The Maple Murders

Chapter 4 - Puppet on a string.

After scanning through each shelf, Ash finally found the small bottles labelled "Cyanide – DANGER." They weren't particularly impressive-looking bottles, only smooth glass bottles no larger than her palm. But Ash couldn't ignore the weight of excitement and danger on her shoulders as she reached out to grab one. She was holding a bottle of lethal liquid that would kill her in minutes if she didn't handle it correctly.

Suddenly, she heard a terrifying sound: a rolling bottle followed by a smash, then another smash, another smash, and another...

Ash froze in surprise, her heart hammering in her chest as she turned to see the source of the noise.

She had accidentally knocked a book that was sitting too close to the cyanide, knocking the rest of the cyanide bottles off the shelf and sending shards of glass flying in every direction.

"Shit."

As she gazed at the mess, panic took over her body, freezing her in place. This was dangerous. Extremely dangerous.

Ash snapped herself out of her panic and forced herself to stop breathing. She quickly jumped off the stool, avoiding the poisonous mess underneath her feet. She ran as quickly as she could to the elevator, finally taking a deep breath when the metal doors shut tight.

Her heart pounded in her chest, but it was unclear whether the adrenaline-fueled rush derived from narrowly escaping death or from something unrelated.

Three loud beeps from the pager clipped to her scrubs brought Ash's focus away from the cyanide. She unclipped the pager and read the message: "Paediatric Unit, Bed 12, new cannula needed. Patient stable, no urgency."

"Crap." Ash muttered, considering her options. She had planned on sneaking the cyanide into her handbag and getting back to work, as it wasn't urgent. However, she suddenly realized that being there so late might raise suspicion. And, what if the cyanide leaked in her bag?

"Fuck it," she mumbled under her breath before pressing the 'Floor 2' button on the elevator and quickly returning the cyanide to her pocket.

"I'll deal with it later," she told herself, hoping to ease her mind a bit.

As the elevator lurched into motion, she tried to calm herself down, but her thoughts were still racing, just as her breath and her heart rate. Should she make up an excuse for being there so late? What if someone saw her leaving the elevator with the cyanide in her hand? 'Shit, shit, shit.'

She tried to take slow, deep breaths, but her chest felt tight and heavy. A sense of panic took over, and her thoughts seemed distorted and blurry. She couldn't tell if she was feeling anxious or if she had inhaled some of the cyanide. Either way, she couldn't afford anyone to raise any suspicion, so she closed her eyes and ignored it, focusing on the job ahead.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Emma walked over to the new patient with Charlotte. "Do you have the documents Graham gave you for handover?" she asked, but Charlotte's cocky reply threw her off.

"Yeah, of course I do. You think I'm gonna' mess up on my first day or something? Geez."

Before Emma could say anything, Ash entered the ward. "What do we have here?" she asked, approaching the patient. Charlotte's demeanour instantly changed when she heard Ash's voice.

"Hello, Ash!" she greeted with excitement.

As Ash walked towards the bed, Emma began explaining. "This is Evelyn-"

"--6-year-old female, Evelyn Jenkins, suffering with Acute pancreatitis. Other symptoms include sinus tachycardia, tachypnoea, nausea and abdominal pain." Charlotte abruptly interrupted and shoved the medical documents in Ash's face.