CHAPTER 38: Paging Dr Epstein

 

Julia Epstein was a young woman who liked schedules and procedure. She'd been like this all her life, much to the annoyance of her family and those who knew her growing up. She was up at 6am, did a routine of light exercises and had showered, as she had done all through her college years. Finally she put on her make up, plaited her hair and put in some contact lenses...normally she didn't wear them but today was a special day and she didn't want to lose her glasses in a patient during surgery. Yes, today was her first day of work at the hospital and if she was going to assist the best surgeons Sim City had she needed to look smart and professional.

Most doctors wore their normal clothes to work and changed into their scrubs or lab coats at the start of their shift at the hospital but Julia wanted to be super keen so she wore her new, fresh out of the box scrubs on the bus. She couldn't wait to start work; four years of medical school...finishing first in her class...all came down to this: An internship at Sim City's premier hospital.

When she arrived at the hospital she just sauntered in, confident. She knew she belonged here, in the medical world, bursting at the opportunity to show her superiors just what she was capable of. Walking through reception, she made her way to the information desk where she saw a woman in medical scrubs manning the phones and looking through patient records.

"Dr Julia Epstein, reporting for duty" she said.

"Dr...Epstein?" said the woman on the desk. "Do you work here?"

"As of today, yes. Did you not see my file?"

"I haven't but I'm sure the Duty Doctor has. Let's just look through my records here....Epcott, Ephraim, ah here we go...Epstein. I see you're a first year intern."

"That's me!" replied Julia, positively.

"I'm Francesca Griffith, admin assistant. Glad to have you on board, Doctor. I'll page Dr Murakami and she'll show you the ropes."

Francesca picked up a phone receiver and put out a message over the hospital loudspeaker system. "Paging Dr Murakami...paging Dr Murakami...please report to reception please.

After a few minutes wait a Japanese-American woman with short hair and wearing a lab coat arrived in the reception area and walked over to Julia. "Ah, Dr Epstein...good of you to join us. I see you've met Mrs Griffith...now, I haven't got time to give you a guided tour of the whole hospital but it's well signposted, there's maps in every corridor and I'm sure you'll pick things up quickly."

"Now, for your first task I want you to take some food for the patient in room 2" said Dr Murakami.

"Erm, you want me to take some food to a patient?" asked an incredulous Julia. "Surely I should be studying some case notes, maybe working in the lab..."

"Oh no, I want you to take food to the patient" said Dr Murakami, matter of factly. "I have a policy where new interns learn the ropes and layout of the hospital by doing simple tasks. I don't like those fresh out of medical school...particularly ones who show keen medical knowledge but little in the way of life skills...to learn from the bottom up. Now, this meal, room 2 and pronto...Dr Epstein." she said, pointing to a trolley with a covered metal dish on it.

Julia, without saying a word, trudged over to the trolley and began to push it. Reaching the double doors to the wards, she turned to Francesca looking puzzled.

"Through those double doors and just ahead to the left...you can't miss it" said Francesca.

Julia followed the directions and found room 2. Inside was a teenage girl who appeared to be covered in spots "Early stage psoriasis or perhaps an allergic form of eczema" thought Julia to herself.

"Nurse?" said the girl, quizzicly.

"Doctor, actually. Dr Epstein. I've brought you some food."

"Oh I'm so hungry...I had an examination early this morning and missed breakfast time...I guess this is a late breakfast, maybe brunch"

"Are my results back yet?" asked the girl.

Julia walked to the end of the bed and checked her notes...name, Yuki Behr, age 17. The usual medical history...nothing out of the ordinary.

"No, not yet it appears" said Judith. "But my guess is that it's an allergic reaction to something that contacted your skin. Do you by any chance frequent outdoor places much?"

"Well...no, not usually, but recently I've found a shortcut through Newcrest to my home that takes me through a lot of old heath land that has a lot of long grasses and wild bushes."

"Ah, that's probably it. If it is then there's plenty of ointments we can prescribe."

"Thank you, Dr Epstein...you're the first person here to tell me what might be wrong"

At that point there was a knock on the door. Julia said "enter" and Francesca did just that.

"Dr Epstein....Dr Murakami has got your next task for you." she said.

"Already? What is it? Does she want me to sit in on surgery? Does she want me to take some tissue samples from this patient?" asked an eager Julia.

"No, she wants you to change the IV drip of the patient in room 4."

Julia let out a "harumph", put Yuki's chart back in its holder and left the room. Popping along to room 4, she was met by a VERY talkative old lady.

"Well you took your time...do you know how long I've been waiting for an operation? Do you? Well it's not good enough, do you hear? Not good enough...good grief, look at the state of you? Are you a nurse? In my day nurses looked like nurses...white uniforms and hats...now look at you!"

"I'm a doctor, madam" replied Julia, when the old lady paused to intake a breath of air.

"A doctor! What are you, 12? Tsch! And a mere slip of a girl as well!"

"I'll just change your drip" said Julia, who had faced plenty of prejudice during her medical training from older male doctors who thought that she was too young and slight to cut it as a doctor.

