Poison Hearts

by Brenda Thomas; Shirley Dicks

  "But why? Who would hate her so much that they would want to kill her?" Rusty exclaimed horrified at the thought.

  "That's just it. They don't know why or who yet."

  Just then Detective Dowling strolled into the cafeteria and spotted Christina. "Sorry to interrupt but I need to talk to you," he said to Christina.

  "It's o.k. This is my friend Andrew and Maureen's boyfriend Rusty. Please sit down and join us," she said in a voice that seemed to come from a long way off.

  "If you’re sure," he said as he pulled up a chair. "The test on the cup we took from your room did have traces of arsenic still in it," he remarked boldly watching Christina's expression intently.

  Christina sat back in awe. "But Lauren made the tea for me, not Maureen. She drank it because I was sleeping," Christina stammered. "It couldn't have been done on purpose. Why Lauren wouldn't do that."

  The detective shook his head before answering. "I don't think it was accidental if that's what you’re getting at. Arsenic just doesn't happen to jump into a cup all by itself. Some one who knew what they were doing put it there," he concluded roughly. "Now please try to remember everything about that day. Did anyone come into your home besides Lauren and Maureen?" he asked.

  "No. There was just the three of us there. I wasn't feeling well so I stayed in bed most of the day."

  "You say you weren't feeling good. How long had you been sick?" he continued.

  "Well off and on most of the week but it was just a stomach virus, you know vomiting and diarrhea," she answered casually. "It was nothing serious."

  The detective studied her face for a moment. "Did you see a doctor?" he persisted.

  "Well. no. I told you it was just a stomach virus of some kind. I'd had it before around Christmas and I guess I hadn't quite got over it and it came back."

  "Come to think of it you'd been sick a lot with stomach viruses lately Christina," Andrew replied sharply. "For the past couple of months that I know of."

  "Um," the detective said as he sipped on his coffee. "Maybe Maureen wasn't the one who the poison was intended for." He sighed deeply. "Some of the symptoms of slow arsenic poisoning are vomiting, diarrhea, gassiness and jaundice. Does Lauren have a grudge against you that you know of?" he inquired.

  "Why don't be absurd. Lauren loved working for me. We are like family for crying out loud. I took her in and fed her when she didn't have a dime to her name, then we gave her a job and paid her well. She doesn't have any reason to want to kill me," Christina replied annoyed at the very thought. "She's like a daughter I never had.”

  "Well I need her full name and address so I can talk to her," the detective continued.

  "Don't talk to her right now, her mother is here in the hospital and I don't think she's going to make it. Lauren is very shook up and this is not the best time for questions like that. Can't it wait?'

  "I guess for a little while, but I want to make sure she don't skip town. I can put a tail on her just to make sure, but give me the address and I'll send some men over to search her apartment."

  Christina scribbled her name and address on a piece of paper then shoved it across the table.

  "I think you’re making a big mistake. She's not that kind of girl and why would she want to kill me. It doesn't make any sense."

  "I'm just doing my job ma'am and I need to check on every possible lead, that's all. I'll get back with you later." Standing up Detective Dowling said he'd talk to them all later and left.

  "The nerve of him thinking Lauren would do such a horrible thing. Why that's absurd," Christina said frowning slightly.

  "But Christina you have been sick a lot lately. Think about it. Maybe it's possible that Lauren has been poisoning you all along. Have you been checked by a doctor to see?" Andrew cut through her protest.

  Christina shook her head. "No I haven't been checked. I think it's all nonsense,"

  "Well maybe you should find out. That would give you peace of mind if you find out that you don't have any signs of poison in your system, wouldn't it?" Andrew cautioned.

  Christina sipped her coffee without replying.

  "Are you afraid of what you'll find out?" Andrew continued.

  "No I'm not afraid. I'll have the damn test," she answered with a sudden brittleness. "Now, can we drop the subject?"

  Andrew nodded. He knew it was hard for Christina to think bad of anyone, especially Lauren. He looked up at the clock on the wall. Ten till twelve. "Ready to go back up?" he asked softly.

