Fatal Complications

by John Benedict

  So, duty had called and Rob went to help with the emergency C-section on Luke Daulton’s wife. Leaving her alone. Leaving her with his words echoing in her mind—I have something important to tell you. This had pushed her over the edge, this had driven her to take drastic action.

  Gwen shook her head, trying to refocus on the task at hand—Katz. She studied his desk and noticed a framed picture that she had never seen before. It was a photograph of a boy of perhaps ten or twelve, smiling ear to ear, kneeling beside a dog. Nice-looking kid. Two adults were in the background, presumably the parents.

  She bent over to take a closer look and realized with a shock that the man was Dr. Katz. He looked like a different person—much younger and happier—which explained why she didn’t recognize him at first. In the six years she had worked for Dr. Katz, she had never heard him mention children. Although, come to think of it, there was a rumor about a fire long ago.

  Gwen wrapped her arms around herself as she felt fear creeping in. Maybe calling Dr. Katz and trying to strike a deal with him hadn’t been the best idea—dangerous, even. Katz was a monster now, capable of throwing a living person into an incinerator. She shuddered. She couldn’t imagine a more cold-blooded murder. And anyone capable of killing someone like that could kill again—like kill her, for instance. But wouldn’t it be just as easy to eliminate Mrs. Gentry?

  This brought her full circle back to Rob and the “I have something important to tell you.” She shook her head again and resolved to buck up, be tough. She was tired of playing the victim. She had been dealt some high cards and had a play to make here. Sometimes, you had to take risks. The ends justify the means and all that bullshit. The words flowed out easily enough and seemed to help, but nonetheless they had a hollow ring to them. Perhaps, she thought, sometimes you were just crazy in love. Love conquers all, right?

  Gwen’s phone rang and she jumped. She didn’t recognize the number. “Hello,” she said tentatively.

  “Gwen, is that you? It’s me.” Rob’s sweet voice.

  “Where are you?”

  “I just got finished with the section. They’re taking Kim to the SICU now.”

  “It was nice of you to help.” Gwen began imagining his arms wrapped tightly around her. “The SICU? Everything turn out okay?”

  “You’re not gonna believe what happened in there. Amazing. And I thought I’d seen it all.” Rob was talking fast and sounded very excited. “Do I have a story to tell you. Hey, where’d you go, anyway? You said you’d wait.”

  “I had some stuff to take care of,” Gwen said weakly. “I have a story to tell you, too.” Her voice fell off to a whisper as she added, “About the incinerator.”

  “What? Did you say incinerator? Listen, meet me back in the call room. We can, uh, take up where we left off. And we can finish our little conversation.”

  Our little conversation. Great. Gwen’s voice caught in her throat. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  “Okay, fine. I’ll change out of these bloody scrubs and take a quick shower.”

  “All right.” She bit her lip as she felt her emotions swirling out of control, getting the best of her.

  “You okay? You don’t sound so good.”

  “I’m fine,” Gwen lied, then the tears started. She paused to wipe her face and snuffle, but the tears only got worse.

  “Gwen, what’s wrong?”

  “I’m just not sure I want to hear the part where you can’t see me anymore and you’ve gotta do the right thing and—”

  “What’re you talking about?”

  “—and your kids would never forgive you and—”

  “Gwen, listen to me. It’s not like that.”

  She fetched a tissue out of her purse and blew her nose.

  “I love you,” he said. “Don’t you know that?”

  “Yes, I do. And I love you.” This brought on a fresh wave of tears. “But I get it. Love isn’t enough. There are things bigger than love, like family and commitment. I get it.”

  “No, you don’t get it!” Rob sounded like he was close to breaking up himself. “I wanted to tell you this in person, but—”

  “I can handle it,” she lied again. “I’m leaving Cindy.”

  Again, Gwen couldn’t speak. She snuffled loudly.

  “Did you hear me? I said, I’m leaving Cindy.”

  “What?” Gwen croaked in a weak voice.

  “I’m leaving Cindy to be with you. I love you. I can’t live without you.”

  The words she had longed to hear for so long. Had he really said them? Gwen broke down crying afresh.

