Jeremy's Bigfoot Tragedy Chapter Seven
Lottie ran to the Bolt cabin. There was no lantern light in the window. She beat on the door as hard as she could.
Joshua opened the door. "Lottie! What's wrong?"
"Oh, Joshua! I've done something unforgivable! You and Jason have to hurry!" She shouted.
Jason appeared in the doorway. "Lottie, just tell us what happened."
"I poisoned Jeremy! Rachel said both of you have to come right away to tell him goodbye!" She buried her face in her hands.
"Dear God, Lottie! What are you talking about?!" Jason bellowed.
"There's no time to explain further! Come on! Jeremy needs you!" Lottie yelled.
The two brothers had pulled on their pants before coming to the door. So, they ran barefoot with Lottie to the clinic. They were frightened about what they would find there.
As they went through the door of the clinic, they could hear Jeremy crying out in pain. The three of them found him in the exam room with Rachel.
"How is our brother?" Joshua asked.
Rachel looked grim as she shook her head no.
Lottie burst into tears and ran out of the room.
"Joshua….is that you?" Jeremy gasped. "Where's Jason?"
"Yes, it's me, Jeremy. Jason is here too." Joshua walked to the table and took his youngest brother's hand.
"I'm right here, Jeremy." Jason stepped to the other side of the table and clasped Jeremy's other hand. "Can you tell us what happened, brother?"
"I drank some whiskey at Lottie's, and I got sick. I puked and now I'm in a lot of pain. Rachel doesn't think I'm gonna make it. I heard her tell Lottie to get you and Joshua so you can say goodbye." Jeremy moaned.
"I'll be right back, Jeremy. Joshua, you stay with him." Jason said.
Jason motioned for Rachel to follow him. They went into another room and closed the door.
"What happened to my brother and why aren't you doing something for him? He demanded.
"Lottie said she put Aqua Tofana in a bottle of whiskey and Jeremy drank some of the whiskey. She said he got it by accident." Rachel explained.
"Lottie said she poisoned Jeremy so Aqua Tofana is some type of poison?" He asked.
"Yes, it has arsenic in it." Rachel replied. "There is no antidote for arsenic, Jason. I'm sorry."
"No antidote….." Jason turned pale. "There's nothing that can be done? What about the pain? Can you do something about that, so our baby brother won't suffer, please?"
"I can give Jeremy morphine. It will take care of his pain." Rachel said softly.
"Thank you. Does he know that nothing can be done for him and that…" Jason gulped.
"No, I haven't told him yet. I thought it would be better to wait until you and Joshua were here." She replied.
"Yes, Joshua and I wouldn't want him to be alone and hear that kind of news. Let me tell Josh first and then we can tell Jeremy. Dear God!" Jason felt like the room was spinning.
"Alright. Just let me know when you are ready." Rachel said.
Jason nodded in agreement. He and Rachel returned to the exam room. Joshua was sitting in a chair next to the exam table holding Jeremy's hand. Jeremy was clutching his stomach and moaning in pain.
"Joshua, please come with me just a minute. Rachel will stay with our baby brother." Jason stated.
Joshua left his chair and followed Jason to another room. Rachel sat down in the chair by the exam table.
"Jason has taken Josh to tell him that I'm dying, hasn't he?" Jeremy looked at Rachel.
Rachel gasped. She didn't know what to say.
"I heard you talking to Lottie." Jeremy inhaled sharply.
"I'm sorry, Jeremy. I didn't mean for you to find out like that." Rachel apologized.
"What's killing me so fast? I felt okay until I drank that whiskey." He clenched his teeth due to the pain.
"There is arsenic in that bottle of whiskey. Lottie put it in there. It wasn't meant for you. There is no antidote for arsenic." Rachel explained.
"Why would Lottie poison a bottle of whiskey?" Jeremy scowled. "Oh, hell! I know what she is going to do! Rachel, please go get Lottie. I have to talk to her. She can't go through with what she's planning."
"I can't leave you alone, Jeremy. Besides, I hear your brothers coming back." Rachel said.
Jason and Joshua walked into the room. Both of them had red eyes and they were stuffing their handkerchiefs in their pockets. They sat in chairs by the exam table.
Jeremy's heart broke for his brothers. He had never seen them look crushed before.
"I asked Rachel, and she told me. I know that I'm dying, and I know about the poison. I don't want to leave you. Both of you mean more than I…" Jeremy couldn't speak further due to the agonizing pain.
"Oh, Jeremy! We can't let you go! We can't!" Joshua jumped up from the chair and grabbed him in a hug.
"Joshua, take it easy." Jason stepped up to the table. "Rachel, can I put Jeremy in a bed? That table looks mighty uncomfortable."
"Yes, Jason, go ahead. Put him in Room seven." Rachel replied. "Jeremy, I will go get Lottie. I'll be right back."
"Okay." Jeremy whispered.
Jason picked up the youngest Bolt from the exam table and carried him to Room Seven. The oldest brother placed the baby brother carefully on the bed.
Jason and Joshua sat in chairs close to the bed to keep watch over Jeremy.
