Insatiable Revenge

by Cynthia Freeman Gibbs

  Quinn leaped to her feet. Her brown skin turned raging red. “He wants to kill me. Do you hear what I’m trying to tell you? Blair poisoned me,” she bellowed. Spittle flew from her lips and landed on Olivia’s forehead. “He committed me to this place after giving me drugs to drive me crazy.”

  Startled, Olivia rose to her feet and attempted to console her. “Quinn. I hear you. It’s okay. I’m sorry if I upset you.”

  The nurse sprinted to them and spoke in a voice to deescalate the situation. “Dr. Quinn. Calm down. You need to relax.”

  Quinn flailed her arms like a bird and shuffled around in circles. “Stay away from me. He’s trying to kill me. He poisoned me. Get me out of here.” She became hysterical and repeated the same words. Her eyes widened and looked as if they would pop out of their sockets.

  “Dr. Quinn. If you don’t settle down, I’m going to have to administer a sedative.” The nurse pressed a button on the wall. Two orderlies showed up dressed in white smocks. “Please stop turning around. Have a seat, Dr. Quinn.”

  Quinn burst into laughter. “See, Olivia. They think I’m crazy now. They’re about to give me drugs. They know I’m telling the truth. Blair set them up to believe I’m losing my mind. This is hilarious. He’s the crazy one.”

  The heftier of the two orderlies found an opportunity to wrap his arms around Quinn in an embrace from behind. The nurse produced a needle and jabbed it into her arm.

  Quinn screamed and tried to wriggle free. “No. Olivia. You have got to help me. Please. Don’t leave me. Call the police. Blair will have me killed. Don’t tell him you were here. He’ll hurt you, too.”

  The two staff members who subdued Quinn tried to escort her out. She fell into a dead weight, which forced them to drag her from the room with her feet sliding across the floor. The repeated cries of despair diminished as they led her away.

  Olivia stood in shock at what had transpired. Her mind was transported back to the dealings she had with a few of her patients. She had never seen a friend in this manner.

  “Dr. Maxwell? Dr. Maxwell?” The nurse repeated. “Are you okay?”

  Olivia pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. She released a huff of air before responding. “No. I’m not. I wasn’t expecting Quinn to be this way.”

  “We’ve experienced the same outbursts several times. She has episodes of paranoia and is delusional. She often accuses us of trying to harm her.” The nurse shook her head in pity. “As you know, no one is drugging her or trying to kill her.”

  “I had no idea.” Olivia shook her head to clear her mind.

  “I’m surprised you were here visiting her. Dr. Blair gave us directions on her file to not allow any visitors,” the nurse said with firmness. “How did you bypass his orders?”

  “Oh. There must’ve been a glitch in your system.” Olivia didn’t want Chevy to get in trouble. “I had no idea she couldn’t have visitors. I’m sorry.” She fluttered her eyelashes three times to feign innocence.

  The nurse eyed her with suspicion. “Well, for future reference, since there is a level of sensitivity with her being a mental health professional in the community, you cannot come back unless we receive permission from Dr. Blair. You, if anybody, should understand what’s involved here.”

  Olivia nodded. “Yes. I understand and will respect their wishes. I will leave now.” Olivia turned on an air of haughtiness. “May I escort myself out? I know the way.”

  “I’ll lead you out to the closest exit. We must enter the door codes,” the nurse responded without the same edge in her voice.

  Once Olivia left the building and returned to the car, she grabbed her items from the trunk and scrambled into the driver’s seat. She drew in a sharp breath and released it in frustration. What she had observed, was disturbing, to say the least.

  Could Blair have done something to Quinn?

  Olivia’s phone rang. Blair’s name popped onto the screen. “Uh-oh,” she mumbled.

  She answered the call. “Hello?”

  “Olivia,” Blair’s voice cut like ice through the phone, “I received a call from the psych ward nurse. She told me you visited with Quinn. I told you she couldn’t have visitors. Why did you violate my orders?”

  Blair’s tone offended her. “From a professional standpoint, I figured it would be helpful for her care. I didn’t mean to upset either one of you.”

