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“No, I did not. I understand he had words with my colleague Dr. Lasch. I believe it was over a denial of coverage of a procedure Dr. Morrow had recommended for one of his patients.”
“Did you know that he referred to you and Dr. Lasch as ‘a pair of murderers’?”
“I certainly did not, but it doesn’t surprise me. Jack was a rash man and could get very hot under the collar.”
He’s scared, Fran thought as she studied Peter Black. He’s scared, and he’s lying.
“Doctor, did you know at the time that Gary Lasch was having an affair with A
“I did not. I was shocked when Gary confessed to it.”
“That was only hours before he died,” Fran said. “Isn’t that true?”
“Yes, it is. It had been obvious all week that Gary was upset, and on that Sunday Cal Whitehall and I went to see him. That’s when we heard about it.” Peter Black glanced at his watch and shifted forward slightly.
He’s ready to kick me out, Fran thought. I’ve got to get a couple more questions in first, though.
“Doctor, Gary Lasch was a close friend of yours, wasn’t he?”
“Very close. We met in medical school.”
“Did you see each other regularly after medical school?”
“I wouldn’t say that. I was working in Chicago right after graduation. Gary came here as soon as he completed his residency and went into practice with his father.” He stood. “Ms. Simmons, I really must insist on getting back to work.” He turned and walked toward his desk.
Fran followed him. “Doctor, one last question. Did you ask Gary Lasch to bring you here?”
“ Gary sent for me after his father died.”
“Doctor, with all due respect, he invited you to join him as an equal partner in the institution his father founded. There were a number of excellent physicians already in the Greenwich area who surely would have bought into the practice, but he chose you, even though you had only worked as a staff doctor in a rather undistinguished Chicago hospital. What made you so special?”
Peter Black whirled to face Fran. “Get out, Ms. Simmons!” he barked. “You have extraordinary gall to come up here and make libelous insinuations when half the people in this town were victims of your father’s thievery.”
Fran winced. “Touché,” she said. “Nevertheless, Dr. Black, I don’t intend to stop looking for answers to my questions. You’re certainly not providing me with any, are you?”
59
On Thursday morning, in Buffalo, New York, after a private funeral Mass, the remains of A
The lack of publicity had been a decision made and enforced by a grimly purposeful Lucy. Sixteen years older than A
As A
When she accepted the job at Lasch Hospital in Greenwich, Co
As Lucy sat in the front row of the chapel during the brief service, she thought back to that happier time. She remembered how Jack Morrow would joke with Mama, telling her that even if A
She was in love with him, Lucy thought as scalding tears burned her cheeks-until that hateful Gary Lasch decided to go after her. She shouldn’t be lying in that casket, Lucy thought angrily. She should have been married to Dr. Jack these past seven years. She could have been both a mother and a nurse-he wouldn’t have wanted her to give that up. Nursing was as much in her soul as being a doctor was in his.
Lucy turned and looked with anguish at the casket, covered with the white cloth symbolizing A
“May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed…”
Lucy was barely aware of the monsignor’s voice as he blessed her sister’s casket. Her grief and her anger were too great. A
And Dr. Jack. What about him? Poor Mama was so crazy about him, so impressed. She never called him Jack. Always Dr. Jack. You admitted that you never believed a drug addict killed him.
A
Little sister…Little sister.
Lucy became aware of raw, noisy sobs filling the chapel and knew they were coming from her. Her husband patted her hand, but she pulled it away. Right now the only person in the universe she felt co
After the interment, Lucy’s son and daughter escaped to their jobs, and her husband went back to the supermarket where he was a manager.
Lucy went home and began going through the dresser that had been A
The top three drawers contained underwear, hosiery, and sweaters, left there so that A
The bottom drawer was filled with pictures, framed and unframed, family albums, envelopes stuffed with snapshots, some letters and postcards.
It was when she was going through those pictures, tears blurring her vision and burning her eyes, that Lucy received a call from Fran Simmons.
“I know who you are,” Lucy snapped, her voice charged with angry emotion. “You’re that reporter who wants to air that dirty business all over again. Well, leave me alone, and leave my sister to rest in peace.”
Speaking from Manhattan, Fran said, “I’m very sorry for your loss, but I have to warn you-A
“That’s not fair!” Lucy wailed. “She was no home wrecker. She was just a kid when she met Gary Lasch.”
“So was Molly,” Fran said. “The more I hear, the sorrier I am for both of them. Mrs. Bonaventure, I’m flying to Buffalo tomorrow morning, and I want to meet you. Please trust me. I’m only trying to learn the truth about what happened, not just the night A