VENTURES: Digitalis My Sweet

The plush condo that was to be the home of Newlyweds Christian Dayton and his wife, Tiffany Rhodes-Dayton was now the scene of a tragedy...

Crime Scene Investigators were snapping photos and dusting the place for prints...I couldn't understand why...This had been an accidental death...Well hadn't it?

"It's going to be alright...You just calm down.."said Olivia to Tiffany..

"Yeah..I'd like to tell you that these things happen, but they don't...but you'll be alright." said Beverly.

"OHHHHH MY GODD!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!!! HE HAD JUST HAD A PHYSICAL...HE GOT A CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH!"said a sobbing Tiffany..

Josie made a pot of coffee...

"Here drink some coffee, you'll feel better." she said.

''Yeah, this will settle all of our nerves. I can't imagine how you're feeling right now."said Bresha.

''Donnie Ray, at first I thought this was an accident.. Older man having sex with his twenty year younger wife, got over excited and had a heart attack, but that wasn't it.. This was a Homicide.. I had to call it in. When I saw that bluish saliva or vomit near his mouth...I called for the mobile chemical lab...I had to check it out while the vomit was still wet."said Hazel.

"A HOMICIDE?" I said, puzzled.

"Really, a homicide?" said Nelson.

"Yes, we discovered Digitalis, mixed in that Red Bull....That's what he vomited at the point of death and uh ejaculation..."said Dr. Marcy Martin, noticing the bluish color of his semen that was on the sink , the mirror and the floor..

"Digitalis? That's for Heart Patients" said Beverly, who overheard our conversation.

"That's right."said Dr. Hazel Baylor, smiling..

I turned and stared at Beverly, surprised that she knew this.. So did her Aunt Olivia and her husband, Nelson.

"What? I used to date Walllace Anderson remember? He was a Med student at the time.. I uh learned a few things." said Beverly, smiling sheepishly,.

"My husband didn't have a bad heart...He had a complete physical two days before we got married,,,He had a clean bill of health.Wallace Anderson was his primary care physician..He'll tell you." protested Tiffany..

"That's right...and This much Digitalis mixed with Red Bull and Viagra...was a lethal mix for any man...Let me explain what digitalis is.. Digitalis is used to increase cardiac contractility (it is a positive inotrope) and as an antiarrhythmic agent to control the heart rate, particularly in the irregular (and often fast) atrial fibrillation. Digitalis is hence often prescribed for patients in atrial fibrillation, especially if they have been diagnosed with congestive heart failure. Digoxin was approved for heart failure in 1998 under current regulations by the Food and Drug Administration on the basis of prospective, randomized study and clinical trials. It was also approved for the control of ventricular response rate for patients with atrial fibrillation. American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines recommend digoxin for symptomatic chronic heart failure for patients with reduced systolic function, preservation of systolic function, and/or rate control for atrial fibrillation with a rapid ventricular response. Heart Failure Society of America guidelines for heart failure provide similar recommendations. Despite its relatively recent approval by the Food and Drug Administration and the guideline recommendations, the therapeutic use of digoxin is declining in patients with heart failure—likely the result of several factors. The main factor is the more recent introduction of several drugs shown in randomised controlled studies to improve outcomes in heart failure. Safety concerns regarding a proposed link between digoxin therapy and increased mortality seen in observational studies may have contributed to the decline in therapeutic use of digoxin, however a systematic review of 75 studies including four million patient years of patient follow-up showed that in properly designed randomised controlled studies, mortality was no higher in patients given digoxin than in those given placebo."said Dr. Marcy Martin.

"As a result of increased contractility, stroke volume is increased. Ultimately, digitalis increases cardiac output (cardiac output = stroke volume x heart rate). This is the mechanism that makes this drug a popular treatment for congestive heart failure, which is characterized by low cardiac output. Digitalis also has a vagal effect on the parasympathetic nervous system, and as such is used in re-entrant cardiac arrhythmias and to slow the ventricular rate during atrial fibrillation. The dependence on the vagal effect means digitalis is not effective when a patient has a high sympathetic nervous system drive, which is the case with acutely ill persons, and also during exercise. Or in this case, High sexual arousal sparked by the twin stimulants of Red Bull and Viagra....This was lethal...Since all of these cans were open..We are going to have to take all of them.."said Dr. Hazel Baylor..

