Bad Medicine Read Online Free PDF Page B

hungry, but I’ll need you to feed it to me. I can’t get it near the body or touch itwith these gloves.”
    Ella did as she asked, wondering if this was legit or just one of Carolyn’s pranks meant to make her squirm. Either way, she wouldn’t balk.
    Ella held the candy out as Carolyn leaned forward and took a bite. “How can you eat this now?” Ella said, forcing her voice to remain steady.
    “Why not? It’s not as if I have to share,” she said, pointing to the body, “and I missed lunch.”

    Ella’s gaze strayed past Carolyn to the face of the body on the table. It was Angelina Yellowhair. She fought the sinking sensation at the pit of her stomach. “What caused the convulsions? Was she ill?”
    “I don’t know yet, but I will soon. If you rule out drugs or poison, which of course I can’t do until the tests are run, your description makes me think she may have had a stroke or a heart attack.But neither of those is consistent with the other evidence. People who are in the midst of a heart attack, or even a stroke, usually have enough presence of mind to slow down. Of course there are always exceptions, but the percentages bear me out.”
    Ella nodded. “Epilepsy?”
    Carolyn took another bite of the candy bar, then swallowed. “There’s no record of that in her medical history. I know herdoctor. He’s right upstairs. He said that she was in perfect health.”
    Carolyn was just finishing the last bite of candy when the med student came back into the room. He strode in confidently, and despite the fact that he was wearing a wide, gold wedding band, gave Ella a bold once over as if they were in a single’s bar instead of a morgue. Then he turned to Carolyn. “Doctor, I’ve logged the bloodsamples and the other fluids.” He looked at the body, trying to act casual, but his face turned a shade lighter.
    Ella knew immediately that, despite his training, he was no seasoned morgue veteran. He was reacting to the body with the distaste most Navajos showed a corpse. When she glanced at Carolyn, and saw the gleam in her eyes, her heart went out to Howard Lee. If her guess was right, Carolynwas about to have some fun at the young man’s expense.
    Ella cleared her throat. “I was hoping to talk you into taking some time off and going out for lunch with me, upstairs, outside, anywhere but here.” She needed to talk to her friend, but she wouldn’t ask specifically. It wouldn’t have been a fair request. What had allowed their friendship to blossom was their mutual understanding of eachother. To both Carolyn and her, work always came first.
    “Give me a few more minutes,” Carolyn said. “Howard and I have a few more things to do here.”
    Ella braced herself when the high-pitched whine of a bone saw filled the room. Then she heard a sucking noise as the body was cut open. She would have run out of the room right there and then, but she was afraid that if she moved, her legs wouldbuckle and she’d fall on her face. Ella leaned back against the cold wall, closed her eyes, and took a breath. The smell of death filled her nostrils, and she felt her empty stomach churning and bile rising again to the back of her throat.
    Hearing a sound she could only describe as that of a runner wearing water-soaked shoes, she opened her eyes and saw Carolyn removing something large and reddishbrown from the body. Ella rushed out of the room, knowing she’d have to put up with Carolyn calling her a wuss for the next several months.
    “Hang on. We’ll have lunch in a bit,” Carolyn called out to her cheerily. “I just want to show my assistant one more thing.”
    Ella heard a drill, then a crunching sound that made her skin crawl. The next instant, she saw Howard Lee running from the room,one hand held over his mouth.
    Carolyn looked up at Ella and smiled. “Oh good. You’re still here. Now, we can leave. I have a valid reason for taking a break from the autopsy because my student’s indisposed. He’s an arrogant