The Doctor's Tale Read Online Free Page A

couldn’t.
    The moment I hustled through the door of the Emergency Room, I spotted them: a statuesque beauty clad in a St. Louis Police Department uniform, accompanied by—no, handcuffed to—a woman with brassy blond hair and an attitude to match. The blonde strained against the handcuffs. “These be cutting off my blood! Let…me…go!”
    The tall woman looked very familiar.
    “Hey there,” I said, “don’t I know you?”
    I know, I know. My social skills need work. Rosa tells me the same thing, all the time.
    “If you don’t remember me, Mr. Intern,” she said, “you should.”
    I appreciate a sense of humor, especially in the middle of the night. “Put it like that,” I said, “and I know who you are. You’re the cop that knocked on my door in the middle of the night.”
    The blonde’s eyes shifted from my face to her captor’s. “And you be hauling me in?” she said to the cop. The steel cuffs on her wrists clinked and clattered—an odd accompaniment to the peal of giggles that followed.
    “Miss Jones,” the cop said, “this situation is not what it appears to be.”
    The blonde tossed her head in amusement. “It never is, girlfriend.” She grinned at me and winked. “Never is. Right, Doc?”
    I pretended I didn’t hear her question. “Have you two been seen yet?” I said. I couldn’t take a deep breath without coughing. The odors of perspiration and cigarette smoke hung in the stale air.
    “I found Miss Jones hiding under the Eads Bridge this evening,” the cop said. “I’m no doctor, but I thought she might need a few stitches before I brought her in to tell her latest story.”
    For the next few minutes, I examined the woman’s split lip and the long, deep gash in her neck. Crusty red blood oozed from both wounds.“Officer, you want to tell me what happened?”
    The blonde bristled. “Lissen Doc, I ain’t no child now. I can talk for myself. And ya’ll can stop with the
Miss Jones
stuff. My name is Taneisha. My friends call me Neesie.” She smiled her brightest, in spite of her injuries. “You know something? You’re cute. We should go out sometime.”
    “You’d better save your voice,” the cop said. “You’re going to need it later.”
    Neesie’s lower lip protruded in a pout. “Oh yeah? Why you say that?”
    “My friends down at the station want to know about your plans for this evening. I’m thinking they’ll probably ask about those ever so attractive cuts on your lip and neck. What do you think about that?”
    Neesie stared at me, and turned to face the police officer. “I’ll tell you ‘xactly what I think. Looks to me like we both be doing the same thing. Only you be thinking I’m the onlys one doing something wrong.”
    The cop clenched her prominent jaw, and snatched her baton from her belt.
    I lunged to block her next move. “No! Physical force won’t be necessary, Officer, um—I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name.”
    “Apparently Doc,” she said, “you don’t need it. Why don’t you spend time with the fine upstanding Miss Jones here? I’ll be waiting outside in the hall.” Fuming, the lanky woman strode out of the room. The door slammed behind her. In seconds, it reopened.
    “Doc?”
    “Yes Officer?” I knew she’d be back.
    “The cuffs stay where they are.”
    “Noted. And Officer?”
    “I’m waiting, Doc.”
    “You can call me whatever you like, but I’d like to get your name.” It wasn’t easy to appear disinterested, but I thought I managed to remain a professional attitude. “For the records, you know.”
    “It’s Officer Burns,” she said, without hesitation. “Gabrielle Burns.That’s Gabrielle now—not Gabby. Because let’s get one thing straight, Doc. I am not Chatty Cathy. I’ll be waiting outside.”
    It was so good to see her again. Maybe next time, I’ll get her phone number.



THREE
    One careless remark did the trick. I was talking to Rosa, and I mentioned something about feeling a little bit lonely.