn't have a chance to tell me about."
"Very well. We'll just have to wait for Lee to fill us in. For now, this is enough to report what ONI wanted to know."
"Sir, how is Lee?" Chip asked, finally able to get to the burning question now that he had reported.
"Jamieson's still working on him. How long before you're finished there?" Harry answered, before changing the subject abruptly.
"Sheriff Perkins has it under control. We did find a gun."
"But you said she attacked him with a knife?" Harry questioned.
"Yeah, it doesn't make sense, but it looks like Lee pretty much dragged himself across the floor toward the phone, we saw marks on the hardwood floor to support this. The trail of blood she left in the hall was left over the drag marks; and well Sir, it looks like she was stalking him."
Another huff of breath was heard on the phone, and Chip knew the Admiral was very affected by the turn of events.
"How about personal effects?" Harry asked, needing to get back to the investigation.
"We found her purse; everything checks out, but we found a key tucked away in her wallet that looks like it belongs to a safe deposit box. It's stamped with the bank's name."
"Good work, Chip. Cut yourself free from the cabin as soon as you can. It sounds like there's more to this story, and I want you here in Santa Barbara to help sort it out," Harry ordered, sensing that Lee was going to need all the support he could get.
"Aye Sir."
Harry hung the phone up, setting the receiver down deliberately with a great deal of self-control. He hadn't been pleased with this undercover operation from the beginning and felt that ONI had no business asking him to "marry" a woman they suspected of murder. But, he also knew that Lee was adamant to clear Rod's name and catch his murderer as well. No one could know the toll it would take on Lee, and Harry suspected they only knew part of the story. He'd just have to wait until Lee woke and was ready to talk.
He rubbed a tired hand across the back of his neck; with no word yet from Jamie he was still left in the dark concerning Lee's condition. He breathed in and expelled a cleansing breath, then picked up the phone to report to ONI.
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Even before he opened his eyes, Lee could feel the intrusion in his throat. His eyes popped open; his lucidity not quite catching up with his wakefulness as he momentarily panicked when he couldn't make sense of his surroundings. Several past mission-fails came to mind in bits and pieces, leaving him confused about his whereabouts just as the pain in his legs reached his awareness.
"Doctor," a soft female voice called in the background, as his eyes danced back and forth looking for something familiar; something that said he wasn't lost in enemy territory being tortured for information.
"Easy Lee," he heard as his breathing increased, until his eyes focused enough to put the face of Dr. William Jamieson together with his voice. "You're in Med Bay," Jamie assured him.
Lee tried to point to his throat in question, but found his arms weren't working properly. Thankfully, Jamie seemed to understand his movements and nodded, answering the question Lee was trying to ask.
"The neurotoxin in the snake venom shut down your breathing muscles. Don't fight the ventilator, it's breathing for you," he said, as Lee's brow tightened. "Do you understand, Lee? Blink once for yes and twice for no."
The fog cleared with Lee remembering well everything that had happened in the cabin as the disturbing images of how Lauren tried to kill him came into focus. He blinked once as Jamie smiled thinly, his concern easily read on his face.
"Good, let me assure you that your prognosis is very good, Lee. I've already administered a second dose of antivenin. It's not unusual to receive multiple doses and we just need to be patient and allow your body time to respond to the treatment. Now, one more thing, are you in pain?"
Lee was fully awake, and the pain in both of his legs was beginning to make itself known. He blinked a "yes" as Jamie nodded.
"We'll do something about that. Your broken leg is immobilized, but I don't want to cast it until the antivenin begins to release the muscle paralysis."
Lee blinked his understanding and Jamie let out a satisfied sigh that his patient was both lucid and responding. The doctor turned and issued an order for pain medication to the attending nurse, and then turned back to his patient.
"Okay, we're going to get you some relief now, Lee. Just rest and hang in there," Jamie encouraged with a hand on his shoulder.
Lee blinked and then watched as Jamie stepped away. He was exhausted and when the pain medication kicked in, he was more than happy to let it all go and lose himself in the warm, dark cocoon of unconsciousness; far from the memories of Lauren and the cabin.
