Daisy Dale was struggling severely with her mental health. She had been released from the hospital and was on medication. The medication dulled her and she hated it. She felt dopey and like her thoughts were slower. But her thoughts were there. She had many follow up appointments with Dr. Mary Henry. Dr. Henry was well meaning but she didn’t really feel understood by her, or anyone. She was back at work, folding laundry, working for the Martins, Brooke Martin’s parents as their daughter fucked the father of her child. A child who had been taken from her because of Brooke and Joey’s fucking. It was Joey’s fault. She folded and folded and folded the white towels. They were the laundry service for the Parthenon. She bagged the towels and then put the invoice on the top towel, giving herself a papercut. Daisy looked at the cut in fascination and squeezes the tip of her thumb making more come out. She pressed it into the towel and then closed up the laundry bag leaving the towel with a blood spot in the delivery. Let them see. Let them see her pain, all of them.
Within a few days she’d started to make a habit of it. Leaving just a bit of blood on her orders for businesses in town, napkins, aprons, towels. She’d also stopped taking that annoying medicine. And she’d skipped ehr last counselling appointment. Useless time wasters. The laundromat owners got complaints about the blood and Sherry took Daisy aside and confronted her about it “What the hell is wrong with you? There’s fuckin blood on all the orders….you fuckin psycho…..get the hell out of my laundromat ya dumb bitch. You’re fired!”
Daisy burst into tears and ran out, ran home. She’d lost everything now. Olivia, Seamus, Joey...her job. She stumbled into her apartment in a state and then took a large kitchen knife and sak to the floor looking at her wrists. Then something flashed in her. “No! It’s not me who needs to die…” But even in her unhinged state she knew she couldn’t just walk down the street openly carrying a large knife. So she found a purse to put it in, wrapped it in a dish towel and then prettied herself up. She took a shower, something she’d been skipping far too often lately. She did her hair nicely and put on her makeup. She put on her tight jeans that she wore to the bar that got her many compliments on her ass. Then she put on a flattering pink top that showed just enough cleavage to invite but not give it all away. She topped it with a jean jacket that matched the jeans and a cute pair of boots and looked like she was going out on a date or for a fun social evening to meet a date. But where she was going was the Olin…..to room 4, for a date with death. Joey’s death.
Meanwhile in room 4 at the Olin, Brooke Martin was buck naked on her knees was gripping the headboard and screaming in pleasure with Joey Piccolo holding onto her hips and pounding into her from behind “Oh yes….oh god…..fuck me harder…….you’re so good at it Joey...best fuck I’ve ever had…..oh harder...HARDER!” Brooke knew how to tell men what they wanted to hear.
Joey knew his ecstasy was only temporary. As soon as he came and collapsed, his mind would go back to his problems. Two charges of aggravated rape, one of kidnapping, another two of assault. But for now, his cock was hard and surrounded by Brooke’s glorious pussy. She didn’t complain how tightly he grabbed her hips or how hard he slammed into her. He groaned in the pleasure, fighting his orgasm. “You like this, baby?” he demanded to know as they fucked. “Yea, I’ll fuck you harder.” and he did. Now the noise of his muscular belly slamming against her ass. He even grabbed her hair. “You sexy fucking bitch.” it was, for him, high praise.
Daisy had quietly walked to the door of room 4 as she reached into her knife sized purse and unwrapped the nice big knife. She hardly cooked so it was nearly as sharp as the day Seamus bought it. He had complained about her lack of kitchen supplies and then had come over with some the next time he visited her and Olivia and had even cooked for them. But that was a long time ago now, another life. From inside the room she could hear groaning...Joey’s voice and then muffled talking just before the screams of pleasure of a woman, presumably Brooke.
Brooke was easy to please and she had learned to discreetly pleasure herself on this position to get things happening faster, so by the time Joey took her harder and got a little rough she was there “I like it…...oh fuck Joey YES YES YES YES…..” She screamed primally as she began to cum and her head was pulled back by his hair grabbing. There was a slight breeze for a second but she was too caught up in her pleasure to wonder why and Brooke was a loud screamer.
Daisy took their distraction as an opportunity and turned the knob on the door and opened it, stealing inside. She knew most of the door at the Olin either didn’t even lock anymore or the locks were half broken. She saw Joey ploughing himself into Brooke and just walked right up to them and plunged the knife into his chest cavity with all her strength “You cost me our daughter you fucking sonofabitch!” She yanked the knife out and drove it in again, and again, blood began to spray across Brooke’s ass and back and into her hair.
Joey could feel Brooke cumming and leaned back as she squeesed his cick, driving him over the edge. “Fuck yes!” he cried, thrusting completely inside of her and holding. He didn’t have a condom on, but Brooke claimed to be on the pill so what did he care? He arched his back as he came and out of the corner of his eye, he saw a glint of metal in the dim lights of the room and heard Daisy, looking at her as she stabbed him. The white hot pain made him cry out and stumble back. He grabbed for her hand to take the knife from her. “Daisy, you worthless cunt!” he screamed at her. If he can get the knife, he’ll turn it and stab back at her.
Brooke is jolted from her pleasure by the sound of another voice. Her ass and back are wet and warm Did Joey pull out and cum on her? She could still feel him…..Daisy? She hears Daisy and Joey says her name. As Joey stumbles back and is out, Brooke trunks and gasps. He’s covered in blood and that’s what’s all over the back of her body too. She scrambles to the head of the bed as Joey grabs the knife from Daisy and stabs her.
