Samson wanted to
leave with Melandro, but Tiffany and Tyson quickly closed down the club and
everyone had to stay put, including Samson. Tyson called for police
reinforcements and Tiffany called in the Sheriff’s office. This was way too
much for them to deal with. Traffic was blocked from entering the parking lot
of Club Jazzy and for a three-block perimeter. Behind the club was the river so
they weren’t concerned about anyone leaving in that direction.
“Tyson, make sure
all of guests are comfortable and have the police collect every glass at every
table and bag them. Battle, call the hospital and make sure everyone is x-rayed
for needle pricks and their stomachs pumped. Swatere, check the bathrooms and
collect all the garbage cans. Whoever is responsible for this, is not getting
away again!” Tiffany thundered orders.
Pretty soon the
place was packed with uniformed officers, interviewing guests and taking notes.
All of the stemware bagged and all the eating utensils and food put aside.
Samson and the
other owners were dumbfounded. They couldn’t believe this was happening on
their opening night. Immediately, technicians were brought in to rule out food
poisoning for which the chef was eternally grateful for them saying, the food
was not tainted in any way.
When the stemware
was bagged and tagged, another agent from the FBI took them directly to the lab
where Katie was standing by.
When Tiffany
asked Samson what Melandro had been drinking, she immediately became
suspicious.
“I only saw her
drink club soda. Then after we announced our engagement, she had a sip of the
champagne. Ask the bar-tender if she had anything else.”
When Tiffany
asked the bar-tender if Melandro had anything to drink, he just shook his head.
“She came back here once, to fix what she was going to call a Jazzy special. I
don’t know what she put in it and she washed the shaker as soon as she made
it.”
“That figures,”
Tiffany muttered. “What about the glass she used for the champagne toast, has
that been cleaned as well?”
“No, in fact she
never finished the drink so it’s on the counter—right where she was sitting
before she collapsed.”
“Battle, get that
technician over here to check the contents of this glass.”
The technician
had brought specially formulated strips to test for poisons and he immediately
put it in the glass. It turned blue—indication of a toxic substance.
“Okay, get that
to the lab and I want results tonight, not tomorrow!” she barked.
Samson sat at the
bar with his head in his hand, not knowing what was going on. “Samson, do you
have a pen I could use? I don’t have one in this tiny little purse,” Tiffany
explained.
“Yeah, sure. Let
me get you one of the marketing ones from the office.”
“Franklin,” she
called to a uniformed officer, “Please escort Samson to his office and bring him
back here pronto.
Walking back to
his office with his police escort, Samson’s heart sank. This was supposed to be
a night to remember, but not because of three people being rushed to a
hospital, but because he had decided to commit to one woman. When he unlocked
the door, he sighed and went quickly to his desk and opened the drawer.
Stunned, he picked up the syringe and the vial, wondering how they got there.
Since Franklin was standing right behind him and saw the syringe and vial,
Samson plopped into the chair, not saying a word.
“Agent Harangue,”
he radioed. “You need to see this. I’m in the office near the back of the
building. Don’t make a move,” he ordered, pulling his service revolver out and
keeping it aimed at Samson.
“I’ll be right
there,” she said, motioning for Tyson to follow her.
“I don’t know
what this is or how it got here,” Samson stammered.
“Don’t say
anything else until Agent Harangue gets back here,” Franklin ordered, stepping
back from Samson, watching every move.
Tiffany and Tyson
burst through the door.
“What is it?”
Tiffany asked.
Franklin motioned
with his gun at Samson. “Get up slowly and move away from the desk.” Turning to
Tiffany, he said, “There’s a syringe and a vial in the drawer. Samson here says
he doesn’t know how they got there.”
Fortunately,
Tiffany had brought a pair of latex gloves to the back with her and an evidence
bag. She put on the gloves and gingerly picked up the syringe and vial, putting
them into the evidence bag.
“Tyson, take
these to one of the technicians and have it analyzed right away. If this is
what I think it is, we’ve finally solved these murders and hopefully, those who
are at the hospital will survive.”
“Franklin, read
Samson his rights and take him in for questioning. He’s to be held until we get
back from the hospital and no one, I mean no one is get back here. As soon as
everyone has been interviewed and we have contact information, turn them loose
and tape the place off.
Samson was read
his rights, handcuffed and led out of the club, totally mortified by what had
just happened.
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