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Harry finished his call to ONI, reporting to the naval intelligence agency what he knew thus far. An investigative team would be sent now that Lauren was dead, and they still wanted a report from Lee directly; but were guardedly relieved to hear that Lauren wasn't after Intelligence. Her motives were still very much a mystery to be solved, but now the investigation had taken a turn from a possible intelligence breach to a murder investigation. The news that there were possibly four other dead husbands indicated she had operated under a previously unknown alias. Indeed, the probable alias and the pharmaceuticals Lauren apparently had access to, indicated she was very well connected somewhere; and that was a connection they intended to investigate fully. For now, all they could do was wait for Lee to improve enough to report, and to follow whatever clues Lauren left behind in the meantime.
Harry stood, needing to pace off some of his pent-up energy. He took a couple of laps deep in thought, and was about ready to find the nearest coffee pot when Jamie walked into the waiting room.
"How is he, Jamie?" he asked, not wasting any time.
"He's stable," Jamie replied, guiding Harry to the chairs to talk. "I administered another dose of antivenin; we're waiting to see some progress there. If he doesn't respond, we'll administer another dose of M. vulvius; the blood samples reveal he was given a very potent dose of venom," he informed, stopping to pause for a disgusted breath before continuing. "In the meanwhile, we've treated his other injuries. He sustained a broken fibula and tibia of his right leg; we've immobilized his leg, but I don't want to move him for casting while the ventilator is in place. His left leg suffered from what I can only guess was an attempt to make the snake bite look authentic. The puncture marks are consistent with the forward grooved fangs of the coral snake, however, the amount of swelling and redness isn't consistent with the quantity of venom in his bloodstream. It doesn't make sense really," Jamie added, shaking his head knowingly. "The fact is, the Coral Snake isn't even indigenous to California."
"Perhaps she wasn't counting on an autopsy; with the fang marks and venom, she obviously thought no one would question the outcome," Harry postulated to Jamie's disapproving nod.
"At any rate, we've treated the wound and given him a tetanus shot. The rest of his symptoms are consistent with the symptoms of a coral snake; I'm afraid the only treatment is high doses of antivenin until the patient responds, along with antihistamines and antibiotics. Until then, he'll be on the ventilator and of course we'll be watching for complications such as serum sickness and anaphylaxis or any other allergic reactions to the antivenin."
"Are you telling me he's not out of the woods yet?" Harry inquired, needing to get past the medical jargon, which he fully understood, and straight to the prognosis.
"I believe he will respond to the treatment, but there are potential complications that go along the necessary dosage of antivenin. I'm saying that he's still in for a rough ride."
Harry took a deep breath and nodded his understanding. "I'd like to see him for a moment," he said wearily; ready to see his best friend who had come to be more like a son.
"Certainly, Admiral; he was awake briefly and was lucid enough to answer some questions for me," he replied, standing and then guiding the Admiral to the treatment room.
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Harry entered the room, stopping only a few steps after clearing the door to rein in his emotions. He had seen Lee in this situation before, lying on gurney surrounded by medical equipment; but the overall pallor of his face indicated a very ill young man, even after two doses of antivenin. The hypnotic rhythmic sounds of the ventilator breathing for Lee only added to the seriousness of his injuries. Harry could see the outline of the hospital splint immobilizing his leg under the warming blanket, and cringed inwardly at the thought that Lauren had maliciously inflicted the damage with the car door.
He stepped toward the gurney; Lee was unconscious, his bare torso currently sporting EKG electrodes connected to a monitor quietly beeping out the rhythm of his heartbeat. His arms lay awkwardly limp even in his unconscious state; a reminder that the muscle paralysis was still affecting his limbs. The color of his face was all wrong, his features marred slightly by the breathing tube and its apparatus positioned in his opened mouth.
Harry looked down and sighed, pursing his lips and thinking, not for the first time, that this time, ONI had asked too much of their ONI agent. Lee's physical condition was only partly on his mind; asking him to marry a suspected murderer was entirely too much to ask. The fact that Lee hadn't been able to completely detach would make the final outcome of her demise even more difficult for him. Harry knew his friend well, and he also knew that her betrayal would hit his friend hard, even though he knew it was coming.
