Free No Cure for Murder by Lawrence Gold Page A

meeting, Carleton Dix pulled Sarah aside.
    His smile makes me want to puke, she thought.
    “I’m glad you’re coming to our meetings, Sarah. Maybe it’s not so bad after all.”
    Sarah said nothing.
    He approached and sat on the sofa by her side.
    Without thought, she slid away.
    He moved closer, placed his hand on her shoulder, and stared into her eyes.
    Sarah felt repulsed at once.
    His eyes...his touch...he’s interested in something else, she thought.
    Shuddering, she shifted her body away from his hand. “Don’t touch me. Don’t ever touch me. I’m doing this because I have no choice.”
    Afterward, at the meeting, Carleton leered at Sarah. “You’ve been with us several times, Sarah, maybe it’s time to share your feelings.”
    “No thanks, Padre.”
    “Are you afraid? It takes courage to stand up in public, to speak your mind.”
    “All this blabbering is crap. It accomplishes nothing. And the religious dogma...you can keep it.”
    Several girls gasped.
    Carleton reddened. “How does a girl your age reject two thousand years of truth that’s engaged the best of humanities’ minds?”
    “I’m not rejecting anything. I just need a reason to believe, and so far, I haven’t discovered one.”
    “If you don’t believe in the revealed word of our Lord and Savior...then you’re lost.”
    Sarah bit her lip. “Lost? I don’t think so. Anyway, I don’t want to get into a philosophical debate with a man who has committed his life to a fantasy.”
    “A fantasy?”
    “I only have one question, Padre, and then I’ll let it go. If God is all-powerful, all knowing, and perfectly good, how can evil and suffering exist in your world? I don’t get it.”
    “God allows what we consider pointless suffering for reasons we can’t comprehend.”
    Sarah sneered. “Right. A typical bullshit answer. I think I’ll pass.”
     
    Evolution must explain it, Jacob Weizman thought as he wheeled Gabriella Sago through the hallway at Brier. Men, and women too, stopped and stared at this well-proportioned, blond, blue-eyed beauty, a showgirl at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.
    Mary Oakes turned to one of her nurses. “It’s as if she’s an alien species, like those air-touched models in magazines. When I look at her, I think, what’s the use...I might as well shoot myself.”
    As they passed the nursing station, Jacob turned to Mary. “Give me a hand, will you?”
    They wheeled Gabby to the bedside. Jacob held her arm. “Just support your weight on your good leg, Gabby, and then we’ll get you into bed.”
    Mary supported Gabby’s shoulders while Jacob lifted her thickened, shiny red left leg and placed it on two pillows.
    After Gabby got settled, Jacob turned to her. “This is Mary Oakes. She may be the best nurse we have around Brier.”
    “It’s great to meet you, Mrs. Oakes.”
    “Please call me Mary. How long have you known Dr. Weizman?”
    Gabby smiled and winked. “He was the first, but not the last to smack me on the ass, thank God. He delivered me. Once Jacob delivers someone, he takes it as a lifelong obligation.”
    “Get her vital signs for me, Mary, and admit her. She has a nasty infection in her leg veins, phlebitis. I’m writing the orders and starting her on anticoagulants.”
    After Jacob left the room, Mary took Gabby’s temperature, pulse and blood pressure. The left leg was angry red and swollen twice normal.
    Mary shook her head. “That’s nasty looking, Gabby.”
    “I’m so stupid. I should have gotten on it a week ago, but you know me...Wonder Woman.”
    “Don’t tell me you danced on that leg?”
    “Well, it wasn’t that bad at the time...and with my costume, if you can call it that, I don’t think many people were looking at my leg.”
    “You’ll be back on your feet in no time.”
    “If it wasn’t so painful, I wouldn’t mind. I could use the downtime. I have so much to catch up, especially my reading.”
    “You sure draw a lot of attention, Gabby.”
    “I know, and