Daisy is calculated but not agile with a knife and Joey does get the knife and stabs her back, below the rib cage and then in the scramble in her throat. She starts to scream but as he hits her throat it’s just a guttural noise as he blood sprays hitting Brooke in the face as she retreats and Daisy turns to her with a pleading look. On some level she knows it’s over but she’s also aware she got Joey pretty good first so she looks at him with an eerie smile as her life force now just slowly drains and she begins to collapse.
Brooke screams in terror and bolts out the door, naked and blood covered. She keeps running until she’s at the police station where she just slams her hands into the front window and yells “HELP ME!!!” Before she’s crying hysterically. Every town's person in the street is staring.
Joey can feel the knife as it goes into Daisy’s body, but he can also hear Brooke screaming. The stupid bitch ignored the phone by the bed and ran off. Didn’t even call 911 to help him. He watches Daisy as she crumbles to the floor and life leaving her eyes. “Daisy you’re a lousy fuck and a lousy mother.” he hopes she hears him as he crumples to the floor. One thing he hates having to admit… Daisy got him good on this one.
Sam Wright is at his cubicle near the side door of the cop shop when a pounding on the sheet glass gets his attention. He looks up and gapes at a naked Brooke Martin, covered in blood and screaming for help. “SIlent alarm.” he yells and jumps up and out the side door, into the parking lot and around to Brooke. “Where are you hurt?” he demands. First things first.
Darcy hears Sam say silent alarm as well as the pounding on the glass. She is at the photocopier trying to unstick a wicked paper jam, both hands on the machine as she looks up and sees Brooke Martin outside the window and naked with blood on her “What the…” Sam is out the door before Darcy can extract herself from the machine but she’s not far behind him and with a large police windbreaker in her hand as she gets there for Brooke to put on.
Brooke is still hysterical as Sam Wright walks up to her. She shakes her head at first, unable to speak and finally says “Not my blood…..she had a knife….the Olin….Room 4….” Then she wails and shakes in place.
Darcy hears Brooke’s words as she walks out and wraps the jacket around the woman “Here….put this on. Who had a knife Brooke?” She looks at Sam with alarm and then back to Brooke.
“Daisy Dale…..she stabbed him...he stabbed her…...so much blood…..oh my fucking god………...oh god…” Brooke just breaks down again.
Michael Reinhardt also sees Brooke and comes out with Darcy. He hears Brooke’s initial words and looks at Sam, who was the first contact for instructions.
Sam hears key words. Olin. Room 4. Daisy. He’d seen what happened when Joey was bailed out by Brooke and he gets a chill feeling. It looks like it’s all gone literally horribly wrong. He looks at Michael. “Call the paramedics and get them to the Olin. Room 4.” he immediately tells him or Ryan if he’s also outside. “Get her to the clinic and get a statement.” he orders, tapping Brooke on the shoulder gently. Then he stands and looks at Darcy. “Me and you are on the Olin.” he heads for the cruiser, knowing full well that date. October 4th.
Ryan had come outside behind Michael and heard it all. He moves to Brooke, having more compassion for her in this situation than he did when she was trying to bang Mike in the back of Joey’s van “Brooke…..come with us please…..we’re here to help.” He is kind of hoping she does up the windbreaker but he’ll survive it if she doesn’t.
Darcy was already walking to the cruiser as soon as Sam said they were going to Olin. Bloody October, literally from the look of Brooke. She jumps into the cruiser ready to go.
Brooke looks vaguely down at the jacket and zips it up halfway. It’s longer than some of her minidresses but if she moves in certain ways she’s still flashing her blood covered ass. She nods and takes a shaky breath but is ready to move with Ryan. She’s numb with shock from what she witnessed.
Michael notices the jacket as Brooke straightens and sighs. “They had to grab MY jacket? Seriously?” he sighs and heads inside, getting another jacket and calling the Alexandra Fire Department. Silent Alarm; Olin Motel; Room 4. Then he heads out and leads Brooke to a cruiser and the half block drive to the clinic ER. Taking her in as bloody as she was through the front door was not a smart idea.
Sam gets in beside Darcy and starts up the engine. “Maybe it’s not that bad?” he offers to both of them. It’s the 4th … a nice .. slow .. start?”
Logan Reinhardt was getting up to double check the ambulance after the morning briefing when the silent alarm went off. He nodded to CHief Stanley and got into the ambulance waiting for his superior and friend to get in and drive.
Gareth Dunham was just double checking some of their ongoing training options on the computer. He was about to text Logan to consult with him one scheduling themselves for some professional development when the silent alarm happens and he leaves what he’s been reading and heads right for the ambulance getting in beside Logan and turning the keys in the ignition “Fuckin October...round one?” He blows out a breath as the engine roars to life and they pull out and drive to the Olin, lights and sirens full on.
Darcy shakes her head “Daisy and Joey...after her outburst? She’s never struck me as a violent person before this shift. I still can’t imagine her stabbing anyone…..maybe Brook’s upset…..maybe Joey stabbed her...Daisy I mean…...oh god…..can’t we just close our eyes until November 1st?” She clicks her seatbelt into place.
Ryan suppressed a smile about the jacket and then moved with Mike to take Brooke in the emergency door in the state she was in “Brooke...you ok back there?”
Brooke had curled up in the back seat like a small child and was not getting out of the cruiser. She was shaking and crying and didn’t answer Ryan.
Michael glanced over his shoulder once during the short ride. Once they were at the hospital, he parked the cruiser and got out. Ryan was a softer touch, so he let him help Brooke out of the cruiser and into the clinic.