  Blair lit into her. “I told you to stay away from Quinn. When will you learn to mind your damn business? You’ve made her progress worse and didn’t consider the confidentiality of her condition.”

  Olivia’s face warmed from guilt. “I’m sorry. I had no idea about her level of instability. I won’t go again. Please accept my apology.”

  Silence burned through the phone.

  “Blair? Are you still there?”

  “I’m here,” Blair said with a flat voice, void of emotion. “I’m tempted to stop seeing you as my patient.”

  “Well, okay. If that’s the way it has to be, so be it.”

  Blair sighed. “I’m going to do you a favor since we are on a good pathway for your treatment. I’ll see you at your next appointment.”

  “Um. Yeah. Sure,” Olivia responded. She questioned whether she wanted to keep seeing him herself. His monotone voice scared her for some reason. The events of the day were getting to be too much.

  “And by the way, ignore anything she said about me drugging her. It’s not true. Her mental state is unexplainable and she needs help. She started accusing me of trying to kill her months ago.” Blair lowered his voice to a barely audible level and spoke at a rapid pace. “I tried my best to help her with my expertise. Things got to the point I couldn’t handle her on my own.”

  “I see. Look, let’s not discuss this anymore. I need to recover from what I’ve experienced today,” Olivia said. “I know this isn’t easy for either one of you.”

  “Thank you for understanding and for protecting our privacy,” Blair whispered. “I’ll see you soon.”

  The call ended. Olivia dropped the phone on her lap and sat motionless in her car in a daze. The way Blair changed from yelling at her to whispering, rattled her nerves. She contemplated whether she should call the police in case any truth existed in Quinn’s accusation of him. Something didn’t feel right about this situation.

  She replayed the conversation she’d had with Quinn and Blair. Why Quinn would make those claims against him, didn’t make sense.

  Olivia shook her head and gathered herself together to drive the route to her house. When she drove into the driveway, something on the porch caught her attention. She squinted from the car before parking in the garage.

  She jumped out of the vehicle to run across the lawn to the porch. A long, gift-wrapped package with a bow, laid against the wall. She picked it up and flipped it around to find a mailing label. There wasn’t one.

  Olivia jogged back across the grass to her garage. Before she could grab her purse from the car, her curiosity grew to open the box and see the contents. She placed the package on the hood and struggled with the tape to open it with her fingernails.

  “Ouch.” She winced from breaking her now raggedy-edged nail. The tape broke from her effort and she ripped off the wrapping paper. After opening a box, a gasp slipped from her lips with the revelation of a brand new, top of the line racquet with a red ribbon tied around the handle. Baffled, Olivia couldn’t stop staring at the gift.

  Her cell phone began vibrating in her purse. She fished it out with her free hand and glanced at the caller’s name. Durbin.

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  Olivia

  Olivia hesitated before speaking as she tried to process the gift in her hand. “Hello?”

  “Hi, Olivia. It’s me. Durbin.”

  “Yes, hi Durbin.” Olivia rolled her eyes.

  Olivia balanced the phone between her ear and shoulder before grabbing the racquet and unlocking the door to enter the house.


  “Did I catch you at a bad time? Are you in a rush?”

  “I’m sorry. I arrived at my house and I’m trippin’ out since strange things are showing up on my porch.” Olivia sighed. “Oh. Which reminds me. I planned to give you a call today. Great timing.”

  “Oh. You were?” Durbin’s voice perked with surprise.

  “Yeah. I’m concerned about the quality of the picture I’m getting with the cameras. I viewed some of the video footage earlier today and it’s grainy. When you did the installation, you told me I wouldn’t have any of these problems.” Olivia slid her shoe off to massage her left foot. “Are you available to check it out for me?”

  “Um. Sure. I’d be happy to check it out,” Durbin agreed.

  “Great. When will you stop by?” Olivia asked.

  “I’m not too far from your house. I’ll swing by now if you want me to.”

  Olivia lowered the phone from her ear to check the time. “Yes. This is a good time. Come on through. Thank you, Durbin. By the way, what were you calling about?”

  “Oh. Checking on how your camera system is working out for you.”

