Chapter 5 - The Fight at St. Jude's
The hospital corridors were quiet and smelled of antiseptic when the ambulance team wheeled Andrew into the Trauma Bay. Natalie followed closely, remaining until the doctors pushed her back to begin emergency surgery on Andrew’s internal injuries and broken limbs. She then walked swiftly up to the third floor, where the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit was located.
Outside room 304, Eric Malloy—the 911 dispatcher who had taken Ashley's call—was standing near the doorway holding a fresh cup of coffee and a brand-new stuffed golden retriever toy. When his shift had ended at midnight, he couldn't just go home to sleep. He had to know if the little girl was okay.
"Officer Brooks," Eric said, turning around as Natalie approached. "How is the father?"
"He made it out alive," Natalie replied, exhaling a long, exhausted breath. "He's in surgery now. What about Ashley?"
"The doctors caught the toxin just in time thanks to your radio call," Eric explained softly, looking through the glass window into the room. "Denise had mixed small doses of arsenic-based rat poison into the soup stock over several days, posing as a helpful neighbor dropping off meals. That's why her stomach swelled up and why she felt so sick."
Natalie closed her eyes, feeling a cold wave of fury wash over her. Denise had systematically poisoned a motherless child and then attempted to murder her father, all to gain control of a $500,000 insurance trust fund set up after Andrew's wife died in a car accident two years ago.
Inside the room, Ashley lay under warm blankets, connected to IV lines and heart monitors. Her cheeks had regained a subtle pink hue, and her breathing was deep and peaceful. On the nightstand beside her bed sat her old stuffed puppy, Buddy, freshly washed by one of the pediatric nurses.
Natalie quietly pushed the door open and stepped inside. Ashley opened her eyes slowly, blinking against the soft yellow light of the bedside lamp.
"Natalie?" the little girl whispered, her voice still raspy.
"Hey there, brave girl," Natalie said with a warm smile, pulling a chair close to the bed. "How are you feeling?"
"My tummy doesn't hurt as much," Ashley said, clutching Buddy against her chest. "Is my daddy coming back?"
May you like
Natalie reached out and gently stroked Ashley's light-brown hair. "Your daddy is downstairs right now. Doctors are fixing him up because he had a bad fall in his truck, but he never gave up trying to get back to you. He loves you more than anything in the world."
Tears welled up in Ashley's big brown eyes, but this time, they were tears of relief. "I knew it," she sobbed softly. "I told the mean lady on the internet he didn't leave me."