  “Will you meet me now?”

  “I’ll be right up,” she managed to get out between sobs, even as her heart began to soar. She could think of little else than hugging and kissing Rob. She hung up the phone and rummaged around in her purse for a mirror to check her makeup, which must be a shambles by now.

  As she looked in the mirror, she couldn’t help seeing that old picture with the smiling face of Katz staring back at her. Shit, what about Katz? What had she done? Had she really threatened him? Of course, there was no need now for drastic action if Rob was going to leave his wife. She must call Katz and tell him to forget about their little deal. It was all a mistake, a bad joke, nothing serious. She would never tell a soul about the incinerator.

  Suddenly, she heard footsteps and whirled around to see Nikolai standing in the doorway. The makeup mirror fell out of her shaking hand and shattered on the floor.

  “Where’s Dr. Katz?” she stammered.

  Nikolai smiled and entered the room. “He sent me to talk to you. He is very busy man.” He closed the door behind him.

  “Nikolai, I need to talk to him.” Gwen’s brain was reeling. Nikolai seemed spaced out and his speech was slurred.

  Nikolai walked up to her. “Your makeup, it no look so good.” He studied her. “You haf been crying.” He reached out to touch her arm.

  “What do you want?” Gwen asked, backing up a step, her voice shrill with fear.

  Nikolai didn’t answer, but she heard a metallic pfft sound that she couldn’t quite identify. Then she saw the fearsome blade in his hand. Gwen screamed.

  Nikolai lunged at her and clamped his free hand over her mouth as he drove her back into the wall. “I haf message from Dr. Katz.” His face contorted into a fiendish grin as he buried the blade in her belly.

  Gwen felt a sharp, tearing pain and she tried to scream again, but all she could do was moan. She felt Nikolai’s sweat-soaked body pin her to the wall and heard him grunt with the effort of driving the blade farther into her. Her pain ratcheted off the scale and then she became strangely numb to it. She sensed that he withdrew the blade and took a step back, breathing heavily. She felt herself crumple to the floor in a heap. The rug felt comfortable and she noticed the subtle pattern in the nap for the first time. She could still feel some sensations in an odd, detached way—nothing sharp or painful. Her mind registered a warm feeling on her belly and she felt the front of her dress getting sticky wet. She felt bad that this would likely stain her pretty blue dress, and she considered what she should soak it in as a pretreatment. The room started to dim, and Gwen gazed up at the fluorescent lights.

  Gwen also sensed Nikolai’s presence above her, watching her. But she was too tired to look up at him. Would he stab her again? she wondered. A beeping sound roused her. She opened her eyes and forced her stubborn eyes to focus. Sounded like a text message. She saw Nikolai look at his phone.

  Her head sank back down and she decided she was no longer interested in Nikolai. Instead, her thoughts turned to Rob and what he had just told her. He loved her and he was leaving his wife to be with her. Things were finally going her way. She loved him so much. She would rest here for a little and then go and be with him. Soon he would be cradling her in his arms. She just needed a little shut-eye so she could look her best. She always wanted to look her best for Rob. She closed her eyes and drifted down into the blackness, imagining Rob caressing her
as she slept. She could feel his breath on her and heard him whisper in her ear that he would love her forever.

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 12:35 A.M.

  Luke allowed Jensen to lead him out of the operating room without putting up any more resistance. His mind was reeling in shock from the events of the last two hours. Things were happening way too fast. He needed to slow things down and think.

  Jensen led Luke to a chair in the hallway, then barked to the heavy-set agent standing guard outside, “Walker!”

  “Yes, sir,” Walker replied, coming to attention. Even though Jensen was much younger, he was obviously in charge.

  “Don’t fuck up again and let anyone in this OR. You got that?”

  Walker’s face reddened and he sputtered back, “But he said he was a doctor. I thought he was here to help.”

  “Yeah, he was a big help, all right,” Jensen said, glancing at Luke. Then, almost speaking to himself, he added, “I can’t figure out exactly what he’s here for.” Jensen turned back to Walker. “What we need is for you to think less and follow orders more. Can you do that, Walker?” Jensen glared at the older agent.

