Free Bad Medicine by Aimée & David Thurlo Page A

opinion, she’s going to go far. She knows she can’t rely on looks. Let’s face it, contact lenses aren’t going to help her much so she uses the assets she’s got: her brains and personality. I’ve never met anyonewho doesn’t like her. Norma’s really a nice kid and lives a few miles from my place. She was really quiet until last year when her mom died. I think she’s sowing some wild oats now because she’s never been able to before.”
    “That makes more sense now. She seemed out of place around the others. Let’s get all we can on these kids, okay? I want a full background report on each of them. As soon asyou finish one, put it on my desk.”
    “No problem.”
    They drove back to the office, Ella at the wheel of her Jeep. “I’m going to make a stop by the morgue for the autopsy reports. You don’t mind a detour, do you?”
    Justine hesitated noticeably before answering. “No, that’s okay,” she said finally.
    “I know it’s not the most cheerful place in the world, but it doesn’t really bother you, does it?”

    “Honestly?” As Ella nodded, Justine continued. “It gives me the creeps, but not because of the chindi. It’s just a creepy place, with shattered bodies all over the room. I don’t know how Dr. Roanhorse can stand working there.”
    “Neither do I,” Ella admitted. “But it’s a good thing she can. Without her, the tribe would probably have to do without an M.E., because the salary we can offer wouldn’tbe competitive. The tribe owes her a debt of gratitude. She should be treated with more dignity and respect.”
    “I don’t think being such a loner bothers her,” Justine said softly. “As a matter of fact, she really goes out of her way to keep people from getting too close to her, even though you’d think she’d want friends.”
    “She does want friends, I think. It’s just that she’s been so isolatedbecause of her job for such a long time, she’s built barriers around herself to keep it from hurting.”
    As Ella entered the hospital’s parking lot, Justine looked, deep in thought, at an indeterminate spot across the way. “Do you mind if I stop by the cafeteria on the way downstairs? My sister-in-law works there, and I’d like to talk to her. She knew Angelina far better than I did. She would havebeen at the memorial service, too, but her supervisor wouldn’t let her take off any more time. She used up all her leave when she got married last month.”
    “Let me know what you find out.”
    Ella parked near the side door, said good-bye to Justine, then went downstairs to the morgue. As usual the floor was quiet and, though fitting, the silence made her shudder. As she entered Carolyn’s office,she heard the sounds of country western music coming from the autopsy suite.
    Ella peered inside cautiously and saw Carolyn cleaning up. The acrid smell of disinfectant stung her nostrils.
    Carolyn looked up. “I got your E-mail and the message you left on my voice mail. I’ve been expecting you. Come in, but be careful where you step.”
    Normally she would have asked Carolyn why she was cleaningup in the middle of the day but, at the moment, she didn’t think she wanted to know. “What’s up?”
    “First of all, I have some info on the Bitah case. I found tiny slivers of French Walnut embedded in the victim’s skull. The murder weapon was probably a leg from a chair or table.”
    “Great,” grumbled Ella. “Now all I have to do is find somebody with a three-legged chair and haul them in.”
    “It’sprobably firewood by now.” Carolyn shrugged. “I also found out that Bitah had traces of mescaline in his system, but not enough to have affected him at the time of his murder. He might have been a member of a church that uses peyote during their rituals, like the Native American Church.”
    Ella nodded. “What else did you find out?”
    “The blood at the murder scene wasn’t all Bitah’s. Two of thesmaller spots were type AB. Bitah was type O. The