He raised his eyes and smiled as he was greeted with the unexpected hazel eyes of Lee Crane looking back at him; though his usually vibrantly green eyes were colored more on the brown side in his current physical condition.
"Hello Lee," he greeted, amazed that the young man had again sensed someone was by his side. A small upturn of his mouth was all the answer Lee could give, but it warmed the admiral's heart to see him respond. "How are you feeling?"
Lee's awkward smile grew as he rolled his eyes to seemingly take in all the medical apparatus surrounding him, enticing a chuckle from Harry.
"I guess that was a little asinine to ask," Harry admitted, chuckling again. Lee's smile faded, as he used his eyes to point Harry to his hand, where a lone finger was moving up and down. Harry caught on quickly, placing the back of his hand under Lee's as he tapped out a message in Morse Code.
"F-i-n-e-r-e-a-l-l-y," he tapped out. Now it was Harry's turn to roll his eyes.
"I just bet," he quipped back, leaving his hand in place so they could communicate as Lee sighed noticeably.
"L-a-u-r-e-n?"
Harry's mood turned serious to match his. "She's dead, Lee."
Lee closed his eyes a moment, having needed reassurance that his memories were correct and then tapped out another message.
"K-e-e-p-d-r-e-a-m-i-n-g."
"Give it time, Lee," Harry advised. "The dreams will fade," he said, understanding from the limited information he had, that the hell his friend had endured would produce a fall-out to deal with.
Lee nodded carefully. "N-o-r-e-m-o-r-s-e," he tapped out.
"Lauren had no remorse?" Harry repeated, interpreting Lee's abbreviated message.
He blinked his answer; the beeps of the heart monitor, and hum of the ventilator filling the air as he rested a moment. Harry waited patiently, allowing his friend time to sort out the sordid details of the distasteful mission. The muscle paralysis still dictated Lee's ability to use his arm, indicated by how heavily his hand rested on Harry's; but the admiral was grateful that they were able to communicate in this fashion.
"B-l-a-c-k-w-i-d-o-w," Lee said, his tapping becoming weaker with every letter. Harry nodded, about ready to comment when he saw Lee's countenance change disturbingly.
"Are you alright, Lee?" Harry asked, concerned for the abrupt change of pallor in his face. Suddenly, Lee's eyes rolled back as his body started bucking wildly in convulsions.
"Get the doctor!" Harry yelled as he threw himself over Lee's shoulders, while the various monitors in the room began emitting emergency signals.
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Jamie ran back into the treatment room, assessing the situation instantly and giving instructions over his shoulder to one of the three nurses who had followed him in. He ordered more antivenin and anti-convulsion medication, while reaching for Lee's head to stabilize the ventilator tube apparatus. He leaned down close to Lee's ear and spoke calmly, as Harry fought to keep him from bucking off the table.
"Easy Lee, relax. You're going to be fine," he assured calmly as a nurse took over at his head, leaning down and whispering her own reassurance while Jamie administered the shots. A few minutes later, his body began to release and the convulsions stopped.
Harry stood upright, looking down as Lee breathed heavily through the ventilator while Jamie took his vitals. Satisfied the emergency was under control, he turned to address his patient who was, unbelievably, still conscious.
"I want you to rest now, Lee. You're exhausted."
Lee immediately blinked a "no"; his eyes disagreeing vehemently.
Jamie started to protest when he noticed Lee's finger tapping on the bed and furled his brow in question.
"We've been talking through Morse Code," Harry said, stepping back in to explain as he placed Lee's hand on his once again.
Lee was visibly relieved and Jamie nodded, understanding his patient's need to decompress from the harrowing experience before being ordered to sleep.
"Very well, Lee, but only for a short while," the doctor conceded.
Lee blinked his gratefulness as Jamie stepped away, glancing back at his patient and sighing silently. He left the room to Admiral Nelson's baritone voice speaking softly as the two continued to talk through Morse Code.