Trey

There are few things in life that I hate more than going to a hospital. I spent quite a bit of time at hospitals after Tyler got hurt in high school and I was always uncomfortable. The fact that Vanessa usually went with me was the only thing that made it tolerable. That’s why I was glad when Mandy asked if she could tag along tonight.

“Tyler?” a man, in green scrubs, gasps as we approach the hospital doors.

“No. I’m his twin brother, Trey.” I hold out my hand to shake his.

“My God! I thought I was losing it,” he says shaking my hand and studying my features. “You two really are identical.”

“Right down to the week’s worth of razor stubble,” Mandy adds.

“I just stopped by to see how he is doing. We just got back from her mom’s funeral in Tennessee,” I explain.

“So you are the one I talked to the other day on the phone,” he says, having a sudden realization. “The conference with your mom and Vanessa.”

“It was and you are one of his doctors?” I glance at his name tag, only able to make out the first few letters.

“Yes, I’m Dr. Potaturri. I took over his care on Saturday.” His eyes shift back and forth nervously, so I start paying closer attention to the blond guy standing next to him. I notice that he has retreated a couple of steps since we started talking.

“I’ll catch up with you later on, Doc,” he says before turning to walk away. He was obviously uncomfortable with my increasing scrutiny. I made a note of his spiked hair, blue eyes and the switchblade tattoo on the back of his neck.

“Yes,” he dismisses him with a wave and turns back toward me. “I’ll stop up shortly to check on your brother and give you an update.” He holds out his hand and gestures toward the entrance.

“Is he doing all right?” I ask again.

“He seems to be stable, but we won’t know for sure until we can bring him out of sedation,” he replies in a hushed voice. “You go ahead, I’ll be up in a bit.” He points us toward the elevators on the other side of the waiting room.

“Did you see the looks on their faces when we walked up?” Mandy whispers as soon as the elevator doors close. “I thought the blond guy had crapped his pants.”

“Yeah, I noticed he was slowly backing away while I was talking to the doctor. I wonder why Tyler has a different doctor?” Another weird feeling rises up from within me. “That’s why I was a little confused on the phone call. This guy is doing things completely different than his first doctor.”

“Maybe we should find that first doctor and find out what happened?” Mandy suggests. The elevator dings and the doors open.

“Dr. Novacek, we were just discussing you,” I tell him as he steps into the elevator.

“Are there more concerns?” he asks dryly, glaring at me over the top of his glasses.

“Yes actually. I was wondering why Tyler has a new doctor and why he thinks Tyler needs to remain sedated?” I glare back at him with equal intensity.

“Your family requested the change,” he says in a snide tone. “Weren’t you in on it?”

“No. Mom didn’t seem to know why things had changed either,” I reply befuddled by his explanation. “The only other person is his fiancée, Vanessa.”

“I don’t know the specifics. All I know is that someone from your family requested that Dr. Potaturri be his primary care physician,” he replies with obvious disdain in his tone. “God knows why.”

“Does he have more experience with drug overdoses?” I ask, hoping to unearth a rational explanation.

The elevator dings as we reach our destination, but Dr. Novacek presses a button to momentarily prevent the doors from opening. “I’m on my way to my office. Why don’t you join me?”

Mandy and I exchange nervous looks before following the doctor to his office. He remains completely silent until we are inside and he has closed the door behind us. “Dr. Pot, as I like to call him, undoubtedly has more experience with drug overdoses,” he says, moving behind his desk and taking a seat. “Unfortunately, most of the overdoses are his own patients.”

“I don’t understand.” I sit down in one chair and motion for Mandy to take the other.

“Dr. Potaturri is a pain specialist. He has a private practice in addition to working here at the hospital. From what I hear, he has three Physician Assistants at his clinic who are going through prescription pads like toilet paper.”

“Okay. So why would Vanessa request him as Tyler’s doctor?” I ask, getting even more confused.

“Why did he change the standard protocol?” the doctor asks me. “That’s an even better question.”

I lean forward in my chair. “What if someone tried to kill him instead of it being an overdose? They wouldn’t want him to wake up.”

He slides a copy of Us Weekly toward me. “The headline claims that it’s you who wants him dead, along with your father. That would make you the sole heir to the multi-billion dollar fortune,” he says removing his glasses and setting them down on his desk. “Are you saying they have it all wrong?”

I roll my eyes and find it hard to believe that he would say that right to my face. “If there was a shred of evidence that I was involved in either of them, I would have already been arrested.”

“What about the briefcase full of money?” he asks, tapping his pen against the magazine. “They claim that’s the key to the whole thing.”

“Well it’s not. I simply purchased some documents that I wanted to take out of circulation. Copies have been faxed to my attorney, so it will be all cleared up by the end of the day tomorrow,” I tell him confidently.

“Well, if there is someone who wants to keep your brother from talking, Dr. Pot would be the man to call,” he says, confirming the queasy feeling in my gut. “And if they want him dead, he can make it look like a result of natural causes. He simply didn’t wake up from his coma.”

“I thought he was coming out of the coma the other morning. There was movement and he made some moaning sounds.” I shift in my seat.

“The monitor picked up increasing activity. That’s when I was relieved as his attending physician, so I haven’t had a chance to look at anything ever since,” he says with a grimace. “What do you want to do?”

“I want you as his primary physician and I’m going to find out who requested the change.” I rise and extend my hand to shake his. “Thanks for filling us in.”

Mandy

By the end of the conversation with Dr. Novacek, he was obviously warming up to Trey. He was kind of an ass in the beginning, but Trey stayed calm and made it obvious that he is working in his brother’s best interest. I keep wondering if Tommy and Vanessa could possibly be conspiring with one another. At the moment, that seems like it could be the most probable scenario.

