No Place to Die Read online

  After a quick shower in her own bathroom, she chose a beautiful, well-fitting lime green sequined dress with tiny spaghetti straps on her bare shoulders. The color made her huge, almond hazel eyes even more electric. Then she slipped on high open sandals, which made her almost as tall as Todd. Olivia wanted him to be completely mesmerized by her, as she was by him. She wanted the weekend to be perfect, for them to go home completely bonded.

  Olivia never wanted to be alone again.

  *

  The Piers Grand restaurant fully lived up to its reputation. Stretched out over the water on a long wooden deck, it was lined with huge potted plants with tiny lights lit all around them. The restaurant glittered under the evening sky. Live jazz was being played in the corner, adding to the mellow mood.

  Naturally, Todd had made a reservation for the best table, right over the water, under a hand-painted silk canopy. All eyes turned to Olivia and Todd as the maître d’ led them through the slim aisle between the tables to the one reserved for them.

  Olivia noticed several other women, seated with their dates, take extra time to look them over. Olivia particularly noticed one woman, with long auburn hair, staring at both her and Todd, as if somehow she knew them.

  “You have a glow around you,” he whispered to her. “Everyone sees it.”

  The maître d’ nodded as they arrived at their table. He pulled out Olivia’s chair and paused a moment to look her over.

  “A beautiful companion,” he remarked to Todd. “We haven’t met her before, have we?”

  “You haven’t met her before, but you will certainly see her again,” Todd said, throwing his head back and for a swift moment looking out to sea.

  “The champagne you’ve ordered will be here in a moment,” the maître d’ added, stepping away.

  She was surprised.

  “You’ve come to this hotel many times,” Olivia remarked. “Everyone here knows you.”

  He smiled, clearly proud.

  Todd took her hands and held them tightly.

  “I wanted to surprise you. After, we’ll take a walk along the shore.”

  The food came quickly, Olivia’s fish and Todd’s steak. But when it arrived, as exquisite as it looked, Olivia felt a craving for steak. She noticed Todd looking at her fish, and they both met each other’s eyes and laughed at the same time.

  “Should we swap?” she suggested.

  They laughed again as they traded meals.

  Olivia enjoyed her meal and so did Todd. But, a bit restless, they both finished quickly.

  “I don’t want to sit here surrounded by people looking at us.” Todd rose hastily. “Let’s go walk under the trees near the edge of the water. This is our time together. It doesn’t belong to anyone else.”

  Olivia stood as well. “Yes, let’s go.”

  She felt strongly that Todd had something to tell her and wanted to hear what was on his mind.

  *

  A huge moon rose slowly in the sky as they walked down near the water, holding hands, savoring each step. Other than the moon, the place was empty, with only the sound of lapping waves along the rocky coast.

  Todd stopped walking suddenly and stared into Olivia’s eyes.

  “Olivia,” he started, “I love you. Even though we haven’t been together for that long, you must realize by now that it would be impossible for me to ever be without you.”

  Olivia’s eyes misted. She felt the same way, as if she’d found a treasure meant just for her.

  “I love you too,” she whispered. “I felt that way the moment I met you.”

  The moment Olivia had met Todd, she’d been finally freed of her pain over the loss of Paul. She’d never mentioned Paul to Todd, though. And she’d never questioned Todd about his losses either. She desperately wanted this to be brand new.

  “It was instantaneous,” Todd continued. “Our relationship changed me, woke me up.”

  In the flash of a moment Todd fell to his knee and took a small package from his pocket.

  “Marry me, Olivia,” he uttered. Then he opened the box, flashing a huge, hand-carved diamond ring.

  “Oh my God!” Olivia could not breathe for a moment.

  “I know it’s quick. I know it’s early. But I can’t wait any longer.”

  Olivia had been hoping and praying for this moment to come. She didn’t want to ever be parted from him, either. For a quick moment a flash of fear surrounded her. It was so soon and they actually knew very little about each other. What if Todd found out things about her that he didn’t like or couldn’t live with? What if she found out strange things about him?

