“Marinol?” Dr. Ruocco sounded surprised, just as I had been at first. “Hmmp. How the hell did he get Marinol to give her? That’s a real bolt out of the blue. What a clever idea, though. It’s almost brilliant. Marinol is a good choice if he wanted to keep her submissive.”
“Wouldn’t that account for her psychotic episodes today?” I said. “Tremors, convulsions, hallucinations—the whole package fits if you think about it.”
“You could be right, Alex. Marinol! Jesus. The symptoms of Marinol withdrawal could mimic the most severe D.T.s. But how would he know so much about Marinol and how to use it? I don’t believe a layman would come up with that.”
I had been wondering the same thing. “Maybe he’s been in chemotherapy? He could have been ill with cancer. Perhaps he had to take Marinol. Maybe he’s disfigured in some way.”
“Maybe he’s a doctor? Or a pharmacist?” Dr. Ruocco offered up another guess. I had thought of those possibilities as well. He could even be a doctor working at University Hospital.
“Listen, our favorite intern might be able to tell us something about him that can help us stop him. Can we do anything to get her through this withdrawal a little faster?”
“I’ll be there in about twenty minutes. Less than that,” Maria Ruocco said. “Let’s see what we can do to help the poor girl out of her bad-dream state. I think we’d both like to talk to Kate McTiernan.”
CHAPTER 49
HALF AN hour later, Dr. Maria Ruocco was with me in Dr. Kate McTiernan’s room. I hadn’t told the Durham police, or the FBI, what I had discovered. I wanted to talk to the intern first. This could be a break in the case, the biggest so far.
Maria Ruocco examined her important patient for nearly an hour. She was a no-nonsense, but user-friendly, doctor. She was very attractive, ash blond, probably in her late thirties. A little bit of a Southern belle, but pretty terrific, anyway. I wondered if Casanova had ever stalked Dr. Ruocco.
“The poor kid is really going through it,” she said to me. “She had nearly enough Marinol in her system to kill her.”
“I wonder if that was the original idea,” I said. “She might have been one of his rejects. Dammit, I want to talk to her.”
Kate McTiernan seemed to be asleep. A restless sleep, but sleep. The instant Dr. Ruocco’s hands touched her, though, she moaned. Her bruised face twisted into a stark, fearful mask. It was almost as if we were watching her back in captivity. The terror was palpable, scary.
Dr. Ruocco was extremely gentle, but the soft moans and groans continued. Then Kate McTiernan finally spoke without opening her eyes.
“Don’t touch me! Don’t! Don’t you dare touch me, you fucker!” she shouted. Her eyes still didn’t open. She was squeezing them very tightly, in fact. “Leave me alone, you son of a bitch!”
“These young doctors,” Dr. Ruocco made a joke of it. She was a cool head under pressure. “Incredibly disrespectful as a group. And the goddamn language.”
Watching Kate McTiernan now was like seeing someone being physically tortured. I thought of Naomi again. Was she in North Carolina? Or in California somehow? Was the same thing happening to her? I chased the disturbing image out of my head. One problem at a time.
It took another half hour for Dr. Ruocco to treat Kate McTiernan. She put her on an IV dose of Librium. Then she reconnected the heart monitor Kate was on because of her injuries. When she had finished, the intern drifted off into an even deeper sleep. She wasn’t going to tell us any of her secrets tonight.
“I like your work,” I whispered to Dr. Ruocco. “You did good.”
Maria Ruocco motioned for me to step outside with her. The hospital corridor was in semidarkness; it was very quiet, and as eerie as hospitals can be at night. I had the recurring thought that Casanova could be a doctor at University Hospital. He might even be inside the hospital now, even at this late hour.
“We’ve done everything we can do for her right now, Alex. Let the Librium do its job. I count three FBI agents, plus two of Durham’s finest, guarding young Dr. McTiernan from the bogeyman for tonight. Why don’t you go back to your hotel. Get some sleep yourself. How about a little Valium for you, kind sir?”
I told Maria Ruocco that I preferred to sleep at the hospital. “I don’t think Casanova will come after her here, but there’s no way to tell. He just might.” Especially if Casanova was a local physician, I was thinking, but I didn’t mention that to Maria. “Besides, I feel a connection to Kate in there. I have from the first time I saw her. Maybe she knew Naomi.”
Dr. Maria Ruocco stared up at me. I had at least a foot in height on her. She spoke with a to
tal deadpan look on her face. “You appear sane, you sound sane at times, but you’re certifiable,” she said and smiled. Her bright blue eyes twinkled playfully.
“Plus, I’m armed and dangerous,” I said.
“Good night, Dr. Cross,” Maria Ruocco said and she blew me a feathery kiss.
“Good night, Dr. Ruocco. And thank you.” I sailed a kiss back at her as she walked down the corridor.
I slept restlessly on two uncomfortable club chairs pulled together inside Kate McTiernan’s room. I kept my revolver cradled in my lap. Pleasant dreams, I’m sure.
CHAPTER 50
WHO ARE you? Who the hell are you, mister?”