“I’ll wait outside the door if you want to talk in private,” I tell him as we approach his brother’s room.

“No.” He shakes his head and takes my hand, leading me through the doorway.

“Trey, I’m so glad you are here.” Vanessa jumps out of the chair and rushes over to give him a big hug. “Hi,” she adds, looking at me like a total stranger.

“Hi, I’m Amanda,” I reply, since she obviously doesn’t remember my name.

“Amanda! I’m sorry, I have way too much on my mind.” She goes back to looking directly at Trey. “He hasn’t made a sound or moved a muscle since you left Friday morning.” The way she says it sounds like she is implying that Trey is at fault for this development.

“I wasn’t the one who ordered a change of physician,” he blasts back, after pulling away from her. “That’s why he’s still unconscious for Christ sake.”

“I made the change,” she admits with widening eyes. “Ty has been going to him for over a month. When I found out he worked for the hospital, it seemed to make sense.”

“You do realize that they call him Dr. Pot, because he’s basically a drug dealer!” Trey clenches his fists and looks to the ceiling in frustration. “How the fuck did Tyler end up going to him?”

“Tommy told me about him. He’s a pain management specialist!” she yells back before turning away and walking to the other side of the bed.

Trey stands silent for a moment before he calmly begins to talk. “You told me that Tyler has been acting weird and erratic for the past month. Coincidentally, he’s been going to a pain management specialist that Dr. Novacek says is a major prescription drug dealer. Jesus, Vanessa! Are you fucking stupid?”

“Is there a problem?” a voice asks behind us. I turn to see Dr. Potaturri standing in the doorway with a hesitant expression on his face.

Trey spins on his heel and blasts him immediately. “Yes, there is a major problem. You have been messing up my brother for over a month and now you want to continue your work here?” he asks, moving toward the doctor. “I’ll bet you were the source of the pentobarbital too.” He moves squarely in front of the doctor’s face.

“Whoa, where did all of this come from? We just spoke a few minutes ago downstairs.” He takes a step back with an astonished look.

“Right from the start I’ve thought that Dad’s death and this whole thing with Tyler were related,” he says, taking another step toward him. “It seems to me that you and Tommy are right in the center of it. Vanessa might be involved too.” He turns his glare toward her.

“What the hell are you saying?” Vanessa comes storming across the room. “That I was part of a conspiracy to kill off your family? Why the hell would I do that?” she demands, pushing in between Trey and the doctor.

“You made the introduction, so whether you planned it or not.” Trey cuts his sentence short and turns back toward the doctor. “Just so we’re clear… you are no longer Tyler’s doctor. I’m going to have Dr. Novacek run blood tests to see what you have been using to keep him sedated.”

“Are you accusing me of intentionally hurting your brother? I should call security… they would kick your ass out of here!” he steams. “I know Thelma, the head nurse, has instructions to make sure you aren’t even left alone with him.”

Trey shakes his head and glares directly at the doctor. His face is flushed and I can see his pulse pounding in his neck. “That was before we found out that you and Tommy are connected. By the way, who was that blond guy you were talking to out front?”

“Just a friend of mine. Why?” Dr. Potaturri looks completely annoyed by the question.

“Because he about shit his pants when he saw Trey,” I chime in, tired of holding my tongue.

“He kept backing away the whole time I was talking to you,” Trey adds.

“I have no idea what you two are talking about, but if you don’t think I can help your brother I will be happy to walk away,” the doctor says, shrugging his shoulders and turning back toward the hallway.

“Good,” Trey replies, turning back to Vanessa. “He will be better off with Dr. Novacek. They need to do a blood draw and see what he is on.”

“You also need to call the cops and fill them in on all of this,” I tell him bluntly. “That way they will start pursuing the real culprits instead of trying to figure out how to build a totally circumstantial case against you.”

“There is no way that Tommy is involved in this!” Vanessa’s eyes ignite once again. “Tommy was only trying to help, because I had told him how frustrated I was with Tyler’s pain and addiction.”

“Well, Tommy has somehow become CEO of Addison Media and with that he gained control over the majority of the voting rights,” Trey informs her. “The only way that could have occurred is by Dad dying and the board approving his hire as CEO. Of all the people associated with the situation, Tommy has gained the most, so far.”

Vanessa shakes her head in frustration and scurries out of the room. “I think you’ve struck a nerve,” I say, raising an eyebrow and giving him a satisfied smirk.

“I’m going to rattle cages until I find out what the hell is going on!” He steps up to his brother’s bed and lays a hand on him. “Don’t worry, bud. I’m not leaving town again until we have this whole mess figured out.”

I step out into the hallway to give Trey a little privacy and to see if Dr. Novacek is still in his office. As I turn the corner, I hear Vanessa angrily talking with someone on her phone. I stop out of her line of sight, to see if I can hear her side of the conversation. She is visibly upset and there is no doubt in my mind as to who is on the other end of the line.

“They are going to do a blood test to see if he has been drugging him!” I hear very distinctly, before her voice gets quiet again. She looks as if she could burst into tears at any moment. I stand still for another minute until she lowers the phone and clicks the button.

“Is everything okay?” I ask as I resume my path toward Dr. Novacek’s office.

“Is everything okay?” Her mouth literally drops open. “What kind of a question is that? Of course everything is not okay!”

“I’m sorry, I’m just passing through,” I tell her, not knowing what else to say. I move hastily in the direction of the doctor’s office. I can’t help wondering if she’s mad at Tommy for recommending a drug-pushing doctor or if she is upset that Trey accused her of being involved. She’s probably upset about both items.