  “Will you marry me? Will you?” Todd’s voice grew louder.

  Olivia felt as though she were standing on the edge of a steep, slippery precipice with no way down.

  “Yes, yes,” her voice rang out suddenly, as a rush of courage flushed through her veins.

  Todd breathed and got off his knee quickly.

  Olivia flew over and wound herself around him. “I will marry you, Todd, I will,” she kept saying, as waves from the water lapped up over the silent rocks.

  Todd slid the magnificent, shining ring onto Olivia’s trembling finger.

  “Let’s call our family right away,” she breathed in awe, waves of joy circling around her. “Let’s share the news!”

  “We will.” Todd was grinning from ear to ear. “But not right now. Not tonight. We have plenty of time, our whole lives. We’ll call the family tomorrow. This night is ours. I want to keep it just for us.”

  Without another word Olivia and Todd quickly returned to their suite and, ecstatic, fell into bed in each other’s arms.

  *

  In the middle of the night, the sound of gasping awoke Olivia from a deep sleep. Was it a nightmare? she wondered. She often had nightmares, but the bad dreams usually passed easily enough if she closed her eyes and went back to sleep. Olivia listened to the gasping for a short while and tried to close her eyes again.

  But this time, she couldn’t. Something wouldn’t let her.

  She rolled over then and looked at the clock. It was barely three in the morning. She opened her eyes wider as the sound of gasping grew harsher and more frequent. Olivia shuddered as the sense of anguish intensified. Something was wrong, terribly wrong. And it was happening right here.

  Bolting up suddenly, Olivia turned and was stunned to see Todd curled into a ball, writhing beside her.

  “Todd, what’s wrong?” Olivia called out in alarm.

  A long moan was her only answer.

  “Todd, Todd, are you all right?” Olivia tried to pull him closer to her.

  Todd tried to lift his arms up to stop her, but couldn’t quite make it. His arms fell to his side and clutched back at his stomach. He gasped and moaned again as another wave of pain tossed over him.

  “You’re in pain? Your stomach?” Olivia didn’t know what to make of it.

  She jumped out of bed and turned on a small light. To her horror, Todd’s face was twisted into a mask of agony.

  “Todd, what happened? What’s wrong?” Olivia was beside herself.

  Todd tried to roll his legs up to his chest tighter, but was now too weak to do it.

  Shaken to the core, Olivia grabbed the phone at their bedside and quickly called down to the hotel lobby.

  “Get an ambulance here immediately.” She could barely talk.

  “What room is this?” the clerk answered calmly.

  “Something’s wrong, very wrong.” Olivia’s voice became higher, more strident.

  “What room is this?” the clerk repeated, rattled.

  “Room 217, Olivia Wells,” she screamed. “Get an ambulance here right away!”

  “What happened?” The clerk was shaken now as well.

  “Don’t ask me any more questions. Get the ambulance now! Now!” Olivia yelled fiercely over the phone. “My fiancé is sick, in agony. It looks dangerous. Hurry! We may not have time.”

  “Right away, right away.” The clerk’s
words spilled over one another as Todd’s moaning grew more persistent and intense.

  CHAPTER THREE

  In what seemed like a very few minutes, sirens were screaming in the dark night. Then just as quickly, men were upstairs banging at their door, yelling to open up. Olivia hesitated for a quick second. It was all happening too fast. She knew they were coming to take Todd to the hospital, away from her. She didn’t want him to go. She wanted to go back to sleep and start all over, as if this was a dream they could both wake up from.

  The banging at the door got louder. “Open up,” a male voice yelled.

  Olivia had to cooperate, it couldn’t be helped. She was lucky they had come so quickly. Olivia lurched forward then and flung the door open.

  Three emergency medics barged in and rushed over to Todd. “He’s still breathing?” one asked.

  “Yes, he’s breathing, he’s moaning,” Olivia answered rapidly.

