CHAPTER 208: Follow The Trail

In the police life the saying 'the early bird catches the worm' holds a lot of truth.  Most arrests were done between the dawn and the time most people finish breakfast in order to catch the suspect.  Action found himself at Cacti Casa in Oasis Springs at 7:45am ready to catch a Mr Jameson Huntingdon III of that address before he had got his pants on.

Outside the house was a young woman checking the mailbox.  Action didn't recognise her or know who she was but guessed she must be a resident, possibly Huntingdon's girlfriend, because she was collecting the mail.  Action approached her.

"Excuse me, Ma'am" he said.  "Do you know if Jameson Huntingdon is in?"

"J?  Are you from the police?"  she replied.

"Yeah, I'm Detective Action, Sim City PD.  Is he in?"

"Yeah, he's in...say, have you any leads on the guy who was murdered here?" she said, wide eyed with concern.

"Only one....and that's J. himself.  Did he tell you he ran away from the scene when that guy died at your front door?"

"No!  I mean, why?" said Zoe, shocked.

"That's what I'm going to find out..." said Action, heading to the front door of the house.

Action went straight in and saw three young men sitting on a couch and watching TV.

"Captain Kangaroo?  Seriously?" said Action when he saw what they were watching.  "The name's Action, Sim City PD.  I want to have a word with you, Huntington" 

J looked shocked whilst his friends exchanged looks between themselves and Action.

"Whoa, J, what kinda mess are you in?" asked a big, Hawaiian guy.

"I...I...couldn't possibly comment, Officer" said a nervous looking young black man seated in the middle."

"OK, Huntington...nice place you guys have here...do you want to talk about the day before yesterday here or will I have to haul you downtown?" said Action, sitting down on one of the plush couches and eyeballing the nervous young man.

"OK...I'll talk" blurted J.  "Not here...and not down at the station either, Action.  Look, we've met at a Kitten Club meeting..."

"We have?" said Action, cynically.

"Well...not properly.  But we've seen each other at meetings and Alan...Cuffe, that is...he can vouch that I'm not a flight risk"

"Except for that one time when you ran away from the scene of a crime." replied Action, his eyes narrowing in as he had J. squirming in discomfort.

"OK...I admit, that was bad.  It was a one off...I wasn't....erm....how can I put this?  I wasn't feeling myself that day."

"I'm not surprised after you dropped a tab of acid" said Action, suddenly getting up to his feet.

"Whoa?  You dropped acid?" said the Hawaiian guy.  The lady, Zoe, slapped her forehead in frustration.  J just shrugged in resignation before standing up.

"Let's go somewhere more private and less embarrassing for you to have our little talk, Huntington" said Action, leading J out of the room and house.

Not far away was a bar Action knew fairly well:  The Rattlesnake Juice Bar.  Its clientele was mixed with a combination of locals and some shady characters who liked the intimate, out of the way booths and tables where dodgy deals would go down.  Action once had a knock down fist fight in the bar with the mobster, Packer, when he was a rookie cop and that boosted his reputation on the force.  Today those secluded tables would be ideal to get information out of J. Huntington III.

They sat down and Action ordered a couple of Bourbons for them.  J kept looking around him to see if they were being watched.

"You look nervous, Huntington" said Action.

"Wouldn't you be in my situation?" came the reply.

"I wouldn't know.  OK, I'm going to start by telling you what I know:  Tasha and Don Lothario..." Action said that name with a mocking tone "...have already told me quite a bit.  The three of you got together at your place to drop acid and have a threesome.  You took the first tab and started tripping out.  That's when our John Doe started hammering at the door.  Don got up to answer it and as soon as he had, the victim collapsed into your hall and died on the spot.  Then you freaked out and ran down the street.  How does that sound?"

J took a big sip of Bourbon and placed the glass on the table firmly before drawing a deep breath.  "Yeah, that sounds about right." was his response to Action.

"So that leaves two questions:  Why did you run and did you recognise the guy?" asked Action.

"I can answer those two questions in one, Detective:  I did recognise him and that was one of the reasons I panicked...well, other than the drugs that were in me.  Look, I think I should get a lawyer at this point."

"We can do that...but I'm less interested in the drugs and the leaving the scene of a crime I can make go away but I have to know who this guy was and what is his connection to you.  If you give me a heads up right now I can reduce the drugs charge to a misdemeanour."

J nodded.  "Well...it's like this.  His name is, or was, Tom Green.  He supplies drugs for fashionable parties.  I've met him a few times..."

"Where?"

"Various hi-status events.  Anyway, he supplied the acid for that day."

"When was that?"

"Oh....let me think.  Three days ago.  Yeah, that was it."

"And how did you go about dealing with him?"

"I'd see him at one of these parties I mentioned and he'd always have some acid, speed or hash on him that he would pass discretely whilst the buyer would hand an envelope in the other direction."

"Sounds high trust:  Didn't the both of you check the contents of each envelope before making the exchange?"

"He only dealt to people he knew and trusted.  That could mean a friend of a friend.  This is the party set here, Action.  We all know each other well enough."

