“Oh, child, that is one fine hunk of a man.”
“He was very nice. So now I feel bad that I jumped all over him yesterday morning.”
“I’d like to jump all over him as well!” Doris exclaimed.
Dr. Wall shook his head with that disgusted look Shelly knew so well, especially when it came to her personal life. He took his files and stepped away from the station.
“Oh, Dr. White,” Doris said, “the full report on Mary Tompkins is done. And you were right. The leukemia is back. Pretty aggressive.”
“I was hoping I was wrong.”
“Well, Doctor,” Wall said to Shelly, “you wanted to change the world? Start with Mary.”
“Mary and I are going to do it together,” Shelly answered. “Like me and you. I just can’t figure out why it came back.”
“I would never tell you how to do your job,” he said, “but you have a mother who drinks an awful lot. Might do drugs. Sometimes the medication we give our patients is worth good money on the streets. You likely need to find out whether she has been taking the medication or not. If she wasn’t taking her script, that’s your answer to why it came back.”
“I know it’s a big problem?” she asked.
Dr. Wall and Doris both lowered their heads, nodding in unison. “Happens all the time,” said Doris. “They go into the city and sell the drugs for good money while the kids at home suffer. Then they bring their sick kids back for more meds. It’s not rampant, but it does happen.”
A mother who stole her child’s medications for her own habit, while her child would die in the process. Shelly felt like throwing up.
*****
Nick whistled as he emerged from his car and headed into the AdWorks building. The sun was shining, the sky was blue as nature intended, and the flowers flanking the building looked especially beautiful. As he got to his office, Jerry and Bella were waiting with wry smiles and inquisitive eyes.
“What?”