"I tell you what Mrs...." and she checked the patient's notes "...Kearney. I'll follow up with the surgeons on your time of operation" and with that she quickly made her way out of the room.

Lunchtime came and Julia grabbed a light snack from the cafeteria. She ate alone; not knowing any of the other staff apart from Francesca, who was still working on the front desk. To be frank, she didn't mind the solitude here and appreciated the break from all the mundane tasks she'd been assigned. It certainly wasn't what she expected on her first day as a qualified doctor.

Heading back to the reception, Julia asked Francesca what her next "arduous" medical task would be.

"Well...there is something the higher ups wanted you to do" said Francesca. "Something that will familiarise you with every part of the hospital, be more hands on and is part of the very wellbeing of the place."

"Ooh, sounds interesting...what is it?" asked an expectant Julia.

At the end of her shift Julia trudged out of the hospital...she was disappointed that all her cases could have been handled by nurses, janitors or candy stripers but a job's a job and she would give it more of a go to prove to the "higher ups" that she deserved better. Francesca stopped her on the way out.

"Don't sweat it; all new interns go through this process" she said, sympathetically.

"Sigh...I guess. I'm still frustrated though; I want to prove what I can do!" said Julia.

"That'll come...in time. Meanwhile do you fancy hanging out for a bit after work? My husband's taking our daughter to ballet class this evening so I've got a workout session booked at Skye Fitness...and I'm allowed to bring a guest."

"Sounds good...I don't exercise much but I'm keen to give it a try. Sure." replied Julia.

"OK, see you there at 7pm"

Julia went home, had dinner and grabbed her exercise clothes. Catching the bus into San Myshuno she arrived....as she liked to do...promptly. Francesca had also just arrived and ran over to her.

"Phew! They couldn't find some x-ray at the hospital so yours truly had to locate it for them! Doctors! Anyway, I rushed straight from there to here; I didn't even have time to change out of my scrubs!"

"Hey, this is a pretty swanky place here" said Julia, impressed by the modern state of the art gynmasium.

She and Francesca entered the gym. "Yes, this place can be expensive but my husband's a member" said Francesca.

"Maybe one day I'll earn enough to get membership here as well" commented Julia, taking in the expensive furnishings and equipment.

They went into the ladies' changing room where Julia changed into her exercise leotard. She'd never been the sporty type and wondered how she would get on here but how difficult could keep fit be, she wondered. Francesca showed her to the treadmills and showed her how to operate one.

"So, do you think you'll stick with the hospital?" asked Francesca.

"I'm determined to. It's what I've always wanted to do all my life" replied Julia. "So what's the key to winning over Murakami?"

"Hard work and a can-do attitude" said Francesca. "But I think you did all the right things today, even if they didn't seem like much"

Julia kept running on the treadmill but noticed that two of her neighbours, John Action and Jeremy Saint, had entered the gym.

"Hey, Julia, what are you doing here?" said Jeremy.

"I might ask you the same question...this place is pretty expensive" she replied.

"I know. But my boss gave me a one off pass as a promotion present. John here got a pass from one of his contacts"

Action turned and smiled. "It was more of a personal contact...if you get my drift. I've been seeing this lady who has friends on the council. It pays to be connected"

Julia got off the treadmill, feeling exhausted. Jeremy turned to her and said "I almost forgot! Today was your first day at the hospital. How did it go?"

Julia paused for a moment. Francesca had gone to the other end of the gym to lift weights and was out of earshot and she didn't want to tell Jeremy about her day of delivering food, mopping floors and getting harangued by old ladies.

"Oh it was VERY challenging" she said. "I hit the ground running, so to speak. Never off my feet for a moment with all these tricky cases."

Action stroked his chin. "Really? You made a big impression on your bosses? Normally you have to mop the floors when you're at the bottom rung."

CHAPTER 37: Home Turf

 

"Come on, Action, your shift is about to start....why are you always up here working out when there's fresh donuts in the squad room?" Officer Prisha Datta said to John Action as he gave the punch bag another mighty blow.

"Working out keeps me sharp. Eating well keeps me in shape" replied Action, once again landing a heavy blow on the bag.

"Anyway, you've got about 10 minutes before you have to be out there on the streets. You won't have time to get changed...or hit the showers, phew!" she said, making a wafting sign with her hand as she caught a whiff of Action's sweat.

"Listen, Prish...I'm so fast I can punch this bag, get showered and into my uniform faster than you could eat that donut over there" he replied and giving the punch bag one last massive hit, he grabbed his towel and headed for the showers.

His shift began with taking a suspect's fingerprints, however this cat was giving Action some sass.

"Hey! Watch the hands!" he said "These are the hands of an artist!"

"A con artist more like" said Action, non plussed.

"I'm sure it's against your regulations to be this flip with an innocent victim of your so-called justice" said the suspect, complaining more.

