chapter 67

word count: 1317

in his fury to escape, what he perceived as, sure capture as a result of his own inevitable identification,, jake leichtenstein had not taken into consideration the extent of his injuries,, nor the visual impact said injuries would have on the general populace..  had he done so,, he would never have attempted to step outside the confines of the hospital.. 

whereas he had made it as far as the bowels of the hospital,, from which he felt he would better be able to escape the hospital without detection through the morgue entrance, his luck ran out there.. when an autopsy assistant,, aghast at the sight of jakes extensive injuries,, took it upon himself to notify hospital security,, who in turn,, immediately and forcibly took jake into custody,, jake realized,, in no uncertain terms the gravity of his error.

the information provided on the plastic hospital id bracelet identified jake,, to the hospital security guards,,  as john doe 3, icu room 212 bed 1.. however,, in light of the fact that jakes demeanor at the time of his apprehension,, made it evident that there was some psychosis or another at play, security quickly delivered jake to the icu on the psychiatric unit instead..

immediately upon arrival in the psychiatric units icu, jake was given a powerful sedative to effectually induce coma, and strapped into a bed that would not only prevent him from hurting himself or others  when the sedative wore off,, but would also preclude any further attempts he may have deemed necessary to escape.

once the hospital staff had restrained jake, , and felt secure in the fact that the sedative had officially taken hold,, they notified the icu unit on the second floor as to ‘john doe 3’s” whereabouts..

the desk nurse in the second floor  icu in turn, informed detective dillon decker, of the weston police department violent crimes unit, who just happened to be fuming at the nurse’s station,, infuriated at the fact that the “inadapt hospital staff”  had succeeded in  losing track of one of the most sought after men in the county,, none other than jake liechtenstein,, serial pedophile and very possibly murderer.

“detective!!” the icu desk nurse called out to the exasperated figure that was pacing the floor grumbling aloud at the ineptitude of the entire health care industry..  

“i believe we have located john doe 3.. security has apprehended him and he has been restrained and effectually sedated by the psychiatric unit which is located on the seventh floor..”

“hallelujah!!” shouted detective dillon,, as he double timed his way to the elevator,, without so much as a parting glance at the icu nurse that had imparted the good news.. 

once in the elevator,, he pulled out his cell,, which was in complete violation of hospital policy, and notified the coordinator of the violent crimes division,,  weston police department,, that he had leichtenstein in custody.. he instructed her to notify the new albany police department, “yesterday!!”

this was huge!! this was the first time in his long uneventful career that detective dillion had apprehended a serial offender,, and as he stepped out of the elevator,, it was evident in his countenance,, that he was more than just pleased with this collar.. it would mean the difference between simply retiring a nobody who had just put in his time,, and publicly being recognized as one of the most adept detectives in the state.. 

an definite air of authority surrounded him,, as detective dillon approached the psychiatric units nursing station, and officially located john doe 3,, here to for to be known as , jake lichtenstein.. ..

***

adam’s presence at elliot’s house was a direct result of his father having been hospitalized yet again for reasons adam did not understand,, nor did any of the adults in his life deem it necessary to explain to him.. 

truth be told,, adam didn’t care that his father had fallen ill.. in fact he secretly hoped it was a direct result of him having tainted the mayonnaise jar at the new house with the oleander that day lisa had taken him over to the new house in effort to prepare it for “the homecoming”.

he had willingly offered to help her, by putting away the groceries lisa had bought in effort to have a ‘home’ ready for his mom and dad when they were released from the hospital.. . little did she know,, he had mixed the pulverized oleander into the mayo that same day,, under guise of preparing himself a sandwich.. 

adam didn’t see any reason to involve elliot in all of this,, even if he was his best friend.. especially now that he and elliot had run away together.. he decided it was better left unsaid.. after all he and elliot had already made their escape and had no intention of ever going back,, so what difference could it make??

***

the call came in to the 45^th st precinct homicide division at roughly 4 pm..  it was after five,, and detective bettencourt had still not responded to the urgent messages that the unit coordinator had left on his as of yet, unanswered cell phone.. 

gil looked on,, as yet again,, he saw his once indomitable boss,, lying weak as a kitten in a hospital bed,, this time,,  connected to a variety of whooshing,, beeping, machines that were responsible for sustaining his life.. it had been a close call. this time they had nearly lost him.. 

according to the attending, buzz showed great potential for making a full recovery,, although no absolute prognosis could be made until he awakened from the coma,, and all damages had been thoroughly assessed.. 

gil took a seat next to buzz’s bed and tried to make sense of all of this..  first there had been the brutal attack that buzz suffered some months ago at the hand of some yet to be apprehended assailant.. then there was the first incidence of poisoning,, that sent buzz to the hospital ,, where both he and his poor departed wife jeannie lay side by side,, while yet another still unapprehended suspect had incinerated their home.. 

with jeannie’s toxicology report confirming that her death was the result of the introduction of oleander into her already compromised system,, and now buzz being readmitted for the same thing a second time,, gill knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that there was a tie in.. but what the hell was it??

deep in contemplation,, gil visibly jumped when the desk nurse tapped him on the shoulder.. 

“detective bettencourt?” she asked bringing gills attentions back into the moment.. 

“yes.. yes ma’am.” he responded hurriedly.. 

“we have an urgent call for you at the nurse’s station. your precinct has been trying to get a hold of you,, and when they had no success reaching you on your cell,, they decided to try here.” she stated mater of factly, . 

“please follow me..”

gil jumped up and followed the nurse to the nurse’s station where she handed him the phone,, and then pressed the hold button that put him in touch with none other than,, his chief of police. 

“bettencourt.” he barked into the phone as soon as his line was connected.. 

“you gotta be kidding me!!”

“no, no, i got it,,” he said as he scribbled some notes on a small spiral he had produced from his jacket pocket.. 

“i’m on it!!” he exclaimed, as he literally threw the phone back at the desk nurse,, and took off running down the hospital corridor toward the elevator.. 

as he waited impatiently for the elevator,, gil tapped hanks number into his cell.. 

“you are not gonna fucking believe this,,” he shouted into the phone before hank could even say hello..

“we got him.. we got leichtenstein.. he is being forcibly restrained at weston medical center. i am on my way there now..”