"Well enough that he knew where you live?" asked Action, pointedly.

"Yes.  He'd been to the house a couple of times before.  Now before you go off charging he only ever visited when I was there on my own.  Zoe, Gavin and Mitchell know nothing about this." J replied, defensively.

"So the question remains; why did he come to your front door?"

"I don't know!  The money I gave him was legit and the correct amount.  I'm only a casual, recreational drug user...that's only the second time I've even dropped acid.  I barely know the guy; I don't know why he was coming to me!"

"Where did you make that last deal with him?"

"It was at the Kitten Club."

Action thought about all this and had a working idea but it was based on a mere supposition.  Eventually he said "alright, Huntington.  Get yourself a lawyer and we'll take an official statement downtown tomorrow."

"Don't forget about the deal we made!" said Huntington, again with that air of desperation and defensiveness he had maintained throughout their conversation.

"Yeah, yeah.  But you put down in your statement everything you just said because if you don't, it's jail time!"

J got up and walked away looking upset and angry.

Action went inside the bar to use the payphone to call the precinct house.  The person he wanted to speak to the most was the duty forensic officer:  Bibi Stahler.

"Bibi?  It's Action.  I've got that one remaining witness statement....have we got the autopsy report yet?  We have?  OK, I'm on my way back to the station....meet for lunch?  OK, we can do that instead.  That's good, I have other places to go today so shall we meet down at the Hare & Hedgehog, OK?"

Action got in his car and drove back over the river to Windenburg in order to meet with Bibi.  The Hare and Hedgehog at the Lykke Centre was just a short trip from Precinct 13 and he knew that Bibi preferred the food and drink there to the dull fayre on offer at the station.  She swore that H&H did the best strudel in the city; almost as good as back home in Germany.

"Hey, Bibi" said Action upon seeing her.  "Out of your uniform I see"

"Of course" she said in her clipped voice.  "I would not wear my labcoat to go and have lunch in; that would be weird."

"It would.  Anyway, let's grab a seat and talk more." He said, ushering her towards an outside cafe table.

"What have you found out, Action?" she asked.

"Got a name:  Tom Green.  He's a drug dealer for the glitterati..."

"Please.  I do not understand the word 'glitterati'." she interrupted in her clipped German accent.

"It means high status, wealthy, fashionable."

"Ah, yes.  Continue"

"This Green character supplied drugs at trendy parties; most recently to J Huntingdon III.  That's where the LSD tabs we found came from.  So that's the angle I'm going with...a drug deal gone bad or maybe he overdosed on his own goods..."

"He did not" Bibi interrupted again.

"Oh?" asked Action, surprised.  "What did the autopsy say?"

"He died of internal bleeding from a burn wound.  Not catching fire; more like a cutting torch going through the flesh and in to the body.  But that's not the strange part...."

"It isn't?"

"I am hungry and I came here for lunch" she suddenly declared in a determined tone of voice.  "First we order food, then I tell you the strange part" she said, standing up.  Action had little choice but to follow her in to the cafe.

Bibi was in no rush to provide Action with the autopsy findings.  Instead she talked about her lunch.  "This is one of the few places in America where they do decent brown rye bread."

"Fascinating" said Action, with a mixture of sarcasm and impatience.

"But I am full now so I will tell you what the pathologist found" she replied.

"What did he die of?" asked Action.

"A single wound to the chest.  Not a knife, or a gun but more like he was burned...scorched."

"What caused that?"

"The fatal wound was caused by something that produced intense heat and burning but in a very precise way as the diameter of it was smaller than the entry wound of a mid-calibre sized bullet.  So maybe something like a welding torch or..."

"A laser" interrupted Action, as an idea suddenly popped into his mind.

"Yes.  Just like the laser hole we found in the Fashion District when an attempt was made on Lily Feng's life."

"That's where you're wrong:  The attempt was on Madelyn Buchanan.  I'm convinced about that.  It all fits...Buchanan was also present when our colleague, Marina, was injured in that fire bomb at Cuffe and Buchanan's mansion.  Also, Tom Green was known to deal drugs at swanky parties and was dealing at the Kitten Club where Buchanan is the assistant manager.  It all fits.  Someone wants her dead and I know who..."

"Your mysterious, vanishing shapeshifting assassin; Leanne McGregor" said Bibi.

"I fancy a walk down by the bay...there's too many people here" said Action, motioning his head towards the waterside promenade nearby.

It was, as Action had figured, deserted except for the two of them.  He once again mulled over what Bibi had told him but then she broke his train of thought.

"Action...I didn't tell you this back in the cafe because it seems incredible even to me but....that's not all we found on Mr Green's body." she said with a note of hesitancy in her voice.

Action turned to face her.  "What else?" he said.

"We found marks all over his torso and the back of his neck.  They were shaped like....the marks an octopus or squid would leave on a body." she said, trying to not sound crazy at the bizarre findings.

"So he wrestled with a squid before being shot with a laser?" said an incredulous Action.

