Chief’s back felt a little stiff from the week of rearranging furniture and the long drive wore on his aching neck. But the drive was peaceful. He had made the hour and a half trip every day that week. It was a small sacrifice to see his daughter’s shining face. He’d travel twice the distance for her smile.

Chief rode with the windows down. The weather was spring-like. It was almost May. The foliage was completely out of its budding stage. Flowers dotted the side of the road making the drive heavily fragrant. The heavens were a rich blue with no clouds. Chief hoped Friday would be as nice.

He turned off the highway onto the road that took him to the hospital. Halfway there he slammed on his brakes to avoid colliding with a doe and her fawn. Chief watched as they hopped undaunted across his path and disappeared into the dense thicket at the opposite side of the road. Chief smiled to himself and slid the truck into gear.

At 12:50 Chief Broden pulled into the visitor parking lot at Four Oaks Memorial Hospital. He parked his vehicle, then made his way into the pillared facade of the building. He by-passed admitting and went straight to the elevator and rode the car to the fourth floor. On his way to his daughter's room, he noticed the nurse’s station was empty.

Chief expected to see Kelly sitting in the bed, bored out of her head, ready and eager to go home. What he found was an empty room, the bed re-made, the corners of the blanket tucked tightly and squarely. The starched sheets were pressed into sharp creases. Chief wheeled around the empty room. He went to the washroom door and found the bathroom was just as empty as the rest of the room.

Chief's heart beat violently. He felt his panic return. He briskly left the room and went to the nurse’s station– still empty. He searched the hall and noticed a nurse just leaving a room at the other end. Chief tried catching her eye silently, but she turned, not noticing him.

“Excuse me,” he called as he made his way briskly down the hall She still failed to hear him, so he quickened his pace and called again, “Excuse me!”

She turned. Chief recognized his daughter’s nurse, Donna.

“Chief Broden,” she said moving toward him.

“Where’s my daughter!”

“No one’s told you?”

“Told me what? What the hell’s going on around here?”

She looked around her. “Let’s go into Dr. Miller’s office, we can talk in there.”

“I don’t want to talk there. I want to know what has happened to my daughter Miss Trever and I want to know now!”

“She became very ill this morning,” Donna said quietly. “She exhibited signs of a viral infection of some sort. We’re not really sure what it is, but it spiraled. Her condition became steadily worse, until...”

“Until what?” Broden asked, this time keeping his own voice low.

“She went into respiratory shock. They’ve been in surgery for the last three hours. We tried to call you the minute they took her upstairs, but there was no answer.”

Chief looked at her, his mind trying to grasp her words. “We were moving furniture all day; we were in and out of the house,” he said quietly, his manner distracted. “How serious is this?”

“Very. If they can’t restore her breathing, she’ll be put into an iron lung. If that doesn’t work...”

“She’ll die,” Chief whispered. “My god, she can die.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Jesus Christ.”

“Look, they’re very good. Dr. Miller is one of the best surgeons at this hospital, and Dr. Reiner is assisting. He is the best. She’s in good hands.”

* * * * *

Dr. John Reiner found Craig Miller in the recovery room next to his patient. The young doctor was still in his surgical scrubs. Patches of sweat stained them in the front and under his arms. Spatters of fresh blood dotted there as well. He was slouching in a chair next to the bed, his legs stretched out in front of him. He looked beat. He had just finished three and a half hours in the operating room. He performed expertly and Dr. Reiner was impressed with the young man’s skill.

The operation had been a difficult one. The child’s blood pressure was questionable going in. Her lungs were completely clotted with mucous. They had taken samples of both the mucous and lung tissue and rushed them down to the lab. Now they waited impatiently for the test results.

“Thought you could use this.” Reiner handed the young doctor a glass of orange juice.

Craig looked up. “Thanks,” he muttered.

Reiner regarded the child. “It’s quite a puzzle.”

“It’s a damned nightmare. I just don’t get it, John. Where the hell did all that mucous come from?”

“I don’t know.”

“Have you ever seen anything like that before in your life?”

“No.”

“Shit,” whispered Craig. “Me neither.”

“I see it as one of two things, Craig. Either it’s an unidentified virus, like we thought, one that’s mutating at an alarming rate. Or...”

“Or what?”

“It’s toxic poisoning.”