Sam starts the engine and heads out of the parking lot. It’s an emergency so he turns on the lights and sirens. He sighs. “I’ve lived here long enough that I’ve seen more than one death attributed to someone who no one could imagine doing whatever they’d done.” It was a short trip and he pulled into the Olin parking lot, parked the cruiser, got out the SOC bag and jogged up to Room 4. The door was open and, sure enough there were two bodies on the floor and a bloody knife between them. Joey Piccolo and Daisy Dale. Joey was glaring at Daisy and then at him, but Daisy was still, her eyes open and staring at Joey. Pulling out his gun, he pointed it at Joeyand approached Daisy, taking her pulse. Nothing. He is reaching for the SOC bag when he hears the ambulance siren, so he doesn’t pick up the bloody knife.
Logan slams the door when he gets in and snorts his reply. “Never fuckin fails.” he rides until they get to the Olin and taking the drauma and drug box they jog up the stairs. Two victims, plus two cops. He moves to Daisy and feels for a pulse. “Nothing.” he growls and lays Daisy flat, beginning CPR almost desperately. He knew this woman. She was only 19 years old. He’d had young people before, but this was different than it was in Vancouver. Behind him, he knows Gareth will deal with Joey Piccolo.
Ryan opens the door closest to Brooke and leans in a bit “Hey…..can I help you get out of here…” He tries to wait for her permission because he doesn’t want to just grab her and pull and make her trauma any worse but after a while of her not responding he slides one han under her waist and pulls her other arm around his shoulder “Come on Brooke…..we’re going to go in.” She lets him but is then hard to maneuver because he’s basically doing it all so he shifts her to semi standing and scoops her up and carries her to the door with a sigh.
Brooke is vaguely aware of someone pulling her, talking to her and then her body being lifted up. She’s seen a lot of things in her life but never that kind of violence. She’s near catatonic in her state, not completely aware. At some point she’s aware of going through the clinic door, or being carried.
Darcy agrees with Sam “I know...it’s just unbelievable every time.” As they get in the scene before them is just that unbelievable. They’re both down with a knife between them. Brooke was right? From Sam’s reaction after checking Daisy’s pulse, Darcy suspects she’s dead and doesn’t double check. But Joey, despite the fact that he’s Joey has eye movement, glaring in fact and he’s still bleeding out. He’s buck naked like Brooke was which makes her wonder if he and Brooke were naked together at one point but fundamentally she could care less. Right now he’s an injured person and she has training. She knew the paramedics were on their way but they all had a duty. She grabs a pillowcase off the bed and folds it over a few times and then holds it to Joey’s chest trying to put pressure on and do what she can to slow the bleeding. She had been a field medic after all.
Gareth comes in behind Logan but ends up passing him and goes to Joey where Darcy is trying to hold a makeshift compression on a heavily bleeding….series of wounds. Gareth blinks at the severity and then looks back at Daisy. They did this….or did someone attack them? He was confused about the how but that wasn’t his job but the cops. He knew who they both were though and checked Joey’s vitals. He seemed to be tracking with his eyes so possibly alert. “Joey, can you hear me?” Gareth assessed the injuries and then shifted back to the bag for more compression options. There was a lot of blood. He was going to have to get him to the clinic for a transfusion as soon as possible.
Michael is actually glad to see Ryan carrying Brooke. He goes in ahead. “Doctors. This one is in shock. We suspect a couple more are coming along later. There was an attack at the Olin. Room 4.” he goes into Exam 1 with Ryan and Brooke.
Sam looks at Gareth. “Unclear who attacked who or if there are any other suspects. Well have to piece it together.” he pulls out his gloves and baggie and bags the knife as evidence.
Logan is still working on Daisy. Her eyes remain open and unblinking. “Come on.” he urges her. “Come on.”
Joey blinks slowly at the man … one of the EMT’s he remembers. “ hear …” he inhales and exhales. “Cunt came in and stabbed me. But I got her dumb ass back.” he coughs. “Did I kill her? I hope I killed her worthless ass.” he blinks slowly again.
Gareth is relieved Joey can speak but then what came out of his mouth makes him stare wide eyed at him and then look over to Daisy. “You did this...to each other?” He blinks a few times. Jesus Christ October. “Joey you need a blood transfusion. We have to get you to the clinic...now..” He looks at Darcy “Keep applying that pressure. I’ll be back with a stretcher.” He stops at Logan and puts a hand on his shoulder. From the stab wound at the throat he’s pretty sure Daisy passed quickly. But he understands this all too well “Logan…” He says softly and then steps away. If they could save one, they would. It was what they did.
Darcy’s hands are holding down Joey’s compression layers, now more of them added by Gareth and she looks riveted by the confirmation from Joey’s words. Joey could die, but his possibly dying words were that he hoped he had killed Daisy? She looks over at Logan but Daisy doesn’t seem to be responding. She looks at Sam gravely.
Ryan lays Brooke down on a hospital bed in the exam room and she flops like a rag doll, the windbreaker sliding up and revealing her naked pelvic area. Ryan clears his throat and pulls her, well Mike’s windbreaker back down so she’s more decent. Then he thoroughly washes his hands for about two minutes solid at the sink in the room. Then he turns around to Doctor McKinney “The blood isn’t hers. She was witness to a stabbing and …..well” He gestures at her.
Brooke stairs up at the ceiling listlessly. She was lying down now. She had that much awareness right now but she was blocking a lot out just to breathe. She was physically unhurt, just withdrawn.
Michael concentrates more on Ryan than on Brooke. He doesn’t want to see it. “She saw the whole thing go down, so … you know, doctor. The faster she can talk, the better.”