"That's one theory..." she replied.  "And one other thing:  His internal organs were in a considerable state of decomposition:  Unexpected in a man of his relative youth and yet there were no traces of drugs in his system.  We're at a loss as to what caused that."

"You're not the only one" replied Action, rolling his eyes.  Before continuing to speak to Bibi he noticed something out of the corner of his eye.

"Well, well, well...talk about appearing right on cue" he muttered.  Off in the distance was none other than Madelyn Buchanan.

"Are you going to question her?" asked Bibi.

"No.  Instead I'm going to tail her.  See what she's up to." he replied.

"Shall I come too?"

"Are you trained in tailing techniques?"

"No."

"Then you stay here or else return to the precinct house.  Catch you later..."

Action followed Madelyn through the Lykke Centre at a discrete distance all the way to a cab rank where a shiny black limo; possibly belonging to Alan Cuffe, was waiting.  Action closed the distance between himself and Madelyn as she paused to talk to the limo driver.

"I trust your meeting went successfully, Madam?" asked the limo driver.

"Satisfactory, thank you" Madelyn replied.

"Home, Madam?"

"No...take me to the club.  Is Mr Cuffe still at home?"

"He is, Madam.  He says he is not well enough to travel to the club this evening"

Madelyn smiled and said "good" before getting in to the limo.  Action was able to overhear all this and he formulated yet another idea...

He headed straight back to the cafe but there was a surprise waiting for him...and a pleasant one at that.  His girlfriend, Katherine, was already there.

"Hey, darlin'...you sure are a sight for sore eyes" he said to her, caressing her cheek.

"You've forgotten, haven't you?" Katherine said with a wry smile on her face.  Action was caught unawares but he tried to bluff his way out.

"No!  Never!  I'm here, aren't I?" he said, trying to act cool.

"I know I'm early but we did agree on going out this evening."

"Yes..." he said, the penny finally dropping.  "Yes we did...I've just gotta tie up some loose ends with work first."

"How long is that going to take?" replied Katherine.

"Oh, not long at all...as a matter of fact I wanna ask you:  Are you up for a bit of dancing..."

"Why of course..."

"A bit of wining and dining..."

"Definitely..."

"And maybe a bit of clandestine mystery thrown in?"

"Wait, what?"

"Have you ever been to The Kitten Club?" he asked.

"No...but I'd like to" Katherine replied.

"Then tonight's your lucky night!  I'm a member; I can get us in"

"Hang on...I suspect there's a catch" she said, giving him a suspicious look.

"Just a small one:  I need to get some information there and I can't get a search warrant in time"

"Will it be dangerous?"

"Probably not"

"That's a shame.  OK, but will there still be wining, dining, dancing and some romance involved as well?"

"Well yeah, honey, it'll be like one of those Cary Grant mystery-romance..."

"...comedy" she interjected.

"...movies.  I can tell you're up for it!" he said, with a wink.

Katherine took a deep breath and let out a sigh.  "I did say I wanted to be more involved in your life...and I guess that means your work as well."

"That's my girl!" 

At that moment Bibi found the two of them sitting on the bench and approached them.

"So, did you manage to tail Madelyn?" Bibi asked.

"Who's Madelyn?  And who's she?" asked Katherine, pointing to Bibi.

"Yes...she got into a limo and is headed to the Kitten Club" said Action to Bibi.

"Oh we're going to the Kitten Club to find a woman called Madelyn, are we?" asked Katherine, who was now brimming with questions about Action and these random women.

"No.  I want to know who she's going to meet and find out if she has someone called Tom Green working for her...well, had working for her" said Action, trying to field multiple questions from these two women next to him.

"Who's Tom Green?" asked Katherine, visibly confused and annoyed.

"The murder victim I was telling you about."

"And Madelyn might have killed him?" continued Katherine.

"No.  Probably not.  We're looking for an assassin called Leanne" interjected Bibi.

"Leanne!"  Another random woman's name.  "And Action...who is SHE?" Katherine repeated the question whilst jabbing her finger in Bibi's direction.

"Oh, this is Bibi.  Bibi this is Katherine" said Action.

"Ahhh, so you're Katherine!" said Bibi, her eyes widening with interest.  "Action has told me a bit about you"

"Oh he has, has he?" replied Katherine, folding her arms and glaring at Action.

"I must have mentioned Bibi to you before, darling.  Yeah, Bibi from work.  Our forensics expert"

"You told me she was a white haired old lady in her late 50s" said Katherine, still glaring.

"That's our other forensic officer, Katherine" said Bibi.  "Has he not mentioned me before?  We work quite closely"

Katherine's eyebrow just raised in a questioning manner.

"Well, I'm glad you chicks got a chance to finally meet" said Action, clapping his hands and rubbing them.  "Bibi, I will see you back at the station.  Katherine, let's get our party gear on and groove on down to the Club."

"This had better be the night of my life, Action..." said Katherine, switching her glaring look between Action and Bibi.

"...and that's all we know about this guy, Green.  I think that explains it" said Action as they stepped out of the cab and walked towards the Kitten Club.

