Page 60 of Grissom
“I wasn’t there,” Grissom confessed his most grievous sin without thinking. Everything was his fault. He was worse than his dad. He’d never been around when his boys had needed him most.
“Of course, you weren’t there,” Howie growled, politely shoving his way into the crowded cubicle. “You were with Alex looking for your lady friend, the one Pam McCoy has already admitted she bludgeoned with a brick, then dragged into the trees behind your place and strung up in a tree. She claims that was the only way to get you away from your boys, long enough to snatch your youngest.”
Pratt acknowledged Chief Prince with a chin lift. “Good to see you, Howie. All the evidence you’ll need is in the jar. Yours for the taking. Only wish you could send that woman to hell.”
“All I’ll need’s your signed statement, Gary, but thanks for the offer,” Howie replied.
Grissom glanced at the stern police officer. “Thanks for your quick response, sir. Without you—”
“My response, nothing. You and Alex are the heroes today.” Chief Prince slapped Grissom’s back. “Take care of that little guy, and if you need anything, anything at all, you call me, hear?”
“Yes, sir, I will.”
Everyone except Pratt and a nurse stepped out of the cubicle. Doctor Gary Pratt leaned his butt against the counter alongsideLuke’s bed. The nurse cleaned Luke’s mouth, wiped a damp cloth over his face, and then dressed him in the tiniest hospital gown Grissom had ever seen. The sight of his baby boy in that great big bed, alone, without Tanner to squabble with, choked Grissom’s heart. He’d almost lost his sons today.Hisbabies.
God, where’s Tuesday?No man should have to face his sins by himself. Once again, she’d rescued his boys because he couldn’t. He needed her, damn it. To hold him up and tell him everything was going to be okay. With her by his side, he could believe. Might even be able to forgive himself. Grissom dashed a hand over his face before his eyes betrayed him.
But Jesus, where is she?
“We see a lot of THC poisoning these days,” Doc Pratt said quietly. “Too much. People are careless. Their kids watch them take this crap, then they leave it laying around and joke like it’s Mommy’s or Daddy’s favorite candy. Kids think all gummies are candy. Why shouldn’t they? They look like gummies in candy aisles at any grocery store, and they come in clever, colorful bags. But I’ve never heard of anyone trying to kill their kid with gummies before.”
“She’s sick and she’s damned mean,” Grissom answered. “But it’s my fault. I wasn’t there. I should’ve been.”
“Let me guess, messy divorce?”
“No divorce. Not yet. I was told she died in a plane crash last month. That’s what the Costa Rican Coast Guard said. Didn’t think I’d need to divorce a corpse.”
Doc Pratt adjusted the wire spectacles Grissom hadn’t noticed were perched on his nose until then. “They didn’t demand DNA to confirm the body?”
“Guess not. Hell, I was recovering from a motorcycle crash. Barely convinced my boss to let me travel.”
Pratt cocked his head. “She took your son—?”
Grissom held up two fingers. “Sons. She took Tanner and Luke out of the country without my permission. But once she got there, she and her boyfriend decided they had no use for them. Especially Luke’s big brother. Pam always hated Tanner and made sure he knew it. Poor kid’s got PTSD worse than me.”And I’m going to have a full-blown panic attack if you don’t get out of here real soon.
Doc Pratt must’ve noticed Grissom was close to coming undone. “How’d you get them back?” he asked more kindly.
“A woman, an American woman… Tuesday Smart…”God, I miss her. “She witnessed Pam’s boyfriend abusing Tanner. Bastard was dangling him off a third-story balcony. If he wasn’t already dead, I’d… I’d kill him! B-but right away, Tuesday ran up those three flights. She didn’t have to, but she saved Tanner, and… and Luke and…” Beads of sweat dripped from Grissom’s hair, down his forehead and temples at how close he’d come to losing his boys that day. Both of them. If not for Tuesday…
Where is she?
Panic spiked. Talk never accomplished a damned thing. Especially now, when Grissom was back at square one. When he’d come close to losing one of his sons again.Jesus, what kind of father am I? Why’s this shit keep happening to me? To us?
“Go on,” Pratt prodded.
The soothing tone in his voice snapped Grissom back to the here and now. “Yeah. Right. I, ahh…”Where was I? Oh, yeah.“Tuesday just happened to be there that day. She confronted the bastard. Just ran up the stairs and ordered him to let Tanner go. That she’d kill him if he dropped my boy. My wife got pissed. They had a screaming match…” Which undoubtedly was Pam screaming more than Tuesday. “…and Tuesday… and she…” Anyway. “Pam told her to take my boys, that she didn’t want them. Tuesday never hesitated, just assumed the care andfeeding of my sons from that moment. She loves them. But Doc. I… I don’t know where she is.”
Grissom looked around the tiny cubicle, more aware than ever that the woman he craved most in his life wasn’t at his side. Worse, he had no idea where she’d gone; if she was injured or hurt or just mad that he’d put his boys in danger again. A panic attack was imminent, its ghostly fingers tiptoeing up the back of his neck, waiting to strangle him. To unman him.
“I’m keeping Luke overnight, maybe two days tops, but just for observation,” Pratt continued, motioning toward the little guy in that great big bed. “We dodged a bullet here, Mr.—”
“Grissom. Grissom McCoy.”Luke’s shitty old man. Mom was right. I’m just like my dad. Good for nothing.
“Grissom.” Pratt bobbed his head respectfully. “You need to understand that Luke’s not out of the woods yet. THC poisoning is risky with children, more so when they’re under ten. I’ll send everything in that jar to our lab to be sure, but most edibles contain more than the recommended dose for adults. Ten to fifteen milligrams of THC instead of two point five. More than half the calls to poison control centers these days involve THC edibles, and most of those calls involve children between the ages of three to five. Those kids are the most at risk, and I hate to tell you, but your son chugged more than a handful.”
“What should I watch for?”Because I’m not going anywhere.
“No need to worry. We’ll monitor him until you take him home. Seizures, low blood pressure, hallucinations, nausea and vomiting, trouble breathing, heart arrhythmias, weakness, and poor coordination are just a few warning signs. In a couple minutes, our trauma team will transfer him to ICU. You’re welcome to stay with him. Do you have any questions? Any concerns? Anything I can help with?”
