Erica and I meet when she walked in front of my car. I was pulling out of the garage under the condo building I live in. The sun was in my eyes and I hit the brakes and she was still four feet in front of the car. She turned looked at me and then she was gone. I put the car in park and jumped out to see what happened and check that she was alright. Erica was sprawled out on the sidewalk and my car had stopped just short of the sidewalk. I noticed the heel of her shoe was sticking up and not attached to the shoe it belonged to. That explained how she fell.
I asked her: "Are you hurt, what happened I saw you and then you were not there."
She gave me a dumb look and seemed bewildered, looked around and said: "Fuck I just bought these shoes and the heel fell off one of them."
It was then I noticed three things one, she was drunk, two, the heels were six-inch spikes, and three, she was drop dead gorgeous. Also, it was ten in the morning and she must still be loaded from last night. I helped her to her feet and she realized she couldn't walk with one heel missing from her shoes.
I told her: "It seems the heel got caught in the crack in the sidewalk and broke off."
I couldn't smell booze and I got the feeling she was on drugs or had been drugged. I heard sirens and felt someone called 911. Two fire trucks and an ambulance arrived in front of the hotel next to the condo building. The fire men and two EMTs rushed into the hotel leaving two fire men outside. My guess was they needed to watch the trucks. One noticed me and Erica on the ground and walked over.
He asked me: "Is she ok?"
I told him: "Her heel got stuck and broke off, at first I thought she had too much to drink, but now I think it maybe drugs."
He then asked: "Do you know if she came from the hotel?"
I said: "I have no idea, why?"
He told me: "We got a call that house keeping found three nude women in a suite unresponsive and appear to have been drugged. The chief already called for two more busses, nut there is only one free to answer the call."
I asked him: "Should I take her to the ER in my car?"
He told me: "I can't tell you that, but if she was connected to me, yah I would."
He helped me to get her into my car and secured. As I went to get in the driver's seat he said: "I am calling Tufts ER and telling them to watch for you it is the closest ER."
I thanked him and headed there. Three minutes later as I pulled up there was a security guard signaling me where to stop. He came to my door and as I got out, he told me: "I'll take care of the car. Your keys will be at the security desk when you leave."
I handed him the fob for the car and followed the staff wheeling the gurney into the ER. I was stopped and asked my relationship with the patient. I told the truth that I was the person that saw her fall when she broke her heel and that she appeared to be impaired. That she was walking from the direction of the hotel where three other women were found unconscious. The nurse that stopped me, thanked me for the information. Another person asked me to follow her to answer more questions.
That woman asked me: "What is her name and your relationship with her?"
I told her: "I don't know her; she fell on the side walk as I was leaving the garage of my condo building and I got out to see if she was alight."
The next question asked was: "Did she have a purse or something that may have an ID?"
I told her: "She had a small wristlet, if it isn't with her, it must be in the car. Security took care of it when I pulled up. They have the fob and know where they parked it."
It was then three gurneys were rushed in and the fire man I talked to and help me get her in the car walked by. I called to him and he came over to where I was and spoke to the woman asking me questions. He told her: "EMTs feel they three were dosed with date rape drugs and the security tapes for the hallway show the woman he brought in drank from two bottles of champagne on a cart outside the suite. All liquid containers from the cart and the suite are being tested."
The woman asked him: "Was there anything else found I should know about?"
He told her: "Yes, what looks like cocaine was also found. It appears it was snorted as two of the women had it on their noses."
She turned to me and said: "The woman you brought in is lucky she only drank the left over from the bottles. Most of the cocaine is laced with Fentanyl lately. The other three will be lucky if they make it."
She then handed me her card and said: "I'm detective Redman, I got called because of who had rent the suite. He is the son of a high ranking foreign diplomat and the kid is protected under diplomatic immunity. But anyone he had invited that was involved is in deep shit."
I asked: "What if all his guest have immunity as well?"
Detective Redman said: "We will know that after we go through the video from the hotel."
I took out one of my business cards and handed it to her saying: "In case you need to get ahold of me for something."
She looked at me funny and asked: "What makes you think I would need more that what you have already told me. You don't know the woman you brought in and you were not at the hotel."
I told her: "The condo I am in overlooks the hotel and depending on which suite the women were found in. The security my uncle had installed may have recorded some of what went on in the suite."