Susan walks in just as Ryan is in the middle of washing his hands. She moves to Brooke and looks her over, back to front, despite what they cops told her. But they’re right, she isn’t physically injured. Taking a blanked from the exam room bed drawer, she covers Brooke. “Do you know where you are, Brooke? It’s Dr McKinney.” They know each other well enough because of Brookes frequent trips for birth control and pelvic exams.
Sam blows out a breath at Joey’s words. It might be as official a statement as they can get beside from Brooke. He straightens. “I’ll get a stretcher for Daisy and call in the hospital ambulance for Joey.” he heads out the door. All he would be able to do from where he was is watch.
Logan continues to work on Daisy, even though she is far from help now.
Gareth walks back up holding a stretcher they’ll have to carry down to a proper gurney for Joey to get to the clinic. He passes Sam at one point and nods but he’s hyper focused and aware of the window of time closing and the blood loss of his patient. He comes back in and begins to position the stretcher so they can get it under Joey. He’s aware of Darcy’s training and experience “Ok ready….on 3…..1...2...3..” They need to shift Joey and then check the compressions, which are holding after. But now they really need to move. He looks at Logan who was bigger than Darcy but he was pretty sure she could do it too although it would be better for Joey if she walked beside and kept the pressure on. “Logan?” He calls out briefly. “Logan!” He calls more sharply “Help us...I need Darcy to hold the pressure...he’ll have a better chance…” He knows Daisy is gone. Maybe they can still save Joey. He could also call Sam back if he had to.
Darcy assists Gareth as he instructs and then her hands go back immediately to compression but she can see the pool of blood has grown exponentially “Shit…”
Ryan nods but keeps quiet, letting the doc do her thing.
Brooke is roused a bit byt the warmth of the blanket. She hadn’t even been aware she was cold, also it helped with her shock. Doctor McKinney was a familiar voice and presence and she turns to her “Doctor McKinney. I’m in the clinic. Why am i in the clinic...I’m not hurt….Joey is...Daisy is…” It was starting to come back to her.
Michael stands back with Ryan, just waiting.
Susan listened to Brooke and nodded slowly. “You’re in shock, but uninjured.” she tells her. “The police need for you to tell them what happened, if you can, Brooke.”
Logan stops CPR at Gareth’s bark. Daisy was gone. “Yea … OK.” he takes his end of the stretcher and works to get Joey into the ambulance and to the clinic. He notices the other ambulance is also in the parking lot, having arrived non-Code-R. No need for sirens and lights for a corpse.
Sam waited until another SOC team arrived. “Standard sweep.” he tells them before he helps to load Daisy in the ambulance and follows it to the clinic.
Gareth gives Logan a sympathetic look before they start to move. He really really got it and Logan knew that. He knew this sucked for his EMT partner right now in the most personal way. They get Joey into the ambulance and Darcy rides in the back, keeping compression. Lights and sirens on full they rush the short distance. There’s no traffic of course so they’re heading into the emergency door with the stretcher just on top of the gurney so they don’t have to move Joey again and have him lose any more blood. By the time they’re inside they’re running with the gurney.
Darcy jogs along side and does her best to keep compression. She’d done this in much worse conditions so she was an old pro.
Sam had called ahead so Japer met them with a team to work on Joey. “He needs blood!” Jasper called out. It didn’t look good. They rushed like a stampede into a room, the one beside where they had Brooke. “Get him on oxygen!” Jasper shouted as he rushed around “Joey….Joey stay with us…..open your eyes Joey…”
Brooke had been ready to start talking when the chaos of Joey being rushed in began and she looked at the door “He’s alive?” She looked so hopeful and then heard the doctor barking orders and saying stay with us “Oh god…..this is my fault...I bailed him out….he stayed with me….Daisy was jealous…..”
Susan looked at Michael. “Close the door, please.” she asked. It wouldn’t help. They may have well been in an ER Triage space in Vancouver. “Brooke … what happened? That’s what you should concentrate on for now, alright?” she encourages her.
Michael closed the thin door and turned to stand in front of it, in case Brooke got it in her head to run naked looking for Joey. He pulls out his notepad and begins to write down what Brooke is saying for the report. But it is starting to look very … well … cut and dried.
Logan goes into the one larger room they have put Joey in and is ready to help if he can.
Sam pulls up behind the second ambulance. Going in with Daisy’s body on the gurney, he pauses, looking around. “She was dead at the scene.” he tells the nurse, who nods and looks for a toe tag before sending the body downstairs. He moves to a nearby phone, picks it up and then sets it down. He’d tell Peterson in person.
Joey can hear the doctor, but can do no more than flutter his eyes before they close and he knows nothing.
Jasper sees Joey become less responsive and calls out “Adrenaline…...charge the paddles……” Machines are now beeping as he’s hooked up to things. Blood is dripping through, to try and restore him but it may be too late. “We’re losing him!”
Brooke tries to focus but she can hear a lot and it’s unsettling. She hears that Daisy is dead. She hears the fight to save Brett’s life next door. “Joey and I were in the room, room 4 having sex and Daisy came in with the knife and started stabbing him. He was behind me so I didn’t…...it took me a minute. Then when I turned he had the knife and was stabbing her with it. I panicked and ran to the police station.”
Ryan stands off to the side, just listening. What a fuckin mess. He can hear Sam and Jasper as well.
From the next room Jasper yells “Clear” And then there’s a rough sound of the charge and Joey’s body being jolted. And then he calls out “Again!” And another jolt and movement.