It was almost midnight when the late stagecoach stopped in front of the saloon. A woman dressed in all black including a black hat and a veil which obscured her face, got off the stage. The driver handed her the two small bags and a lit lantern which were her property and left.
The woman set the bags down. She walked directly to the church cemetery. The woman walked through the graveyard holding the lantern up at each headstone. As she made her way through the many burial plots, she began to wonder if she was searching the wrong cemetery. When she came to a Cross marker in the back, she paused a moment. Then she turned and walked back toward the saloon.
The woman retrieved her bags and went inside Lottie's. She stood close to the door for a few minutes as a young woman and a matronly lady had a heated conversation.
After a few minutes, the older lady noticed her. "May I help you, Miss?"
The woman in black hesitated a moment then decided she had no other choice. She walked up to the bar.
"I'm looking for Jeremy Bolt's grave. I wanted to pay my respects." She spoke.
"What?! Jeremy is dying, but he isn't gone yet! Why did you think he was gone? Who are you?" Lottie demanded.
"Jeremy Bolt isn't dead? Where is he?" The woman asked.
"He is at the clinic a few doors down past the store. He ingested some poison and doesn't have long." Rachel told her.
The woman threw down her bags and set the lantern on the bar. She ran out the door and down the street toward the clinic.
Lottie and Rachel followed behind her.
The woman ran through the clinic until she came to Room Seven. The door was opened, and she could see Jeremy in the bed and his brothers sitting by the bed.
When she stepped inside the doorway, she removed her hat and veil. She looked at Jeremy without speaking.
"Jason, you and Joshua will be…. oh, hell!" Jeremy tried to sit up.
"What's wrong, Jeremy? Are you ready for the morphine?" Joshua was alarmed.
"No, J-J-Joshua, you and J-J-Jason turn around and tell me if I'm hallucinating." Jeremy stared at the woman in the doorway.
Jason and Joshua looked behind them.
"Great God in Heaven!" Jason roared.
"Shakespeare's Sunbonnet." Joshua whispered his brother's catch phrase.
Jeremy stretched out his hand. "C-C-Candy? Is it really you? Please don't be someone else playing a cruel joke on a dying broken hearted man."
"Oh, Jeremy! It's really me, I promise!" Candy ran to the bed.
She sat on the side of the bed. "Is it alright for me to hug you? I don't want to hurt you."
"You don't need permission to hug me." Jeremy held out his arms.
Candy hugged him tightly. He cried out in pain.
She let go of him. "I'm sorry, Jeremy! Where does it hurt?"
"My right side is killing me. Candy, I need to tell you something. It's bad news. It's very bad now that you're here. I was accidentally poisoned. I'm dying." Jeremy gazed into her eyes.
"Wait, Jeremy! I think there may be another explanation for your pain and sickness. I think perhaps you are not dying." Rachel said.
Rachel and Lottie had arrived at the clinic right after Candy. Rachel had seen Jeremy clutch his side in pain.
"Oh, please, dear Lord!" Candy exclaimed.
"Everyone, please leave the room while I examine Jeremy." Rachel made her way to the bed.
"Candy, please don't go! You can sit in a chair with your back to the bed. If that's alright with you. I just don't want you out of my sight. I have missed you terribly." Jeremy pleaded.
"Oh, Jeremy! I won't leave you. I have been so lonely without you!" Candy whispered touching his cheek.
Candy sat in a chair facing the wall while Rachel examined Jeremy. When Rachel probed his lower right side with her fingers, he yelped in pain. Rachel checked his temperature. He had a fever.
"Jeremy, you were not poisoned. You did not drink enough of the whiskey for the poison to hurt you. You have appendicitis. You need an operation immediately before your appendix ruptures. If it bursts, you will die. I'm sorry to be so blunt." Rachel advised. "I have assisted Doctor Wright in several surgeries, and I can perform your operation if that is okay with you. Doctor Wright won't return until tomorrow. However, I don't recommend waiting. Your appendix could rupture well before her return."
Jeremy and Candy were ecstatic that he had not been poisoned.
"Rachel, it sounds as if I don't have much choice about the surgery. I'm certainly willing for you to do it right away. If Candy will take me back, I have every reason in the world to live." He looked at Candy with tears in his eyes. "Will you take me back, Candy?"
Candy sat carefully on the side of the bed so she would not jostle him. "The question is will you take me back, Jeremy. I haven't had a chance to tell you what happened. It wasn't my doing. I promise you, Jeremy. And I need to get something out of the way right now to know if I still have a chance with you."
Jeremy looked puzzled. "What is it?"
Candy leaned forward and whispered in his ear. "I'm not marriageable anymore."
Jeremy glanced at Rachel. "Could we have a few minutes alone, please?"
"Of course. I will go make the preparations for your surgery." Rachel left the room and closed the door.
"Candy, did a man h-h-hurt you?" Jeremy gasped from the pain in his side.
"Oh, Jeremy! I probably shouldn't have told you this now right before your operation. I don't want you to be upset. But I wanted to know if we still have a chance." She worried.
