Authors: Anna Kristell
“How long have I been out?”
“Three days.”
“What?”
“Three days, baby. I was so worried. Your mom’s here. Mom, Brenda, and Jay have been in and out. And Dr. Rose and his wife are here.”
“Oh, my…where are my babies?”
“Alma and George have been taking excellent care of them. Alice flew up from Florida last night to help out. They’re fine but they miss their mama. They send their love.”
The nurse came in
, followed by Dr. Rose. “We’ve paged Dr. Jessup, he’s on his way. Sunny, may I check you out?”
“Sure, whatever you need to do
.”
She checked Sunny’s vitals
. Turning to Dr. Rose, she said, “She seems to be doing fine.”
Dr. Jessup came rushing into the room
. “Sunny, are we ever glad to see you.”
“Sunny, this is Dr. Jessup
. He’s been taking care of you since the night we brought you in.”
“I’m very pleased to meet you, Mrs. Dupont
, and very glad to see your eyes opened.” He looked at her chart and seemed pleased.
“I’m going to order another CT scan of your head. Do you have a headache, Sunny?”
“A little and my arm hurts.”
“We’ll get you something for the pain. It may make you sleepy, but you need to rest.”
“Whatever you say, Dr. Jessup,” Sunny replied, smiling weakly. She looked over at Dr. Rose who winked at her.
“If you
’re feeling hungry at all, the nurses can get you some broth or tea…nothing more than that at first.”
“
I’ll try some broth.”
“
All right, let’s get you to radiology for that scan first. After that, we’ll get you some food.”
When the broth arrived, Chase insisted on spoon feeding her. She gratefully let him, taking small sips from the spoon.
“This is like the time I had the flu and you took care of me.”
“But this time, I’ve felt so helpless,
baby.”
The next day Sunny was able to sit up
for short periods of time. The doctor allowed her to try more solid food. Her CT scan had shown improvement much to everyone’s relief.
“Chase, I’ve been going over it and over it
, in my head. I know this may sound crazy to you, but I’m almost certain I didn’t trip. I think I remember hearing a noise. After that, I felt a pain in my head. It’s almost, as if, someone or something hit me over the head before I fell.”
“Sunny, are you fairly sure about this?”
“I’m positive.”
An icy feeling gripped Chase’s heart.
Who would want to hurt Sunny, the sweetest person in the world? Surely Thomlin wouldn’t have ordered a hit on her? He was known to be a ruthless businessman, and it was rumored he had connections with the underworld. Thinking back to Brittney’s accident, he wondered to what lengths the man would go to get what he wanted.
“Sunny, I don’t want you to panic, but
I’m going to make a call to the police. I think they need to come down here and take a statement from you. Are you up to it?”
“Yes, do what you think best.”
When he hung up the phone he told her, “A detective Carson will be here within the hour to speak with us.” He took Sunny’s hand. “I’ll make sure you’re protected from now on, Sunny. No one is going to take you away from me.”
“Please
, arrange for some security at the house…my babies…”
“I
’ll take care of it right now.” He dialed the phone, filling George in. “Until the police can get someone out there, keep the alarm on and don’t take your eyes off the children for a minute.”
When he finished his conversation
, he smiled at Sunny. “They’re all happy you’re awake. They won’t take their eyes off Ali and Brice for a second.”
“Thank you.”
When Detective Carson made his appearance, he seemed genuinely concerned. “The Thomlin bunch is not someone you want to get on your bad side. I’m afraid you may have done that by refusing to sell to them.”
“But to resort to such drastic measures?
Do you really think they’d stoop to this?” Chase asked.
“I don’t know, it’s possible.” Turning to Sunny he gently asked, “Now, Mrs. Dupont, do you think you can tell me everything you remember?”
“I’ll try,
detective.” She related to him the same story she’d told Chase earlier.
The detective took notes
throughout the conversation. When they were finished, he looked at the two of them and said, “I intend to put some security at the house and also at your offices. I’ll have an undercover police officer outside Mrs. Dupont’s door at all times. I don’t want to take any chances.”
“We have a home in West Palm Beach. Should I call the police there to watch it?” Chase inquired.
“I’ll take care of that for you. I’ll also do some digging, see what I can find out.”
“Thank you.” Chase stood up to shake his hand.
“Mrs. Dupont, I hope you’re feeling better soon.” He nodded to Sunny as he quietly left the room.
“Wow, this is frightening, Chase.”
“It’s all right. I won’t let anything happen to you. That bastard won’t be able to get to you now.” He put his arms around her, hoping he was right.
The nursing staff had been alerted
, as well as the family, close friends, and certain people within the company.
When Connie came on duty and heard about the suspected attack on Sunny’s life, she
came forward with more information about a suspicious male nurse who’d been trying to administer Sunny medications which weren’t on her chart.
Detective Carson took the information and Chase vaguely remembered walking in on a male nurse to find him standing next to Sunny’s bed
, holding a pillow. He told the detective about it.
“It could be coincidence or it could be this guy is working for Thomlin
, or whoever is behind this. I’ll see what I can find out about this nurse,” the detective told them.
“There
’s something else you should know,” Chase told him. “My first wife died in a freak accident, almost three years ago. The Thomlin’s were already trying to steal my company at that time. Do you think there could be a connection?”
“There may very well be. I’ll pull the records on her accident, as well. I’ll get back to you when I know something
, or if I have any other questions.”
“Thank you for all you
’re doing for us.”
