Of Mushrooms and Matrimony by Amy Patricia Meade

Author:Amy Patricia Meade [Meade, Amy Patricia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Severn House
Published: 2022-09-14T00:00:00+00:00

SIXTEEN

‘I know I wanted to meet Jackson Payne, but a hospital room chat wasn’t exactly what I had in mind,’ Tish remarked as Reade pulled the SUV into the parking lot of Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center.

‘Doctors finding traces of amatoxins in his urine probably wasn’t what Jackson Payne had in mind for tonight either,’ Reade stated before exiting the car and escorting Tish through the sliding glass doors of the hospital.

Jackson Payne was located on the fifth floor of the hospital, in a private room in a wing reserved for high-profile patients. The nurse outside his room apprised Tish and Reade of his condition: ‘His kidney and liver levels are good … blood pressure low but steady … Doctors caught the poison early enough … He’s been given activated charcoal and will receive a course of acetylcysteine … fluids by IV … lots of rest. Only a doctor can give a prognosis, but for now he’s stable and responding well.’

‘Any timeframe on when Mr Payne consumed the Death Cap?’

‘Because of the patient’s advanced age and various health issues, the effects of the poison would have struck earlier than in a healthy person. The doctor expects the mushroom was consumed approximately three to four hours prior to arrival here.’

They thanked the nurse and she led them into Payne’s room, where a tall, bearded man in a black tuxedo stood vigil. Reade displayed his badge and introduced both himself and Tish.

‘Nicolas Latanzza,’ the tall man replied with a slight Italian accent. He was just shy of fifty, with brilliant blue eyes that made his dark hair appear even blacker. ‘I am Chef Payne’s assistant.’

‘He is more than that,’ spoke the figure in the bed. ‘He’s one of the most talented chefs I know and the driving force behind my foundation. Without him, it would never have gotten off the ground.’

‘As always, Chef Payne is too modest. He is the inspiration for my career, the reason I chose my life’s work. He is who I want to be when I grow up.’

A smile spread across Jackson Payne’s pallid face. He looked far grayer and frailer than Tish recalled him being – clearly the loss of his beloved wife had taken a physical toll. ‘You are too kind, Nick, too kind. But who are our guests?’

‘Sheriff Clemson Reade,’ the lawman flashed his badge. ‘And my associate Tish Tarragon.’

‘The health problems of an old man are worthy of calling the police?’ he asked with a chuckle.

‘When those health problems involve the consumption of a Death Cap mushroom, they are.’

Payne’s mood became solemn. ‘A Death Cap? Someone clearly made a mistake. A cook’s assistant perhaps? I remember when I was a young apprentice, a knowledge of mushrooms was mandatory, but now …’

‘Sir,’ Reade gently interjected, ‘your poisoning isn’t an isolated incident. Gunnar Randall was found dead from Death Cap poisoning just this morning.’

‘Then there must be a bad shipment of mushrooms in town,’ Payne insisted. ‘There are only a handful of suppliers in this city.

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