Just then Lt. Tragg and two uniformed policemen walked in..

"WHAT HAVE WE GOT HERE? A HOMICIDE??" asked Lt. Tragg, looking around the room and smiling wryly... He saw the nude body of Christian Dayton lying face up on the floor... his lifeless eyes staring at the ceiling, erect as a board.. He saw a bluish looking substance on the mirror on the wall and on the sink..

He saw a pair of Thong panties on the floor...a Viagra pill on the counter and an empty can of Red Bull ,also on the counter..

He smiled..

"VA VA VA VOOOOOOOOOOOOM! what went on here?" he laughed.

"Grow Up!" said Beverly.

"Yes, Grow Up, This man died while having uh relations with his wife..but it looks like his Red Bull was spiked with Digitalis...and the combonation of that with Red Bull and Viagra caused him to go into Cardiac Arrest." said Hazel.

''Who else was here?" asked Lt. Tragg.

"Nobody, just me and him... I didn't know he used Viagra...but it makes sense now..It explains a lot."said Tiffany.

"You're his wife? My goodness...He's a bit older than you, what? Twenty years or more?" asked Lt. Tragg.

"Twenty years."said Tiffany..

"Those your panties on the floor?" he asked, smiling wryly...

"Yes..Who elses would they be?" said Tiffany testily.,.

"Lt. Tragg really?" said Olivia, embarrassed for Tiffany.

"Oh My God!" said Josie, obviously disgusted..

''He disgusts me."said Bresha.

"Girrrrrl, join the club." said Dr. Hazel Baylor.

"Olivia, what are you and your guys and gals doing here?" asked Lt. Tragg, who didn't hear the comments the girls made under their breath.

The Deceased, Mr. Christian Dayton is a client of mine and a personal friend of mine for many years...His wife called me when he passed out!" said Olivia.

"You mean when he died.. Looks to me like she's already lawyering up...and who better to call huh, then the very best defense lawyers money can buy eh?" he laughed mockingly...

"Okay guys...wrap him up.... Girls get me the autopsy report and the tox report to me as soon as you possibly can.... Mrs. Dayton, you're going to have to come downtown with me for questioning."said Lt. Tragg.

Tiffany looked perplexed.

"Go with him...Just tell him what happened...Nothing more...You have us in your phone..You call us if you need us." said Olivia.

I noticed some wax shavings around the front door... I took out a plastic bag and collected them...I passed them to Hazel.

"Found these wax shaving in front of the door." I said.

"Thank you Donnie Ray." Hazel whispered to me.

"Alright guys, let's go.."said Dr. Marcy Martin..

I stood there with Olivia, Beverly, Nelson, Josie and Bresha as we watched them remove the body of our friend, Christian Dayton in a white body bag...

Hard to believe he was dead....Even Harder to believe he was a murder victim.

II-

A FEW HOURS LATER-

The "Fishbowl", the nickname the detectives gave to the interrogation room had a pungent odor...It smelled like underarm odor, sweaty socks and spoiled food again... It was also very humid..

Lt. Tragg walked in...He tossed some files on the table and he stared hard at a very frightened, grief stricken and intimidated Tiffany Dayton.

"Mrs. Dayton, you're in a whole lot of trouble." he said sternly.

"Trouble? what did I do?" she asked.

"For starters, you murdered your husband.. Your motive...To gain control of his business and his fortune..He left you everything in the will...He made you Vice President of his company, only you got greedy....You wanted it all..So you could then share it with your lover..Ervin Edwards." said Lt. Tragg.

"Ervin Edwards? You're crazy....I haven't seen him in months..." said Tiffany.

"Crazy? All three of those cans of Red Bull in your refrigerator had been opened...and they were loaded with Digitalis. You knew your husband was a horn dog.... He drank a Red Bull loaded with digitalis and popped a Viagra and voila...He was a sexual dynamo....Your neighbors say you two were going at it all night...by this morning...It was more than his heart could take...The poor guy keeled over...Our lab guys found traces of Digitalis in his semen...You TURNED HIM ON AND THEN YOU TURNED HIM OUT!!! You were the only other person in the condo... No one else could have done this but you!" screamed Lt. Tragg.

"You're crazy. First of all...I never heard of Digitalis before today and I had no idea he was using Viagra..I don't drink Red Bull...Nor did I purchase those three cans..I didn't kill my husband.. I loved my husband..." said Tiffany..