"More than enough.  So what's the plan?  Do we wine and dine first or go snooping around?" asked Katherine.

"Let's get inside first, establish ourselves and take it from there..." replied Action.

The two of them headed straight to the dance floor with Action checking out the place as well for anything or anyone that looked suspicious.  But mainly he was good to his word with Katherine by not letting work distract from their date.

"Phew, I could do with a drink now" said Katherine when one song had stopped.

"Good idea, the bar's this way" said Action, escorting her from the dance floor.  They grabbed a couple of stools, ordered the drinks and checked out the scene at the club.

"This place has a cool vibe" said Katherine.  "So have you seen anything suspicious yet?"

"Madelyn's over there, berating a customer for touching one of the Kittens.  That's a rule here:  Look but don't touch."

"A rule that would get broken the more the men drink" Katherine replied, wryly.

"But...it means she's been called away from her office and look at that...she left the door open." said Action, nodding towards the manager's door.

"Providence...let's not waste any time" said Katherine.

"Now you're thinking like I think!" replied Action.

They discretely walked over to the office and Katherine kept guard whilst Action searched the room.

He was an old hand at this kind of thing; knowing where someone would hide a file that they didn't want noticed by others who had access to this office but at the same time needed to be kept here because the person who hid it needed to update it regularly.

"How's it looking out there, Kat?" he asked as he rifled through a filing cabinet.

"The guy's really drunk and he's kicking up a fuss.  Madelyn's calling for security now." she replied.

"Good, that will take up all her attention"

"What about your search?  Have you found anything yet?"

"There's an old trick to hiding an incriminating file or ledger...tape it to the inside top of a filing cabinet and...yep, there it is!"

He pulled out a black ledger book, carefully peeling back the Scotch tape so he could stick it back once he had looked at it.  

He thumbed through the ledger, from back to front, looking for any mention of Tom Green.  

"I'd be quick if I were you...security is manhandling the drunk out of the club right now" said Katherine.

Action flicked through pages until he found something.

"For services rendered:  T.H. Green.  $2,000...wow, that's a lot of dough" said Action.  "OK, that establishes a link between our Madelyn and the deceased.  OK, let's put this little black book back where we found it and....OK, let's get outta here...but smoothly"  

They went back to the bar and ordered another round of drinks.  Eventually, a stressed looking Madelyn walked right past them without acknowledging their presence and headed straight for the office.  Action and Katherine watched with interest as the door was shut firmly behind her but no other sounds could be heard over the music and chatter in the club and neither did she emerge from it whilst they were sitting at the bar.

"OK, Action...I admit, that was fun.  Now we've wined, we've dined, we've danced and rifled through someone's office without a search warrant.  I was wondering what else you have planned for this evening?  A car chase?" said Katherine, looking at him sultrily.

"Something vastly more interesting than that...how about we have a nightcap at my place?"

"That sounds potentially more dangerous..." she said with a wry smile.

"I see what you're doing there..." said Katherine, as Action tried the old making a move trick.  They were back at his house, listening to his blues albums and enjoying one last drink before bedtime.  

"You have the right to remain sexy..." he said, smiling.  "Anything you wear will be taken off"

"Will there be handcuffs?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I didn't figure you to be that kind of gal" he replied.

"Alright, officer, I'll come quietly...well, mostly quietly" she said, standing up and leading him by the hand towards the bedroom.

FOOTNOTE:  It is with sadness that we mark the death of the actor, Richard Roundtree, who has died this week at the age of 81.  Roundtree became famous for playing the private dick who's hot with all the chicks:  Shaft.  The Shaft movies were big hits in the early 1970s and ushered in the era of Blaxploitation movies.  Roundtree was a handsome, stylish and charismatic leading man and was perfect casting for John Shaft.  His style defined an era and although today it might look dated, it never looked bad or cheesy on him.  Of course, Roundtree as Shaft provided the main inspiration for my own character, John Action.  I have tried to infuse in Action the qualities that made Shaft one of the greatest detectives in cinema history.  Thank you, Richard, for breathing life in to that role.  RIP.

CHAPTER 182: House Call

 

It was Julia's first day at work since her promotion.  No longer the bottom ranked most junior of interns, she now had risen up the ranks.  The last 6 months of hard work had finally paid off for her.  However, with more seniority came more responsibilities and with that, an increased workload.  With her increase in wages she was able to purchase some custom made protective glasses that she could wear instead of contact lenses...which always ran the risk of getting lost; sometimes inside a patient undergoing surgery.

Dr Murakami, the head surgeon, was at the front desk and she looked stressed.  

"Ah, Dr Epstein...it's all hands to the pumps today as the saying goes:  Most of the nursing staff are down, sick.  Food poisoning after Nurse Newell's birthday party last night.  I'm afraid we're going to be backed up with cases today; every bed is occupied right now and we need to clear as many of the low level cases as possible.  Here; here's your first patient." she said, handing Julia a case file.