"Innocent victim?" said Action, slamming the guy's hand down on to the ink pad to get his prints. "Tell that to the judge, who you'll be seeing real soon"

Action finished taking the prints and handed the folder with them to Datta. "I'm going to hit the streets now, Datta. Don't eat all the donuts while I'm gone"

He had personally requested his patrol route took in his home suburb as he'd noticed some strange comings and goings there of late. Jeremy and Suzy had informed him about Geoffrey Landgraab and Gillian Hills, Malcolm Landgraab's on-off girlfriend. Plus there were the altercations between the Landgraabs and Mortimer Goth that needed to be kept an eye on. With the all the comings and goings in the area Action had a gut feeling that his shift wouldn't be quiet today.

It did, however, begin peacefully. As he walked up and down the street he noticed Travis Scott leave his house and walk over to him.

"What's up, Travis?" said Action

"Good to see you around, Action. I haven't seen you around recently. Are you still seeing Liberty?"

"It's a casual thing, Travis. I ain't looking to go steady or anything like that" Action replied.

Travis looked a little put out by this comment, mainly because he hadn't done much about his own love life. "Anyway, Action" he said, changing the subject "I noticed this couple down the road there, near the garden, they seem to be having an argument."

"So noted" said Action. "I'd better check out that scene. Catch you later, Travis"

Action made his way cautiously towards the arguing couple. All of a sudden, they stopped shouting and everything went quiet. Action stopped by a large tree so he could watch events from a more discrete distance. The couple started talking again but this time in a quieter tone. Neither of them looked happy but at least they weren't causing a disturbance. Action decided to back off for now and await for any future disturbances. But what he didn't spot was that someone else was stalking him.

Action walked back to the corner of the street but it was then the mysterious stalker suddenly rushed him and gave him a karate chop on the back of the neck. Action didn't have time to reach for his .38 service revolver as he dropped to his knees. "Take that, pig!" said the attacker. Action flicked out his left arm and chopped the back of the attacker's knee which caused the man to buckle and lose his balance. Seizing his chance, Action leapt to his feet and gave a roundhouse blow to the guy's jaw, but he was tough and fast and rolled with the punch to lessen the blow. As he recovered he gave Action a 1-2 and almost put him to the ground again.

But all the training Action had put in recently came to the fore. Action stood up and uppercut the guy in the jaw, using the momentum of his rise to give his punch more power. The guy recoiled and fell back into the lamp post. Action was quick to whip out his regulation handcuffs and in seconds he'd locked his attacker to the post.

"You need to cool off, pal!" said Action. "Now why would you go do something stupid like try to beat up a cop?"

"A....warning...." gasped the attacker, who was still stunned from the beating Action had given him. "You've....made....enemies....Action!" he continued before collapsing through exhaustion.

Action got on the radio to call in a car to take this thug away. "Well, you'll have plenty of time to name my enemies in the cooler" he said. "You stay there like a good little doggie while I go deal with the rest of the trash"

The voices between the arguing couple grew louder and was attracting the notice of the locals. Action sauntered over to them.

"I hate you!" yelled the girl.

"Hey, silly cow...you and me, it's not serious." replied the man, matter of factly.

"You slept with HER! How could you?"

"I can't be pinned down, girl, you know that."

"But my best friend as well!"

"I get around, baby, you know that. Now calm down, get your knickers back on or I'm going to have to give you a slap to keep you in line"

"You ain't slapping her or anyone else today" came Action's booming voice. The man faltered in his tracks.

"Hello officer, this is between me and the girl" said the man, not bothered by Action's presence.

"You are causing a disturbance and have just threatened to strike this lady. I'm warning you, pal, you get out of here right now or you'll be joining that guy over there" said Action, nodding to where his assailant was cuffed.

"Alright, chum, keep your hair on." replied the man, leaving the scene.

"You alright, Miss?" said Action to the woman.

"Grrrr! That man! I detest him!" She replied.

"Hey, I know you...." said Action "We met when I first moved into town. Down at the...uhm....the Blue Something or other"

"The Blue Velvet" she replied. "I remember. I didn't know you were a cop...you're pretty handy to have around. I'm Jade"

"Of course" replied Action, smiling.

"Anyway, Jade, you can do better than him in your life. Look, my ride is here and I've got to get that perp back to the blockhouse. Stay cool, baby" he said, tipping his hat at her.

Action and his back up uncuffed the assailant from the lamp post, shoved him in the back of the black and white and hauled him back to 13th Precinct HQ. However, there was no rest for Action. Datta was on the front desk and she was talking to two civilians. One, a dorky looking young man and the second an elegant blonde lady.

"Ah, Action, no rest for the wicked today...we have a couple of complaints to deal with" she said, indicating the two civilians.

"No problem, me and the lady here...." he began.

"Uh-huh...Mr Fowler here has been waiting the longest and he has a problem which I think you're uniquely suited to help with. I will deal with Miss Vale."

Fowler began to explain his problem to Action "Well, officer, I don't know how quite to explain this problem we have in our little community...but someone's been going around and messing in our swimming pools. And by messing I mean...well...leaving something in them that, frankly, deserves to be in a bathroom."