"Oh....and how about this guy?

"ERVIN EDWARDS!! YOUR SECRET LOVER???" he said putting a glossy on the table. "Talk around your late husband's office is that you were seeing him on the side...a little before you decided to marry your sugar daddy...Only problem is.. Ervin doesn't appear to have a job or a present address...Did you two plan this together?" asked Lt. Tragg.

"No...I haven't seen or heard from Ervin in three months....Ervin couldn't plan a grocery list" said Tiffany..

"That's not true....Your phone records indicate that you spoke to him on the eve of your wedding..."said Lt. Tragg, smiling... "Now you want to come again.?" he asked.

"He called me....I told him I was getting married and not to call me anymore.That was it... That was the first time I had heard from him in months....That's the truth." said Tiffany.

''How did he take it?"asked Lt. Tragg.

"I'm done talking to you..On the advice of my attorneys." said Tiffany.

''Who? Olivia and Beverly? They can't help you..You're in deep trouble young lady...The only one who can help you is me!" said Lt. Tragg.

"Nothing is farther than the truth....Don't say anything else Tiffany." said Olivia, entering the fishbowl at the tail end of the conversation.

"We are going to get you arraigned."said Nelson.

"Just sit tight." said Bresha. She sniffed. "This place is starting to smell rank again." she said.

''Well if it isn't one third of the Absolute Best Lawyers Money can buy." said Lt. Tragg ,mocking Olivia, Nelson and Bresha,. "Let's see, We have the Boss Lady, one of her most trusted lieutenants and the junior partner...Where is the rest of the team?" asked Lt. Tragg.

"They're around!" was all Olivia would say.

"Mrs. Dayton, stand up.. You are formally under arrest for the murder of your husband, Christian Dayton Sr. Please know that anything you say can and WILL be used against you in a court of law..You have a right to an attorney, if you can not afford an attorney, which I see is not your problem, One would have been assigned to you... You seem like an intelligent girl, you understand the rights I was reading to you...Let's go." he said and smiled at Olivia, Nelson and Bresha. ''See you in court counselor."he said as he, a uniformed officer and Tiffany began to leave the "Fishbowl"

She looked at Nelson. "I didn't do this...I didn't do what he says...I didn't kill my husband." she pleaded.

''We don't think you did either or else we wouldn't be here...Sit tight babe, We are going to get you arraigned..and get you out of here." said Nelson.

"It's going to be okay.."said Bresha, rubbing her hands.

Olivia ,Nelson and Bresha returned to our office/duplex.

''We are back....It's what we feared...Lt. Tragg didn't just bring her in for "questioning" He has formally charged her with murder in the first degree." said Olivia, exasperated.

"Those three open cans of Red Bull, all loaded with Digitalis looks Awful bad...Awful bad."sighed Nelson.

"She said she doesn't know how they got there, That she didn't purchase them and that she wasn't even aware he popped Viagra.,"said Bresha.

"I believe somebody else was in there and popped open those cans.. I might be able to prove how a little later, but I'll have to do a purchase history and look at camera footage from around that condo. While you all were gone..I tried to contact his next of kin, which would have been his son.. But I drew blanks.

He doesn't appear to have a credit card or a debit card in his name or a bank account.. Christian said he was in London... I checked with Interpol and some other contacts and they had him living there until the year before last...He worked various jobs and kind of wore out his welcome.. He gambled heavily and owed Jamaican Gamblers in London quite a bit of money..He did a fast retreat and has not been seen or heard from since.. He could be dead for all I know. "I said.

''What about this Ervin Edwards, the boyfriend she mentioned she had broken it off with before she married Christian? Any luck with him?" asked Olivia.

"He was a little easier to locate.. But I don't know what he looks like and I can't find a photo of him...He's lived in several addresses, and always left before he's paid the final rent due or two rents.

He's held a lot of jobs, His last one being a shipping clerk at the docks, but he quit as of last week..

He was staying in a Nice Loft...but apparently he's left that..Broke the lease. I'm waiting for the department of Motor Vehicles to send me a copy of his Drivers'License Photo."said Beverly...

"Here is the thing, concerning Ervin Edwards.... I can't find any school records of this guy anywhere..Nor Job records before last year...Nor a birth certificate in any of the 50 states.. It's almost as if he didn't exist before last year." I said.