  “What great customer service,” Olivia exclaimed. “I’ll see you when you get here.” She ended the call and speed-dialed Savvy’s number.

  After the phone rang, Savvy answered. “Hey, whassup? You caught me at a good time. I just got home a moment ago.”

  “You won’t believe what showed up on my porch,” Olivia said.

  “What?

  “A new racquet,” Olivia exclaimed.

  “Who would send you a racquet? Strange. Did you order one?”

  “Absolutely not. What makes it weird is I told myself earlier in the day I wanted a new racquet to play against you next time. I can’t allow you to get lucky and beat me again.”

  “Girl, you are funny. It will require more than new equipment for you to win. I’m ready for you,” Savvy laughed.

  “Whateva. You didn’t send it as a joke?”

  “Why would I waste money? You know I’m not a prankster.”

  “I’m confused about who sent this and the mystery flowers

  I received earlier. It has to be the same person since this happened back to back,” Olivia surmised.

  “Flowers, too?” Savvy questioned. “Did you look at the camera footage?”

  “You know what? I looked to see who delivered the flowers but I didn’t check to see who left the racquet. I received a call from Durbin as soon as I got home and then I contacted you.”

  “Durbin? What did he call about?”

  “He said he wanted to check on how my camera system is working out.” Olivia snapped her fingers. “Now as I think about it, I bet he gave me the racquet. He’s probably still trying to find a way to get me to play racquetball with him.”

  “Boy. He sounds desperate,” Savvy added.

  “You know, he called as soon as I arrived home. Since he’s monitoring my cameras, he had to have seen me get the package from the porch.”

  “The sleuth has done it again,” Savvy exclaimed. “Watching crime shows is paying off. Durbin had to be the one who gave you the racquet. I bet he also left the flowers.”

  “Yes. We have him all figured out.” Olivia nodded. “He’s trying to fake like he called to check on the cameras. I’m on to him now.”

  “Wow. Good luck with getting him to leave you alone, although he’s a nice guy and cute.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Olivia dismissed Savvy’s comment.

  “Did we both end up with stalkers?” Savvy groaned.

  “I sure hope not. I needed Durbin to come by anyway to address the grainy view on the cameras. Let’s pray he doesn’t ask me out again. I’ll make him show me the camera footage and then, BINGO, guilt will be plastered on his face.”

  “It would have to be him since he knows how much you like to play. Is it a nice racquet?”

  “Yes. It’s much more expensive than I would’ve paid. You would think he’d want me to be aware that he gave it to me. Right?”

  “Exactly. Well, let me know what excuse he gives. This may turn out to be comical,” Savvy laughed.

  “I’d prefer to not be the subject matter for this comedy routine,” Olivia complained.

  “By the way, I need to change the subject before I forget to mention this to you. I heard about a bunch of good parties going on in Austin for the Texas Relays coming up. We should hit the road and check them out,” Savvy suggested.

  “Um. I don’t know. I’m not in the hanging out mood these days.” Olivia plopped onto the living room sofa and turned on the TV. “With the way today progressed for me, I realize I need to stay away from humans. Remind me to tell you about what happened with Dr. Fluellen and his wife Quinn.” Olivia sighed. “I’m not in the mood to discuss it now. My head hurts from thinking about it. Trust me, I’ll fill you in. You still have to tell me about Kolby.”

  Savvy groaned. “Why did you have to remind me. We have a lot to catch up on.”

  “Dealing with people brings new drama. I think this is my slogan for the year,” Olivia declared.

  “Thinking like you are is exactly why we need to go to Austin. Stop hiding and get back out into your social life. You’re no longer a prisoner. Quit acting like one and enjoy your freedom.”

  “I know.” Olivia used the remote control to scroll through channels.

  “If we go to Austin, you won’t have to worry about people from San Antonio who know you. Plus, there will be a lot of cute guys there for us to meet. We’ll go to a few day parties and be back here before it gets dark.”

  “Is this another Melanindoubledate.com set up? If it is, count me out. I can’t deal with any more nonsense. I would think after your Pharrell experience, you wouldn’t want to go the same route again,” Olivia laughed.