  “Yes, sir.” Walker studied the floor.

  “Good, the senator’s life may depend on it. I want you to detain Dr. Daulton here. I’m not sure how he’s involved, but I want to question him when this is all over. Is that clear?”

  “Yes, sir. I won’t let him out of my sight.”

  Luke sat down, defeated. What the hell was going on? This much he knew—the senator was definitely burning up and his blood acid level was sky high. But Luke’s gut still didn’t buy the MH diagnosis. What was he missing? What bothered him the most was that there were just way too many coincidences here. First, there had been a similar MH case with Mrs. Hinkle two weeks ago, and Katz had been the anesthesiologist. And now, he knew, Katz had been involved with the senator’s anesthetic as well. Second, the mysterious Sudoku, when solved, certainly suggested a murder plot. And Seidle had tried to kill Kim right after she had solved the puzzle. And, of course, Katz had given Kim the total spinal in the first place. Suddenly, Rob’s warning about Katz came back to him and seemed more telling than ever.

  An ominous feeling descended upon Luke. Where was Katz, anyway? If Katz really was involved in a plan to murder a US senator, he wouldn’t think twice about killing anyone who got in his way. Like Kim.

  Luke thought furiously. Was Katz on his way right now to finish Kim off ? Did Katz know about Seidle being killed? He needed to get through to Kim. But how could he? He was a prisoner. They even suspected him of being involved in the senator’s fiasco. He had to get a message to Kim and warn her. He had to try something.

  “Walker, do you have kids?” Luke asked.

  “Yeah, we have two boys.” Walker smiled. “Both play football at Central Dauphin.”

  “You must be proud. What positions do they play?”

  “Derek plays center and Kyle plays linebacker.”

  “Nice. My wife just had a baby.”

  “When?”

  “Tonight.”

  Walker’s face softened and he smiled. “Congratulations, Doc.”

  “There were complications, though, and she’s in the intensive care unit.”

  “Oh,” Walker said. He seemed unsure of what to say. After an uncomfortable silence, he added, “Hope she’ll be okay.”

  Luke looked directly at the man and thought he detected genuine concern. “Walker, do you mind if I call the SICU to check on my wife?”

  A frown appeared as Walker seemed to wrestle with the decision. “Sorry, Doc, no can do. No phone calls.”

  “I just want to know if she’s all right. No funny business, I promise.”

  “Look, Doc,” Walker said, his face taking on a pained expression. “You just heard me get reamed out, right?”

  “Yeah,” Luke admitted.

  “I have to be careful, here. Jensen—he runs a tight ship.”

  Luke tried another tack. “Can you call them for me? Please?”

  “Yeah, I suppose I could do that. What’s the number?”

  “It’s 763-2126.”

  Walker dialed and held his cell phone to his ear for a while. “Sorry, Doc. No answer.” He put his phone back in its cradle on his hip. “They must be closed for the night,” he offered.

  Shit. “The SICU doesn’t close,” Luke said. How could he get a message through to Kim? Several precious minutes passed as he pondered this. And then it came to him.

  “Walker, can you do me one more favor and page my wife?”

  “Page?”

  “Yes. Call the page operator and tell her to page her.”

  “I guess so.”

  “Tell her to page Dr. Roman Daulton, Room 604, stat.”

  “That’s a strange page, Doc.” Walker frowned again and looked as if he was going to balk. “I dunno.”

  “Roman’s her pet name for me. It has to do with a trip to Italy we took once. A love message, okay?”

  Walker hesitated, looking uncertainly at Luke.

  “It would mean a lot to her.”

  “All right.”

  “The words must be exact, though. Dr. Roman Daulton, Room 604, stat.”

  Walker made the call and the page soon went out over the hospital intercom.

  “Thanks, Walker.” Luke hoped Kim would get the message—and understand it—in time.

  Suddenly the OR door burst open and Jensen stuck his head out. “Walker, get in here! The senator’s going into cardiac arrest!”