Julia took a look at the contents:  "Roy Reece, age 65, complaining of abdominal pains.  Roy Reece?  That name seems familiar" she muttered to herself.

She walked off towards Bed One, reading the notes all the way.  Fortunately for her, she knew the hospital layout intimately and didn't accidentally collide with anything as she was walking and reading.  Inside the room was an elderly man with a long, full beard and prominent chin who was looking miserable.

"Mr Reece...I'm Doctor Epstein and I'll be handling your case today.  How are we feeling right now?"

"In pain...annoyed...breathing hurts right now...and I just want to get out of here" was his surly reply.

"I understand and hopefully we will get to the bottom of what's troubling you so we can cure you and send you home.  Now I have a feeling we've met before..."

"Hmm, yes, there's something familiar about you too.  Maybe you've seen me at one of my gigs." he said.

"Are you a musician?" asked Julia.

"Yes.  Jazz.  I'm the leader of Roy Reece And His Ragtime Rascals"

"Oh yes, now I remember.  We met briefly in the music room at the Casbah Gallery." said Julia, recalling that not only had she met Mr Reece, he had been quite rude to her and had her chucked out of the gallery's music room.  But she thought it prudent not to mention the incident to him.

"Yes, we practice there every Saturday morning without fail" he said, curtly.  Maybe he had remembered their previous encounter.

Julia began to perform some basic examination of Mr Reece by taking his temperature, checking his blood pressure, heartbeat and gently examining his abdomen to see if there were any abnormalities or pain there.  All the while they were having a conversation about Jazz.

"Do you like jazz, Dr Epstein?" he asked.

"Most certainly!" came her enthusiastic reply.  "In fact I play piano myself and I'm always switching between playing classical or jazz."

"So you play as well?  Good, so who are your favourite pianists?" 

"Jazz wise?  I'd say Dave Brubeck, Oscar Peterson and Herbie Hancock"

"Harumph!" said Reece, grumpily.  "Not Trad Jazz then!"

"I don't know much about Trad, Mr Reece"

"Trad is the ONLY form of Jazz that should be permitted!  Brubeck can't hold a candle to Jelly Roll Morton and Fats Waller!"

"Well, that's a matter of opinion...now, let's get a swab from your mouth and get it analysed.  Hold still, Mr Reece..."

"AUUGHAAAHHAAAHHHH"

"Thank you Mr Reece; I will send this for analysis and will check on you again in about 3 hours from now..."

"Three hours!"

"See you then, bye"

Julia took the swab to the lab and on her way back to the wards she was intercepted by Dr Murakami.

"Dr Epstein, I have an unusual request to ask of you" she said.  Julia was intrigued and raised a quizzical eyebrow at her boss.

"There's been an outbreak of stomach problems at some kind of society do downtown...suspected food poisoning.  Now normally they'd all come by ambulance and with all our beds occupied it would make more sense to triage at the location instead of here." said Dr Murakami.  "I want you to go"

"But don't we have staff shortages?" said Julia.

"I've got that covered; we have a couple of locum doctors on call and they'll help out.  I need a more senior member of the team down there, assessing what's going on and if you can treat them there without having to admit them here that would be greatly appreciated...if you catch my meaning."

Julia thought she did; pull this off and promotion again couldn't be far away.  She grabbed a traditional black doctor's bag and medical kit, grabbed the notes for the case and hitched a ride in an ambulance downtown to the Arts Quarter, where the call came from.

She was buzzed in to the apartment and immediately the stench of vomit hit her nostrils.  In the kitchen, a woman was hunched over a sink, retching.  She saw Julia enter in her scrubs and guessed she was the doctor sent to help them.  Picking herself up, the woman wiped her mouth and turned to greet Julia.

"Oh thank goodness you've come, Doctor" said the woman.  "Three of us are down with this stomach bug or whatever it is."

"Well let's see if I can help you.  My name's Dr Epstein and you are?"

"Fleig, Patricia Fleig."  There was a moment of recognition between the two women that, based on their surnames, both were Jewish.  "I'm afraid we all overdid it with a seafood platter..."

"Was there much in the way of shellfish on it?" Julia asked.

"Yes, I'm not very observant when it comes to Kosher..." said Fleig, embarrassed.

"I'm here to cure you, not to report you to the Rabbi" said Julia, smiling.

Julia checked out her symptoms and performed an examination before concluding that it was probably food poisoning Patricia was suffering from.

She examined another patient who had crawled out into the hallway to throw up into a large pot plant.  Julia had seen this kind of food poisoning before; eating shellfish, if improperly cooked or left out to get warm, could lead to it.

"May I ask what was this function you had here was about?" asked Julia, as a way of keeping the patient focussed instead of passing out.

"Oh...I'm embarrassed to say..." said the woman, whose name was Lauren Storey.  "...it's like this.  We're a...erm...lunchtime singles club"

"A what?" asked Julia, innocently.

"It's a club that meets once a week on Thursday lunchtime.  We're all professional people who are...well...you know...single..." said the woman, almost embarrassed to tell Julia all this.  "and we meet up to strike up, erm, friendships."