  "Yes," she said distantly. He could feel the tension mounting between them like a heavy mist. Rusty cleared the table, his jaw clenched, his eyes slightly narrowed. He had hardly spoken since the detective came in. His expression darkened with an unreadable emotion.

  "You go on in and we'll wait out here," Christina said softly as they reached the ICU door. She sat in the chair, her thin fingers tensed in her lap. Christina was uncomfortable with the fact that Andrew may be right about Lauren. She stirred uneasily in the chair, chewing on her lower lip and occasionally steeling a look at him from the corner of her eyes. She struggled with the uncertainty that had been aroused. Was Lauren capable of murder? She shuddered inwardly at the thought. Swallowing the sob that rose in her throat, she looked over at Andrew.

  "Can I get you anything?" he asked gently.

  "No. I'm fine," she lied, closing her eyes feeling utterly miserable.

  Andrew picked up a magazine off the table and began leafing through the pages numbly. He wanted so much to reach out and comfort her but the tension between them kept him distant. There was an almost imperceptible note of pleading in his face. The minutes seemed like hours before Rusty returned. His brows drew together in agonized expression. He sat down on the couch quietly.

  "How is she?" Christina asked rather tensely.

  "The nurse said she's a little better. She opened her eyes once and looked around. I've never seen her look so pale and fragile, it's kind of scary," Rusty said solemnly.

  "Well, she has a long road to recovery but she's a fighter. She'll make it," Christina said trying to convince herself as well as Rusty. Just then the doctor came out of ICU and walked over to where they were sitting.

  "I have some good news. Maureen is starting to come around and I think she's going to pull through. But we'll need to keep her here in ICU for a while where we can watch her closely," the doctor reassured them.

  "Doctor, the detective said you have a blood test that can detect traces of arsenic in your system and wanted me to have it run. For some silly reason he thinks the poison might not have been meant for Maureen. So I'd like to have it done as soon as possible to show him he's wrong. Could you do that here?" Christina enquired.

  "Yes he did mention that earlier. Seems you've had a lot of unexplained virus's and since he did find traces of arsenic in the cup it would be wise to test you. I'll set it up with the lab on the third floor and do it now if that's o.k."

  "The sooner the better," Christina sighed.

  "How long before you know the results?" Andrew asked.

  "It usually takes two to three hours," the doctor replied. "Now if you'll come with me we'll go ahead and get started."

  They rode the elevator silently to the third floor. Nervously she stepped off and followed the doctor. A flicker of apprehension coursed through her. As she sat in the chair, sleeved rolled up, the nurse rubbed the alcohol on her arm and chattered away incessantly. Within minutes the nurse had finished taking her blood and put a band aid on her arm. "We'll give the results to your doctor as soon as we get them," she announced cheerfully.

  With that Christina rose fluidly from the chair and left the room.

  Andrew and Rusty were waiting for Christina in the lobby. "Do you want to go get some lunch some where?" Andrew asked as Christina entered the lobby.

  "I'd really like to go back to the house for a while," she commented. "We can fix something there."

  "Sounds good to me," he answered. The three of them left the hospital and headed to
wards Christina's.

  Chapter Eleven

  As they pulled into the driveway they saw Lauren's car.

  "What's she doing here?" Andrew boomed angrily.

  "Now calm down Andrew. She's been off for a few days and is suppose to be back today. She doesn't even know that Maureen's in the hospital."

  "But she shouldn't be here. At least not until we find out for sure if she put the poison in the tea. " Andrew raised an ironical eyebrow as he opened the door for Christina. "Send her home."

  "Let me handle it," Christina said. Andrew nodded his head in agreement.

  "Morning Christina,” Lauren said with a stunned look on her face. How could this be she thought. She had put enough poison in the tea to make sure Christina died. Christina noticed the look and knew immediately that it had been Lauren. But why? Why would Lauren have wanted her dead? She had tried to help her and loved her like a sister.

  “You sure must have left early today," Lauren stammered. Her face blushed red as she looked at them. "No one was here when I got here. Where's Maureen?"