The life support monitor flat lines with a resounding beeeeeeeeeeeep and a nurse calls out “Doctor we’ve lost the pulse.”
“Again...CLEAR!” another jolt and a body going up and down. Still the beeping. Finally there’s no medical interference being offered and the beeping clicks off. Jasper says defeatedly “Time of death at 5:36 pm….”
Brooke gasps and chokes out a sob as she overhears.
Gareth was ready to assist as well. He had heard Sam talk about Daisy being dead and then they had watched Joey die just now. He sighed and looked at Logan as they heard Brooke sob.
Darcy had stepped out into the hall as the room had gotten crowded while they worked on Joey but she heard everything and saw Sam come in with Daisy’s body and announce her fate. She sighed as she watched him with the phone and nodded at him. And then within minutes both Daisy and Joey were dead.
Logan helped as best he could, but .. Joey was too far gone. He blows out a breath and shakes his head as Dr Rogers pronounced the time of death.
Sam looks at Darcy. He’d clearly heard the fight and the loss of Joey. He clears his throat. “We need to notify Chris. Olivia is being fostered by them.” he considers. “And Joey’s parents are in Vancouver, I think. We can check his personal effects to get the numbers.” he shakes his head, but says nothing more. These were people he’d known for years, except when he lived in New York. It was always hard when you knew them and in Alexandra it was more likely you knew them than you didn’t.
Michael sighs deeply when Joey is declared dead, but not surprised. He makes a mental note to stop by for a private word with Seamus, before he found out some other way.
Susan closes her eyes when she hears the proclamation of death and then looks at Brooke. “If you want, you can spend the night here. Call home and have someone bring you a change of clothes.” she suspected Brooke would definitely want the latter, but maybe not the former.
Jasper paused in silence after his proclamation and looked at the patient he couldn’t save. He didn’t know this one but it was still a human life lost. And the guy looked pretty young, another not much older than his own kids. He swallowed and then began finalizing the notes on the chart as the nurse unhooked all the equipment. He looked up from his writing at the EMTs “We did what we could...all of us. You guys take care. Thanks for all your hard work.” He pulls the accordion door open and sees Darcy right outside it and taps her shoulder with the chart “And you.” He makes sure she knows he means everyone who brought in Joey before he goes to start the paperwork to initiate the death certificate process. Then he pauses at the other gurney and lifts the sheet on top of Daisy and sighs loudly “Daisy Dale…” He had been so busy with Joey it hadn’t registered. Mary’s patient and his before. They had tried to help her. He may as well take her particulars and get both certificates started but this night was getting worse by the minute. He looks at Sam “I’m presuming there’s a connection here….” He’s aware Susan has a patient in the other room so he gestures down the hall to Sam and Darcy.
Gareth nods at Jasper and his words of comfort “You too Doctor Rogers…” He claps Logan on the shoulder “K let’s leave them to it now….” He’ll check in more personally in the ambulance.
Brooke is sitting up with the sheet held to her and silently crying “I don’t know what I want…..a shower maybe? Or do you need the blood from my body as some kinda evidence?” She asks both cops. For once she’s not flirting, but just asking. “I guess I could call my parents…..my phone is in the motel room…”
Ryan makes a slight face about the body as evidence “That won’t be necessary...but here..” He unlocks his phone and apsses it to Brooke “Go ahead and call them. Did Daisy work at the laundromat...they own it?”
Brooke nodded as she dialed “Yeah…” Then she waits and soon begins to talk “Mom? I need some clean clothes...no I’m not hurt….Mom Joey died...and Daisy….they killed each other at the Olin….yeah the sirens and the cop cars and the ambulance...well of course we were fucking…...you what? Today? You fired her today…...holy shit.” Brooke listens and then makes a face “On the clean towels…..oh that’s fucked up. Well she took it further. Listen, just bring me clothes ok...not nothing like that…..a tshirt and jeans. I don’t care…..bye.” She hands the phone back to Ryan “Thanks. My mom fired her today. She was sending out laundry orders with blood stains on them to places all over town.”
Logan nods at Jasper and takes a final look at the body. Gareth claps him on the shoulder and
he nods. "Yea. Let's go." he was being professional, but he still had more than 12 hours left to his shift. He hoped this was the worst of his day ... but it was October in Alexandra.
Sam moves to Jasper's side. "Yea ... a lovers triangle, by the looks of it." he blows out a breath. “And so it begins …” he murmurs. It was something Jasper likely had never heard before, but the others would have. It was something cops, firefighters and medical personnel often found themselves daying with ‘the first murder of October’.
Michael keeps writing as Brooke places her call, and looks up when it is over. “Is that so?” he asks, but it isn’t aimed at anyone. “We’ll have to interview your mother, too then,” he tells Brooke. “And so it fucking begins.” he mutters, making more notes.
Susan nods as Michael speaks. “Yea … the beginning.” She looks at Brooke. “I’ll have a nurse escort you to one of the patient rooms upstairs where you can get a shower in and wait on your mother to arrive.” she says. “I have … more work to do.” The business day is over and the clinic is closed except for emergencies. She has autopsies to perform. She leaves the room without a word and approaches Sam, Darcy and Jasper, clapping Sam on the shoulder.