Julia nodded.  "With a view to courtship?" she asked.

"Courtship.  Yes...it's all very clean and above board.  You see, all of us are over 30 and finding a good man...or woman...is difficult these days with all the work and life pressures there are.  Not like the old days where you'd date a boy at High School in your local town and then marry them later!" said Lauren, now relieved to have admitted what this club was about.

"My grandparents marriage was arranged by a matchmaker so I can relate in a way" said Julia.

"I suppose it's easier for the younger generation like yourself with all the discotheques and 'happenings' as they call them." said Lauren.  "But those of us who didn't have that kind of scene and who hate bars have missed the bus" she said with a hint of melancholy in her voice.

"I don't go in for all that either." said Julia.  "I'm not into the sort of things my contemporaries enjoy.  So, I gather there's one more patient for me to see.  Who is it?"

"Jude...he insists he's fine but he's just as bad as the rest of us" said Lauren, gingerly getting to her feet and leading Julia back into the apartment.

"I'll be the judge of that!" said Julia, determinedly.  She often got annoyed at male patients trying to put on an air of false bravado by talking down their illnesses.

Lauren walked ahead of Julia and led her back into the apartment and to a bedroom.  "Jude, the doctor is here to see you" she called out.

A man's voice responded "I don't need to see a doctor, I'm fine!" he said, opening the door and stepping out from the room.  However, when he saw Julia his attitude changed.  "Well, maybe I should have a check up" he added.

Julia was struck by this Jude's appearance.  Tall, slim but well built with immaculate hair, a strong jaw and cheekbones and the smart casual orange blazer and turtleneck worn with crisp pants and pale Cuban heeled boots...even she was taken aback at how handsome this man was.

"Ah, hello" said a now nervous Julia.  "I'm Doctor Julia Epstein" she said, getting her first name in there as well.  "Have you been suffering the same symptoms as these ladies as well or are there any others you can tell me?"

"I have had some stomach problems but I think I'm over the worst..." he said, smoothly in a voice that seemed to match his looks.  Julia took careful note of all this, and what he was saying.

"Ooooooh, there it goes again!" he said, clutching his stomach suddenly.

"I don't think you're as well as you would like to imagine" said Julia.  "Now, let me feel around the area where there's pain."

"It's right there" he said, pointing to his lower left abdomen.

Julia put her hands on that part of his body and felt around the warm skin, asking him to let her know if he felt any acute pain when she pressed against him.

"Not quite" he said.  "A bit lower"

"Like here?"

"No, lower still" he said.  Julia's hands now were below his waistline and just above his pelvis.  Any lower and...

"There...not quite THAT low, mind you" he said, grimacing.

"I see...yes, food poisoning." she said, standing up and instructing Jude that he could put his sweater and blazer back on.  Fortunately I have some medicine that I've prescribed to your friends here..."

He handed him the bottle and he took it.  Again, his hands were warm and the skin smooth.  Maybe Julia held on to that bottle a fraction too long in order to extend that moment.  Nevertheless, Jude took it from her gently.

"I'll make sure I take the full course, thank you, Doctor Epstein" he said.

"Right, well I'll just fill out some paperwork and I'm done here.  I hope you all get well soon..." she said, sitting down on a bed and taking out her official documentation and a pen.  To her not-unwelcome surprise, Jude sat next to her.

"Thank you once again for coming out." he said.  "Just one thing though; how long before my symptoms start to go away...it's just that I've got a lot on with work right now?"

"Oh 1 to 2 days.  Hopefully you'll see an improvement in your health tomorrow and the next day.  What is it you do, Mr...?"

"Oh, McKenna but please call me Jude.  I'm a stockbroker" he said.

Julia smiled to herself.  A professional man of means...mother would approve. She thought.

"I would take the rest of the day off, Mr McKenna, I mean...Jude...and to be on the safe side, tomorrow as well."

"Who am I to argue with my doctor?" he said with a smile.

Julia smiled back but didn't know what to say next.  She just wasn't smooth enough in these situations and was inexperienced in flirtatious banter.

"I hope we run into each other again, Doctor" he said.  Then he looked at the floor, took a deep breath and looked up at Julia.  "May I be presumptuous and give you my business card?" he said, reaching inside his blazer.

"Oh...well...I mean, you are my patient so...." she grimaced.

"I'm so sorry, ethics and all that." he replied, sheepishly.

"No.  Don't apologise.  However, you are now officially discharged from my care so....let me see...what are the rules again?  I can take your card...in case I have any stocks and shares advice I might need." she said, struggling for the right words to say.

"Of course.  As one professional to another" Jude replied.  "And as a medical professional...if I have any reoccurrence of my stomach problems or my symptoms don't improve where can I contact you?"

"Oh yes...here's my card with my hospital phone number and also..." she said, carefully pointing out a second number on her card.  "My messaging service if you can't reach me at the hospital."

Jude smiled.  "Thank you.  So we both know we can reach each other if either of us need some...professional...advice" he said looking into her eyes.  Julia gulped and nodded.