“Toxic? But how? I mean that crossed my mind, too. But she’s not receiving any medication, there’s no way there could be a slip up with that. No one’s been near her except her family, me and Nurse Trever.”

“When did the symptoms start?”

“This morning.”

“Have you ever known a virus to work that fast?”

“Some. But nothing that could be explained around here. There’s been no other cases similar- Jesus, John. Toxic, huh?”

“It’s a thought. At any rate the lab should pick it up. Did you get the results back from the blood and urine analysis?”

“White count way down. In fact if I’d seen how low it was before we went into surgery, I may have thought twice about it.”

“If it was a viral infection, the count should be way up.”

“I know.” Craig sipped his juice. “Whatever it is, is attacking the white blood cells.”

“Attacking?”

Craig took another swallow of juice. “Attacking. They had it on the slide and saw it for themselves.”

“Jesus,. Anything else?”

“The blood was robbed of oxygen. That and the fact she’s having trouble breathing, is making her anemic. Her anti-body count is down. If we don’t cure her fast, she’s going to die, John. And I don’t think I can stand for that.”

“I know, I’ve been there. Keep me posted. When the lab results come in let me know what they show. We’ll do what we can, Craig. I’ll look into some angles on my own.”

Craig nodded. He watched Reiner leave the room, and returned his attention to Kelly. She had gone into a comma after the operation, but her lungs were now cleared. The mucous that had caused her respiratory shock would return in a matter of hours. Craig had that long to find the answer.

“Doctor?”

An administrative assistant was staring at him, the door only partially opened.

“Yes?”

“The girl’s father is waiting downstairs for you, in the fourth floor waiting room.”

“Thank you, I’ll be right down.”

“I’ll tell him.”

*  *  *  *  *

It had been twenty minutes since the woman had told Chief  Dr. Miller was on his way. Chief checked and re-checked his watch. He was going out of his mind waiting. Waiting for the answers. Waiting for the explanation. 

He was about to find the woman again, when Craig walked into the waiting area. The young man looked terribly exhausted. His blond hair was out of sorts and his blue eyes had lost their usual spark. He walked with a shuffled gait.

“I’m sorry I kept you waiting,” Craig told him. “I had to change.”

“What’s going on Dr. Miller? How’s my daughter?”

“She’s resting now. She’s upstairs in ICU. We have the area quarantined.”

“Why?”

“We don’t know what we are dealing with, Chief. I wish to god I could tell you otherwise.”

“What are you doing for her?”

Craig looked around. They had been standing in the middle of the waiting room amongst family members of other patients and all their eyes were trained uncomfortably on him. “Can we talk in my office?”

“Sure.”

“We’re treating her symptoms, Chief. Right now that’s all we can do,” Craig said once they were seated in his private office. “To do more could cause more harm than good, at least until we figure out what this is.”

Chief took a deep breath. He let the air out slowly, his eyes intent on the doctor’s.

“What happened? She was fine yesterday.”

“This morning I went in to complete her tests for her departure tomorrow. We took her temperature and noticed a slight fever. Her pupils were dilated and she winced when the beam of light hit her eyes, an indication of a severe headache or migraine. Her lungs were congested and her glands swollen. In addition, her coloring and appetite were off. She admitted to the headache and nausea when pressed by her nurse. I ordered up a complete analysis of her blood and urine. We got the results on those.”

“And?”

“Her white count is down. Her antibodies are low. Her red blood cells are under attack causing her to become anemic, and that condition is exacerbated from her inability to breath properly.”

“Because of the respiratory shock?”

“That’s what caused it. She also went into convulsions this morning. That’s when we knew for sure how serious it was.”

“Convulsions?” Chief whispered. “And now?”

“She’s upstairs under an oxygen tent. The surgery to free up her bronchial passageways was successful, but I’m afraid the fluid will return to her lungs in a matter of hours. We only bought her time.”

“Then what?”

“We try to free them up again. We do what we can for her.”

“You said you don’t know what’s causing this. Do you have any speculations?”

“Either it’s a virus that mutates like crazy, or it could be toxic poisoning. Those are the only two diagnoses Dr. Reiner and I have come up with. To be sure, we need to run more tests. We sent samples of the fluid we removed from her lungs as well as lung tissue to the lab. All we can do now is wait.”

“Toxic? What do you mean, toxic?”

