Heartless

“I saw her,” he said through a voice that sounded much too distorted for his own comfort. “She saved me.”

“Relax and take a deep breath,” a comforter said to him.

“She saved me.”

Derek awoke to the sounds of di

“That was quite a nap you took there, son.”

Ralph Fox sat in a rather uncomfortable-looking blue chair beside Derek’s hospital bed. He has holding a Styrofoam take-out box, overly stuffed with french fries, potato salad, and the remains of three pieces of fried chicken.

“How long have I been out?” Derek asked.

“Two and half days,” Ralph said. “Kind of lost track. Been busy cleaning things up.”

“What happened?”

“You mean after you got your gut all busted up? Hell son, you missed the best part of your whole damn case.”

“You feel like filling me in, or do I have to read about it in the paper?”

“Ain’t never trusted no journalist to tell things accurately. You tell me when you feel up to it, and I’ll tell you the truth. Gotta say, ya]ou ain’t go

“Thomas? Is he okay?”

“Okay is very subjective term, Derek Cole. If you’re asking if Thomas O’Co

“Tell me what happened. I’m okay to listen,” Derek said.

“You sure you’re up to it?” Ralph teased.

“I’m sure.”

As Derek continued to reach full consciousness, Ralph detailed what had happened when he walked into Ward C.

“I suppose that after you walked yourself in, that old Alexander Black forgot to close the door. Hell son, once you told me you was heading down to Hilburn, I jumped in my car and headed down myself. Captain Smith weren’t too happy when he found out that I was the one who stopped Black, but hell, this was my murder investigation from the start.”

“What did you mean when you said you weren’t sure if Alexander was dead or alive?” Derek asked.

“When I left that room, there were a whole mess of NYPD people milling about. Coroner confirmed that Straus was dead and declared Alexander to be dead as well. I told him what I knew about Alexander, but I don’t think anyone in that room believed me.

“I was taken outside and was giving my deposition when I saw them wheeling out two gurneys with filled body bags lying atop them. I told them officers again, but I gave up trying to convince them of something that I ain’t sure I fully believe yet. I imagine that Straus and Alexander are together again in some city morgue.”

“If he isn’t really dead, they’re going to have quite a surprise,” Derek said.

“Thomas was telling me, right before they cuffed him and brought him downtown for questioning, that Straus was telling Alexander that he was pretty close to dying as it was. Said that Straus injected Alexander with a virus that was causing his body to start decomposing. Sure did smell like a dog twelve days dead in that room.”

“Straus told Alexander that he brought a cure with him. I didn’t see him for sure but I half remember Alexander injecting a vial of something into his own neck.”

“Yup, that he did. Thing is, Straus had a couple of plans himself. Found out about them once I was allowed to take a few glances at Brian Lucietta’s journal. Seems Straus devised a Plan B and a Plan C. Plan B was to kill off all the other doctors so that he could blame them for everything. He was pla

“His Plan C was devised in case Alexander found his hiding spot. Hell, he even labeled that vial ‘Plan C.’”

“What was in the vial?” Derek asked.

“Pure acid. Ain’t sure which type. Didn’t matter, I guess, but it sure weren’t no cure.”

Ralph and Derek talked about the case, how all the clues were there, and about what would happen to Thomas O’Co

“What about the message I got when I landed in Albany,” Derek asked.

“Thomas assured us that he had nothing to do with that message. Using deductive reasoning, I determined that it was Ken O’Co

“I still don’t understand everything,” Derek said. “Like, how did Thomas get away from the guys his father had watching him?”

“According to Thomas, those guys protecting him only did so during the night. During the day, they’d pull that boat up to shore and take off doing whatever it was that O’Co

“How did Alexander find Ken O’Co

“O’Co

“Note just told Ken where Alexander was expecting to meet him. O’Co