Although Tuesday posts are usually about "life in general," I'm involved in my second career, that of writing, so my life includes such things as book releases. Today is the official release day for my ninth published novel of medical suspense,
Miracle Drug. And to mark the occasion, I thought I'd give you a sample of that book. I'll see you again Friday.
Oh, and the book giveaways have started. Today I'm answering some interesting questions from Charity Andrews.
Drop by and check it out. Now, here's the sample of
Miracle Drug:
MIRACLE DRUG
Dr. Ben Lambert stood at the bathroom sink washing his
hands. He sensed more than saw the movement behind him.
“You’re not supposed to be in here,” he said without
turning. The intruder didn’t respond. Lambert repeated the words, this time in
Spanish. “Supone que no debe estar aquí.”
When there was still no answer, Lambert, his hands wet, the
water still running, turned toward the intruder. That’s when he felt it—a sharp
pain in his left upper arm. Within seconds a burning pain swept over his
extremities. His vision became fuzzy. He tried to reach out, but the commands
his brain sent went unheeded by his arms and legs.
With agonizing slowness, Lambert crumpled to the ground. He
felt his heart thud against his chest wall in an erratic rhythm, at first a
fast gallop, then slower and more irregular. He tried to breathe but couldn’t
satisfy his hunger for air. His calls for help came out as weak, strangled
cries, like the mewling of a kitten.
Then the next wave of pain hit him—the worst pain he’d ever
experienced, centered over his breastbone as though someone had impaled him
with a sword. Lambert struggled to move, to cry out for help, to breathe.
Through half-closed eyelids, he could barely see a patch of worn linoleum,
topped by an ever-enlarging puddle beneath the soapstone sink. Then that
vision, and the world around it, faded to black, and Ben Lambert died.
* *
*
Dr. Josh Pearson tapped on the office door. “Nadeel, you
wanted to see me?”
Dr. Nadeel Kahn half-rose from behind his desk. Kahn was a
small man—probably five eight compared with Josh’s six feet plus. His accent
was almost non-existent, probably worn off through years of medical school,
residency, and practice. Normally, Josh’s interaction with the managing partner
of the Preston Clinic was limited to an occasional “Hi” as they passed in the
halls, plus phone calls about hematology patients Josh referred to the
subspecialist. This summons to Kahn’s office had come as a surprise.
Kahn motioned Josh inside. “Thanks for coming. Close the door
and have a seat, would you?”
Josh did as Kahn asked. “What’s up? I think this is the
first time I’ve ever been called into your office.” He tried to summon up a
grin. “Am I in trouble?”
Kahn’s expression never changed. “We’ll wait to decide that
until you hear both pieces of news I have for you.” He leaned back in his desk
chair and tented his fingertips under his chin. His dark eyes fixed Josh’s. He
took a moment, apparently deciding how to deliver his message. When he spoke,
his tone had turned serious. “As you know, our colleague, Ben Lambert, left a
few days ago to accompany ex-president Madison on a trip to South America. The
delegation was to consider locations for a free clinic Madison’s foundation was
considering placing. Before he left, Ben approached me and said he thought it
appropriate, as he got older, to prepare a younger colleague to care for David
Madison should the need arise.”
An idea took faint shape in Josh’s mind, but he quickly
rejected it. Surely not. He shook his
head.
“Yes. He named you,” Kahn said. “Ben told me he had already
discussed it with Madison. They’d known each other for years—actually grew up
together—and Madison trusted his friend. He said he was willing to go along
with Ben’s recommendation.”
“I’m…I’m flattered, I guess, but I have no idea why he’d
choose me.”
“Unfortunately, we can’t ask Ben that question. I just got a
phone call that he died earlier today of an apparent heart attack.” Kahn rose
from his chair. He reached across the desk and put his hand on Josh’s shoulder.
“I don’t know whether to offer congratulations or sympathy. Josh, you’re now
the personal physician for the immediate past President of the United States.”
* *
*
Tears formed in Rachel Moore’s eyes as she stood on the
tarmac of El Dorado airport in Bogotá, Colombia, watching the special metal
coffin holding the earthly remains of Dr. Ben Lambert disappear into the cargo
hold of the private jet. Dr. Lambert, I’m
so sorry. I wish I could have done more.
An older man, the silver waves of his hair blowing slightly
in the wind, stood beside her. As though he could read her thoughts, he said,
“Don’t beat yourself up, Rachel. No one could have predicted this. And you and
the others did everything humanly possible. Ben was probably already dead when
you found him.” Then David W. Madison, immediate past President of the United
States, put his arm gently around her shoulders and hugged her.
“I guess I know that,” she said. “But no one expected it. I
mean, we all had physicals along with our immunizations before leaving, and he
told me he was in tip-top shape for a man of over sixty. Then, when we were
eating lunch at the church, he was in the bathroom...”
“I know. It’s a shock. Ben Lambert was an old friend. We
grew up together. And now he’s gone.”
Madison took his arm away and looked down
at the nurse. “You know you don’t have to be the one to accompany his body back
to Dallas. One of the other members of the party could do it.”
“No, I think I need this to achieve some closure. You’ll be
coming back in a couple more days, and if there’s a medical problem after I
leave, you still have Dr. Dietz and Linda Gaston.”
The door to the cargo hold closed with a thud, and Rachel
shivered despite the tropic heat. She lifted her carry-on bag and started to
turn away, but Madison stopped her.
“Ben must have sensed something like this might happen,
because before we left he spoke to me about another physician he thought should
take care of me if he couldn’t.” Madison hesitated. “I think you know him.
Matter of fact, I imagine he’s the one meeting you at the airport after you
land.”
“You mean Josh?”
“When you see him, please tell Dr. Pearson I need to see him
as soon as I return.”
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