Gareth collects any supplies that have come in with them from the ambulance and their kits that aren’t disposables. The stretcher gets left under Joey. They can collect it after it’s been sanitized later. He walks with Logan back to the ambulance giving Darcy a lean in and a quiet “Thanks.” as he passes her. He was grateful for everyone but she had jumped in on the first aid response as she often did from her training. He smiles sadly at Sam, Susan and Jasper and mutters “And so it begins.” Forgetting that Jasper was not here for other Octobers after the first of this year’s traumas and deaths. He heads out the door, drops stuff off in the bag of the rig and then gets into the driver’s seat and buckles up before he starts the engine. As Logan gets in he turns and checks in “You ok Logan? I know how shitty it is.”
Brooke wraps the sheet tighter around herself and nods. She knew about Octobers. She’s just never been in the thick of the horror before. “Yeah…” She’s out of words after everything so she just sits.
Ryan blows out a breath. “OK so there were a lot of factors…” He knows he’s stating the obvious but he’s working through case facts in his own head. Not that there’s anyone to charge now. He nods at Michael’s words.
Jasper frowns a bit, blinking as he looks around. Everyone is acting like this double death is some sort of beginning and October has had these before and this isn’t the first he’s heard of this talk in this town. But Susan and the police and the EMT? “I’ll assist with the autopsies….I might have some questions.” And he doesn’t mean about how these people killed each other, but about the bizarre conversation string he’s just witnessed again.
Darcy had looked up at Susan and smiled tiredly. It was October and they’d likely all be seeing a lot of one another. Then she smiles back at Gareth as he leans in and thanks her “Anytime….although I may tally the number of beers you owe me by November Dunham.” It’s a little joke despite the grim day. She looks at Susan and Jasper “Normally I love an autopsy but my heart’s not in this pair. Oh god….I need to tell Vincent and Fiona…..before it ends up on the radio or twitter.” She steps away with her phone and walks down the hall a bit.
Logan helps with the clean up and gets back in the ambulance with Gareth. "I'm ... ok i guess. Just ... I've known those two ... forever. I remember Daisy driving Fiona crazy and then staying at our house when she was pregnant. Seamus and Joey got into a few fights. They were a lot closer than most I've known here." he blows out a breath. "I guess I should call them ... if Uncle Mike doesn't."
Sam sighs and looks at Darcy as she jokes with Gareth before he and Logan leave. They all had a way with the gallows humor. Occupational hazard. "Good idea." he says. "Let's get on that." he goes with her, but steps outside of the building to call Frank, who can tell Chris. It wasn't that Sam didn't know Chris well, but he had a special relationship with Frank.
Michael finishes his writing and closes his notebook. "Come on, Yamada." he looks at Susan and nods a farewell to her. "I have a report to type up." with his odd typing abilities, that won't take any time at all. He heads for the door, pulling out his phone as he did.
Susan nods at Brooke as a nurse walks in to guide her up to a shower. "Just let the nurse know if you plan to stay the night." she tells her. Then she walks into the hallway and looks at Jasper. "Meet you downstairs in 30? I have some gyros growing cold on my desk. I'll need to eat before we begin." she doesn't mind the assistance and realizes Jasper might have some questions.
Jasper had kept it to work stuff during the autopsies, which revealed no new information about how Joey and Daisy had died other than what they did to one another. But when they were scrubbing down after he then asked Susan his burning question “OK…..I need to know. What does everyone mean when they say And so it begins….or talks about October the way they do? I’ve heard various rumours and none of it makes sense. Is this a collective prank on the newbies or is there really something?”
Susan scrubbed down after the autopsies without a smile and without a word. These two were tough ones. At some point, she knew Jasper was going to ask about October. She shook the water off of her hands and loks at him. “Let’s change back into real people clothes. Meet me in my apartment upstairs and I will tell you … all I know. Over a drink?” she offers.
Jasper raises a brow and then nods. Clearly this was a big conversation “Yes to all those things. Now I’m really curious.” He heads off and changes and then comes knocking at Susan’s door ready to learn whatever she has to tell him.
Susan went upstairs and pulled out two glasses and a bottle of top grade Irish Whiskey she changed into jeans and a blue sweatshirt. When Jasper comes knocking she opens the door to her apartment, which probably reminds him of the back half of Natalie’s apartment or Levi’s. There is a small square dining table and three chairs. It’s neat and adorable. “Make yourself to home.“ She doesn’t even have much of a couch. Only a loveseat against the wall for two people tops. “And tell me if you believe in magic .. or are you a man of pure science?”
Jasper is also in jeans now and a grey henley as he walks in and takes off his slip on sneakers “All these places look identical. Huh…” Then he goes to the table out of habit since they often met near a desk at work. He sits and smooths the legs of his jeans, processing her question “Hmmm…..well I’m not religious if that’s what you mean. But “ He holds up a finger “If you mean the metaphysical…..and you get deep enough into science” He gestures with his hand “I’m sure this is not new to you...the whole quantum theory thing. At a quantum level, the behaviour of electrons is in fact affected by the behaviour…..” He points dramatically “Of the observer. I won’t bore you with a physics thesis but I am open to the idea that there are things we can’t explain….traditionally….or in the expected ways. Something tells me you’re not going to talk about electrons though….”
Susan chuckles. “It’s a small island and the architects did the best they could?” she motions around. “This used to be two apartments and the clinic on the first floor. Then … the fog. And now … it’s that and a dug basement because the people wouldn’t stop dying. My two bedroom apartment became this studio and I still worry I’ll get overrun again.” she sits cross legged in her dining chair and listens to him. She looks highly amused by him. “No … this isn’t about electrons.” she bites her lip. “Alright let me try and make this as not crazy as I can.” she ponders. “This is a very special island. I guess it always has been, but I’m gonna try and speak from my own personal experience. And every October … it feels like this island .. becomes its own isolated insane asylum. Murders, rapes, assaults, suicides … violent crimes of all kinds happen more in the month of October than any other time of the year.”
