Chapter 2: The Warning

I picked up the phone and said hello.

"Mr. Henry Morgan?"

"Yes it is."

"It might be to your advantage if you were to drop all your inquiries about the accident. It would not be conducive to your continued good health to pursue that endeavor."

"Who the Hell are you, how did you get this number, and why are you threatening me?"

"All in good time Mr. Morgan, all in good time." Then he hung up laughing.

Okay, now I am really pissed. I punched the nurse call button again. Nurse BB comes storming in, about another ten minutes. "Yes MR. Morgan. What do you need now?"

"Nurse Hughes, I would like to see the doctor as soon as you can arrange it, I would like for him to talk to me about my prognosis and what all is wrong with me. I would like for this catheter to be removed; and at least some of these tubes and wires removed as well. I can move all of my extremities without any pain, and I must be partially healed from the injuries I sustained in my accident. Now is that too big a task for someone with your qualifications as a registered nurse, or should I call Cindy back in here to be able to get it done. And while I'm at it, where are my bags that were supposed to be brought up here so I can make sure that nothing else has been stolen or broken since the accident. NOW, Move it, BITCH!!!!" The last sentence was sent with some mental push that I seemed to have now.

"Mr. Morgan, there is no need for that kind of attitude, and especially no need for name calling."

"Nurse Hughes, I just received a very threatening phone call, and I would like for a DPS officer or Texas Ranger to come see me regarding my treatment, and the threats that I have received since I have been awake. I may have to call in the FBI; I believe they have a local office here. And if you had been treated like I have, since I awoke, Ms. Hughes, you would be upset, yelling, and calling people who disrespect you names too. Now do we call a truce, or do you just go away mad. It's entirely your decision."

"I ... you ... You have been threatened?"

"Yes Ms. Hughes. I didn't know anyone knew this number; however, they knew me and threatened me, veiled though it was, with most grievous bodily harm if I tried to pursue finding out about my accident. Furthermore, you told me my belongings would be sent up to me, and I quote, 'so we can go through them to see if we can find what you need for right now.' You see I have an eidetic memory, and for most things, I remember exactly what was said and what I saw. Now I have not had my belongings delivered to this room. I have not had an explanation of my injuries, my prognosis, or anything else regarding my health; except to overhear two doctors arguing over where I was supposed to go, as far as a new room assignment is concerned. So if you were to stop and think a moment before you go flying off the handle, and being an ugly bitchy woman, you might understand where I'm coming from. Are we clear on that Nurse Hughes?"

"Yes Mr. Morgan, very clear. I was told that you would be a very difficult patient and should treat you as such. I now think I was given erroneous information. I'm not sure how anyone would get your phone number, unless they were associated with the hospital or knew your room number. For the first two days, you were listed as a John Doe, until your bags and personal possessions were handed over to us from the sheriff's department."

"Which county was the deputy from, do you know?"

"No Mr. Morgan, I do not know. I can try to find out, but why is that important?"

"Ms. Hughes, the accident occurred in Hill County, and if I remember right, Waco is in McLennan County, so if I knew which county deputy brought my things in, I could try to back track to who had access to my things and why it took them two days to get them here. I had passed Hubbard and just passed FM 936 when I was hit. I also did not see a sign saying that I had entered McLennan County, so I must have still been in Hill County."

"How can you remember all that detail?"

"As I explained, I have an excellent memory."

"Let me go and see what I can do about getting your bags up here. I will see what can be done about your knowing your medical status and also about the police. I'll be back in a minute or two."

"Thank you Ms. Hughes."

Boy, I really needed my laptop, so I could do a little research to find locations for criminal investigations entities for DPS, or Texas Rangers, or even the FBI. I seem to remember that the Feebs have an office in Waco.

I suddenly thought of my home and my housekeeper, Juanita Flores. She has taken care of my house up in Sulphur Springs, Texas for the last twelve years, ever since I bought it. I have twenty acres there, in a mostly wooded area off County Road (CR) 3504. It is a nice four-bedroom ranch style house with a three-car attached garage and two pole barn outbuildings. I kept my antique cars there. I ran across a 1952 Citroën Traction Avant, 15-6, 4-door sedan with a six-cylinder engine and standard transmission while I was on assignment in Italy. 'Traction Avant' is French for a front-wheel drive. I just had to have it. It has suicide front doors and rear opening, back doors, so both doors are hinged on the center post. It is very low slung with the wheels at the corners and stands only five feet high. I also have a 1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk with the McCulloch supercharged Studebaker engine. In '57, the Packard 352cu engine was replaced by the 289cu Studebaker V-8, and the supercharger was added to bring the horsepower back to 275, the same as the Packard engine. Both are fine cars and drive exceptionally well for their age. I also have a 1957 Crown Imperial convertible in Saturn blue with a white top. It has the 392 CU V-8, with 325 horsepower. For a car that weighs in at over 4800 pounds, it really moves out when you get on it. However, the best part is the ride. Long and low, and the fins make it look like you're flying already when it's standing still.

