PIE HAS BEEN SERVED

Chapter 9

Location: Minestow General Hospital

Kenneth asks the front desk for Miss. Olivia Clarke's cabin room number which is met by a stern look from a young nurse who clearly does not recognise him. "Visiting time is 4PM to 6PM. You are late, sir." She gets engaged back in her work.
"No, I..", Kenneth stops and looks around, searching for the sweet and kind nurse who knows that he is helping the police with the case. He does not know how to explain that to someone new.
'Forget it. I will find my way.', he sighs and moves out of her field of vision.
Kenneth sneaks in the indoor ward following the doctors and nurses on their rounds but avoiding their attention at the same time.

Location: Miss. Clarke's cabin room

'Finally!', Kenneth reads the temporary her initials on the outside of the cabin door. He knocks lightly and spies in.
"Come in. I was waiting for you.", a sweet voice answers from inside.
"I don't think you were.", Kenneth goes in with a soft smile on his face.
Olivia's face flushes off its colours in shock but she soon regains her composure, perks of being a teacher, "you are right. I am waiting for my nurse, Nurse Lola. You have met."
Kenneth nods in understanding.
"Still helping the police, I presume? Visiting beyond the usual times again..", she deduces.
Kenneth scratches his head and looks away without answering. "So how have you feeling?", he asks.
"Better now.", Olivia straightens the wrinkles in the white bedspread, "see! No oxygen now.", she looks up at Kenneth.

Nurse Lola comes in after announcing herself. She notices Kenneth there. "Shh!!", he signals her.
"What are you doing here now?", she asks him while preparing medications for the patient.
"I came to visit our beloved English teacher.", Kenneth grins.
"I'm so jealous.", the nurse states and keeps on working the rest of the time in silence. She leaves after instructing Olivia to call her if she needs anything. She waves at Kenneth on her way out.

"What a nice person!", Olivia smiles.
Kenneth stands up and declares, "I know who killed George."
Olivia's eyes widen in disbelief. She does not try to hide her expression this time, or rather she cannot. "You don't know that", she utters in a low voice.
"I have proof.", Kenneth closes in with each statement.
"You don't. You can't", she declares.
Kenneth circles around the foot end of the hospital bed and stands where Nurse Lola stood a few minutes ago, closer to Olivia Clarke's face. "I do.", he reassures her. He takes out a piece of dirty tape from his left pant pocket and dangles it in front of Olivia.
"..."
"Fingerprints never lie.", Kenneth continues.
Unexpectedly, Olivia shoots for his shirt collar and grabs him closer which knocks Kenneth right onto the bed with his hands supporting his body from falling over. His face is now inches away from Olivia's. "I don't know what you think you have but you don't know anything.", her shaky voice declares, "I killed George. I wanted to kill us both. It was me.", Olivia pants as she lets go off his collar.
Kenneth composes himself back in his seat and readjusts his shirt. "I know you didn't do it.", he states confidently, "I know because you are a naturopath."
"Exactly!", she speaks as soon as he stops, "I can easily get my hands on a belladonna plant."
"But you wouldn't. You care too much.", Kenneth explains. Suddenly, his expressions change as he scoots closer to Olivia and exclaims, "oh! They were here, weren't they?"

The rhetorical question is followed by an awkward silence in which both parties are at a loss for words. Olivia shifts around in her bed slightly which jolts Kenneth back out of his subconscious thought process.
He shakes his head and speaks slowly, "I am confident that you did not kill George."
Olivia's unsteady gaze moves around the room trying to avoid Kenneth. "Then why are you here?", her eyes momentarily fix on the wall clock and back to her fidgeting fingers.
"What?"
"If you know the killer and you have evidence against your claim, then why are you here? You should be at the police station. Why are you here?", she asks again.
Kenneth appreciates the change of dialogue. "No offense but that's the first time you have talked sensibly since I came in today."
"You don't have evidence.", Olivia half-asks.
"No, that I do. But I had to hear it from you, your side of it all.", Kenneth answers.
"Even before going to the police?", Olivia's gaze wanders around the room, much to Kenneth's annoyance.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I had to know.", Kenneth utters.
"And I told you I did it. There you have it.", Olivia coughs. She reaches for a glass of water at her bedside.
Kenneth helps her and wonders if he should keep pushing or retire for the day. "And I am telling you, you did not do it. You don't have a motive."
"Of course I do. George dumped me, his father threatened me, my job, I lost everyone's respect. Isn't this enough of a reason for a double suicide?", Olivia coughs some more.
Kenneth does not raise his voice against hers, "could be, but then did you accidentally miscalculate the lethal dose for you? So, George ends up dying but have a 'get-out-of-jail' free card."
"I...uh...wha...wait. Nothing you said makes sense.", Olivia is intrigued by her student, "what do you mean 'get-out-of-jail' free card? I'm confessing, aren't I? Why are you not listening?", Olivia switches on white machine to the left of her bed and puts on the mask.

Kenneth takes a few deep breaths which allows Olivia to calm down. She puts down the mask and turns off the machine. She allows herself a quick peek at the big white wall clock again.
Kenneth enquires rather rudely, "I'm sorry. This is too distracting. Why do you keep glancing at the clock?!"
Olivia trembles slightly as she replies, "it's late. You should go home."
"Soon.", Kenneth assures her, "but before that, let me tell you a story."
Olivia settles into her bed.
Kenneth assumes a more comfortable position on the stool. "Before you worked at our school, you used to teach English at Goodland Dream Highschool until two years ago. One of your ex-students transferred this year to our class, Sheila Ferguson. She claims that you killed her best friend, Lewis Williams but you did not, because you were fired for having illicit relationships with a student and you left way before he overdosed on the party drugs and died. You had no idea until she told you, isn't it?", Kenneth holds Olivia's hand as she sobs silently, "Sheila warned you against going out with George. She warned him. She informed his parents. They made your life hell. But thankfully, George broke up with you. You did not like it but you managed to keep your job.", Kenneth grabs a water bottle from the table and sips on it before continuing, "there was also another person blaming you for his brother's demise, Harry Jones Williams, or whom we better know him as Detective Jones. You could not hide. He used the system to track you down.", he could feel Olivia sucking in her breath sharply, "he stalked you for months. He laid out the perfect plan, but he didn't account for a few things. Firstly, George, of course. Then, me, vitally helping with the investigation and finding his prints near the security room where it never should have been. Lastly, and sadly, your tolerance for belladonna. And so he failed.", Kenneth lets out a big sigh.

Kenneth waits for a while to give Olivia Clarke time to process his words. Her face has an ashen palor with a modicum of visible petrification. Her hand reaches to turn on the machine again, "he didn't fail.", she utters inaudibly as she puts on the mask.
Kenneth's whole mind goes blank for a nanosecond as he jumps right back on track, 'of course! That explains the constant glances at the clock.' "What did he give you? How much time do you have?", he gets up and leans over, "you are aware and fully functional, which means you took it on your own accord. Why??", Kenneth panics, "why would you do that? What did you take?? Tell me damnit!"
Olivia catches hold of his shirt collar again to stop him from calling the nurse in, "I killed George. I am going to kill myself now. So please go. It's time. GO!!!"
As Olivia falls back to the bed, a single tear escapes her eye. The monitors in the room start beeping alarmingly which attracts the attention of the night staff. They push a cart in. Kenneth is startled by the noise. He is being quickly escorted away, out of the room. Kenneth whispers to himself, "that's not how it was supposed to end!"