Craig leveled his eyes on Chief. “She could have been poisoned.”

“Poisoned? What!”

“I can’t picture that scenario, Chief. Your daughter wasn’t prescribed any medication. I can’t see where there could have been a mix up,” Craig said quickly, but Chief Broden’s attention was directed at the floo, concentration etched in his brow and fire in his eyes.

“It was no accident,” he said flatly.

“C’mon, Chief. Who’d want to poison that little girl on purpose?”

“Who indeed.” Chief 's voice grated hostility. “Who was the last one with her? You said this started this morning. Who was with her between the time she went to sleep last night and this morning when the first symptoms started?”

“Just myself and Nurse Trever.”

“I want to talk to Miss Trever.”

The doctor’s phone rang and he lifted the receiver. “Miller…Yes? … Of what sort? … Have you identified it? … I don’t have that long, Swanson … What about the tissue sample?” His question commanded Chief’s attention. “That’s good to hear… Fine, Swanson. Get right on it.”

Chief Broden was staring at Craig when he replaced the receiver.

“That was the lab,” Craig explained. “It seems that your daughter was poisoned.”

“And?”

“In order for the information to do us any good, as far as curing your daughter, we’d have to first identify the poison and produce an antidote. This poison is not responding to any of the standard tests. It’s rare. The lab thinks it may take until late tomorrow to identify.”

Chief looked at him sharply. “And she doesn’t have that long.”

“No, sir. I don’t believe so.”

“Shit!” Chief whispered harshly. “What about the nurse? Can I question her?”

“Certainly. I’ll have her paged.”

Chief watched as Craig dialed the front desk and put in his request for a page. Over the loudspeaker, Nurse Donna Trever was asked to appear at Dr. Miller’s office. 

It took less than five minutes for Donna to show up at the door. She knocked softly and was ushered into the room by a gruff, “come in” by Craig.

When she opened the door she was first confronted by the expression on Craig’s face. Her heart stopped and she felt her face flush. Then she noticed Chief Broden; he too was looking sternly at her. 

“Come on in, Nurse Trever. We’d like to ask you a few questions.”

Donna nodded and fought for control of the prickly sensations of her nerves just below her scalp. She entered the room and took the chair Craig held out for her.

“It’s all right,” Chief said, the tenor of his voice a complete foil of his foreboding manner. “Just relax, this won’t take too long.”

“What do you want to know?” she asked.

“You were the last person to see my daughter last night?”

“Yes.”

“What time was that?”

“I was finishing up my rounds. It was ten thirty.”

“Ten thirty? What time do you come on shift?”

“Normally I work from eight in the morning until six at night with two hours off throughout the day. But yesterday I pulled a double shift.”

“I see,” Chief mused. “You must be dedicated.”

“You have to be. Not just to the job, but to the patients as well.”

“Run me through last night,” Chief directed. “Step-by-step. You were making your rounds…”

“I started at the opposite end of the floor; checking first on the children in the ward. I normally just walk through; make sure they don’t need anything. Make sure they’re not afraid. If they’re on IV units, I check the units and make certain they are still fastened and operating efficiently. If they complain about pain, I check the charts to see when their last medication was, and frequency by schedule left by the doctor. If they are not supposed to get medication, but they are still in pain, I find a doctor on duty to look in on them, to see if he can prescribe what’s needed. But that is rare, usually they just want a friend to talk to.”

“You finished the ward…” Chief interrupted.

“I went from room to room. Most of the patients were already asleep. Kelly was the last patient of the day. She was asleep when I looked in on her. Her room was dark. I checked all her vital signs, Dr. Miller. All her signs were normal at that time. There was no evidence of fever, then. There was no raised pulse... I found that strange.”

“Why’s that?” interjected the doctor.

Donna glanced briefly at Chief then returned to the doctor. “Well, because Nurse Scholeman said she heard the child cry out.”

“Nurse Scholeman?” Craig asked. “What the hell was she doing there?”

“She said she heard the child in nightmare and went to check on her.”

“You said her room was dark?” Chief asked regaining the nurse’s attention.

“That’s right.”

Chief glanced at the doctor. “Tell me something, Miss Trevor, if you heard a child cry out in a nightmare, what would be the first thing you’d do?”

“Well I’d–” Donna broke off. Her eyes widened and she suddenly felt sick. “My god,” she whispered. “I’d certainly turn on the light.”

