♫I'm one card short of a full deck ♫
♫I'm not quite the shilling ♫
♫One wave short of a shipwreck ♫
♫I'm not at my usual top billing ♫
♫I'm coming down with a fever ♫
♫I'm really out to sea ♫
♫This kettle is boiling over ♫
♫I think I'm a banana tree ♫
♫Oh dear, I'm going slightly mad ♫
♫I'm going slightly mad ♫
♫It finally happened, happened ♫
♫It finally happened uh huh ♫
♫It finally happened I'm slightly mad - oh dear! ♫
♫I'm knitting with only one needle ♫
♫Unravelling fast its true ♫
♫I'm driving only three wheels these days ♫
♫But my dear how about you? ♫
 

High Stakes
Chapter 15

    There were a dozen messages on my machine when I arrived at my office. All of them were from Samantha. She was at the hospital and her friend Sinty had regained consciousness. By the fourth or fifth message I found myself thinking more about Samantha’s long silky ears than the content of her messages. I did manage to gather that over the course of Samantha’s barrage of calls, Sinty was awake and willing to talk to me. I could understand Samantha’s sense of urgency. I’m sure I’ve mentioned that I’ve had a variety of jobs in the past. One of the more educational ones was ambulance driver. So I have some experience in dealing with the head trauma patient. I’ve seen them awake and alert, only to slip back into unconsciousness with little or no warning. I knew I needed to make tracks to the hospital; Sinty might only have a brief lucid interval.

    I swiped Morgan’s notepad and pen on my way out the door and started out for the hospital. I was in a hurry and almost missed the heavenly red neon beacon above me: “HOT NOW.” Head injury patients slide in and out of comas, but fresh hot Krispy Kremes wait for no dog. I gave a half dozen Original Glazed a happy home and proceeded to the hospital.

    I arrived at Sinty’s bedside and found I wasn’t the only one interested in questioning her. My officer friend Lucky had also just arrived and Samantha introduced us to her best friend. Sinty was sitting up in bed, awake but drowsy. One ear was bandaged and she was still receiving intravenous fluids. I didn’t give Lucky the chance to begin his interrogation.

    “It’s very nice to meet you, Sinty. Samantha speaks very highly of you,” I said. “Do you mind if I ask you a couple of questions? It won’t take long.”

    “No, I don’t mind,” she replied. I saw her eyes wander distractedly off to my right and for a moment I thought she was hallucinating but then I realized Samantha had creeped up behind me and was sniffing near my face. I jumped a little when I realized how close she was but she only moved closer, her nose twitching rapidly.

    “You smell like…doughnuts!” she cried, grabbing my shoulders and giving me a shake. Her eyes were wide and round and staring directly into mine as she said, “Where are the doughnuts?”

    I self-consciously licked my whiskers and tried to hold my breath as I answered, “Doughnuts? What doughnuts?”

    “You stopped for doughnuts on the way here, and YOU DIDN’T BRING ME ANY!” she shouted accusingly, her claws sinking deeper into my shoulders.

    Once again it was my buddy Lucky who came to my rescue. He was too well trained to miss the signs of an escalating conflict, and too well prepared to be unable to defuse it. He pulled a cruller out of his shoulder holster and handed it to Samantha. She snatched it and retreated to a chair next to the bed. Lucky smiled and gave me a wink. “In case of emergency,” he admitted.

    I returned my attention to Sinty, who had quietly observed the entire incident. She merely shrugged and asked, “So what do you want to know?”

    “Do you remember who attacked you?” I inquired.

    Her expression became confused. “I don’t remember being attacked,” she replied with some hesitation. “I don’t think…”

    “Don’t worry,” I interrupted. “It’s very common for head injury patients to have memory difficulties. Try to recreate the evening in your mind. See what you remember.”

    She was concentrating hard on the task I’d given her and I took the opportunity to scan the room for a heavy implement. I was beginning to open drawers when Lucky stopped me.

    “What are you looking for?” he whispered.

    “A mallet, preferably, but anything heavy will do,” I replied quietly, hoping Samantha wouldn’t overhear my plan. “Sinty obviously has amnesia. It is common knowledge that another blow to the head can often restore memory.”

    Lucky stared at me for several seconds before he spoke. He forgot to whisper. “Are you nuts?” he barked. He put a paw to his forehead and rubbed his temples. “Never mind. Of course you are. Listen, Lyle, why don’t you let me question her. I’ll let you know if I find anything useful, okay?”

    “Fine with me. Are you sure you don’t want me to rustle up a mallet?”

    “No, thanks. I’m sure,” Lucky replied, still rubbing his head. He looked as though he’d just met the business end of a mallet himself.

    “Say, Lucky, I might have something that could help you here.” I had already started to leave when I remembered the names Skye had mentioned. “Quincy and Basil. The shady characters I told you about earlier. They might be involved in Sinty’s attack.”

    “I’ll put someone on it. Thanks, Lyle.”

    “No problem. I would have owed you for that doughnut anyway.”