“If Thomlin is behind this, we need to stop him. And if isn’t him, we need to find out. Is there anyone else who would want to hurt your wife, either one of them?”
“I can’t think of anyone. Sunny has no enemies. I wouldn’t think anyone would have had a reason to hurt Brittney, either, so it has to be directed at me. Thomlin is the most likely suspect.”
“That’s where we’ll start then. Both of you have a good day and try not to worry. You need to concentrate on your recovery, Mrs. Dupont.”
“Thank you.” Sunny forced a smile as she spoke.
When Dr. Jessup made his evening rounds and was told the latest developments, he suggested Sunny remain in the hospital an extra day
or two. “I want to keep you under observation a couple more days. The stress of all this might have an effect on you. But if everything still seems normal by tomorrow evening or the next day, I’ll discharge you.”
“We’ll do whatever you suggest, Doctor,” Chase replied.
“Yes, Doctor, as much as I want to go home, I’ll do as you say,” Sunny agreed.
The next morning after Chase and Sunny had taken a stroll around the floor, he was helping her back into bed and Lindy walked into the room carrying a vase of flowers and a box of chocolates. Chase stiffened when he saw her. He gave Sunny a look that held a silent message to remain calm.
“Hello, Lindy,
” Chase said in the calmest voice he could, under the circumstances. “What brings you here?”
“I read about Sunny’s accident and thought I’d drop these by for her. No hard feelings, Sunny. I sincerely hope
you’re on the mend.”
Knowing the suspected murder attempt had been kept out of the news media, Chase carefully chose his words. “Thank you, that was very thoughtful of you, Lindy.”
“Yes, thank you, Lindy. I’m feeling much better.”
“That’s good news. I’d better get going
. I have a plane to catch. Take care.” The woman turned and walked out the door, leaving Chase and Sunny to wonder what the visit was really about.
“I’ll get rid of these.” Chase picked up the vase and the candy and went to the guard in the hallway.
“Have these checked out, please. That was the suspect’s daughter who just delivered them.”
“I’ll call it in right away.” Within minutes, someone arrived to take them to the police lab.
Not wishing to alarm Sunny, Chase didn’t tell her the flowers and candy were being tested. He wondered if Lindy deliberately delivered those items knowing they were tainted or if her father had pulled a fast one on her?
When Detective Carson walked into the room a few hours later, Chase could tell by the look on his face his worst fear had been confirmed.
“You were right, Mr. Dupont. The flowers were all right, but each and every piece of chocolate had been injected with a poison. I believe we now have enough evidence to pick up Mr. Thomlin and his daughter on suspicion of attempted murder.”
Chase dropped his head, “If I’d known they were capable of this, I’d have sold my damn company to them.” Looking at Sunny
, he said, “I’m so sorry, Sunny. I had no idea.”
She took his hand and replied gently, “Honey, it’s not your fault. You didn’t know. None of us did. And they didn’t succeed. I’m getting better every day.”
“Think about poor Brittney…they may have killed the mother of my children…and for what?”
“We’ll be questioning them about that as well,
sir.”
“Any leads on the male nurse yet?”
“I believe we may have located him. If we can offer him a reduced sentence, we may be able to get him to reveal who he was taking orders from.”
The detective left to get the warrant issued for the arrest of Mr. Thomlin and Lindy.
Chase said to Sunny, “If you only knew how deeply I regret putting you through this. Will you ever be able to forgive me?”
“Chase, there
’s nothing to forgive.”
Detective Carson called Chase later that day. “We’ve located the nurse
. He’s being extradited back to Des Moines. Thomlin and his daughter are in police custody, and are being questioned, as we speak.”
“Keep us informed.”
“I will. I need to get into the interrogation room now, but wanted you to have an update.”
“Thanks.”
That night, as Sunny was about to fall asleep, she said, “Chase, I miss you lying next to me.”
“You really want to be that close to me after all that’s happened?”
“You’re going to have to stop beating yourself up about this. I’ll always want to be close to you.”
He got up from the chair
, gently easing himself onto the bed beside her. Taking her in his arms, he rocked her until she fell asleep. He softly kissed her forehead, whispering, “I’ll love you forever, my precious angel.”
The next
morning, Chase and Sunny received a visit from Detective Carson.
“The nurse is in custody. Hopefully after
he’s told about the reduced sentence offer, he’ll chirp like a bird.”
“What about Lindy and her father?” Sunny asked.
“So far, neither of them is talking. Their lawyer has been with them. Miss Thomlin says she knows nothing. Her father hasn’t said anything at all.”
After
the detective had gone back to the station, Marty came in the room. “I have a surprise for you, Sunny.”
Laura walked in
, holding Ali’s hand. She was carrying Brice, who ran to the bed as soon as she set him down.
“Easy now
, guys, Mama’s still recovering,” Chase told them gently.
“Mama
, can I sign your cast?” Ali asked as she looked at the fiberglass contraption on Sunny’s left arm.
“Sure you can,
princess. Let’s see if we can find a marker.”
“Right here, the nurses left it for you.” Chase handed it to Ali who signed her name
. He helped Brice print his name on it when Ali was finished.
“Brice, you’re growing. Have Alma and Alice been feeding you superhero food or something?”
“Oh, Mama, you’re silly.” He leaned across the bed and planted a kiss on Sunny’s cheek.
“Daddy says you can com
e home today maybe,” Ali stated seriously.
“Mama
, please don’t fall in the woods again,” Brice said. The little boy looked into her eyes and smiled.