Craig asked, “You said there was no evidence of any such nightmare?”

Donna was staring at the floor, her face a deep red. She looked up at him. “None, Dr. Miller. Her pulse was normal, she was only slightly warm, but like you said this morning, she runs a slight temperature normally. There was no evidence of any of the violent nightmares she had been having at the beginning of the week. None.”

“Who is this Nurse Scholeman?” 

Craig turned to Chief. The implications finally sinking in. “Damn,” he whispered.

Chief sharpened his attention on the young doctor. “Don’t tell me, let me guess. She’s the nurse that frightened my daughter. Isn’t she?”

Craig nodded.

“Damn it!” Chief yelled, gritting his teeth. “I told you,” he informed Craig, his eyes ablaze.

“We’ll have the police pick her up, if she’s not in the hospital.”

“She’s not,” Donna informed him. “She was late for her shift this morning. When Marcy tried to catch her at home, there was no answer.”

Craig turned to Donna. “Is there anything else you can remember, Miss Trever? Anything?”

“Blanch looked guilty as hell and I didn’t catch it at the time,” Donna answered bitterly. She turned to Chief with tears in her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Chief Broden. I should have–”

“It’s not your fault, Miss Trever. We rarely notice things unless our attention is brought to them– especially after fifteen hours on duty. Don’t blame yourself.” To Craig, “I’ll have Moss get in touch with his friends at the Bureau. They’ll pick her up. I’m sure she’s left the state by now.”

Chief turned to Donna. “Is there anything else you can remember? It doesn’t matter how trivial.”Donna thought. She started to shake her head ‘no,’ then stopped. Her eyes widened for a second time.

“What is it?” Chief asked noticing her expression.

“The smell.”

“What smell is that?”

“There was a faint odor about the child. Like burned brown sugar, both sweet and vile at the same time.”

Chief reflexively leaned back in his chair. His earlier intensity squashed, his posture one of horror and reflection rolled into one. He bit his lip, staring into space and muttered, “You said Dr. Reiner assisted you?”

Craig nodded, “Yes. Why?”

“Get him down here,” Chief said, his intensity returned.