"I get what you mean" said Action, sighing, whilst watching Datta deal with the elegant woman.

At the end of his shift, Action headed home. The pool depositor case would have to wait until tomorrow. He changed out of his uniform, had some chow and was relaxing when he saw a familiar figure outside of his window. A pleasant and familiar figure. Action got up and went outside to say hello. The person was someone he'd met recently; Katharine Bowie, young socialite. She was dressed in the height of fashion, wearing a few yellow whisps of nothing much.

"Katharine" said Action, smiling. "A pleasure to see you"

"Likewise, Action" she replied.

"All dressed up to the nines, and beyond" said Action, complimenting her appearance.

"A charity fundraising dinner" she said.

"And no plus one? I would have thought all the eligible men of Sim City would be beating a path to your door to accompany you"

"Not tonight, alas" she said. "Do you own a tux?"

"I own two"

"I'll remember that for next time" she said, smiling.

"I'll remember to have them dry cleaned" he replied.

CHAPTER 36: Insider Information

 

Suzy Kent struggled with the transition from A flat major to B flat major 7th on her guitar. "Dang it, I'm never going to be Joan Baez at this rate!" A few more attempts and she finally got there, albeit with too long a pause between the two chords. At that moment, there was a knock on her door. "Now's a good time as any to take a break" she said, putting her guitar down.

It was Summer Holiday at the door. Of late Summer had become Suzy's best friend: The two shared much in common...a positive outlook on life, both interested in pop music and fashion and they both had non-starter love lives. "Hi, Suzy" said Summer. "I'm not rostered on at the cafeteria until 2 this afternoon and I was wondering if you'd like to hang out for a bit?"

"Absolutely, Summer" replied Suzy. "In fact I was wondering if you'd like to help me on a little project of mine" she added.

"Oh do tell"

"I need to find a teenager...a specific one" said Suzy.

"And why would you want to find them?" said a puzzled Summer.

"Oh it's a lead on that story I'm working on. I need to find a girl called Gillian to interview...the trouble is the school she goes to won't give out any contact details so we have to 'chance' encounter her. Do you know if the teens still hang out at the Bowl-o-Rama in Newcrest?"

"Yep...some things don't change from when we were their age..." replied Summer.

"Which was only a couple of years ago" said Suzy. "So what do you say? We go there, hang out at the lounge for a bit and see if her or any of her friends show up....oh and we might meet a couple of nice guys there as well"

The girls grabbed their bags and caught the bus over to Newcrest and the Bowl-o-Rama...a popular spot that had been around for nearly a decade. There was a bowling alley, a food court, a cinema and a lounge bar all in the one building. It was a very popular hang out with teenagers and the two ladies swapped stories on the bus about their fun times hanging out there and the boys they went out with at the time. Both Suzy and Summer were 20 years old so High School wasn't so long ago for them...but with the fast change of society these days 1964 already seemed like a decade behind 1966.

"So we're here to play detective, have drinks and check out single guys?" asked Summer, when they finally arrived at the leisure complex.

"...in that order" replied Suzy.

The girls sat in the upstairs bar, near the huge windows that looked down on the street below.

"So what does this Gillian look like?" asked Summer.

"She's skinny, about 17 years old with long, straight strawberry blonde hair with a straight fringe. A bit of a party animal from what I hear" replied Suzy.

"Sounds like me when I was 17....that wasn't that long ago, have we become old maids already?" said Summer with a sigh.

"I hope not! It's just...well....where are all the decent guys these days?"

"Beats me!" said Summer, taking a swig of her white wine. "I sometimes think of moving to somewhere more lively. Sim City can be such a drag sometimes"

"I've been thinking of the scene in San Francisco, or New York" said Suzy

"...or London" replied Summer.

"London would be soooooooo fab! Carnaby Street! The Marquee Club!" Suzy's eyes lit up at the thought of it.

"Tea with the Queen!" said Summer and the both of them laughed.

"Seriously, if it wasn't for this story I'm working on I'd already be looking to move away from Sim City" said Suzy.

"I'm already thinking of those cute British guys!" said Summer.

The two friends continued to talk about work, relationships...or lack thereof...and Suzy's investigative journalism. It certainly was a far cry from fashion journalism, which is what Suzy was originally hired to do.

"Dang, that girl hasn't shown up yet and I need to get to work!" said Summer, finishing off her wine. "Are you OK to stay here or are you going to give up too?"

"I'm staying for the moment...I know it's only a hunch that she'll show up here but if I've guessed correctly she's the type of girl who'll want to be where the action is and with all these other teenagers hanging around..." and she nodded in the direction of all the teens gathering to go see the new, wildly popular French movie "Un Sim Et Une Simme" "...I'm sure she's going to show up soon"

Summer made her goodbyes and headed off whilst Suzy continued to look out for Gillian. Soon enough, a girl matching her description could be spotted from the upstairs lounge walking towards Bowl-o-Rama.

