Free Diagnosis Death by Richard L. Mabry

trailed Dora and Will through the living room into a cozy kitchen, redolent with the enticing smell of fresh cake, Will whispered in Elena's ear, "My mother is the best cook in seventeen counties. I know we've just eaten, but I've learned it's better to take whatever she offers than argue with her. Besides," he added, "I'll bet you finish a piece and ask for seconds."
    Elena noticed that even Cathy, who'd said not an hour ago that she was trying to watch her weight, took the proffered cake.
    "Coffee?" Dora asked.
    Elena and Will accepted; Cathy said water would be fine.
    "Oh, yes," Dora said. "What am I thinking, offering you caffeine? I'm going to have to get used to your being pregnant. I need to get my grandmother hat on."
    Matthew gave a "What are you going to do?" glance, and Cathy combined a nod with a brief, wry smile.
    Elena picked up her fork but stopped when Matthew Kennedy said, "Will, this is the first time you and Cathy have broken bread with us in a while. And we're so glad to have Elena in our home. I'd like to express our gratitude for all that. Why don't I pray over the food before we eat?"
    Elena eased her fork back onto the table and bowed her head, wondering what she'd gotten herself into.

    "Dr. Gardner, we know what you did. We know what you did, and you have to pay."
    Elena squirmed in the hard chair. She was so far back from the tribunal that she had to squint to see the three doctors. One man had a gray tonsure ringing an otherwise barren dome, giving him the appearance of a very unhappy and unforgiving monk. The second peered out through Coke-bottle glasses that made him look bug-eyed. The third was surprisingly young for a doctor charged with such a solemn responsibility. His dark good looks reminded Elena of some TV star. The name tickled at the edge of her consciousness, but stayed hidden.
    She raised her hand like a third-grader. "But I'm a good doctor. Doctor Sewell said so yesterday. She's going to take me into her practice."
    "But not as a partner," said the monk clone, his voice thundering as though coming from the cloisters his appearance suggested. "She didn't offer you a partnership. You're on probation."
    "That's right," said the TV star. "And when we tell her what you did, you'll have to pay."
    "You'll have to pay," joined in the doctor with the thick glasses, his eyes growing more prominent with every word. "We're calling her now to tell her."
    The near-bald doctor picked up the phone sitting at his elbow and punched in ten digits.
    "Please don't call her. I'll do anything. Anything."
    "Too late. It's ringing."
    Elena heard the synthetic tone that sufficed for a ring in most phones. But why could she hear it? Maybe if she could answer before Cathy did, she could talk her way out of this mess. Her fingers scrabbled around on the table beside her until they felt the hard, cold plastic of a phone receiver. She fumbled it to her face and fairly screamed, "I can explain. I can explain."
    "Explain what?" a familiar voice asked. It wasn't that of the doctor/judge. It was someone she trusted—someone who could help her.
    "David!"
    "Hey, did I wake you? I'm so sorry. It's almost 9:00 a.m. I figured you'd be awake by now."
    Elena swung her feet out of bed and squinted at the clock. "No, no, I should be up. You woke me from a nightmare. I should be thanking you."
    "Are you okay to talk?"
    "Give me time to splash some water on my face and get coffee going. I'll call you back in five minutes."
    She took ten. Elena could smell the coffee brewing as she dialed David's number. "I'm so sorry. I must have sounded like an absolute nut."
    "Not a problem. I've had nightmares that were so real it took me most of the day to shake them. Want to talk about it?"
    "Not really." She didn't want to think about what it meant. She already knew.
    "I don't suppose you'd like to go to church with me this morning?" David asked, hope mixing with resignation in both his tone and words.
    Church? Oh, it was Sunday. But all