  “Pharrell? Don’t even mention his name. Trust me. I haven’t been on the website again. Meeting anyone in Austin would be organic,” Savvy chuckled.

  “Let me think about it. Maybe I’ll go since you attended the Wynton Marsalis concert with me a few weeks ago. I know you weren’t crazy about going.”

  “It’s not that I didn’t want to go. I’ve seen him five times in the last two years. It sounds like we’re taking a road trip to Austin. Woohoo,” Savvy sang.

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whateva.” Olivia’s doorbell rang. “Hey, gotta go. Durbin is here. Bye.” Olivia plastered on a fake smile before opening the door.

  “Um. Hi, Olivia.” Durbin greeted her. He wore a wrinkled plaid shirt tucked into light blue jeans. A musky, outdoorsy smell filled Olivia’s nostrils, which made her think he’d been mowing grass. His glasses slid down his nose, which he raised with his finger.

  “Hi, Durbin. Come in.” Olivia opened the door wider for him to enter. “Thanks for coming right away.”

  Durbin stood in the entryway and stared at the kitchen table. “Nice flowers.”

  “Yeah. They’re pretty. Someone sent them to me and forgot to put their name on the envelope.” Olivia eyed him

  with suspicion to search his face for clues. She picked up the card to show him the poem. “Isn’t this strange?”

  Durbin glanced unimpressed at the card. “Yeah. I guess they wanted you to be surprised.” He shifted from one foot to the other with his hands tucked in his pockets.

  “I guess. This must be the day for surprises. Check this out. Someone also left me a new racquet on the porch. It’s an expensive one. I have no idea who this is from either.” Olivia glanced at Durbin to catch his reaction. “What good is a surprise if the person doesn’t reveal themselves at some point?”

  “What’s going on with your cameras?” Durbin changed the subject as if he were uncomfortable.

  “As I said on the phone, the footage is grainy. I wanted to find out who left the flowers and couldn’t tell by looking at it. Maybe we’ll see who left the racquet for me when you check it out.”

  “Yeah. I may need to make a few tweaks to
it. Do you mind if I get on your computer?”

  “Sure. No problem.” Olivia led the way to the bedroom and scooted back the chair to give him access. “I’ll move out of the way and let you do your thing.”

  Durbin took a seat and Olivia observed across his shoulder. The way he made the necessary adjustments in the computer application showed his expertise. “I see what you mean about the grainy picture. I don’t know why the settings changed.”

  “When you installed everything, there wasn’t a problem,” Olivia said. “By the way, will you do me a favor and check the footage from earlier today? I want to know who left the package on my porch.”

  “Um. Sure,” Durbin agreed. He located the video with the most recent time-stamp.

  Olivia squinted at the images, which appeared clearer than they were before. She held her breath anticipating seeing Durbin in the footage. “Hey. It’s the same kid who delivered the flowers. Darn. His stupid hoodie is keeping me from seeing his face.”

  “You spotted him before?” Durbin questioned. He zoomed in for a closer look.

  “Yes. It’s how I realized the graininess in the recording. This time, I don’t see him going to speak to anyone in a car on the street. This is bizarre.”

  “Perhaps your boyfriend or as you call him, your ‘soon-to-be-ex-husband’, sent the flowers and racquet to you,” Durbin suggested. A twist of his lips hinted at a smirk.

  Annoyed with his snarky comment, Olivia snapped back, “Durbin. I don’t have a boyfriend.”

  “I meant perhaps someone, like a boyfriend, sends nice gifts like what you received.” Durbin shifted in the chair. He kept his eyes focused on the computer screen.

  “Unh-huh. I see,” Olivia mumbled.

  “Sorry,” Durbin muttered beneath his breath.

  “Hey. Be real. Did you send them to me?” Olivia stuck her finger in front of his face to catch him off guard.

  “Me?” He jumped from the chair and turned to face her. “You think I sent the flowers and racquet?”

  “Yes. It had to be you, Durbin.” Olivia continued waggling her finger in his direction.

  “Why would you think that? You rejected me for a date. I don’t send gifts to people who turn me down.”