Suzy ran downstairs and out of the building in case Gillian walked past it. "Hello there...are you Gillian by any chance?" she called out to the girl. The teenager stopped and turned to look at Suzy.

"I am, who wants to know?" she said.

"Hi, I'm Suzy Kent...I'm a writer for 'Hey, Wow!' magazine"

The girl's eyes widened and her face lit up with excitement. "Hey, Wow!' I love that magazine...I get it every week!" she said, enthusiastically.

"Glad to hear it...anyway I'm doing a story and wondered if I could ask you a few questions?"

"Sure! What about? Fashion? I know ALL about fashion! Pop music? I know EVERYTHING about that as well!"

"It's more personal than that....erm" Suzy felt embarrassed to be asking this girl questions about her personal dating life but she was committed to this story now. "...you know, we cover celebrity news as well; who's dating who, who's been seen in the trendiest sports...you know the thing"

"I do" said Gillian, now standing confidently and less bubbly and gushing. "In fact, I know a well known person about town AND have been on a few dates with him....if you're interested" she said, teasingly.

"Do tell!" said Suzy.

"Well....I mean, I don't want to go telling about this guy unless there was something rewarding in it" Gillian looked shrewdly at Suzy.

"I see...well, what can I help you with?"

"I want to be a model...top of the range stuff, the famous fashion houses....well, you must have contacts there...maybe you could hook me up with some of them. I'm the right height, the right shape and I've got 'the look'. What about it?"

Suzy thought about this; the girl was certainly no shrinking violet....she could see why she would incur the wrath of Geoffrey Landgraab.

Suzy thought about what Gillian had asked for...a simple matter of introducing this girl to some of her modelling contacts. There was a risk; if she proved to be a liability and as demanding as Suzy had suspected it might reflect badly on her. On the other hand, if what she had to say was revelatory then perhaps she would be forgiven if the story was good.

"OK, I know people who might help your modelling career" said Suzy, hoping she wouldn't regret it. "I have a business card from a top photographer...it's yours IF you tell me about this guy." She held the card aloft, just out of Gillian's reach.

"Alright....I've been dating Malcolm Landgraab...the heir to the Landgraab fortune" the girl said.

"I know the Landgraabs. Go on" said Suzy.

"Well...he's no angel but then again, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree if you get my drift" Gillian continued.

"This I already know" said Suzy, turning the business card over in her hand.

"OK...here's the dope..." said Gillian leaning in and speaking softly. "Malcolm's been supplying the party scene with some substances that the cops wouldn't take too kindly too: 'Shrooms, acid and especially space cookies. It's his way of 'expanding' the family business with a sideline of his own."

"And the family business is, what, exactly?" asked Suzy.

"The old man's a ruthless business tycoon...as you know. But he's REALLY cutthroat. Putting people out of business, cutting off their water and power supplies. It's less like a corporation and more like a protection racket. But not to be outdone is Mommy Dearest...she's into ALL kinds of criminal activities! She pretty much runs the Sim City underworld!"

Suzy said nothing. She was shocked by this revelation...the Landgraabs were way worse than she had initially suspected. Clearing her throat, she asked Gillian "So are you going to keep dating Malcolm?"

"I guess...depends on him and whether he'll stand up to Daddy" she shrugged.

"Well, if you hear anything new...here's my contact number. And here's that business card I promised as well...thank you Gillian"

The girl looked at the cards she was given and smiled broadly. Suzy walked away Good luck... she thought you're going to need it.

Suzy headed into town for some light relief and noticed that there were bright pink and psychedelic colours decking out the public squares. One look at the signs posted everywhere told her it was "Romance Festival" night. "Oh no!" she thought, remembering how dull it was last time. However, all was not a total loss...a familiar face was present.

"Bakko Jang...always where the party is!" she said, smiling at him.

"You know me, sis" he replied. "Gonna dance?" he asked.

"Maybe later...I'm hungry right now" she replied. Suzy headed over to a vendor for one of this week's special "romantic" dishes but they usually turned out to be regular meals but with more chili sauce on them.

Looking around the festival, it was the same old bunch of middle aged men on the hunt and female fashion disasters as the divorcees attempted to look hip but failing. Still, the food was nice and after she'd finished she headed back to talk with Bakko.

"I'm doing a live spot later...it's open mic night at the bar and I've got me some new material" said Bakko, enthusiastically.

"I look forward to seeing it" said Suzy.

"Hey, it's either one of my fans...or one of yours...coming towards us" said Bakko, nodding in the direction behind Suzy. She turned around to see Nancy Landgraab approaching them.

"Bakko..." Nancy said "I'm very much looking forward to seeing your act later on. I'm so glad the money and time we invested in your career is starting to pay off"

"Thank you, Mrs Landgraab...enjoy the show" replied Bakko.

"And Miss Kent, how lovely to see you again. I rely on your publication to inform me of the latest trends" she said, showing off her latest outfit. A bit racy for a woman of 40 but Nancy had the courage...and the looks...to just about pull it off.

"Pleated skirts are the height of fashion right now" replied Suzy. "Are you with your family tonight, by any chance?"