''We're attorneys but a lot of times we seem like investigators." said Josie, smiling.

"We are Josie...We are trying to get to the truth to help our clients." said Olivia, smiling at her protoge'.

III-

Night came...What a day it had been....

Olivia and I retreated upstairs to our domicile..

we sat on our sofa, kissing passionately...

"Donnie Ray, you won't get over excited and have heart problems if I get you too excited will you?" Olivia asked.

"Not yet baby! I don't drink Red Bull and I don't need Viagra or Cialis....At least not yet....."I said.

"I wonder if my brother is using one of the two of them or both???... His wife Malinda is my age... He's 12 years older than her, Just Like Christian was 20 years older than Tiffany...He was popping Viagra and drinking Red Bull to keep up.."said Olivia.

"Baby, you and I are the same age...give or take five months...I can keep up with you..I assure you." I said, smiling..

As we continued to kiss each other passionately on the couch...

I peeled her out of that dress,and hurriedly took off my clothes and we were basically in a sphere of love and light and warmth, and the rest of the world just vanished. It was better than I ever could have dreamed, it was the thing I had been looking for, that perfect mix of love mixed with the rapture of sex...

"Ouuu Husband of mine...you are ready..." said Olivia staring at my erect and engorged penis...

"I should be used to this by now...my goodness..." she said as we embraced and kissed each other passionately.

She stroked me softly...I was throbbing and shaking...Olivia whispered to me...

"It's alright...just relax....calm down...don't get too excited...." she said..

An impossible task....

Especially after slipping her panties down and off...

The kissing got hotter and more passionate....and within minutes I was sitting on the side of the bed and
Olivia was sitting on top of me, easing herself down on my waiting penis..and moving up and down..

This was my favorite position, because I could look at her and kiss her passionately...

"Ohhhhhhhhhhh, Ohhhhhhhhh baby....Ouuuuu,easy Donnie Ray...ouuuuu" she moaned...

"Damnnnnnnnnnnnn gurlllllll.ohhhhhhhh, you feel so good." I moaned... as I thrusted faster and faster inside of her....She was so round, so soft, so warm....

She wrapped her legs around me so she could take all of me in and I continued....as she moaned and groaned...We slowed it down some and got into a slow rhythm...

"Ouuuuu,ummmmm, I love you so much Donnie Ray." she moaned..

"I love you too Olivia..."I moaned..nearly out of breath as we continued to make sweet love...

FIVE TO SIX HOURS of sweet and intense lovemaking went by....

"Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...ouuuuuu, you're as hard as an iron pipe..ouuuuuuu.." she cooed

"Sure you're not on something?."she asked

"I'm on you" I responded.

She laughed and then tossed her head back...moaning softly...Her body quivering softly....Her breathing getting heavy...

"Ohhhhh...Ohhh my god Donnie Ray...Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.."she moaned...

"Ouuuuuuu...Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Olivia....Ohhh my goddd.."I moaned as both of our bodies trembled.

FOUR MORE HOURS of sweet lovemaking followed...We were both enjoying ourselves immensely.....

Me riding Olivia softly and slowly and me nearly losing my mind....I was like a machine tonight....I wanted to cum at this point, I was exhausted... but I couldn't...

Olivia was sweating profusely and laughing one minute and crying the next....She began to climax slowly,intensely...her body shaking and she smiling the sweetest smile I had ever seen....

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.." she moaned...When I came it was so surprising and so intense that I began to shake myself....

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" I moaned...

We cuddled in the bed softly....

"That was nice..Whoooooooooooooooo..." she said.

"That was better than nice..."I said.

We both dozed off peacefully!

IV-

Funny how many co-incidences there are in the world.. It just happened that Christian Dayton's Primary care physician was Dr. Wallace Anderson, who Beverly had once dated when she was in law school and had been briefly engaged to... They had broken up and Wallace was now on his second marriage...While Beverly was happily married to Attorney Nelson East.

"Well Hello Beverly, you're looking good as ever and Hi Josie." said Dr. Wallace Anderson.

"Hi Wallace..." said Josie.,

"Hi Wallace." said Josie.

''You and Cindy still good?" asked Beverly.