"Of course, we do, Candy. That doesn't matter to me. I mean what happened to you matters, but it doesn't change the way I feel about you." Jeremy stroked her cheek. "I love you."
"I love you too." Candy hugged him very gently. "Let's discuss this more after you start recovering from the surgery. You need to relax, darling."
"Okay." He agreed. "Please stay here during my surgery, alright? I want to see your beautiful face when I wake up."
"Of course, I'll stay here." She kissed his cheek. "I'm so grateful that you weren't poisoned."
There was a knock on the door. "Come in." Candy said.
Jason and Joshua entered the room. They were smiling.
"Jeremy, Rachel told us that you were not poisoned. Josh and I are so relieved. Appendicitis is certainly miserable, but you can survive with surgery." Jason sighed.
"I'm grateful that I wasn't poisoned too. I have some other wonderful news to share. Is it okay to tell them, sweetheart?" asked Jeremy.
"Yes, it's fine, Jeremy." She responded.
"Candy and I are back together!" He beamed.
"That's fantastic, Jeremy!" Joshua exclaimed. "Our oldest brother will congratulate you two when he stops crying!"
"Alright, Josh!" How much emotion can a man take at one time? I ask you?" Jason gulped. "I am exceedingly happy for the two of you. Candy, Jeremy has missed you to the depths of his soul and watching him grieve has hurt Joshua and myself to the depths of our own souls as well."
"I'm sorry that the three of you have suffered because of me. I have suffered too…." Candy sighed.
"C-C-Candy?" Jeremy whispered as he touched her shoulder.
"We will talk later, darling. You need to think about getting well. I'm alright. Please don't worry." She reassured him.
"Alright, Candy, I want to hear everything when I am recovering." Jeremy gasped as he grabbed his side.
Rachel came in and told them all the preparations had been made for the surgery. Rachel had gotten Frannie to assist her. Jason carried his youngest brother to the operating room and placed him on the table.
Jason, Joshua, and Candy told Jeremy they would be waiting close by. They promised to be there when he woke up. After exchanging I love you's, with him, the three went to Allyn's office to wait.
There was a sofa in the office. The two brothers encouraged Candy to take off her shoes and lie down.
"You look awfully tired, Candy. Don't worry about falling asleep. If you do, we will wake you immediately if there is any news of Jeremy's surgery." Joshua said.
"Thank you, Joshua." She replied as she sat down and removed her shoes from her feet.
Candy glanced at Jason as he studied her face intensely. She drew a deep breath.
"I can guess what you're thinking, Jason. You are thinking where has she been all this time. Why didn't she at least let Jeremy know she was alive. How could she let my brother suffer so much. I'm right, aren't I?" Candy inquired.
"Yes, Candy. You are correct. You know me quite well. Would you care to answer any of my questions?" He asked calmly.
"As you wish, Jason. I'm not going to give many details. Jeremy should hear those first. The night that we went to the lake, I was kidnapped. The people who took me told me that they had killed Jeremy. They showed me his body from a short distance by lantern light. I know that you and Joshua remember how badly your brother was injured that night. The bruises on his face, his broken ribs, and that horrible wound to his chest. Jeremy looked as if he was dead." Candy explained.
"Yes, we remember. That was our first thought when we found him." Joshua sighed.
"I was devastated thinking that Jeremy had been murdered. I blamed myself and I figured both of you would hold me responsible as well. I had no choice but to go with the kidnappers and I didn't care what happened to me since I no longer had my precious Jeremy." Her voice trembled.
Candy paused for a few moments. She looked into her lap using the palms of her hands to smooth her dress.
"Excuse me for a minute. Let me check on Jeremy." Jason left the room.
He soon returned. "Rachel said he is doing fine. The surgery is going well." Jason sat in a chair. "Candy, is there anything else you would like to tell us?"
"Yes, I was so convinced that Jeremy had been killed, that when I returned to Seattle earlier tonight, I went immediately to the cemetery to visit his grave. Of course, I didn't find one. I found a Cross Marker with my name on it. I assumed that you had decided that I was killed too since you couldn't find me. I hurried to Lottie's to ask where Jeremy's grave was located. She told me he was alive but deathly sick and here I am." Candy told them.
"That's all you are going to tell us until after you talk to Jeremy, right?" Joshua asked.
"Yes, that's right, Joshua." She answered.
"We understand, Candy. And you're right about the Cross Marker. We thought you were dead. Jeremy can give you the details later on. He made two markers. One for the church cemetery for the Brides to place flowers at and one that he placed by our parents' graves on the mountain." Joshua told her.
"Jason! Joshua! Hurry!" Rachel screamed from down the hall.
The brothers ran quickly down the hall with Candy following close behind them.
As they got to the operating room, they were aghast. George was in the room holding his razor sharp hook to Frannie's throat.
"I'm to the point of removing Jeremy's appendix. It is about to rupture. If I don't remove it within five minutes, it will burst and Jeremy will die. George said if I don't let your brother die, he will cut Frannie's throat." Rachel's voice quivered.
"Oh, Jeremy!" Candy sobbed.
To be continued…