  Walker jumped out of his seat, drew his gun, and headed toward the door. Before he went in, he turned to Luke. “Don’t go anywhere, Doc. I’m trusting you, now.”

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 12:30 A.M.

  Jenna struggled to maintain her self control as she trained her Glock 23 on Katz. This assignment had not exactly gone according to plan. She had already shot to death one of the physicians in the delivery room, and it didn’t look like this fiasco was over just yet. Was this Dr. Katz one of the bad guys and aligned with Seidle? Or was he just one of the garden-variety, arrogant asshole doctors with a God complex? Hard to know.

  She desperately needed more information. Good intel was critical in these situations and hers was spotty at best. For instance, how could it be that the fricking senator was here tonight having surgery? Coincidence? Worse—why she hadn’t known about it? Communication between federal agencies, like Secret Service and FBI, still had a way to go. But, a bigger question remained—was the senator’s presence here somehow related to the bloodbath in the delivery room? She reasoned it almost had to be.

  Jenna knew the outcome of this night would likely determine the future of her career with the Bureau. She didn’t want to overreact and be viewed as a trigger-happy newbie. Killing Seidle had been clear-cut—he had pulled a gun and threatened to use it. Not to mention, he had tried to butcher Mrs. Daulton and her baby. But, she couldn’t tell if Katz was also trying to kill Mrs. Daulton with a lethal injection or if he was just trying to do his job. She didn’t have the luxury of shooting first and asking questions later.

  At the moment, Katz was fuming and looked like he was perfectly capable of murder. Was he armed like Seidle? She couldn’t be sure with his loose white coat covering his scrub suit. Should she cuff him? Or just call for backup?

  Jenna recognized the first tug of uncertainty as the initial step on the path toward panic, just as they had taught her at Quantico. But, rather than give in to it, she chose to harness the energy. Other agents might have crumbled under the stress, but despite the ambiguity and danger of this current situation, Jenna felt more alive than ever. This was why she had left nursing, with its drudgery of bedpans and enemas, and joined the Bureau in the first place. She embraced the adrenaline rush and felt her body crackle with energy. She had dreamt of just these types of encounters.

  The Glock, with its high-powered 40-caliber ammo, felt right as rain in her hand. After l
ogging countless hours at the firing range, she could handle the gun like a pro. In repeated training scenarios over the past two years, she had also demonstrated a talent for killing the bad guys and ferreting out the non-combatants, often by making split-second decisions. She always scored well at the range and was told she had good instincts, but this was her first real-life test.

  His face flushed with rage, Katz struggled to control his breathing. “What’re you doing here?” he shouted.

  “I’ll ask the questions, Doctor,” she replied. But, she had to admit, it was a good question. She had, in fact, volunteered to investigate when they had gotten the mysterious help call from Benjamin Harris’s computer code on Sunday—her nursing background made her a perfect choice. Details had been scant and some pooh-poohed it as a joke or a computer glitch, but when Ben didn’t return phone calls, Jenna knew something was up. Ben had more on the ball than most of the guys gave him credit for.

  Besides, Jenna was looking for a way to distinguish her young career and to prove herself with the guys. Unfortunately, things were tight in the Bureau these days and manpower was limited, thanks to the Department of Homeland Security sucking up the lion’s share of available resources. Money for tackling homegrown criminals just wasn’t what it used to be. So she had been sent in alone and had just arrived on the scene tonight—the OB department had the only immediate opening.

  She fumbled in her pocket for a pair of handcuffs, never taking her eyes off Katz or lowering her weapon. “Are you working with Dr. Seidle?”

  Before Katz could answer, a young man burst into the room, practically running into Jenna. She jumped back a step, dropping the handcuffs, before turning her gun on the intruder.

  “Hold it right there,” she demanded.

  “Whoa! Take it easy, lady,” the young man said, raising his hands up high. “I cool.”

  “Get over there with him.” She gestured towards Katz with her gun. The newcomer was a young man with Slavic features and an accent that was probably Russian. Could this be where Seidle’s Makarov pistol had come from? Did these two have other weapons? Or was he just an innocent hospital orderly? She swung her head from side to side to try to keep an eye on both.