  "She's in the hospital. That's where we just came from," Christina announced watching Lauren's face intently. She didn't flutter an eye.

  "Is everything okay?" she asked curiously. "It's just that Maureen never gets sick. What's wrong with her if I may ask?"

  "Some strange virus. She got real sick the other night. She brought me a cup of tea but I was asleep so she drank it, then later on that night she got real sick." Christina paused searching Lauren's face for a response. She didn’t want to give anything away and the detective had told them not to say anything to Lauren about what they had found out. IT was going to be hard to do as Christina wanted to lash out at her and ask her why would she have done something like that. Why did she want her dead? There was no possible explanation for that. Christina had never done anything to the girl, had always treated her fairly and paid a good wage.

  "Must of been pretty serious if she's in the hospital," Lauren said distantly as she stared defiantly into Christina's eyes.

  "For a while the doctors weren't sure she was going to make it. But she's doing better today and they expect her to recover fully." Christina said as she set down her purse and coat. "By the way. how is your mother doing?" she asked.

  "She took a turn for the worse and the doctor's aren't sure how much longer she will live," Lauren replied. A tear fell down her cheek as she continued. "But she's always been a fighter so I'm hoping she'll make it this time." Christina felt a surge of pity for Lauren at that moment, but for just a moment, as she knew that something was terribly wrong with her. She had to be crazy to want to kill her. She had never seen her show any signs of emotion until now.

  "Would you like some coffee or something?" Lauren asked casually.

  "No," Andrew responded harshly. "We just finished some at the hospital."

  "I'd like some," Christina answered matter-of-factly. Andrew's eyes clung to hers, analyzing her reaction. Had she lost her mind completely he wondered. As soon as Lauren left the room he turned to Christina and confronted her.

  "Are you crazy?" he snapped furiously. "You're letting her fix you coffee after what's happened to Maureen."

  "We don't have any proof that she did anything wrong," Christina argued defiantly. And remember what the detective said about not saying anything. We are to act normal until he has a chance to question her.

  "Proof. Your sister almost died. Isn't that proof enough?" Andrew said throwing his hands up in the air. Why was she being so stubborn, so hard headed he thought, shaking his head in utter disbelief. He felt anger at Lauren, and wanted her in jail, away from Christina. When he thought of how he could have lost her, he shuttered. He loved her and this crazy woman almost took that away from him.

  "I'm afraid I agree with Andrew," Rusty piped in. "At least until we know for sure what happened I wouldn't have her here."

  "And just what am I suppose to do, fire her? In addition, what would I tell her the reason was? I want her to pay for what she has done also, but I don’t want to tip her off about anything. " Christina stammered as Lauren returned with the coffee.

  "Anything wrong?" Lauren asked timidly as she set the tray down on the coffee table and began to pour Christian a cup.

  "Why don't you join us?" Christina asked Lauren.

  "No thank you. I've been trying to finish my work so I can go back to the hospital and sit with mother. In fact I may need to be off for the rest of the week if that's all right," she replied hastily.

  "That's fine," Christina replied. "Now sit down and have a cup of coffee with us. I know you've got a lot on your mind and you need a break to." She handed the already poured cup to Lauren, and then poured herself one.

  Lauren sat nervously in the chair across from Christina, clenching her hand until her nails entered her palm, her stomach churning with anxiety and frustration. Did Christina suspect anything, she wondered as she sat the cup down on the table. Surely not. She had been so careful, down to every last little detail. Lauren cleared her throat and began to speak. "It's good to see you and Rusty again," she stammered uncertainly. "Will you be staying a while? I haven't cleaned the guest rooms yet but I can go do that before I leave," she continued trying to avoid Andrews hostile stare. She could tell he was upset. The phone interrupted them.

  "I'll get it," Christina said as she reached for the phone. "Uh huh. Umm. Yes I understand. Thank you." She put down the phone and glared at Lauren in disgust.

  "Everything okay honey?" Andrew asked with a significant lifting of his brows.

