I'm so sorry this story took so long. Personal issues. Now prepare...
Det. Jason Carlos sighed as his cell phone rang. He answered it wearily, having just spent all night trying to solve a new case he'd just gotten. Some punk had broken into a pharmacy and stolen Oxycontin, Ritalin, and a few medications used for patients at hospitals, like blood pressure medicine. He just couldn't figure it out, and workaholic that he was, he'd spent all night pacing.
"Hello?" he asked, rubbing the grit out of his eyes.
"Is this Jason Carlos?" asked a voice on the other end of the phone. He hadn't heard it before.
"Yeah, that's me," replied Det. Carlos. He had a faint glimmering of his mother and his middle school English teacher reprimanding him for using incorrect grammar on the phone, but was too tired to care.
"It's about your uncle." said the voice on the other end. Det. Carlos covered the mouthpiece and swore. His uncle had just been admitted to one of the best hospitals in the state for cancer.
"What is it?" he asked, dreading the answer.
"He's dead."
"Jay, you know this isn't a real case, right?" asked Nikki Saint-James, having to walk briskly to keep up with her friend.
"Yeah, I know," said Det. Carlos "But when I get some solid evidence that my uncle was murdered, I can take the case to the chief and she'll know it's legit."
"Even if you do get some solid evidence to prove that this non-case is a case, you know the chief won't let you in on it. You have personal involvement," Nikki replied.
"Yes. I know that. The chief doesn't know though," said Det. Carlos.
"Even so, you already have a case to work. The stolen medicines," Nikki reprimanded.
"I know. But I at least have to go down to that hospital and check it out."
"So, Detective, what is the problem again?" asked Doctor Ryan Heiser as he trotted next to Det. Carlos at the hospital.
"Nothing's the problem. I just would like to do a routine once-over," Det. Carlos replied.
"I see. So...you need access to the building?" Dr. Heiser said.
"That would be nice, yes," said Det. Carlos.
"That can be arranged. In the meantime-" Dr. Heiser began, but Det. Carlos couldn't hear him. A nurse was explaining something to a visitor, and it was too loud.
"-I'm afraid we don't accept walk-in admissions here unless it's an absolute emergency. There's a twenty-page application form and a very, very long waiting list," the nurse said.
"As I was saying, that can be arranged," continued Dr. Heiser. "But I don't see the problem. One death in a hospital is not uncommon."
"Maybe, maybe not," said Det. Carlos. He sighed. He knew he would need to get a look at the body. Unfortunately, both he and the coroner, Dan Grimes, despised each other. Grimes would tell the chief, Carlos would get a telling off.So he would have to figure out another way.
"So, doctor...Carlos, is it?" said the med student doubtfully. The name tag on his chest read "Josh Rant"
"Yeah." said Det. Carlos. He hated lying, but he hated losing a lot more. "Now impress me."
"Alright. The patient here was admitted two months ago, with lung cancer. Symptoms included a chronic cough, breathlessness, extreme fatigue, weight loss, pain in the ribs, and coughing up blood," said the med student, standing in front of Carlos' uncle's corpse. "He also had a history of blood pressure problems, and was taking medication for that."
"Uh-huh. And what strange was there about his death?" asked Carlos.
"Well, his blood pressure didn't go up when we administered meds," said the student.
"And what does that tell us?"
"He probably took too much blood pressure medication by accident. You know, the elderly have to take a lot of medicine. They might confuse one pill with another and take it at the wrong time, or take it, forget, and take it again. But that's happened before, it's nothing too odd." said the student.
"And what would happen if, say, he took too much BP medicine?" asked Det. Carlos.
"Well, it could kill him if he took far too many. But he probably just fainted and knocked his head on something," said the student.
"And why do you think that?" asked Carlos.
"You see the side of his head? There's a bloody lump, and his outfit is torn," said the student.
"So he fell on something." said Carlos.
"Yeah," said the student.
"But he wasn't supposed to be out of bed," Carlos added.
"That's right," said the student.
"So it wasn't the cancer that killed him?" asked Carlos.
"That's right. He had low hypotension, and that was probably what made him get up in the first place, because one of the symptoms of that is dizziness. Then he fell, most likely," answered the student.
"But he's at a hospital. How could he accidentally get too many drugs?" demanded Carlos
"Well, sometimes the doctors or nurses do make mistakes," said the student doubtfully.
"Alright. Well done," said Carlos, and he bolted out of there.
"Jay, the chief is onto you," said Nikki Saint-James.
"Just hold her off for a while longer," said Det. Carlos, wishing he hadn't answered his cell phone.
"She's going to bite your head off if she catches you, let alone if this affects your other case," warned Nikki.
"Yeah, yeah I know," said Det. Carlos dully. He'd faced the chief's wrath before. It definitely wasn't something you wanted to be up against, but it wasn't too awful.
"Look, you should probably handle your other case now," his friend said, stung by his tone of voice.
"Fine, fine," said Det. Carlos. And without further ado, he hung up. He sighed. Now for the pharmacy case.
Det. Carlos examined the site of the break-in. The pharmacy had been left untouched, the crime scene tape still holding an invisible barrier. The deadbolt on the door helped too, of course. But the detective had a key. Det. Carlos opened the door and took in the sight. The window was smashed, presumably with a rock, but there was no item Carlos could see that could be used to break the window or anything at the scene. Either that meant the perp used something else or they took the projectile. Examining the rest of the room, Carlos noted a small gold chip. He put his plastic gloves on and picked up the earring, noticing that it wasn't real gold. He was willing to bet that the faux gold chip was from the perp, probably scraped off when the robber broke in. Now he had the smallest inkling of a clue.
"So...you're the nurse that took care of Mr. Carlos?" asked Det. Carlos of a nurse. He was back on the the hopsital case.
"Yes, Detective," she said. She was preoccupied, reading a list. It was just thin enough for Det. Carlos to read it. It was a waiting list for patients who wanted in the hospital. Franklin Hope, Oswald Carter, Leanne Morigan, Cara Race, and Thomas Lynn.
"Right. So what-" started Det. Carlos, but was interrupted. Josh Rant, the med student who'd given him the info on the body, had spotted him.
"Hey! Doctor Carlos!" exclaimed Rant, waving. A gold ring on his hand glinted in the harsh hospital light.
"Crap," muttered Det. Carlos. He ran.
"So...let's try this interview again," said Det. Carlos. This time he was in the police station. Couldn't take any chances.
"Right," said nurse Jackie Lynn, fingering her gold earring.
"So did you-" Carlos started, but was interrupted by the chief.
"CARLOS!" she bellowed. Carlos gulped.
"Yes, ma'am?" he stuttered.
"What's this I hear about you working a second case?" she asked.
"Nothing," Carlos denied.
"Right," chief said sarcastically. "Listen up, Carlos! Solve both cases or you're a goner!"
Now it's your turn. I'm really sorry about the length, again. I personally liked the first one better.