I tried the house number first in case Juanita was still there. No answer, so I tried her cell number.

"Hello."

"Juanita, this is Henry, how are you Juanita?"

"Oh Henry, are you all right? I haven't heard anything from you in over a month. Cecil called and left a message and wanted to know where you were. I didn't know, and we were very worried."

"Yes Juanita, I am fine now; I think. I was in an accident, and I am in the hospital in Waco. Has anyone been snooping around the house? There seems to be some problem with the accident, and I'm kind of worried that someone might be snooping around. If you see anything out of place or someone snooping around call Jack Sterling right away and let him know." Jack is the Hopkins County Sheriff and a good friend of mine.

"Is there some trouble coming or are you in trouble again Henry?"

"No Juanita. Things are just a little weird." I explained about the accident, my coma, and everything. "Can you give me Jack's number, so I can call him and see if he can light a fire under someone, to come see me here?"

"Of course Henry, I have his number right here. It is 903 555-2702, Are you sure you're alright. This is not like the old business, is it?"

"No Juanita, it's not like the old business, although I may need some help from some friends. I just would like to find out what happened. I'll call later and let you know when I'll be back at home. Take care and be safe, and tell Juan Jesus I want him to behave in school and learn to be a good engineer like his Uncle Hank."

"Oh thank you for thinking of Juan, I will tell him to learn much in school. You take care Henry, and call me often. We all love you."

"Bye Juanita." Of course, that last bit was coded for her not to go back to my house, just to make sure that Jack put someone watching the house for a while. They would not make it obvious but have someone in the trees watching, plus added patrols in the area. It was something Jack, Juanita, and I had worked out shortly after I moved in up there. I was still in special assignments, and we wanted to make sure my home was always safe.

By now, it was too late in the afternoon to call the FBI or even DPS, so I settled in to see if I could get a doctor or my bags brought in. The door to my room was open, and I saw a young man bringing in a wheeled cart, kind of like the big pallet carts at Sam's Club. On it was both of my suitcases, my laptop case, and my briefcase. The man asked, "Are you Mr. Henry Morgan?"

"Yes Sir I am; I suppose that those are my bags?"

"Yes Sir, I was told to bring all your stuff up here so you could look through them. Did you have an accident Mr. Morgan?"

"Yes I did ... ah..."

"Oh my name is Hector, Mr. Morgan; Hector Lopez. I take care of the secure room and do odd jobs around here for Mr. Hughes. Your accident would explain the blood on your briefcase and laptop case."

"Well Hector, I'm Henry, or Hank to my friends. Yeah that could explain the blood. I'm kind of tied down at the moment, but could you please put my briefcase on my lap here and let me look through it. I will probably have to plug my laptop in somewhere to charge it up after leaving it for so long. That is if you have the time to do this for me. I would hate to take you away from other work or you going home on time."

"Mr. Henry, that is no trouble for me to do, I work until six, so we have plenty of time. Besides if they want me, they can always page me," he said patting the bulge on his hip.

My briefcase was forced open. Whoever had done it was a real amateur; I could see the scrapes under the locks and around the key holes. Once opened all my papers were everywhere. After I went through everything, nothing was missing, just all stuffed back in there. I next checked my laptop. I did notice that my flash drives were in the wrong pocket of the case. Just as I thought, it was dead. I had Hector plug it in so it could charge up. Then he placed one of my bags on the bed next to me and opened it up. Other than everything being moved around, like someone had unpacked it and threw everything back in, nothing was missing. I asked Hector to bring me the empty bag as I saw something that bulged funny. When he gave it to me, I felt all along the lining and between the two arms of the pullout handle there seemed to be a flat package. I looked for the slit in the lining that I knew would be there. I had Hector bring me a glove from the box near the door that the nurses and doctors used when examining a patient. Sure enough there was a flat plastic baggie. There was some white powder in the bag. It couldn't have been much over a couple of ounces, but that was enough to be prosecuted for possession. I had Hector get a glove on too and handed the bag to him telling him that I thought that it was cocaine, and it was not something I ever dealt with. I wanted him to keep it separate from my personal bags and I would have the law officer collect it from him. Hector put it into one of the small trash bags, and put it in another one and then put it on his cart.