Do No Harm

The following story is fictional and does not depict any actual person or event.

September 19, 1966
("A Hard Day's Night" - The Beatles)

Dr. Jim Madsen listened intently as he placed the stethoscope on the young woman's chest. Jim was a good-looking man of thirty-six, with dark red hair and features that suggested warmth. He was a bit on the short side but the kindness in his eyes and voice made him a pleasant person to deal with.

"All right, Claudia, now breathe in." He instructed, listening as her chest rose. "And breathe out." Her chest fell. Jim continued this a few more times while the young woman's husband watched intently.

"So what's the prognosis, doc?" The young man asked when he'd finished.

Jim looked down at the young woman's belly. "Well, Steve, I'd say in another five months, we're all going to be saying hello to a beautiful, healthy baby." He smiled slightly. "And you both had better get used to changing a few diapers."

Claudia smiled and looked pointedly at Steve. "Did you hear him say 'you both'?" Steve chuckled.

"Seriously though, do either of you have any concerns?" Jim asked.

Claudia smiled and took her husband's hand. "It's a little scary but I know we can do this." She chuckled slightly. "Though if you had something to make this damned morning sickness go away, I'd love it."


"...And there's a few more routine tests I'd like to run but we can talk about that at your next appointment." Jim continued, walking them out into the waiting room. "And if there's anything you want to talk about before then, I want to you to call me."

Claudia smiled. "Thank you for being so supportive, Dr. Madsen, it really means a lot."

Steve chuckled. "It's cause he's from Canada. Did you know he was Canadian?"

"Are you?" Claudia asked.

Jim simply shrugged.

"Well let me just say I'm so glad you came all the way down here to take care of us"

Jim smiled slightly, though his mind seemed slightly elsewhere. "My pleasure."

As the young couple smiled and walked off to talk with one of the receptionists, one of the nurses, a young black woman named Paula, walked over.

"Dr. Madsen," she said, gesturing to a young woman and little girl of five sitting in the waiting room. "You have a visitor." She said, smiling.

Jim grinned, crouched down, and stretched out his arms.

"Daddy!" The girl cried, running into his arms.

"Hey there, sweetie!" Jim said, pulling the girl into a hug, then lifting her up. "Were you a good girl for Jackie today?"

The young woman nodded and touched the girl's arm. "She was a very good girl, weren't you Connie?" She turned to Jim. "She was kind of quiet though."

"Oh." He looked at Connie intently. "Is anything the matter?"

"I miss mommy." Connie said quietly, burying her head in his shoulder.

Jim pulled his daughter back to look at her. "I know you do, sweetie. I miss her too. Remember what I told you" Mommy got sick. And she had to go away for a while so that she can get better, so that we can be a family again."

"When's mommy going to get better?" Connie asked.

Jim and Jackie exchanged uneasy glances before Jim turned back to Connie. "I don't know, sweetie. It could be a while. But just remember, no matter how long she's gone, your mommy loves you very, very much." He pulled her into a hug. "And so do I." He whispered...


Jim lay sprawled across the floor of his office, a pool of blood having formed on the floor. His hand still clutched his neck where his throat had been slashed, a vain attempt to stop the bleeding. His eyes gazed up at one of the medicine cabinets, now open and empty, the lock smashed...

The older detective shook his head as he stacked the box marked 'MADSEN, J.' in with the others. Storing away an unsolved case like this never sat well with him. He only hoped something new might turn up eventually...


Detective Lilly Rush gave her boss, Lt. John Stillman, a nod as she walked into the squad room.

"Lil, I though this one might interest you." He gestured to the individual sitting next to one of the desks. "This is Dr. Madsen."

Lilly leaned over to shake the doctor's hand. "Nice to meet you." She said smiling.

The doctor smiled back. "Thank you, and please call me Connie."

Dr. Connie Madsen was a surgeon at Pennsylvania Hospital and undoubtedly had a great deal of her father in her. She had the same warmth in her eyes and voice, which likely served her well in her profession.

"Connie was telling us about something she learned about an old homicide case." Stillman continued.

"It was my father." Connie said solemnly. "He was a family physician killed in his office back in 1966. One of the medicine cabinet had been broken into. The police assumed my father had caught someone stealing drugs one night and they killed him. The case was never solved."

"But you found out something new recently?" Lilly asked.

Connie nodded and pulled a small, leather-bound book from her purse and handed it to Lilly. "I found out recently that my father kept a journal. He wasn't exactly diligent in writing in it. Some of the entries are weeks or even months apart. Most of them are just work-related, writing about new treatments, maintaining his practice, that sort of thing."

Lilly nodded as Connie continued. "If you look, you'll see a lot of the pages towards the end were torn out. The last entry is what concerned me though."

Lilly looked closer and began reading the brief entry. "I've made a decision. I can't do this. It's wrong. If I ever want to look my daughter in the eye again, I can't let this happen again, not this time." The last three words where underlined heavily and accompanied by a number of exclamation marks.

"Can't let this happen again. What do you think he meant by that?" Lilly asked.

Connie shook her head, looking troubled. "I don't know. But I'm starting to think it may have cost him his life."

ROLL INTRO