Read Online Perfect Poison by M. William Phelps - Free Book Online

Gilbert started to say. “He was a real asshole, anyway. I didn’t want him near my little sister. I told her she couldn’t go out with him.”

CHAPTER 9
    To be closer to his married girlfriend, James Perrault rented a one-bedroom apartment on Parsons Street in Easthampton on November 1, 1995. Renting the apartment, however, was only the first step. If Gilbert wanted to continue the relationship, Perrault soon made it clear, she would have to make a decision.
    â€œYou’re the kind of guy I wish I could be with,” Gilbert said one night. “I wish I never married Glenn in the first place.”
    â€œI like you, too, Kris. But—”
    â€œHe abuses me,” Gilbert added. “He verbally abuses me and pushes me around.”
    It was a lie. Those who knew Glenn Gilbert knew he wouldn’t lift a finger to anyone, let alone the mother of his children.
    â€œYou could get a restraining order against him, Kris. You know that, don’t you?”
    â€œNo! I have to think about the kids.”
    â€œWell, in that case, you should go to counseling then. You know, try and save the marriage.”
    Gilbert was adamant. “No. Never. It won’t work. It’d never work.”
    With that, Perrault was at a loss for ideas. He wasn’t a marriage counselor. Far from it, actually. He was just trying to figure out where Gilbert’s life was heading and where—and if—he fit into it somewhere. If she wanted to try to work things out with Glenn, it was okay with him. He hadn’t really invested too much time in the relationship by this point, anyway.
    â€œYou have only one option then, Kris.”
    â€œWhat’s that, Jimmy?”
    â€œMove out.”
    But Gilbert didn’t want to move out of her Drewson Drive home. She demanded that Glenn leave—and vowed to friends she would do whatever it took to get Glenn out of house so she could stay there with the kids.
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    When Glenn got home from work on November 5, he felt sicker than he had in years. For the entire day, he’d suffered from flu-like symptoms. Sweaty, pale and nauseous, by the time his wife had gone off to work at four, Glenn sat down to see if he could shake off whatever it was he had.
    Throughout the night, he battled fatigue and muscle cramps until, finally, he began vomiting, feeling as though he were going to pass out. At around 10:45, he broke down and called his wife.
    â€œI need you to come home and take me to the ER.”
    â€œI’ll be right there.”
    While in the ER, as they drew blood, Glenn was wide awake, alert. There wasn’t a doubt in anybody’s mind that he was ill, but he was certainly aware of what was going on around him.
    A short time later, the ER doctor came in and said that Glenn’s potassium level had dropped to a “critically low level.” In addition, “his heart was beating irregularly and exhibiting cardiac arrhythmias.”
    Potassium is found naturally in the body. It was unheard of for a man of Glenn’s age and physical shape to have a low potassium level. A person would have to stop drinking water for days—and even then, the level of potassium would be higher than what Glenn was exhibiting.
    Not having much of anything to say, Kristen stood by and watched as the nurses and doctors worked on Glenn. After a while, Glenn was released and given a prescription of potassium to get his level back up to where it should be.
    Still feeling ill, Glenn took the following day off from work. But after getting most of his strength back the next day, November 7, he was able to return.
    â€œI’m not happy with how you were treated at the ER,” Kristen told him later that night before she left for work. “I’ll have the VA check your blood to make sure your potassium level is back up.”
    â€œHow you going to do that?”
    â€œI’ll bring home the equipment, take a blood sample myself, and bring