She made her goodbyes and headed back to the hospital for a late lunch.  Sitting in the cafeteria she thought about meeting Jude McKenna and how she was drawn to him.  Normally she was so career focussed and hated all that kind of lovey dovey romance nonsense, going so far as to join an organisation that was against smut and permissiveness but with Jude it was different as it was different with Vincent before he had to go away.  These were strong, professional men, adults not rampaging hormonal overgrown boys like Rez Valdez or others like him who were only interested in her body and sex.  No, a gentleman who was solvent and mature was fine in Julia's book.  Plus she was now doing well in her career; she was trusted and respected and now she could look ahead and see the possibility of including a man in her life, as long as it was the right kind of man and not just anyone for the sake of it.  On top of that, Jude seemed to like her as well and he was clearly looking for a woman of more substance hence his membership of a singles club where he would meet a more refined kind of woman, by the looks of things.  Julia was a more mature head on a young body, she thought.

But it was back to the day job and following up on those tests of Mr Reece's she had done earlier.  She headed back to the lab to pick up his test results, read them and went to his room.

"Hello Mr Reece.  I've got your test results here" she said, entering the room.

"You seem unnaturally merry, Doctor Epstein" he grumbled.  "I hope you have some good news for me"

"Well it's been a good day for me but I don't want to make you feel any worse by being too merry.  As for your results, well it's good and bad news.  The bad news is you have gallstones, Mr Reece, but the good news is that it is treatable without the need for surgery."

"That's the first bit of good news I've heard since I arrived here" he grumbled.

"Well I'll write you a prescription and the pharmacy will send you the medicine you need.  Hopefully that will help and I hope to see the Ragtime Rascals, full line up, soon.  Goodbye, Mr Reece."

One case dealt with, it was time to look in on another patient; a little boy called Jimmy Gibbs.  He had a nasty rash and fever that was bothering him.  However, there was another problem to deal with...a woman was in Jimmy's room and it wasn't a relation.  Her name was Miss Charlotte Sneed and was a patient with a separate medical condition.

"Miss Sneed...you have to leave this room immediately!" said a stern Julia.

"It's so stuffy in here!  The kid's suffering!  I'm trying to open a window!" came the reply from an agitated and manic looking Miss Sneed.

"Miss...I have to ask you to leave this room!  I need to take this boy's temperature and...what medication did you just take?"

"What?  All of it!" replied Miss Sneed.  "All of it plus my regular, daily medication"

"Oh no...you're tripping out.  I'll get a nurse to escort you back to your room."

"This room...so hot...even the paint on the walls is starting to melt..." said Sneed, in a daze.

Eventually a couple of nurses showed up and guided the spaced out Miss Sneed back to her bed, made notes about her medication being too strong and confiscating the pills she had concealed in her handbag.  For Julia, she ended her shift with some rare praise for all her hard work from none other than her hyper-critical boss, Dr Murakami.

She was exhausted and went straight home, not even changing out of her scrubs for her regular clothing.  She grabbed a light dinner and flopped on her bed.

She couldn't rest for long as she had to perform a set down at the Blue Velvet club this evening.  She was exhausted but at the same time hanging around the house on her own this evening didn't seem like much fun so playing piano for a few hours should boost her spirits, she felt.

Getting up to get changed for the club she thought about what she would wear.  Normally she didn't care about wearing the latest styles or dressing to impress but the manager of the club, who booked her to play once a week, asked if she could 'jazz up' her outfits instead of looking like someone just off the street?

But what to wear?  Her kilt like skirt was too everyday but her fancy frocks were better suited to weddings.  Her blue dress was at the dry cleaners but a couple of weeks ago she had been out with Barbara and Suzy and she bought an outfit on their advice.  Maybe it was time to give it a go?

Julia was unsure.  It was a black and white top and skirt with matching accessories, an idea inspired by Suzy's mod black and white look.  The top was snug fitting and made of a stretch material but it had long sleeves and a high neck.  The skirt was short and fitted her hips more snugly and had a prominent belt and buckle but doubts about its brevity would be countered if she wore thick tights.

She put the outfit on and thought it looked smart enough.  A bit more 'with it' than she normally wore but...well...why not make the odd concession to fashion once in a while?  She thought.  Plus...this outfit would be suitable for a date...no!  She thought again, hold that thought before it gets out of control!

She touched up her make-up, adding a bit more than she normally wore and then paused before considering her hair.  Maybe jazz that up as well?  She undid her long plaits and brushed her hair straight.  The overall effect was startling to her:  A different outfit, a bit more make up and brushing her hair straight and she looked almost unrecognisable to herself!

She noticed she'd left Jude's business card on her desk and considered calling him but thought that was highly inappropriate and forward.  The man was recovering from an illness, after all, but to let him know she was playing piano at the Blue Velvet tonight and if he were to swing by they could meet for a chat?  No, let the poor man rest!  She thought.