  “Move over, give us room,” another medic said as they started checking his vitals before lifting him onto the stretcher they had waiting beside him.

  At least they got here fast, Olivia thought. Thank God for that.

  “You can’t leave me behind. I’m coming with you,” she demanded as she paced back and forth.

  “He’s still conscious,” one medic said to another. “We’ll get him there in time.”

  “What happened to him?” one medic asked her.

  Olivia was taken aback as she saw the accusing look in his eyes, as if blaming her for doing something to him.

  She didn’t even know what to say.

  “I—” she began. “I don’t know. I woke up and he was moaning.”

  “Did you two take any drugs tonight?” another medic asked.

  Olivia was aghast, feeling even more accused.

  “Of course not!”

  “Does he have any pre-existing medical conditions?” another asked.

  “What meds is he taking, if any?”

  “Allergies?” asked the other.

  Olivia felt her heart sinking. She thought she knew Todd so well, but she was ashamed to realize that she had no idea of even these basic things.

  She felt her eyes well up. “I don’t know,” she said.

  Olivia felt the blood draining from her face as she watched them lift Todd onto the stretcher and cover him with a blanket.

  “You’ll come in the ambulance and wait for him in the hospital,” one said. “As soon as they know what’s wrong, they’ll tell you.”

  With Todd on the stretcher they turned slowly and moved as one person to the door.

  “Todd, Todd.” Olivia ran to be closer to him. “I’m right here.”

  Todd made no response, seemingly not hearing what she was saying.

  “Can he hear me? Is he listening?”

  Olivia suddenly felt weak and faint.

  *

  As soon as the ambulance pulled up, Todd was wheeled into the back of the emergency room. Olivia was told to take a seat in the waiting room. Soon a male nurse on duty came over to her and called her into a small room.

  “We have a few questions for you about the patient,” he said. “Just routine. My name is Angy.”

  Olivia was in a daze, not knowing what to expect. “Of course, what are they?”

  “We need the patient’s full medical records, of course,” Angy started.

  Olivia was at a loss. “I don’t know where they are. You’ll have to talk to his family.”

  “You don’t want to talk to his family yourself?” Angy was taken aback.

  “We haven’t met yet,” said Olivia.

  He gave her an odd look.

  “Okay,” he answered. “What else can you tell me? Was the patient on medication, was he taking drugs?”

  “No,” Olivia answered definitively. “Nothing out of the ordinary. Todd once told me he smoked a little pot now and then, that’s about it. He didn’t tonight.”

  “You’re sure?” Angy asked.

  “Very sure.” Olivia liked Angy, despite his persistence. She respected that he was doing his job.

  “No prescription drugs either?” Angy continued.

  “Not that I know of.” Olivia was definite. She’d never seen Todd taking a thing.

  “Addicted to anything?” he came back fast at her then.

  “No, not at all,” Olivia responded. In fact, that was one of the things that impressed her about Todd so much. He worked out a lot, took good care of himself, didn’t seem to need artificial means of feeling good.

  “What about alcohol? A heavy drinker?” the questioning went on.

  “Just normal social drinking,” Olivia responded, suddenly breaking into a sweat.

  “You don’t know much about the guy really, do you?” Angy scraped his chair back and looked at Olivia strangely.

  “We’ve been dating a little over five months,” Olivia replied. “I never asked for his full medical workup.”

  Angy shook his head compassionately. “Of course not, who would?”

  “In fact, we just got engaged last night,” Olivia went on, emboldened.

  “Last night?” Angy’s eyes opened wide. “After only five months?”

  “Yes,” Olivia whispered.

  “You’re staying at the Piers Grand Hotel, aren’t you?” Angy frowned.

  “Yes,” Olivia said, “why?”

  “Did you have your dinner there?” he went on.

  “Yes, we did,” said Olivia, her head swimming. Why all these questions? What was he getting at?

  “Just asking.” Angy gave Olivia a long look. “You haven’t been down in Key West much, have you?”