"Geoffrey's here. Malcolm was invited by he's with friends this evening" Nancy replied, haughtily.

"Yes, I hear he's quite the socialite" said Suzy. "He's been seeing this aspiring model I believe?" Suzy was trying to get a reaction from Nancy and she didn't have to wait long either.

There was a frosty silence between Nancy and Suzy, who realised she'd touched a nerve there. Suddenly, Nancy looked away and over to an area where people were painting. This seemed to snap her out of her mood. "Ah..." said Nancy. "I see someone I'd like you to meet. Neil! Would you be a darling and come over here for a moment?" she said to a young, fair haired man who'd been painting a still life scene. He put down his paintbrush and came over to where Nancy and Suzy were standing.

"Suzy Kent...I'd like you to meet a friend of mine: Neil Humphries. Neil is an aspiring young artist the Landgraab Foundation are sponsoring. Miss Kent here is from 'Hey, Wow!' magazine."

"Pleased to meet you, Miss Kent" said Neil, pleasantly

"Call me Suzy" she replied. Suzy thought Neil was a friendly, good looking guy from his smile and honest expression.

"I must attend to other business...until next time" said Nancy, who promptly left.

Neil looked stuck for something to say so Suzy tried to break the ice. "I like your painting over there" she said.

"Oh, that? I haven't finished it yet" he said, looking embarrassed.

"Nevertheless it's looking good...you're good at capturing reflections on canvas. So do you have anything exhibited in any galleries?" she asked, trying to get him to open up.

"Not yet...I still consider myself an amateur at this stage. Hopefully one day I'll have my own exhibition. At the moment I'm just glad to be able to participate in this arts festival..."

"Erm, this is the Romance Festival" said Suzy, correcting him.

"Romance Festival? Oh my god!" the man looked panicked and looked around him frantically.

"Is something the matter?" said Suzy, now looking concerned.

"I...I don't do well at these kind of things. I thought this was an art festival"

Suzy suppressed the urge to laugh. Neil looked so panicked at the idea of being at a romance festival.

"Relax...this place is usually filled with middle aged people looking to cheat on their spouses anyway. I've been to this event twice now and haven't met a single....nice....young...single....man" and as she spoke those words, her eyes met Neil's briefly before both of them looked away.

"I...I...hope you can come to a showing of my work in the future...Suzy" said Neil, putting his hands in his pockets and looking awkwardly at his feet. "In the meantime...I'd better get back to my painting"

Suzy nodded. She didn't know quite what to make of this guy but that brief moment of eye contact was enough to spark an interest in this man who was so awkward he made Jeremy Saint look like a lounge lizard. Suzy went to get some food and found that she was sitting opposite Geoffrey Landgraab. He didn't notice her though; his attention was drawn to a an elegant blonde haired lady wearing a lavender coloured Chinese dress. Geoffrey gave her a wink and a wave...she smiled seductively back at her. This is not the model family thought Suzy.

CHAPTER 35: Unwelcome Visitor

 

"Hello, is that Suzy? It's Jeremy here, sorry to phone you at this hour"

"No, it's not late at all...how's it going Jeremy?" Suzy replied.

"I'm good...actually I'm calling about something I witnessed that might interest you"

Suzy sat up to attention. Jeremy sounded serious, but a little unsure. "Go on..." she said, inquisitively.

"Well, I witnessed an argument between Geoffrey Landgraab and a teenage girl. It sounded very serious and I know you're trying to dig into what the Landgraabs may be up to".

"Let's not talk over the phone...my place is a bit of a mess right now. Is it OK if I pop around to your place this evening?" said an excited Suzy.

"Sure, come right over" said Jeremy.

"OK, I'll just get my boots on and I'll be there in a few minutes"

Jeremy put the receiver down and went to get a glass of water. No sooner had he filled his glass up then he heard a knock at the door. Suzy was pretty quick, he thought to himself as he went to get the door. But when he opened it, he saw that it wasn't Suzy at all.

"Hello Jeremy" said the young lady standing on his porch.

"Bianca!" said an incredulous Jeremy. He hadn't seen Bianca since that fateful night weeks ago where she turned him down.

"I was just passing and wondered if you'd like to hang out tonight?" she said, innocently.


"Well...tonight's not good. In fact, I'm uncomfortable with us hanging out given what happened last time we saw each other" he said, indignantly.

"Oh you're not still hung up over that? I'm not the kind of girl you thought I was..." she said.

"What? One that blows hot and cold?" said Jeremy, his words terse and accusing.

"I get it...you're the old fashioned type looking for an old fashioned girl. Well, I'm not that. I want to experience so much more than just being someone's trophy girlfriend or wife material. You were moving too fast!"

"Too fast? You sent out mixed signals...'I like you Jeremy...stay away, Jeremy'. Maybe some consistency is a little old fashioned...I'm not sorry for wanting that"

"I've thought about you a lot; never stopped. I hope you're doing well" she said, her head tilted to one side as a conciliatory gesture.