It was off to the Blue Velvet and she had her set list planned.  When she entered the night club already things were in full swing and there was a buzzing vibe to the place.  One or two of the male patrons noticed her enter and their heads were turned:  Who was this cute chick in the club tonight?  A new pianist, perhaps?  

She sat by the piano and played a scale to see if it was in tune:  Fortunately it was.  Then she began her set with a favourite Bacharach/David composition.

During the song she was approached by someone she knew...Kerry Fry.  Kerry stood next to the piano and watched her play without saying anything but nodding along to the rhythm of the song.  When she stopped playing she turned towards him.

"Impressive" he said.

"Thank you, I've been wanting to play that one here for some time" she replied.

"I didn't mean the song, I meant you.  I dig the new gear." he said, looking at her up and down.

"I'm not sure anyone would notice" 

"I did...listen...can I get you a drink?" he asked.

"Erm...not now.  I'm still doing the first part of my set.  I get a break in a little bit, you can get me one then."

Kerry winked at her and took a seat nearby to watch her play.

She continued to play and after 20 minutes it was time for a short break.  Her first priority was going to the bathroom, which was located upstairs at the club, and when she came back down she had found she had made some new fans.

"Bravo!  Well done!  I thought you played beautifully just now" said a young man who had an air of confidence and swagger about him.

"Thank you" Julia replied, politely.

"Please, can I get you a drink?  Will you sit with me a moment?" the man asked, smiling.  Julia liked his smile; it radiated charm and warmth.  "My name's J and I don't think I've seen you here before"

Julia took a seat next to J.  "I play here once a week." she said.

"Wait!  You're the one who accompanies Joelene!  Ah, you look so different with your hair like that."

"Do you know Joelene?" asked Julia.

"Yes; she and I are Kitten Club members...well, I am, she left to pursue her music career." replied J.

Julia bristled.  She did not like the Kitten Club and what they got up to.  She was impressed by J's charm and manners but knew that, deep down, he was only after one thing with women.  

"Well thank you for the compliments and have a great rest of the evening but I want to catch up with a friend over there before I resume my set.  Goodbye, J."

"Wait!  What about the drink?" he called out as Julia stood up.

"Thank you for the offer, but now" she said, politely.  The less contact she had with the Kitten Club, particularly the male membership, the better.  Still, no reason to spoil his evening by confronting him over it.  That's something Edna Sneedley might try, but not her.

Julia tried looking around for Kerry but couldn't see him as the bar became ever more crowded.  In the end she ordered a drink for herself and walked back towards the piano when she saw him there at a table in the company of another woman.

Kerry noticed that the expression on his date's face had turned sour and he looked behind him to see Julia standing there, holding a drink.

"Oh, sorry!  I did promise to buy you a drink!" he said, slapping his forehead.  He turned to the woman sat with him and said "My manners are all over the place this evening...may I introduce Julia to you?  She's an old friend of the family and plays piano here....Julia this is my...erm...friend..."

"I have to get ready for my next set" said Julia, coolly.

She walked away from his table, deflated that he was being flaky and didn't even mention he had a date.  At one time it looked like the two of them might go out on a date, and they had been "match made" by their respective parents, but Kerry often backed away, called things off at the last moment or else went quiet for weeks.  Julia had grown tired of his flakiness and here he was, at it again...compliments, promises to "meet up", but nothing following that.

She had about 5 minutes to spare and a drink and a pretzel to finish before she had to perform again.  All the seats were occupied except for one near the piano itself, which had one solitary man sitting at it but a spare seat next to him.

"Excuse me, is this seat free?" Julia asked the man sitting there.

"You would have to negotiate a transaction with the owners of this establishment and I believe they would want to charge you money for it." said the man in a monotone voice.

"I mean, is it occupied or will it be occupied by someone you're expecting?" said Julia, trying to be precise with a man who seemed to depend on precision in his speech.  His manner reminded her of someone she met in an art gallery months ago.  He was someone who spoke oddly as well.

"No.  It is unclaimed at this precise juncture.  You may sit there." he replied.  Julia sat down and finished her food and drink but she was still looking across the bar at Kerry and his date.  She didn't know why she took an interest or indeed cared who he was with.  But, in the recesses of her mind, there was a subconscious pang of jealousy buried deep within her.

"Sandor 21?" 

"What?" Julia was shaken from her daydream and saw the stranger was talking to her again.

"You are Sandor 21, confirm" he repeated.

"I don't know what you're talking about" said Julia, starting to get annoyed.

"Is this not your new form?  I have not been briefed about your new appearance" 

"Oh, I bought this outfit last weekend.  This is the first time I've worn it." she replied.

"Sandor 21"

"No, J.C. Penney"

"I do not understand the reference." he replied.  "However, I have nothing to report this evening."

"O....K..." said Julia, backing away.  This guy was weird!  "I have a set to perform, please excuse me" and with that she stood up and quickly made her way back to the piano.

The second part of the show went well and she made some money from her appearance fee plus tips that were placed in a very large brandy goblet by patrons.  She didn't stick around to socialise afterwards...she was done with men for this evening!