Richard Mabry - Code Blue

"Sure did. They pulled out right in front of you. Good thing you swerved." He peered over the hood. "I'll check and see, but it looks to me like you hit the curb hard enough to blow out a tire. Probably bent the wheel too."

Cathy pulled her cell phone from her purse and thought of the calls she needed to make: insurance company, wrecker… It seemed like there was something else, but her addled brain refused to cooperate.

Her insurance agent seemed shocked by yet another accident but remained professional enough to assure Cathy that this time she was covered. He asked for details, but she was able to beg offby promising to furnish a full report tomorrow. Right now she wanted to get home.

The service manager at the dealership where she'd bought the car was sympathetic and helpful. He promised to dispatch a wrecker right away. If she'd ride back to the shop with the driver, he'd have a rental car waiting for her.

"How long do you think it will take you to do the repair?" Cathy asked.

"A day, two at the most. That is, if the frame isn't bent. Then it's a whole different ballgame."

Two hours later, Cathy climbed the stairs to her garage apartment, weary and punch-drunk. She dropped her purse and briefcase on the sofa, pulled a soft drink from the refrigerator, and ran a hot bath. She was still soaking in the tub, half asleep, when she heard knocking at her door. She tried to block out the sound, but whoever it was seemed to have more resolve to knock than Cathy had to ignore the noise.

"What now?" she muttered. She eased out of the tub, slipped into a terry-cloth robe, and padded to the door. "Who is it?"

"Will."

Oh, no! Not again. How could she possibly have let this happen? Will would think she was an absolute airhead. She'd fought against the stereotype of dumb blondes all her adult life. Now she seemed to have become a prototype.

Cathy belted her robe tighter before she opened the door and gestured him in. "Will, I'm really, truly sorry. I was all set to cook for you, really I was, but then I had an accident on the way home. When I finally got here, I just collapsed."

Will dropped his briefcase beside the door and took her by the shoulders. "Are you all right?"

"Just sore and shaken up." Then it struck her. Her groceries were now sitting in the body shop of the Chevrolet dealership. "Give me a few minutes to get dressed, and I'll find something in the freezer that I can cook."

"Never mind dinner," Will said. "Tell me what happened. Are you sure you're not hurt?"

"Will, I'm fine. Really I am."

"Then get dressed, and I'll take you out to eat. Someplace quiet, where you can tell me all about it. You need to relax."

The prospect of having someone else cook sounded wonderful to Cathy. "Okay, but I owe you a dinner. I want you to include the cost of this meal with your expenses for my case."

Will seemed to think that over. She noticed that he still had his hands on her shoulders. He'd made no move to release her, and she hadn't felt inclined to step away. Finally, he said, "I guess that depends on whether the dinner this evening is business or pleasure."

"I thought it was business. What would make it pleasure?"

"This."

She watched him move closer to her, felt his lips on hers. His hands moved to encircle her in an embrace that made the years drop away.

"Cathy, I want us to pick up where we left off," he said. "I've missed you. When I heard you were engaged, it was like someone I loved had died. And now that you're back here and you're free, I don't intend to let you get away from me."

She looked up at him, into those blue eyes that had always seemed able to read her thoughts. Part of her-a big part of her-wanted to stay in those strong arms forever. But she had to be honest.

"Will, I can't make a commitment. Right now my life is a shambles. I'm teetering on a knife-edge, doing my best to maintain my balance. I don't know who to trust. Not even-."

No, she couldn't voice that fear, not to Will. Especially not to Will.

She decided to take a different tack. "I've been through a lot since we broke up. I've put my trust in some men who've let me down." She saw him open his mouth, and she silenced him with a finger to his lips. "No, let me finish. I can't just follow my heart willy-nilly. I've got to convince my head. Can you be patient?"

She watched the sparkle go out of his eyes, but his smile remained. "I'm willing to wait as long as it takes. But promise me you won't go running offthis time." He released her and stepped back. "Now put on something special and let's have a nice dinner." He grinned. "On me. I think this one comes under the heading of pleasure."

Being with Will helped Cathy push her problems into the farthest corner of her mind. Over steak for him and fish for her, they talked and talked. Will brought her up to date on local gossip. Cathy was surprised how many of her high school classmates had chosen to stay in Dainger. She related stories from medical school, and Will countered with tales of law school. They lingered over coffee, but eventually-sooner than Cathy wished-they were back at her apartment.

Will parked at the curb and turned to face her, his arm over the seat. "You don't know how much I enjoyed the evening."

"And I had a great time being with you. It was wonderful to relax for a while. Thank you for dinner." Cathy reached for the door handle, but Will stopped her with an upraised hand.

"It's early. Why don't I come in and we can spend an hour or so working on your malpractice case? I promise I'll be a perfect gentleman." He reached back and snagged a worn leather briefcase from the space behind him.

Cathy hesitated. Could she keep this on a professional level? Did she want to? But they did need to start working on "the puzzle of the prescription," as she called it. "Sure. Come on up."

In a few minutes Cathy joined Will at the kitchen table."I've got coffee going. It'll be ready in a minute."

"Good. Here's where we are." Will spread a number of papers on the table. "Nix has hired Sam Lawton to represent him. I've notified your malpractice carrier that you've engaged me. I talked with the attorney they've assigned, gave him an idea of what we're doing, and he's fine so long as I keep him informed. The case has been set for trial in twelve weeks."

She thought about that. "Can't we move it up? I don't want this hanging over me."

"Believe me, twelve weeks is too quick to suit me. I suspect Lawton's pulled some strings to get the case scheduled this soon. I'd like to have more time. We have a lot of preparation ahead of us." He shoved a paper aside and pulled his legal pad toward him. "Now, I have to get ready to take these depositions we're scheduling. You're sure that someone tampered with that prescription?"

"Absolutely." Cathy frowned. "But I can't prove that what's on that prescription in Jacob Collins's file isn't what I wrote. The only two people in that room were Milton Nix and me. It's his word against mine."

Will scribbled a note. "I want to look at that prescription again now that we think we know how it was altered. I'll make sure that Jacob gets a subpoena duces tacem."

"A what kind of subpoena?"

"It means 'bring with.' He'll have to produce the original prescription, and we can have a closer look at it. There may be some way to prove it's a photocopy. How about the others on our list? What do they have that we need to see?"

They spent some time discussing Milton Nix, Gail Nix, and Lloyd Allen before deciding to call it a night. Cathy had poured the last of the coffee into their cups when she heard a shuffling noise on the stairs outside. In a moment there was a timid tap on the door.

"I wonder who that could be?"

"One way to find out," Will said. "Shall I get it?"

"No, I'll go." Cathy grinned. "I'm old-fashioned enough to be embarrassed by having a man in my apartment after dark. I may need to explain you away."