"I am, thank you....I'm seeing someone else now" he said, wanting to show her he was more than just well.

"Oh..." she said in surprise. "Congratulations. I hope you're happy" she added, trying to find the right words to say.

"I am, thanks. Oh...sorry, I have an urgent matter to attend to" he said, noticing that Suzy was approaching him.

"Is she...?" Bianca asked

"No...this is just business but it's important. Goodbye Bianca...and good luck" he said, still with a trace of hurt in his voice.

"You too" Bianca replied, her smile a little forced as she walked away.

"Anyway, hi Suzy" he said, turning to his new arrival. "It's been a bit busy these last few minutes"

"Was that...Bianca?" asked Suzy, a little embarrassed to stumble in on Jeremy's private life.

"Yeah...crazy, she just showed up at random. I told her I was seeing someone new"

"How's that going?"

"Great! Couldn't be better right now...anyway, you don't want to hear about my love life. Come inside and I'll tell you what I saw and heard" he said, ushering Suzy in.

The two of them went to Jeremy's study to talk, so they wouldn't be disturbed by any more random passers by...which seemed to be a trait of Jeremy's house right now.

"Anyway, it was last night and I was chatting with our new neighbour, Julia, on her front porch. There's this teenage girl walking down the road, near Travis, Summer and Liberty's home...I've seen her around here a couple of times, mostly in the evenings."

"The school library is just further down the canal, past the old tree and fishing spot" said Suzy. "Lots of high schoolers walk past here on their way home...anyway, please continue"

"Then Geoffrey Landgraab, out on his daily evening run, stops and starts berating this girl, telling her to stay away from someone called Malcolm"

"That's his son. So this girl is involved with Malcolm Landgraab...might be a girlfriend or at least a potential one in Geoffrey's mind, hmmm" said Suzy, stroking her chin in interest.

"She just laughed at him...I didn't catch exactly what she said because she was soft spoken but Landgraab was quite vocal and raised his voice so I could hear him a lot better. He then warned her off his son and accused her of being high on drugs...then they parted. I'm sorry I didn't catch more but I was also trying to chat with Julia at the same time."

"That's OK, Jeremy" said Suzy, her mind racing to consider the possibilities of this information. "It sounds like he considers her to be 'the wrong kind of girl' for his son. It could be linked to my investigations or it might just be a personal matter"

"By the way" said Suzy, a thought just occurring to her. "Did you catch a name and can you describe her to me?"

"Oh yes, she was called Gillian and she's a thin, strawberry blonde...long straight hair with a fringe. She dresses in mod gear"

"I think I've seen her around here too" replied Suzy. "Time, I think, for more detective work!"

CHAPTER 34: Doctor In The House

 

"If you'd like to sign here, Miss Epstein..."

"DOCTOR Epstein, actually"

"Sorry, Dr Epstein...yes, just sign here at the bottom and the house is all yours" said the Real Estate Agent. Dr Julia Epstein, newly qualified M.D., took out a special gold fountain pen...a present from her Uncle Reuben...and signed on the bottom line of the title deed.

"That's fine" said the agent. "Well, welcome to Foundry Cove, Willow Creek, Doctor. I must say you seem a little young to be a doctor"

"I was the youngest in my year group" said Julia, with a little more than a hint of pride in her voice. "Now, what are the neighbours like here? Are they rowdy? Do they throw wild parties?"

"Well there's 3 young professionals over the road...I think he works with computers, one of the girls works at Space Y and the other one's a cook...I think. Then you've got a woman next door who works for a fashion magazine, next to her is a young gentleman...I don't know what he does for a living I'm afraid...and then the last house is owned by a policeman so I guess if there's anything untoward in this road he'd be the person to seek help from."

"Hmmm." said Julia, pondering that information. The agent made his goodbyes and she was left to inspect her new house. Technically it was owned by her parents; a gift for graduating 1st from medical school and landing a job at the prestigious Sim City Medical Centre. They wanted her to keep on living at home with them but Julia had worked out...with mathematical precision...how the commute would be worse from their out of town home into the city whereas Willow Creek afforded both a reasonable distance from work and a moderate price range for property.

Julia was going over her new home, checking out each room when she heard a knock at the door. She looked up from inspecting under her bed and thought who it could possibly be? Her parents were going to visit tomorrow so it wasn't them and she didn't know anyone else from this area so she raised an eyebrow and cautiously went to investigate.

"HELLO NEIGHBOUR!" yelled three young people: Two women and a man.

"Am I right in deducing that you are the three people who live in that house across the road?" said Julia, puzzled at this reception committee on her doorstep.

"That's us!" said an Asian-Sim Nation woman. "I'm Liberty, these are my housemates Travis and Summer"

"I brought cake!" said the blonde girl, Summer.

"I'm Dr Julia Epstein and thank....you" said Julia, still puzzled at these visitors.

"And I'm Action, John Action" said a tall, impressive looking black man who had just arrived.

"Are you the policeman or the man living at the end of the road?" Julia asked.

"I'm a cop" said Action.