Jasper is keeping an open mind and he nods along. She also said the fog, another mysterious buzz word in this town. He compartmentalizes his questions as she goes on “Ok so October is like a large scale full moon? Because we definitely noticed some more action in the prison during those. Odd that it’s seasonal but I believe you. Although, because this happens too...do you think people are trying to get incarcerated for the winter who would otherwise be homeless? And I understand the two people we just examined today were not in that category….crime of passion.” He pauses “I’d also like to know what you mean…..by the fog? People keep saying that like it has weight….” He takes his glass of whiskey and looks gratefully at her “Thank you for this…”
Susan nods a bit about the whale moon thing. “Yes … sort of.” she twists her face a little bit and takes a drink of her own. “There is no homeless shelter in the island. People will take in someone first. Not even Kira Delmonaco was homeless, but she was as close as I’ve seen hee to the local bum.” she psuese and grins, then nods at the bottle. “There's more if you want it … or need it.” she clears her throat. “Crime still happens here … you were here for what Dante did to that Lancaster boy. But … if it had happened in October … someone would have died … or there would have been a fire that consumed them all. It’s … just worse here in October. Maybe the 4th of the month is the wrong time to tell you this … but keep in mind all the patients you’ve seen since you moved here. And then compare them to everything you see between October the 1st and Halloween … give or take a week, because some years it starts early. Some years it ends late.” she shakes her head. “I’ve known Daisy and Joey for fifteen years. Joey was an ass and Daisy was flighty and clingy and needy but neither of them was the person they were today … “
Jasper sips as he listens. He’s quite glad to hear the community based approach to combating homelessness. He looks thoughtful about Dante and Brett. He does plan to make a quantitative survey of October, despite believing her, out of his own curiosity. “I’ll get some graph paper ready.” He says jovially but then nods for her to go on. He frowns about Daisy and Joey, but more Daisy “I felt like she had hope in September and then it shifted. I barely treated her twice and now here we are. I do believe you Susan. It’s just unusual. What about the fog? What does that mean to you?”
Susan grins about his graphing and making charts. He might be surprised if he actually does it. She purses her lips when he mentions the Fog. “That was when my tiny little clinic got even tinier.” she tells him. “It meant a lot of dead people. A lot of injured people. No way to helivac anyone to the mainland because there WAS no mainland. It meant learning herbal medicine because my drugs expired. Why do you think we have that greenhouse out back?” she motions to her back door with her glass. “When we got cut off we didn't have a dentist, an eye doctor. I had a couple of nurses and myself. After the earthquake .. the fig was worse n a way. A lot of people .. couldn’t handle it. Best case scenario, they committed suicide .. worst case they took their families with them.” she sniffs and downs her drink. “Yea .. that’s a little bit of what it meant to me.”
Jasper freezes as he listens and then downs his drink and does in fact reach for the bottle to pour more “Holy shit….ok so cutoff and an earthquake and then….in what order? And for how long? I have seen the evidence in a few ways…...the greenhouse and just the culture….the gardens everywhere….” He trails off seeking more information but acknowledges Susan’s workload during such a time “that would be hell.”
Susan pours herself another drink. The whole earthquake and fog had been her kryptonite. “The Earthquake was June 21, 2017… the fog maybe 3 days later. We came out of it on March 5, 2020. Two years and what? 9 months? 8 months. We just call it three years and have done.” she tosses the drink back. “We fell back on the barter system because … what else was there? So people had gardens plus They cleared out the North Woods for the Farm to serve everyone. I had my greenhouse built and medicinal herbs. Aconite for example. It looks like a Victorian greenhouse. Basically anyone who comes here now and asks I am just a freak for Victorian medicine cause I’m a doctor. I got whatever I wanted free of charge because I was essential. People like Daisy did more menial labor .. laundry in her case. But we had some who did nothing .. for whatever reason they had … and people remember that shit. If you helped, you got helped. If you sat around … you could survey. But 99% of the community pitched in somehow or another. Even little kids.” she takes another drink. “Yea ..it was hell. But I did it. So I can do anything.” she laughs a little tipsy. “I was pretty much forced to hire you … by Adum and Hank and .. and Josh.” she giggles. She isn’t a heavy drinker. She can’t.
Jasper sips steadily but he has that unusual high tolerance for alcohol that he’s never been able to explain. He listens to Susan but feels like she’s reading to him from a science fiction novel even though he believes every word. “In a way the coming together as a community must have been pretty incredible to watch. These people are resilient Susan, and you are the top of that chain in this role….or part of it. I know that Andum and Hank and Josh would be too.” He smiles about her being forced to hire him “Well I hope I haven’t been a terrible disappointment yet.” He jokes “I do quite like it here.” Then it dawns on him “Everything came back….to Covid? Talk about a fucking kick in the pants.”
Susan nods, slowly. “Oh it was beautiful.” she remembers. “And I am very glad you’re here, Jasper. I really am.” and then she smiles. “Yup … we reconnected after three years to hear. “Oh yea … and there’s a global pandemic. You sure picked the perfect time to come back, people.” and … they were right. “Imagine having to catch up with three years with of medical journals. During a pandemic?” she shakes her head. “Sometimes I am torn between being glad we’re back and wishing we were still in the fog. But this time … if it happens again … we’ll be even more prepared.”
