Starks' Reality Read Online Free Page A

his weapon to his belt as he approached Kenny. “What’s up?”
    The young patrolman pushed his glasses up on his nose with his index finger and cleared his throat. “Mrs. Taylor called me at two-fifteen this morning complaining that her husband was sick and couldn’t get out of bed. I proceeded over here and arrived at two twenty-eight. I ascertained that Mr. Taylor was gravely ill, and called Callaway County Medical. They arrived at, uh,” he glanced at his watch, angling it toward the light, “two fifty-two.”
    Jake raked his fingers through his hair. “What’s wrong with him? Heart attack?”
    “I’m not sure, but he, uh, soiled himself.”
    One of the EMTs ran out, opened the back of the ambulance, and motioned for help as he pulled out a gurney. Jake trotted over with Kenny behind him.
    “You stay with the wife,” Jake said over his shoulder. “I’ll help with this.”
    Kenny didn’t protest.
    The smell hit just inside the door, so Jake switched to mouth breathing. He and the medic maneuvered the cart through an overly-furnished living room, down a narrow hallway, and into a bedroom with two single beds. Mr. Taylor had definitely soiled himself, and also thrown up all over the place.
    The older attendant , leaning over the unconscious man, straightened as they arrived with the gurney.
    “Who are you?” he asked.
    “Starks, police chief.”
    The attendant nodded. “Keep the cart steady, we’ll put him on it.”
    Jake did as instructed and the two EMTs lifted the elderly man from the filthy bed. Then they snaked their way back through the house as quickly as possible.
    “He isn’t the only one who’s sick,” Mrs. Taylor said. “I’ve been in the bathroom since ten-thirty.”
    Jake took the woman’s arm and led her toward the ambulance. “You should ride in with him and get checked out.”
    “Yes,” she said, “I’ll ride in. I’ve been sick all night. We were poisoned, you know. Someone is trying to kill us. My husband was an important government official, that’s why.”
    “Yes, ma’am,” Jake said, “I’ll check into it.”
    As soon as she settled into the back of the ambulance, Mrs. Taylor began explaining to the younger attendant the details of the communist underground on the Texas coast.
    Jake closed the doors and slapped the back of the vehicle twice. The ambulance pulled away, siren wailing again.
    Kenny had relaxed a bit in all the excitement, but quickly straightened as Jake approached.
    “You don’t have to stand at attention.”
    The young man's face reddened. “I should follow them to the hospital.”
    Jake wondered how Kenny managed to look so neatly pressed at three in the morning. “I’ll go to the hospital. You go home and get some rest. If anything else comes up, you can reach me on my cell.”
    Kenny nodded as if acknowledging order s for a secret mission, and hurried to his car. As soon as he was gone, Jake slid behind the wheel of the Trans Am and headed home. At least he could put on clean clothes and shave.
    Thirty minutes later, more or less presentable, he drove into Port O’Donald and followed blue signs to the hospital.
    The facility was larger than he’d imagined, probably the only one for miles. Jake strode through a side door to the emergency room and to the counter where a young nurse sat, covering a yawn. She looked up, grinning sheepishly.
    “Long night?” he asked.
    She nodded. “Always. May I help you?”
    “I’m Chief Starks from Port Boyer. The Taylors were brought in about a half hour ago. I’m here to check on them.”
    The woman consulted a clipboard. “Yes, here they are. Dr. Anderson is with them.”
    “I’d like to speak to Dr. Anderson, when he’s available.”
    The nurse raised one eyebrow. “I’ll see if the doctor has finished with the exam yet.”
    She disappeared through double doors, and reappeared several minutes later with Dr. Emily Anderson, a nice-looking, middle-aged woman who wore a white coat and an amused