"Oh Yeah....We uh got married recently...I know I promised a big wedding and all, but we went to Punta Cana and got married on the cruise there...A small wedding...I'm uh surprised my uncle didn't mention it." said Wallace, showing Beverly and Josie his wedding band.

''He might have..He's my auntay's friend though...He may have told her and she forgot to mention it."said Beverly.

"I saw you on the news...That nasty lawsuit last year....Then you guys defended that States Attorney and that other case you guys were involved in with the Harris Group...You and your Aunt Olivia are quite the celebrities.." Best Defense Attorneys Money can buy" they say.."laughed Wallace uneasily. Then he got down to business.

"Usually I don't talk about my patients, even the recently deceased ones. I'm sure you understand, being an Attorney and all but hey you and me Bev? We got history...We are friends....right?" he said uneasily.

"Christian Dayton came here and had a complete physical, stress test, the works, a few days before marriage...He was as healthy as a horse...Here are his results..."said Wallace, showing them to Beverly and Josie.

''So he had no heart problems? There would have been no need for him to be taking Digitalis?" asked Josie.

"Digitalis? Him? Nooooooooooo, I'm telling you, he was as healthy as a horse...

He ran two or three games of Basketball in the park on Saturdays... With a couple of guys you girls know.. They live across the street from you...

'Ray St. Jacques....

He's your cousin Kayla's Husband Bev...

''And Dabnis Coley,

He's your friend, Jazzy's husband.."

Keith Jones, His wife Beatrice would come up to the courts sometimes..

and Kahlil Ahmed...

His wife, the Puerto Rican lawyer.,Sofia..she'd come up to the courts too with him sometimes."

"Paris, Your husband,

Josie, He can tell you..He'd be up there sometimes."

''Yeah and another one of my patients... Charles Burrows...he's an attorney too..Lives across the street from you..He played often..

"His wife Jessie came up too with refreshments...I remember all of them.

And Tony Billips,

Bresha's husband..he would be there.. They all came up to the courts to play..I'd be up there too and Christian Dayton could hold his own...No he wouldn't have needed Digitalis...but funny you mention that though." said Wallace.

"Why?"asked Beverly.

''A shipment of it came in and several vials of it was missing..We called the company and they swore they sent it...strangest thing."said Wallace.

"Yes it is ! You know, He overdosed on Digitalis...It was mixed into his Red Bull." said Beverly.

''Really ? Now he did drink Red Bull...I personally don't like any of those so called energy drinks..but he and a lot of the young guys drink that stuff... He didn't need Viagra either, but I prescribed it for him...He said he was marrying a "sweet young thing and he needed to keep up..." He didn't need Viagra...the man got an erection if the wind blew hard...But if as you say he drank Red Bull,laced with digitalis and popped a Viagra....Oh lord ,that was a deadly mix...That was a heart attack waiting to happen...." said Dr. Wallace Anderson.

"And his killer knew that!"said Beverly....

"I can't imagine why anybody would want to kill Chris... He was a hell of a nice guy...So full of uh life."

said Wallace. "Always a pleasure seeing you Beverly.... Bring Nelson around...Maybe you and Nelson and Cindy and me could have lunch."said Wallace.

''Sure Wallace...That would be nice.. Thank you for your help...Tell Cindy I said Hi."said Beverly as she and Josie left the Hospital.

Once Outside , Josie looked at Beverly..

''You Okay Girl?" she asked her friend.

''Oh Yeah! Sure...Why wouldn't I be?" asked Beverly, smiling.

Beverly and Josie returned to the Office /Duplex

"Christian Dayton was as healthy as a horse according to his primary care physician, Wallace Anderson.. He had a complete physical and stress test just days before his wedding.. Wallace did prescribe Viagra to him, but said he really didn't need it..HE thought he would need it to keep up with Tiff. He didn't like him drinking Red Bull, but all of the young guys drank it.. He said that Christian ran two to three full court basketball games every Saturday...He was very healthy...Not a man with heart failure who would need Digitalis."said Beverly.

"Here's the rub though...He said several vials of Digitalis did turn up missing from a recent shipment."said Josie.

"Hmmmm co-incidence?" asked Olivia.

"I've learned that there are few co-incidences in this world." I said.

''We know he was murdered...but now the question is who and how did they spike those cans of Red Bull? Tiffany said she didn't know they were in the refrigerator...So When and Where did Christian Purchase them?" asked Nelson.