*. *. *. *. *

Craig had placed a call to Reiner’s office first. Not finding him there, he called the switchboard operator who eventually located him in the lab. They now awaited his arrival. Chief stood at the window, gazing out into the expansive gardens, his posture rigid. Donna sat, stone-faced, in the same chair she had been ushered to upon her arrival. Craig remained at his desk, rubbing his chin between thumb and forefinger. Chief had refused to talk until Reiner arrived. 
A knock at the door caused them all to turn. 
“Come in,” Craig said as Chief flattened himself against the wall, hand on his hips.
Reiner entered and scanned the room. His eyes came to rest on Chief’s before he asked Craig, “What’s this about.”
Chief answered, “Sonya Perrine.”
Reiner gently closed the door. “What about her?”
“Tell him about the smell,” Chief said to Donna.
Reiner scowled, entering the room. “Smell?” He looked at Donna.
“When I checked on the child last night. There was an odor around her. Burnt brown sugar-sickly sweet.”
Reiner swallowed sharply “Did you see anyone around her?”
“Blanch–Nurse Scholeman.”
“Is it?” Chief demanded. “And is there a cure?”
“What’s going on?” Craig frowned. “You both act like you know what this is.”
Reiner explained, “There was a woman back in ’22 named Sonya Perrine who had been poisoned over many months by her husband. The poison attacked her cells, destroying them and setting up host cells in their place. As long as she continued to take the poison, she lived. Once she stopped, the tissue broke down, leaving holes. Her internal organs liquified before my eyes when I had her in surgery.”
“The body smelled like burnt sugar, with a ripe underlining scent,” Chief explained. Donna looked up.  “That poison liquified the woman. Is that what is happening to my daughter?”
“So far no. The mucous is coating her lungs, keeping the poison from attacking the tissue. It’s a strange response to this poison. I don’t understand it.” Reiner noticed Craig’s intent expression. “That’s what I was doing in the lab. Checking on the samples.”
Chief looked up sharply. He stared at the doctor as his memories were awakened. “Devil’s flower.”
“That’s the English name,” Reiner explained for the benefit of the others. “It’s known as Flor de los Diablos. A very rare South American plant that grows along an isolated mountain range. It’s base compound is known as Tetra-chloropicrin-ferrociem, or TCF.”
“Are there tests you can do to confirm this is what it is?” Chief asked Reiner.
Reiner nodded to Craig. “Tell Swanson to test for TCF.” He watched as the call was placed and the phone returned to its cradle.
“The investigation of 1922 keeps coming back to haunt me,” Chief muttered. “May I?” indicating the phone.
Craig nodded.
Chief picked up the receiver and dialed Mort’s sister. “Yes,” he said when a voice he felt he recognized but knew he shouldn’t, answered the other end of the line. “Is Mort there?”
“He’s upstairs. May I take a message?”
“Martha?” Chief asked when he finally placed the voice. 
There was a pause. “Yes. Is that you, Robert?”
“Yes. Look this is an emergency. Get him to the phone.”
“What’s happened?”
“Just get him, Martha. I’ll fill you in later.”
Chief waited. He glanced at Reiner. “How long for them to run the tests?”
“About thirty minutes.”
Chief nodded before the phone demanded his attention.
“Mort?”
“Yes, Bob. What is it?”
“I need a woman picked up and fast. She may have fled the state.”
“Who and why?”
“A Blanche,” he said and glanced at Craig for verification. The doctor nodded. “Scholeman. Used to be a nurse here at the hospital.”
“What do you want her picked up for?”
“Attempted murder, Mort. She poisoned Kelly.”
“Are you serious?”
“Dead serious.”
“How is she?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“I’ll put it through. Is this related to the cult?”
“Has to be, Mort. They used that Devil’s Flower. Same shit they used on Sonya.”
“Ah, shit, Bob,” Moss said devastated at the other end. He gained his composure and told Broden, “Don’t worry. I’ll handle everything personally.”
“Then you did it,” Chief stated. “You got your job at the Bureau back?”
“I did. I’ll put the APB out from here. Do you have a description?”
“Hold on,” he said and turned to Dr. Miller. “Description.”
Craig nodded and took the receiver. “She’s about five-five, dark hair that’s graying. She’s in her fifties and wears a heavy prescription.”
“Color of frames?”
“Tortoise shell.”
“Eyes? Hair length?”
“Eyes are...” Craig looked at Donna.
“Blue-gray,” Donna answered his look.
“Blue-gray,” Craig repeated to Agent Moss. “Hair is short, above the-”
He broke off when he noticed Donna shaking her head. “She wears it up. Worn down it crosses halfway down her back.”
“Sorry,” Craig said into the phone. “Her hair is long, mid back, but she wears it up.”
“What about coloring?”
Craig stared at Donna before saying, “Fair.” At Donna’s smile he returned to Moss. “Anything else?”
“Weight?”
“Weight... um,” Craig looked at Donna and shrugged. “About one-fifty.”
Donna nodded.
“Okay,” Moss said on the other end. “Is there an ID photo available at the hospital?”
“Yes. In records.”
“I’ll check them when I get there. One more thing, was she a resident of Four Oaks?”
“Yes,” Craig answered. “Records should have her address.”
“Thank you. Put Chief Broden back on.”
Craig turned the phone over to Chief.
“Yes, Mort?”
“I’ll get this description out with the APB and be there at the hospital in two hours to question the hospital personnel and get the ID photo. You just hang in there, all right Bob?”
“I’ll try, Mort." Chief hung up the phone and turned to Reiner, “You didn’t say whether there is a cure or not.”
“We created something to counter the effects in ’22, Chief. But it’s risky. We’ll want to make sure.” Reiner checked his watch. “It takes a while to synthesize. I’ll get it started, just in case.” 
“I want to see my daughter,” Chief said after Reiner left the room.
“I have to stay and wait for the lab results. Donna will take you up. She’s in room 608, ICU,” he told the nurse.
“Yes, doctor.”
“Chief,” Craig said as Chief started for the door. “She’s in bad shape. She went into a comma after the surgery.”
“Are you trying to tell me not to expect too much, doctor?”
Craig’s grief showed in his eyes and stance. He shrugged and shook his head. 
Chief looked at him, his eyes direct. “I expected to see her sitting in her bed complaining about having to stay in the hospital one more day. I expected to take her home tomorrow. I have no more expectations left, Dr. Miller.”
Chief motioned Donna to the door.

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