Disclaimer: I do not own the characters depicted in the CBS television show "Diagnosis Murder." They were someone else's idea. I did, however, make up Maggie Montgomery, Carley Travis, Dr. Nick Murphy, Dr. Annie Johnson, Dr. Ian Ritodowski and Paige Sullivan.
Summary: The gang is at the beach house watching the news, when it is announced that a man is being released from prison after serving a seven year sentence. The news makes Jesse very angry. Mark, Steve, Susan, and Amanda try to find out why Jesse is so upset.
Bringing Up Memories
Chapter 1- The Evening News
"Doctor Travis, please report to the E.R., Doctor Travis to the E.R."
As his name blared over the loudspeaker, Jesse put his pen away. He had just finished prescribing Jerry Fulton antibiotics to clear up his poison ivy. Jesse went down to the first floor, to discover that the E.R. was filling up with patients. Five hours later he had treated three broken bones, four cases of influenza, three gunshot wounds, and given out 762 stitches.
The weather didn't help, either. It was one of those days when you just feel like crawling back into your bed. It was raining, with scattered thunderstorms occurring throughout the day. Even when he did get a chance to glance out of a window, Jesse just felt depressed.
Jesse glanced at his watch. Finally his shift was over. He was looking forward to a long weekend. He trudged down the hall to the locker room and changed out of his blood-splattered scrubs. In the doctor's lounge, his wife, Susan was waiting for him.
"Bad day?" she asked. He nodded and sighed as he sank into a chair. Susan handed him a Styrofoam cup of coffee. "Are you still up to having dinner at Dr. Sloan's?"
"Yeah, I think I'll be fine if we don't stay too late. I don't have to work tomorrow, and I am sleeping in," he said.
"What about BBQ Bob's?" Susan asked. Jesse groaned. It was his weekend to work at the restaurant. So much for sleeping in. Maybe Steve could be persuaded to switch...
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"That was wonderful, Dr. Sloan," Susan said as she helped him carry the dishes into the kitchen. They placed them on the counter and went to join Amanda, Jesse, and Steve, who were watching the news.
"And that's the latest on your KCDM weather report, and here's Sparky Stevens at the news desk."
"Thank you, Rob. Now turning to our latest news, Dr. Ian Ritodowski received parole today, after serving a seven–year sentence for allegedly killing a young medical student and her three-year-old daughter. Yesterday a briefcase was left in front of city hall, shedding a new light on the case. The evidence in this briefcase has not been disclosed to the public, but it has given reasonable doubt to Ritodowski's guilt."
"Why are they letting a creep like that out of jail?" Jesse said standing up. "He should spend the rest of his life behind those bars. In fact, he should be on death row, counting the days until his lethal injection." He fished a business card out of his wallet and started dialing the number into his cell phone.
"Who are you calling?" Steve asked.
"My lawyer," Jesse said as he went out to the deck to talk.
"What is that all about?" Amanda asked.
"I don't know," Susan said, "But it sounds like he knows something that we don't."
"It sure does," Mark added. "I'll get my laptop. What was that prisoner's name again?" Mark typed Ritodowski's name into the search engine, and came up with a case, The People vs. Dr. Ian Ritodowski. He was about to read it when they heard Jesse coming. Mark quickly minimized the window as he walked back in.
"There's not a thing that I can do. Ritodowski is going free tomorrow at noon," he fumed. Susan came and set her hand on his arm.
"What did he do to you that you want him in jail so badly?" she asked soothingly.
"He killed Maggie," Jesse answered quietly. Then he grabbed his keys and headed out into the rain. While Steve got the keys to his truck, Susan turned back to the computer and shut it down.
"I think that whatever Ritodowski did to Jesse, he's the one we need to hear it from," she said. Mark agreed, and he and Amanda grabbed their coats as well as Jesse's.