  "Everything’s fine," she replied not taking her eyes off Lauren. She didn't know if she should confront her now with what the doctor had just told her or wait till later. The detective had told them not to alert Lauren, but it was going to be hard to sit there as if nothing had happened and to face her knowing that for some reason, the girl wanted her dead.

  The doorbell rang and Lauren got up to answer it. She came back to the room with the detective close behind her.

  "He says he's here to see you," Lauren announced swallowing hard. She looked away hastily as Christina invited him to join them.

  "Detective Dowling. How are you? Have you met Lauren yet," she replied. He nodded complacently.

  "I really need to talk to you, alone if I could," he replied still standing.

  "I'm sure what you have to say, you can say in front of everyone here," Christina said.

  "I'm not so sure of that," he persisted. "I got a call from the doctor concerning the test today." He paused briefly waiting for a response.

  "Yes, I did too," she said firmly, glancing over at Lauren. "Would you like some coffee?" she asked patiently. "Lauren just made it." She stopped a moment to gather her thoughts. "Lauren yours must be getting cold. You haven't touched a drop," she continued. "Is there something wrong?" she inquired, her eyes narrowing.

  "I'm really not thirsty," Lauren blurted out. There was a faint tremor in her voice. "And besides, I really need to get back to work. I'll just take it with me," she said as she picked up the cup and started for the kitchen unaware that Christina was right behind her. She began to pour the coffee down the drain as Christina walked up behind her, followed closely by Detective Dowling.

  "Lauren why did you pour the coffee out?" Christina shouted angrily as Lauren set the cup down in the sink. Lauren flushed but remained silent. A momentary look of discomfort crossed her face. She felt trapped. "I ah, it was too cold so I dumped it. I'm sorry," she pleaded innocently. Christina reached out and grabbed her arm firmly. "That's not why you dumped it out. You fixed that cup especially for me, didn't you?" she commanded. Her eyes darkened dangerously. "Didn't you?" she snapped as she squeezed her arm even tighter.

  "Yes. What's so wrong with that?" Lauren said trying to pull free from Christina's grip.

  Christina released her grip on Lauren's arm and stood back as the detective walked over to the sink and picked up the cup. "I need to send this to the lab to see if there are any traces of a
rsenic in it," he said sharply.

  "Arsenic. How could there be arsenic in a cup?" Lauren laughed nervously.

  "Well it seems as if someone has been trying to poison Christina with arsenic for sometime now. And the cup of tea Maureen drank had traces of arsenic also." He paused, watching Lauren's reaction intensely. "I'll need to talk to you downtown Lauren."

  "Are you accusing me?" she demanded defiantly.

  "I'm not accusing anyone. However, I have to talk to everyone who was in the house that night. I've already talked to Christina, so now I need to talk to you. Shall we?" he asked with a sweeping motion of his hand.

  "I know my rights. I don't have to talk to you without a lawyer. And you, Christina. Do you really think I would try to hurt you or Maureen? You've been like family to me," Lauren said wiping a tear from her face. "You took me in when I had nothing. I was always grateful for that." She shot Christina a penetrating look as she followed detective Dowling out of the kitchen.

  Christina was torn. She wanted to believe so much that Lauren wasn't the one. Nevertheless, who else could it be? There had been no one else in the house except the three of them that night. Still, Christina was troubled. She wandered restlessly around the room trying to sort the whole thing out, searching for a plausible explanation.

  "Can I get you anything?" Andrew interrupted her thoughts.

  "No. Nothing thanks. I'm still not totally convinced it was Lauren. After all, what would she have to gain by killing me anyway? I pay her well above what the other housekeepers make so I just don't see how it could be her?" Christina murmured feeling as if the weight of the world was on her shoulders.

  "But if it wasn't her, then who else could it be? There's been no one else here. It looks pretty cut and dry to me," Andrew insisted.

  "I know but a part of me still doesn't think she did it," Christina hesitated, torn by conflicting emotions. Andrew reached over pulled her into his arms and held her tightly for a moment.