Ghost Mortem (Ghost Detective #1) - Jane Hinchey Page 0,68

up." Clements nodded, standing in the doorway with his thumbs hooked in his belt loops, eyeballing me where I still lay on the floor.

"Gloves on," Galloway told them. "I want everything in this room photographed, bagged, and taken in."

Mills snorted. "That's a lot of work, Detective. Surely you just need the knife?" He nodded toward the knife by my side.

"Everything. I'll be checking. Make sure you're thorough," Galloway ground out. "I'll make it easier for you though, since it's oh so hard." His sarcasm was unmistakable and I wanted to clap my hands in approval. Opening the forensics case Sergeant Young had brought in, Galloway snapped on a glove and shook out a plastic evidence bag. Then he stepped over me with a gruff apology and bagged the knife. He handed it to Young. "Take this back to the station with you. I want it expedited. Find out if it was the murder weapon used to kill Benjamin Delaney."

"On it." She nodded, accepting the bag. "We're taking Hill in now. Or did you want us to hang around longer, assist with the scene?"

Galloway inclined his head. "You can go."

Two EMTs appeared in the doorway. "This our patient?"

Pretty good guess since I was the only one on the floor, but again, I kept my observations to myself.

"We can't let you in there," Mills told them. "It's a crime scene."

Galloway rolled his eyes, but before he could say anything one of the EMTs eyeballed Mills and snapped, "She's our patient. She trumps any crime scene." And pushed past him, coming to kneel by my side. I could have kissed him.

"How you feeling, ma’am?" he asked. He whipped out a blood pressure cuff and began taking my vitals. He was nice, mid-forties, with a friendly smile and take no shit attitude. I decided we should be friends.

"Mrs. Crazy Pants poisoned me," I told him, "With something called Crimson Bark. Heard of it?"

The younger EMT snorted. "Mrs. Crazy Pants. I like it." This one looked about twelve, but I figured he had to be in his twenties somewhere. "I'm Ned, this is Jayce," he said.

"Audrey." I smiled, taking a liking to the two paramedics.

"Take a look at that hand will you, Ned?" Jayce instructed. Putting his stethoscope in his ears he held up the other end and said, "I'm just going to listen to your heart, okay?"

"Sure." I lay there while Jayce moved the stethoscope around my chest and Ned prodded at my hand. "I think we can get away with dressing these. The cuts aren't deep so we won't need sutures," he commented.

I wasn't sure if he was talking to me or Jayce, but I answered anyway. "Suits me. Just patch me up. I don't want to go to the hospital."

"You probably should. Just to get checked out by a doctor," he replied, bandaging my hand.

Jayce finished listening to my internal organs and put the stethoscope away. "All good." He grinned. "So tell me about this poison. What were the symptoms?"

I told him what happened, how my body had gone completely numb but now I almost had full feeling back and even the pins and needles were starting to abate. Jayce nodded. "Fast-acting but leaves the system quickly too. Ned is right, you should get checked out at the hospital just to be sure whatever you ingested doesn't have any lasting effects on your liver or kidneys."

"Do I have to go in the ambulance?"

"Not if you don't want to. I think you're okay to come in under your own steam. Just make sure you get checked out, okay?" They helped me to my feet, made sure I was steady and that the feeling had returned to my legs. Ned had been doing something on his phone when he glanced at me, face unsure. "Errrr," he said.

"What?"

"You said Crimson Bark, right? That the old lady laced your drink with?"

I nodded. "That's right. Why? Is Jayce right, has it eaten away my liver and I don't even know it yet?" Panic laced my words.

He chuckled, "No, no. Reading this, it does no lasting damage. But..." He held out the screen for me to read.

"Oh." I gulped.

"What?" Galloway demanded. He'd been so silent, watching proceedings this entire time that I'd actually forgotten he was there. "What does it say? What's wrong?"

I was shaking my head and snapped a warning glance at Ned who held up his hands. "Nothing. It's not important," I told Galloway.

"Gentlemen?" Galloway addressed Jayce and Ned who both shrugged their shoulders, picked up