Jasper looks more curious than afraid “Do you think it will happen again? Has it happened before?” He’s glad Susan has no regrets about hiring him. “I mean everything I love is here now…..mostly. My parents and my siblings are in Drumheller but I also know my brother and sister will care for my mom and dad, they already do. Levi is here...I have my kids. If this was it...I could do it. I love the job and the coworkers are pretty stellar…” He smiles and sips, draining his glass and pours another, looking completely unaffected “I might be drinking too much of your lovely whiskey though. I do like the Irish stuff.”
Susan shrugs. “I sure hope it doesn't. But we’re ready i it does.” she smiles. “It helps to have loved ones close. And … my brain is a little fuzzy … you weren't here for the little tremor had back in the spring, were you? A lot of people panicked. And a lot of people won’t leave the island, or if they do they hurry back as fast as they can.” she grins. “Josh gave that to me oh … ten years ago, maybe. I can’t remember. I’m not much of a drinker, so I just put it on my shelf. We have a lot of Irish on the island.”
Jasper smiles and then shakes his head “No quakes here so far so that was before the Rogers sailed in….the jolly Rogers?” He laughs at his own joke and sips some more “I can see what they wouldn’t want to be apart in case they got separated. Jeez now I’m rethinking any future trips back to Drum….not that we can go far with Covid.” He looks at the bottle “Generous gift from the police chief. It’s a good brand. I do like a drinks dn i have a stupid unexplainable tolerance. No idea why. I was extremely boring to my university pub crawls but then there was someone at the end of the night for first aid and bucket duty. Mind you then I went and had all my children during my med degree…” He laughs “Birth control was one of the many failures of my attempt at herterosexuality. But I love my kids.”
Susan laughs at the Jolly Rogers reference. “Don’t feel bad about the planning. Everyone does it. And the alcohol. Yea … The boys on the island know and love their whiskey.” she smirks and then laughs again. “Irish triplets. The youngest Reinhardts are Irish triplets and Owen is now having triplets.” she blows out a breath. “His girlfriend wants to have them here, but we have spare incubators. As long as we never have more than six babies at one time from how ever many mothers, we’re doing good.”
Jasper smiles at her understanding and then nods about the whiskey “Good to know. And yes they sort of were…..well very close. Oh my god actual triplets are so much scarier. I haven’t done many births, I mean on the men’s side of a prison it wasn’t a common issue. Two as an intern but one was really assisting oh and uh….Romeo…..my youngest son because he came into the world like a little surprise rocket. But it’s not my area at all. Give me multiple fractures to realign….I can do it if I have to but it terrifies me every time. But you’re an OBGYN and there’s Michelle…..so we’re covered.” He looks thoughtful. “There are a lot of Reinhardts aren't there? I hear that name a lot. One of the cops tonight I think…...I mean of course Colleen….the nurse. That wasn't her husband was it?”
Susan nods. “I know, it’s scary to everyone I think. Just so many. I don’t have kids, but I can certainly imagine. I get little enough sleep as it is.” she grins. “Short labor on Romeo? I haven’t met your kids … which considering I’m usually here, that’s a good thing.” then she nods with a grin. “Yes, quite a few. Colleen is the cops sister in law Michael. She is married to his brother, John. Now you also met Logan Reinhardt, who is the red haired EMT that helped with Joey. He’s the oldest of Colleen’s children, and then it’s Fiona, then Owen the father of the triplets and the youngest is Seamus. He just got custody of his daughter who looks just like him. Plus you’ll find John and Michael’s mother Kaitlin and other assorted Reinhardts. Now you may have seen the red haired Father O’Keeffe who is not a Reinhardt. Apparently his shade of red hair is just not the same.” she laughs. “Any more questions about the citizens of our town?” she and Jasper didn’t get to talk very much.
Jasper follows along “Ok so Reinhardts equals redheads minus the one with the priest collar? Check. I didn't see the EMTs nametags and today was a whirlwind. I know the blonde one is Michelle Kim’s housemate because she forgot her lunch one day and he brought it. Someone asked if he was her partner and she corrected them immediately. I tend to deal with my kids medical stuff myself but I suspect you’ll see Miranda more than the boys. I respect that she wants a woman doctor for certain things in her life at age 16. And yes Romeo….well it was one of those odd labours. Bea just had a backache all day and felt a little sick digestively and then all of a sudden she was crowning. We called the paramedics but the boy just couldn’t wait for them.” He laughs. “I’m sure I’ll come up with more questions as time goes on.”
Susan chuckles. “Ahhhh it’s not THAT easy.” she explains with a mystical tone. “They have married outside of their red hair. Michael married Stephanie Yamada and adopted Tristan .. and now they are Reinhardts. Plus Colleen’s brother Jude Murphy has black hair. So you can’t tell just on sight.” she chuckles. “The blonde is Gareth Dunham. Michelle is with another firefighter, Nico Cato. And even though Fiona is a Reinhardt, her fiance has already changed his name to Reinhardt .. so he will have her name not the other way around. It’s never boring around here.. OK it IS but … you know.” she kills her drink and sighs. “I’d better start on coffee.” it is late and she’s not much of a drinker.
Jasper snorts “Well I’m glad they’re not discriminatory or insular. Basically what you’re saying is anyone could be a Reinhardt?” He jokes. “I may call it a night Susan but my phone is always on. Thank you for the drinks and the chat. It’s odd but it oddly makes sense for this island too. And tomorrow is still October so a late supper with any of my teenagers I can get to hang out with me and a good night’s sleep is ideal. You have a good one too when you get to it.” And he begins to get up to slip into his shoes. Joey Piccolo and Daisy Dale will be soon laid to rest; together in the end.
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