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The sharp dispatcher picked up on the urgency in Terri’s voice. I could hear her say, “We have a 10-13 at Columbus Avenue and West 100th Street. Clear the air.”
Even in my current state, I knew cops would start racing to us from all over Manhattan. Suddenly, I couldn’t feel my legs. I drifted in a dream. I heard Terri giving Sloan’s description. “White male, running south on Columbus Avenue. His name is Thomas Sloan.”
Next thing I knew, I thought I was holding Mary Catherine’s hand as she was undergoing some sort of medical procedure. I heard singing. Or maybe it was sirens.
Then everything went dark.
Chapter80
MY SENSES CAMEback to me piecemeal. I could hear a little, then the darkness became a little lighter. I could feel activity around me. I could even sense that I was in a well-lit room. I had snatches of consciousness and knew I’d ridden in an ambulance. I’d also heard a lot of radio traffic. That’s a little unusual for a homicide detective. We’re not typically in the thick of things. But I guessed somehow I’d managed to get right in the middle of everyone’s day.
I opened my eyes and blinked. It felt like I had sand on my eyeballs, they were so dry. The same thing with my throat. I tried to swallow, but I had nothing to swallow. Everything in the room was just haze and shadow.
Someone gave me an ice chip, which felt like heaven in my mouth. A woman’s voice said, “Can you sip some water?”
My eyes fluttered, and I took an involuntary deep breath. It just sort of got sucked in like I was in a deep sleep and snoring. I nodded my head, hoping that whoever had asked me about the sip of water understood I was ready. I felt a cup at my lips, and the few sips of water that entered my mouth ran straight down my throat like a waterfall.
I heard another female voice. She had an accent I couldn’t identify immediately. She repeated my name. “Mr. Bennett, Mr. Bennett, Mr. Bennett, can you hear me?”
I nodded. The room was starting to come into focus quickly now. There was a young woman with light hair and in blue surgical scrubs. She was holding a cup of water. Another woman stood right next to my bed. She wore a white coat and had black hair.
The woman in the white coat said, “You’re going to be okay. You’re in the emergency room of Mount Sinai.”
I was able to cough out, “Mount Sinai Morningside?” I don’t know why it mattered. That’s just what popped into my scrambled brain.
She shook her head and her dark hair swayed. “No, Mount Sinai on Madison. They decided it was faster to bring you here because of traffic. I’m Dr. Hoang. Do you know what happened?”
I nodded. “Suspect stabbed me with a syringe.”
“We found the vial in your pocket. That was very smart. It was ketamine, a strong animal tranquilizer. You’re very lucky.”
I tried to sit up in the bed. “If this is lucky, I’d rather be good.” Neither of my attendants got the reference to the old adageBetter to be lucky than good. Then I managed to say, “Did they catch Sloan?” I was starting to feel better by the second.
The doctor wasn’t sure what I was talking about. She asked me if I was feeling up to seeing visitors. Once I nodded, she opened the door, and I was glad to see Terri Hernandez and Harry Grissom rush into the room.
Terri didn’t need to be asked. She said, “A patrol officer picked up Sloan three blocks away from his clinic. He’s being booked now.”
Harry spoke up. “He’s being charged with attempted murder. He had no way of knowing how you’d react. There’ll be all kinds of assault charges as well.”
Then the door to my room burst open again. Mary Catherine appeared with the light from the hallway framing her blond hair and freckled face. In my current state, she looked a lot like an angel.
Mary Catherine didn’t exactly sound like an angel as she marched in, though. She pointed directly at Harry Grissom and Terri Hernandez. “You two need to leave right now. Michael needs his rest. He needs his family.”
Harry started to say something, but Mary Catherine cut him off.
She said in a sterner voice, “Sorry, Harry. That’s the way it’s going to be today. You can talk work when Michael’s feeling better.”
All I could think about was Sloan attacking me. The needle piercing the skin of my neck. It might take me a while to get over this one.
I was conscious enough to see Terri realize it was time to go. She gave Mary Catherine a quick kiss on both cheeks and Harry a slight shove toward the door.
Then Mary Catherine rushed to my side and started covering me with kisses.
Chapter81
THE DAY AFTERmy encounter with the sleazy veterinarian, I found myself in my apartment. My doctor had said I needed a minimum of two days’ at-home rest to make sure I had no adverse reactions. Mary Catherine had ordered me to comply whether I needed it or not. I may not always do what the NYPD or doctors want me to, but I rarely defy one of my wife’s commands. I have seen firsthand what happens to people who ignore Mary Catherine’s will.
My boss, Harry Grissom, had spent his career in the NYPD. During the course of that career, he’d been shot, stabbed, and run over by a drunk in a Lincoln Continental, he’d sat on a ledge for almost nine hours to stop a suicidal stockbroker, and he’d delivered two babies. I had never seen him show even a flicker of fear or hesitation.
