Chapter Sixteen #2
“We don’t have any proof he drugged her,” Tuckey said.
“What about a waiter or the bartender?” Sharp asked.
“So far, I haven’t found any evidence of that, but I will check out both of them for sure.”
“OK, thanks.” Sharp rose. “I have to get to the hospital.”
“I’ll download the rest of the surveillance videos and interview the rest of the restaurant staff. I’ll let you know what I find out.”
“Thanks.” Sharp didn’t promise to do the same.
He was more than willing to overstep a few boundaries to find whoever had drugged Nicki.
Lying about being Nicki’s boyfriend made her date the very strong primary suspect, but Sharp needed to figure out how he’d managed it.
In Sharp’s experience, rapists were repeat offenders.
Whoever did this had likely done it before—and would do it again.
Sharp would not let that happen to some other woman, who might not have a badass ER doctor on hand to prevent her from being further victimized.
He found Olivia in the ER waiting room filling out paperwork on a clipboard. “They’re assessing her now.”
“How was she?” Sharp sat next to Olivia.
“Still out of it.” Olivia tucked the pen into the top of the clipboard. Setting it aside, she rested her head on his shoulder.
He kissed her hair and took her hand, his heart melting. “She’s tough.”
“I know.” But her voice was strained and worried.
They sat in silence. The automatic door swished open. Brandon West walked into the ER, swiped a card, and disappeared through the double doors that led into the treatment area. Ten minutes later, he reemerged. He scanned the waiting room and waved to Sharp and Olivia, who hurried across the room.
West lifted a hand. “First of all, she’s starting to come around, and I think she’s going to be fine.”
Olivia exhaled audibly. “Thank you.”
West nodded. “Now for the details. She tested positive for gamma hydroxybutyrate. Do you know what that is?”
Sharp nodded. “GHB.” The common date-rape drug was clear and odorless.
Its slightly salty taste was easily camouflaged by whatever beverage it was mixed into.
Symptoms of GHB poisoning included slow breathing, depressed heart rate, low body temperature, nausea, and vomiting.
An overdose of GHB could induce coma and death.
Sharp was fairly sure Olivia knew all of this, so he kept his mouth shut.
She didn’t need to be reminded of the danger.
Instead, he asked West, “Her vitals are OK?”
“Rapidly improving,” West said. “The good news is that GHB has a relatively short half-life. The body clears it quickly, so quickly that sometimes it’s hard to test for.
Your niece got to the ER promptly. They’re hydrating her.
As long as her vitals remain stable and she continues to improve, all they’ll provide is supportive care.
They’ll probably keep her for a couple more hours, until she’s more lucid and they’re sure she’s over the worst of it.
Someone will come and get you shortly. Then you can stay with her until she’s released. ”
They thanked him again, and he left the hospital. Sharp seethed, mind spinning, until a nurse brought them back to see Nicki. She was pale, but her eyes were open. Her vomit-soiled top had been replaced by a hospital gown. An IV dripped into the back of her hand.
As Olivia and Sharp entered the room, she struggled to sit up. Olivia rushed to her side, perched on the edge of the gurney, and hugged her hard.
Nicki started to cry. “I’m s-sorry.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry about.” Olivia straightened but kept hold of Nicki’s hand. “I’m just grateful you texted me.”
“I don’t even remember doing that. I don’t remember much.” Nicki dried her eyes with the short sleeve of the oversize gown. “I don’t know what happened. Everything is really fuzzy, but you know I’m super careful with my drinks.”
Sharp walked closer, feeling a little like he was intruding, but not wanting her to blame herself for anything that had happened that night.
Even if she hadn’t been as careful, it would not have been her fault.
The blame rested completely on the person who’d poisoned her, because that’s what GHB was: poison.
He patted her forearm. “I watched the surveillance footage. You did everything right. I can’t figure out how it happened either.” He gave her arm a gentle squeeze. “But I will.”
“I don’t think it was Cody.” She lay back, pulled her hands free, and played with the edge of the sheet with her fingertips. “He didn’t get near my beer.”
“I know,” Sharp said. Could Cody have put GHB in the food? He’d reached over both plates. Sharp would contact Tuckey the next day and watch the videos again. There could have been some sleight of hand, followed by the date not consuming any more of the food. GHB didn’t put itself into Nicki.
Olivia placed a hand over Nicki’s, stilling them. “We’ll go through all of that tomorrow. Tonight, you just need to recover.”
Nicki closed her eyes. “I’m pretty sure I puked all over Cody, my date,” she said. “I’m sure I’ll never see him again.”
Olivia patted her hand. “If he’s worth having, he’ll know this wasn’t your fault.”
But Sharp didn’t like that the guy had left. Until he got to the bottom of who’d spiked Nicki’s drink, he didn’t want Cody anywhere near her. And since he had absolutely no control over Nicki, that meant Sharp needed to figure it out fast.