Benton Knight was strangely silent as Doctor Tora Tachibana led the way back to the upper floors of the hospital before they reached Amanda Knight's room in ICU.
Benton's wife was being treated for exposure to hookworms from tainted Civet Coffee, an exotic import blend from South China and Southeast Asia.
Neither man* was surprised to see Amanda's daughter Frieda still in the room, standing by the bed talking to her mother, but both were surprised to see Sheriff Cooper there.
Benton looked like he was about to say something, but Tora spoke first. "Can I help you Sheriff?"
"Actually, I'm here to help you," he replied, while handing Doctor Tachibana a report. "My men went to Cafe Luna to investigate the Civet Coffee situation. Turns out they only special order it one bag at a time for Mrs. Knight here when needed, so there's no worry about there being anyone else in Moon Lake coming down with what she has from it."
"Good," said Tora, while going over the report.
"The Cafe Luna people have contacted their distributor in Seattle, who are getting the ball rolling on getting the contaminated coffee confiscated and anyone affected by it treated immediately," added the Sheriff.
"That is great news. Mrs. Knight will be our guest for a while, but we expect her to make a full recovery," replied Tora.
"That's good to hear. Mister Knight, can I have a word with you for a moment?" inquired the Sheriff.
Still thinking about the feral weres he saw in the basement, Benton simply nodded and followed the Sheriff back into the hallway.
"Under the circumstances, there will be no charges against your wife, but it might be a good idea to get with town officials and make arrangements to cover the cost of replacing the road signs she knocked down during her crash," suggested Sheriff Cooper.
"I will," promised Benton, finding his voice again.
"Also, the DA isn't going to pursue the matter of you having a flask of alcohol in your vehicle, this time," stressed the Sheriff. "Between your wife's medical issues and having his hands full preparing for the Julie Stovall trial, he's just too busy."
"Thank him for me please. Will you Sheriff?" asked Benton.
Benton Knight actually saying please to someone? thought Cooper in disbelief. Will wonders ever cease?
With that, Sheriff Cooper nodded and walked away.
Back inside Amanda's hospital room, Benton saw Doctor Tachibana checking on his patient as their daughter watched.
With that, Benton cleared his throat and said, "I have an announcement."
Everyone turned their heads to look at him, as Benton said, "I'm hoping the results are negative, but I'm willing to be tested to see if I have bi-polar disease."
His wife simply smiled at her husband. Doctor Tachibana nodded, pleased with his decision. Frieda ran up and gave her father the biggest hug he had ever received from her in his life.
"How do we proceed doctor? he asked.
"Well, I can schedule the tests at any time, but if we start now, this late in the day you'll probably wind up staying overnight for observation," replied Tora.
"If you don't mind waiting until I get back from my press conference, I can handle that," said Benton, still thinking about those feral weres in the basement.
"As long as you let me draw some blood and an urine sample before you leave so I can get started on things," said the doctor.
"No problem. Whatever you need," promised Benton. Then he looked down at his daughter. "But what am I going to do with you over night young lady?"
"If you don't mind taking me home long enough to pack an overnight bag, I've got someplace to stay," answered Frieda.
"Good," said Benton, thinking she was referring to staying with his brother Lance overnight.
But Frieda Knight was thinking how wonderful it would be to spend the night with her friends (and lovers) Eric Anderson and Spencer Lawson, not knowing about how busy things have already been at the Lawsons' residence so far today, let alone how things might proceed for the rest of the weekend there.
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*Some previous episodes mistakenly portray the character as a woman, but Doctor Tora Tachibana is one of Akane Tachibana's grandSONS.—tmw.