chapter 155

word count: 1392

it didn’t take long for frank to come to the conclusion that the good doctor had not entrusted the most precious gem into the still reclining, miss gina o’houlihan’s, seemingly all but capable hands.. he immediately placed a call to algie, who knowing better than to call and interrupt priscilla while she was working her own brand of magic on the good doctor,, quickly slipped his refurbished 1958 ford edsel into gear and glided as unremarkably as was possible (for someone in such an historic classic car) out of the hospital parking lot..

assuming a vantage point on a nearby steep incline from which he could not only keep an eye on the majority of the hospital campus,, but wait for a much anticipated call from priscilla,, algie settled in,, drew up a bowl of his most aromatic signature pipe tobacco,, and took a long comforting pull.. 

he then placed a call to winifred,, to bring her up to the moment on the caper,, and was visually dismayed,, when his call went directly to voice mail.. 

“so unlike winnie..” algernon could be heard saying aloud,, (had anyone been listening) as lifted his field glasses and swooped in for a closer look at the make shift ensemble that was currently parading itself across the hospital parking lot.. 

“indeed!!”  algie congratulated himself on his visual prowess,, as he watched the three clueless american detectives,, accompanied by the most oddly dressed mrs. trudy hunt,, cross the parking lot and duck into a waiting squad car.. 

the squad car entered the busy highway,, only to make a quick left into a parking lot across the street,, that was all but obstructed from algernon’s field of vision..  no sooner had he tamped out his pipe,, and started the engine on his beloved edsel,, when algie witnessed what he could only imagine to be the same squad car, exiting the parking lot,, and speeding off quickly in the general direction of the 45^th street precinct.. 

“most curious..” algie remarked as he scratched his balding head,, and eased the edsel out onto the roadway,, hitting redial as he did so, in hopes of reaching winnifred and in so doing being able to put his otherwise well-ordered mind at ease as to her whereabouts..

“ah!! winnie!!” he exclaimed as he was no doubt greeted by mrs. dunns somber tone on the other end of the call.. 

“curious turn of events here,, old gal.. curious turn of events, indeed..”

***

trudy waited quite impatiently until buzz concluded what could only be perceived as a jovial conversation with his still hospitalized housekeeper, mrs. dunn..  a part of her firmly wanted to smack that smile right off his face,, but she tempered her fury with thoughts of she and buzz at long last taking up housekeeping together,, and getting rid of the meddlesome old bird once and for all.. 

“what on earth does she want??” trudy barked in a no nonsense tone,, as buzz clicked closed his cell phone and returned what he hoped appeared to be his full attentions back to trudy.. 

“she was just worried.. about elliot.. it seems as though priscilla….”

“ugh!!” trudy expressed her disgust so loudly that everyone in the otherwise dark, dreary barroom turned to get a glimpse of the source of the disheartening sound,, before the door eased itself closed behind her..

“come on babe.. let’s just have a nice quiet cocktail,, and leave all of this at the door.. whadda ya say??” buzz cooed as he slipped his warm, familiar arm around the small of trudy’s back and guided her through the darkness into a waiting booth in the far corner of the sparsely populated barroom.. 

“damn, it’s dark in here!!” exclaimed gil, as he quickly regained his stance after practically falling over a misplaced chair in the middle of the barroom floor.. he stood motionless for a moment until his eyes adjusted and he saw hank, buzz and trudy successfully seated at an upholstered round booth in the corner..  

“only you!!” hank exclaimed as the three of them burst into a hearty round of well needed laughter at gil’s expense, that seemed to instantly lighten the mood.. 

“guess that means you’re buying!!” buzz chided a still wobbly gil,, as he slid into the booth,, his reddening face cleverly hidden by the dank barroom’s lack of adequate lighting.. 

“alright, alright!!” gil surrendered easily behind an slightly embarrassed looking smile.. “what can i get you guys??” 

buzz ordered he and trudy each a stiff vodka, soda, and lime,, as hank voiced his desire for a pint of something stout.. with that, gil,, eyes now adjusted to the virtual darkness,, stood up and made his way, sure footedly, back to the bar.. 

“oh, that gil,” hank snickered as the three of them watched him successfully navigating his way through the oddly placed tables and chairs as he made his way across the room,, “you can always count on the gil machine for a good laugh!!” 

as a chorus of giggles rose up from the booth and followed gil to the counter,, the door opened,, and an all but blinding beam of light flashed across the room.. 

trudy eyes ever so contentedly focused on buzz, watched as his gleeful expression, switched instantaneously to a look she knew only too well, to be all business.. she was able to get a quick glimpse of hank, confirming he was on alert as well, before the door closed and everything went black again..

“what’s the matter??” trudy interjected quickly, as she blinked hard trying to readjust her eyes to the dimly lit room so she could get a better grasp on buzz’s all but exasperating visible change in demeanor.. 

“isn’t that?” hank queried.

“it sure is.” buzz confirmed his unspoken suspicion.

“isn’t what??” trudy demanded,, her voice carrying across the barroom,, alerting an ever on the ball algernon to her presence there, even before his eyes could adjust to the troublesome lack of lighting.. 

quickly surveying his options,, algernon chose to acknowledge trudy’s presence rather than try to blend into the sea of dull green scrub’s that reclined comfortably along short stretch of the bar proper.. he pivoted gracefully,, and immediately set off in the direction from which the most unmistakable voice had come.. 

as he approached the booth,, and his eyes began to adjust to the dim light,, he saw trudy,, swanked on either side by two of the detectives that had joined them in the hospital waiting room, just in time to pluck the then irate mrs. Hunt, from the waiting jowls of hospital security.. 

“have to keep an eye on that one..” algie made a mental note,, as a most welcoming smile overtook him and he bounded, briskly toward the table..

“mrs. hunt,, what a pleasant surprise!!” he sang out as he went on to greet the detectives, each with a firm handshake and an ever so respectful,  “detective..”

***

it was quickly becoming evident to the good doctor,, that he very well may have bitten off more than he could chew when he invited the still mysterious brunette journalist into the inner sanctum of his office..  he simply did not have the time to indulge himself, despite the fact that his keen intuition told him that the acutely feminine brit, who now lounged gracefully on the corner of his enormous cherry wood desk, would literally bend over backward to “have a go” at him.. 

he hesitantly sneaked a peek at his watch.. 6:50.. he had to get rid of her,, and he had to get rid of her now,, as it was he wasn’t going to have the necessary time to shower and change before his ever important meeting with boa in the parking lot of the recovery room at 7.. 

as he was pondering whether or not his arrival in his still sweaty joggers would throw up any red flags for gina,, who would undoubtedly be waiting in the parking lot of the recovery room by the time he arrived,, priscilla picked up the well-worn bottle of mercurochrome, and proceeded to finger the bulb on the antiquated dropper in an anything but subtle,, seductive fashion.. 

“my, my,” priscilla purred as she let an enticingly wet tongue slip ever so gently over her provocatively pouty lips, “haven’t seen one of these since my primary school days.. didn’t rightly know that such a thing even existed here,, across the pond.. well..  that is.. until now..”