  “This is the first time,” she replied.

  He nodded glumly. “I see.”

  “What do you see? What’s going on?” Olivia was exasperated. “I want to go and see Todd right now,” she insisted.

  “They’ll call you in when they’re finished with the preliminaries,” Angy said.

  Olivia stood up from her seat sharply. She was worried. “Then I want to talk to his doctor immediately.”

  “You will.” Angy tried to calm her down. “He’ll be out in a few minutes.”

  “He’s in terrible pain,” Olivia said.

  “It could be anything.” Angy shook his head. “They’re doing all they can. If I were you I’d try to relax. The doctor will be out here in just a few minutes.”

  After thanking Angy and giving him Todd’s family’s contact information, Olivia went back into the almost empty waiting room to wait and hear what the doctor would have to say. Olivia wasn’t a stranger to waiting rooms in hospitals. As she sat there alone, looking out the window at the dark sky, old memories and fears arose. Angy was right. She shouldn’t make this worse than it was. She’d just been through a period of grieving for Paul and hadn’t done well with it, either. She certainly didn’t have what it took to go through another bout of sickness and loss. Olivia knew she should call her parents or family, but couldn’t bring herself to. This wasn’t the news she’d been planning to give them. She’d planned on calling with Todd at her side to announce their engagement. It was going to be a moment of joy, one that was certainly long overdue for everybody.

  A big clock on the wall ticked relentlessly as Olivia waited to hear what the doctor had to say. An older woman, also alone, sat a few seats away from her, crying. She was probably also waiting for news. How had what was supposed to be a magnificent weekend turned into this?

  Olivia decided to text her best friend, Allison, while she waited. She knew Allison wouldn’t see the text until the morning, but Olivia needed to be in touch with someone. She could always count on Allison to understand.

  Todd got sick in the middle of the night, Olivia texted. I’m in the hospital now, waiting to hear more—

  Suddenly, Olivia looked up and saw a slightly hunched over, middle-aged doctor walking toward her.

  “Olivia Wells?” the doctor asked as he approached.

  Olivia was relieved to finally see him. “Yes?
” She stood up. “How is Todd?” She was sure the doctor would tell her and then let her join him.

  The doctor’s lips pursed. “It’s too early to tell, but his condition is worsening,” he spoke in a low tone.

  “Worsening?” she asked, alarmed.

  “He is vomiting incessantly,” he replied. “And his fever is rising.”

  Olivia suddenly felt a rush of horror. “What are you telling me?”

  “Nothing, as of now,” he said. “We are doing thorough tests and monitoring him carefully.”

  Olivia shook her head back and forth feverishly, as if to brush away cobwebs that started to close in around her.

  “What is it?” she demanded.

  “We’re testing for various things,” the doctor replied, “and it’s way too soon to say for sure.”

  “You have to give me some idea.” Olivia was beside herself. “What are you checking for?”

  The doctor looked at her. “Initially we considered the possibility of severe food poisoning,” he spoke slowly. “Was there any nausea, vomiting, or abdominal pain and cramps before the patient’s symptoms intensified?”

  “Nothing.” Olivia grew more disturbed. “We had a wonderful dinner at the hotel. Todd enjoyed it greatly. He was completely fine afterwards.”

  “Symptoms usually start within hours after eating contaminated food,” the doctor continued. “That seems to be what happened here. Right now, Todd’s symptoms have become quite severe. There are definite signs of dehydration along with dizziness. And yet, we have not concluded for certain that it is food poisoning.”

  Olivia began shaking, felt as if she were back in a nightmare she couldn’t wake from. “What causes food poisoning?” she asked quickly.

  “It varies,” the doctor replied. “Contaminated food, bacteria, unhygienic conditions.”

  Olivia was chilled to the bone. “If it was food poisoning, how come I didn’t get it?”

  “Did you have the same dinner?”

  “Actually, no,” said Olivia. She tried to focus. She wanted to get up and run to the back room where they were holding Todd.