"Don't mess with him!" laughed Travis, nervously.

Julia was stuck for what to do next. She could go back inside and arrange her medical textbooks as she had planned, carefully hang and fold her clothes or invite these strangers in. Well, they had brought cake so she opted to invite her neighbours inside her house.

"I've just moved in so excuse the state of the place" said Julia, putting the cake down on a coffee table.

"It looks spotless!" said Summer.

"It's not...there's probably germs everywhere" replied Julia.

"We've been watching this place being built for weeks now" said Travis. "We were wondering who'd be moving in"

"It's so good another young person has joined our happy little community" said Summer. Action just grunted.

"My age is a factor here?" said a puzzled Julia.

"Well, you know..." said Summer, stuck for an answer.

"Do you intend to have wild parties here?" said Julia with some disapproval.

"Oh yes...OW!" said Travis, just before Liberty kicked him in the shin.

"Not wild, so to speak" said Liberty, apologetically.

"So you're a doctor?" said Summer, trying to change the topic.

"Yes, I'm newly qualified and start my first shift as an intern tomorrow" said Julia, now enthusiastic.

"Congratulations" said Travis. "It's nice to have a proper professional around here. Action just grunted. He was checking the place out...it was sparsely furnished in white and pale blue. He contemplated whether the good Dr Julia here would be similar to her home: Cold, sparse and unappealing. His dating life had improved of late...two different women in two weeks but Julia didn't appear to be number 3 to him.

Summer approached him as he finished a slice of cake. "Hey, Action, you seem quieter than usual" she said.

"This chick's place is colder than a meat locker. Creeps me out" he replied.

"Your trouble, Action, is that you never let up from work. You're always the cop" said Summer.

"Now that's where you're wrong, Summer. Action knows how to unwind" he said, turning to look at Liberty and giving her a wink.

"So I hear you Doctors party hard" said Travis, trying to make a good impression on Julia.

"We don't...excuse me, but the dirty dishes are piling up and I have to give them a clean" she said, worried about the stack of plates with cake crumbs on them. She stood up, gathered up the plates and took them to the sink.

Travis leaned in to Liberty and said, with a whisper, "I don't think she wants us around. Let's make our excuses and go". Liberty nodded and caught Summer and Action's attention with a quick j erk of her head in the direction of the door. They took the hint, welcomed Julia to the neighbourhood once again and left.

Julia once again enjoyed a moment of peace and quiet. She was contemplating finishing unpacking her suitcases when there was another knock on the door. Letting out a sigh of frustration, she walked over to the door to see who was there. It was a young man but one she recognised.

"Phew, sorry I'm late! I got caught up with work and only just made it...did I miss the others?" he said.

"You did. And you must be the man who lives at the end of the road?" she asked.

"Yes I am...I'm Jeremy"

"I know...we've met before. Julia Epstein"

Jeremy looked puzzled and tried to remember where he'd met her before. Julia picked up on his expression "It was at the Humour and Hijinks Festival"

Jeremy started to look less puzzled as he pulled a vague recollection from his memory. "Was I with my girlfriend at the time?"

"No, that was the most recent festival" said Julia, recalling the sight of Jeremy and his girlfriend partaking in a steamy embrace. She absolutely hated public displays of affection. "We met at the one before that. I was telling you I was about to graduate from medical school and that you worked for Dewey, Cheathem and Howe"

The penny finally dropped for Jeremy. "Oh yes. I remember now. So how did it all go with the graduation?"

"Top of my class, got me an internship at Sim City Medical Centre"

"Wow..." said Jeremy, impressed not only at her achievement but that she said it as if coming top of her class was a piece of cake.

As they talked, across the road Geoffrey Landgraab stopped his evening run for a moment. He had come across his son's latest girlfriend and he wanted to have a word with her.

"Gillian, what brings you here?" he said

"Oh, well, this road is between the school library and my home, Mr Landgraab" she said, swaying and speaking coyly to him.

"Gillian, are you drunk or high?" he said, disapprovingly

"Turn on, tune in and drop out, baby" she said with a giggle.

"Let me tell you this, young lady, you do not meet my standards for a girlfriend of Malcolm's. I wish you to break off your relationship with him" he said, sternly.

"Malcolm doesn't have to take orders from you, pops" she said, batting her long false eyelashes at him. Landgraab stood up to attention and leaned in towards her, his face looking menacingly.

"You do not know who you are dealing with" he said, snarling. "You are forbidden to contact my son in future. Now go and stagger back to whatever hashish den you crawled out from!"

Gillian blew him a mock kiss and staggered away. Landgraab watched her walk out of sight.

"So, hopefully, I will get that cardio-thoracic rotation at the hospital and I'll specialise in that" said Julia but she noticed that Jeremy was watching the incident between the middle aged man in running gear and the teenage girl in the latest mod fashions. "Jeremy, what's the matter?" said Julia, concerned.

"Erm...could be nothing" said Jeremy. "But that's the millionaire Geoffrey Landgraab and she's a high schooler...I wonder what that was all about?"