'What's the difference, Alex? What's the damned differ'nte! The important thing is results. Yes, he's my friend. Yes, he's helped me a lot, so ill want to help him back, that's okay! What's wrong with that!
Our goals are consistent!'
'Then why not help Cassie?' Shouting myself 'I'm sure the two of you have discussed her! Why put her through one more second of misery if Mr. Helpful can put an end to it?'
She cowered. Her back was up against the driver's door. 'What the hell do you want from me? Perfection? Well, sorry, I can't fill that bill. I tried that-it's a short road to misery. So just lay off, okay?
Okay?'
She began to cry.
I said, 'Forget it. let's just concentrate on Cassie.'
'I am,' she said in a small voice. 'Believe me, Alex, I am concentrating on her-always have been. We couldn't do anything, because we didn't know-had to be sure. That's why I called you in.
Bill didn't want me to, but I insisted on that. I put my foot down-I really did.
I kept silent.
'I needed your help to find out,' she said. 'To know for sure that Cindy was really doing it to her. Then Bill could help. At that point, we could confront them.'
'Then?' I said. 'Or were you just waiting until Bill gave the signal?
Until his plan was in place and he was ready to take down the whole family?'
'No! He... We just wanted to do it inaway that would.. be effective. Just jumping in and accusing them wouldn't be.
'Strategic?'
'Efjirtive! Or ethical-it wouldn't be the right thing. What if she wasn't guilty?'
'Something organic? Something metabolic?'
'Why not! I'm a doctor, dammit, not God. How the hell could I know?
Just because Chuck's a piece of slime didn't mean Cindy was! I wasn't sure, dammit! Getting to the bottom of it is your job-that's why I called you in.'
'Thanks for the referral.'
Alex,' she said plaintively, 'why are you making this so painful for me? You know the kind of doctor I am.'
She sniffed and rubbed her eyes.
I said, 'Since you called me in, I feel I've been running a mar 'Me too. You think it's easy having meetings with those sleazeballs and pretending to be their little stooge? Plu'nb thinks his hand was created in order to rest on my knee.'
She grimaced and pulled her dress lower. 'You think it's easy being with a bunch of docs, passing Bill in the hall and hearing what they say about him? Look, I know he's not your idea of a nice guy, but you don't really know him. He's good. He helped' me.'
She looked out the driver's window. 'I had a problem.... You don't need to know the details. Oh, hell, why not? I had a drinking problem, okay?'
'Okay.'
She turned around quicKly. 'You're not surprised? oDid I show it-did I act pathologic?'
'No, but it happens to nice people too.'
'I never showed it at all?'