Detective Redman asked me: "Is your uncle a voyeur?
I smiled and said: "No, he was a very wealthy man and entertained a lot. The video security was for protection against women trying to blackmail him saying things happened that didn't."
She then looked at my card and said: "You work for your late uncles' company?"
I smiled and said: "Yes, and my sister Shea is the CEO, if I had been born seven minutes earlier It could have been me that got that job. I had to settle for CFO and Chairman of the Board. We didn't grow up with silver spoons in our mouths. Till we finished middle school we didn't even know we had a rich uncle. Our dad work on the docks and mom worked part time. When we were in sixth grade dad died, and mom did her best to keep us clothed and feed. Then she died and Uncle Sydmey came into our lives. It wasn't till he died that we learn our mom grew up wealth. Her father disowned her when she married our dad.
Uncle Sydney it turns out tried to help mom when dad died, but she refused his help. We moved into his estate in Andover and were enrolled at Philips Academy. The first year and a half we needed tutors as our Boston School education didn't measure up. We both finish in the top three percent of our class and Harvard followed and Worton after. Summers we both worked for the company starting at the bottom and learned the business for the ground up as Uncle Sydney told us, that is the only way to truly understand how thing needed to be done and why. I am not telling you all this to impress you, just to let you know why I have not had the cameras removed."
She then said: "Mister Walsh you are free to leave and get on with your day."
I told her: "I am going to wait and make sure the young lady is ok and make sure she gets home ok. At the least she will need new shoes and they are not cheap."
Detective Redman asked me: "How do you know her shoes were not cheap?"
I asked her: "You know the term Red Bottoms?"
She then said: "You're an expert on women's shoes and yes, I know what Red Botton shoes cost. Not that I can afford them."
I explained: "I learned a great deal about women's apparel shopping with my sister. The young lady I brought in was also wearing about six thousand dollars in clothing. What little of it there was."
She shook her head and asked me: "You want to get to know if she is single and wants to see your etchings when she gets out?"
I took on a look of indignation and said: "You have a dirty mind detective. I would never ask a lady that before the second date."
We both broke out laughing and she wished me luck. I asked at the desk if they knew how long before they might know how the woman, I brought in was ok. They only thing they told me was she will be ok. I went to the vending machines to get soda and ran into the fireman.
I asked him: "You hear anything about the woman I brought in and how are the other three?"
He said: "I know you; you and I were in the same building in the projects years ago. Your Tommy Walsh how are you; I'm Jimmy Lennox."
I looked and realized he was my friend from back then Harry Lennox's kid brother. I said: "Jimmy how are you and how is Harry?"
Jimmy told me: "Harry is on the BPD a detective; in fact, you were talking with his partner Tina Redman. He is off today or he would have been here with Tina. He married the Steele girl you both use to tease Julia. What about you married?"
I told him: "No, but if I get to know that gorgeous girl, I brought in that may change. Did they get her information?"
Jimmy told me: "Yes, her ID was in the thing on her wrist. Erica Holman. The other three two are responding, but the third may not make it. The coke was laced with Fentanyl and the third didn't take any or she would have been dead. She has a heart condition and the Ecstasy is a big no-no with her condition. In fact, it was learned your girl drank from the bottles that were on a room service cart. That was in the hallway near the suite the women were found in so, they were tested first. The cops have the corks and found needles were use to spike the Champaign."
I told him: "Harry's partner told me the guy that rented the suite has diplomatic immunity. But any guests that don't are in deep shit."
Jimmy asked me: "Want me see if I can ask her if she wants to meet the guy that saved her?"
I told him: "I didn't save her I just brought her here."
Jimmy smiled and said: "She doesn't know, considering how fucked up she was. Hell, she didn't even remember drinking from the bottles on the cart."
I told him: "Ask her if you can, but I am not going to make like I saved her. I will tell just what happened."
Jimmy went back to the ER and a few minutes later he came back, Erica was with him. She was carrying her shoes and had hospital socks on her feet. I asked her: "Have they released you?"
Erica told me: "Not yet I just need to get my discharge paper work and I will be free to go."
I told her: "Jimmy here told me you don't remember anything about how you ended up here."
Erica said: "I only remember being at the hotel with my boyfriend last night. That is my last memory till I woke up here."