Well, I've revved things up even more in this chapter.

Chapter 10.

George Flynn, Cameron's one-thirty appointment, turned out to be a middle-aged man with thinning brown hair and a matching mustache. She realized she'd seen him around town, but had never met him.

She led him to examination room and had him sit on the table. "Mr. Flynn, what seems to be the problem?"

"It's my stomach." He rubbed it to emphasize the area. "No matter what I eat, it's upset."

"Have you tried any over the counter meds?" Cameron checked his vitals.

"Yes. Tums and Alka Seltzer don't do a thing."

"Are you nauseous?"

He nodded. "Almost all of the time."

"Normally I'd refer you to a gastroenterologist, but let's try a few blood tests first. You'd have to go to Snow Hill or further for a specialist and more invasive tests." She got out the ampules and needle, he rolled up his sleeve, and she took some blood. "I'll have this analyzed in a few days. Meanwhile, stay away from alcohol, coffee and caffeinated beverages, and spicy food." She knew those were probably not the only triggers, but it was a start.

"Thanks, Doc." George stood from the table. "So no meds?"

"You can try over-the-counter Prilosec. It'll help with the nausea by preventing acid reflux." She showed him out.

She had two other patients before the high school biology teacher arrived. Mrs. Nathan had one of those plain faces that came alive when she smiled and when she spoke. Her voice held a hint of an accent that Cameron couldn't place, but it was lilting and pleasant to hear. She looked to be in her thirties.

"Mrs. Nathan, you didn't have to make an appointment here at the clinic."

"Oh, I know, Doctor. I was afraid you'd have so many patients if I just showed up when I was finished with my classes, I'd have to wait. This way, I reserved a spot in your schedule."

Cameron smiled at her. "What seems to be bothering you?"

"It's headaches. I get them all the time. At first I thought it was allergies because my nose is always stuffed up, and then I sneeze."

"Does this hurt?" Cameron pressed her fingers to the woman's nose and then her sinuses.

"Um, a little."

"I think you have a sinus infection." Cameron looked at the woman's throat and in her nose and ears. "You have all the indications. I'll give you a prescription for an antibiotic that should clear it up. If the pain persists after you've taken all the pills, give me a call."

"Thanks, Dr. Cameron." She smiled. "I was afraid it was something worse than that."

"You're a biology teacher, right?"

"Yes."

"Then you understand better than most how the human body, or any body, works. Sometimes when the sinuses fill due to allergies or a cold they can become infected. The pressure causes a headache, or sometimes an earache." She retrieved her prescription pad from under a package of sterile gauze and wrote a scrip for Mrs. Nathan.

###

That evening, as House and Cameron caught up with each other over their dinner at Mo's, Cameron brought up her new patients.

"I'm still puzzling over why they thought they needed appointments." She shrugged. "In both cases, they could have come in like any other patient."

"And you think that's suspicious?"

"Well, that and the way they each looked around the office while they were there. Most people are so anxious about what's wrong with them that they don't pay any attention to anything else." She stirred her coffee. "What were they fishing for?"

"Both of them?" He tilted his head.

She frowned. "Yes, that was the other thing. No one makes appointments at the clinic. No one. Yet I had two in one day."

He grinned. "They're worth investigating, I guess."

"Especially after those voice mail messages we got today." Her eyes narrowed. "Do you think it's all connected?"

He stared into his coffee cup and then looked up. "Did they make the appointments before or after the voice mail?"

"Before. And of course, everyone seems to think Mrs. Nathan is a great person." She shook her head. "Maybe I'm making too much of this."

"Maybe she's only a great teacher, but not trustworthy. You have good instincts about people. What did you think?"

"She was very pleasant. I liked her. But that doesn't mean she wasn't playing me."

"No one plays you."

A slight smile crossed her face before she went on. "Now, George Flynn. I couldn't get a read on him at all. He was vague in a vague sort of way."

"That vague."

She chuckled. "Absolutely. Stomach pain. Nothing specific. Slight nausea. Could have been making it up. The blood tests might show something, but if not, I'll send him to a GI doctor. If he balks at a colonoscopy, we'll know he's faking it."

"Everyone balks at a colonoscopy. How about a proctologist?"

She grinned. "No one likes to see them either, and if there's an actual problem, a GI specialist will find it."

"So what do we know about this guy?"

"Not much. I've seen him around, but know nothing about him."

"Did you ask Carol?"

She shook her head. "We were too busy and she didn't say anything when she told me about the appointment, but I'll ask her tomorrow."

House surveyed the diner. "Linda might know who he is."

Cameron nodded as she waved the waitress over. "Linda, do you know George Flynn?"

"Doesn't he work at the hotel?" She refilled their coffee cups. "I think he's a desk clerk there." She drifted off to check on other customers.

"Which brings us back to Mr. Langley." House took a couple of packets of sugar.

"The hotel owner."

"He's on our suspect list for possibly having something to do with the attacks on Will."

"Do you think he might have sent Flynn to check me out?" Cameron stiffened.

"Or the clinic. I didn't talk to Will yet about the phone calls, but for once, I think it's time to bring in the mounties."

She rolled her eyes. "I don't think Gary Anderson ever rode a horse."

"Just a manner of speech." He took out his phone and punched in the police chief's number. "Good evening, Chief. How's the search going for the perp who attacked the Davises?"

"Nada. Or rather, there are too many people it could have been."

"I've got something to add to your clues, or maybe your woes. Both Dr. Cameron and I received threatening voice mail messages today." He told the chief what the caller said. "We're taking precautions, of course, and I'll let Will know to keep an eye on the construction site."

"Tell him about my two new patients. Maybe he knows something about them."

House nodded. "Chief, what do you know about George..." He looked at Cameron, who mouthed George's last name. "George Flynn?"

"Quiet guy," the chief replied. "Works at the hotel, behind the registration desk. Nothing remarkable."

"And Mrs. Nathan, the biology teacher?"

"Why are you asking about them?" Anderson wasn't stupid.

"They both visited Cameron at the clinic today with minor ailments. Anderson, they made appointments. At the clinic. No one makes an appointment there, they just drop in."

"So you think one or both of them are involved? Lydia Nathan is a well-loved teacher who volunteers at the animal shelter. I can't see her as one of the bad guys."

"Okay, thanks, Chief. At least now you know about our phone calls."

"Doc, what was the voice like?"

"It sounded like it was disguised in some way. Couldn't even tell whether it was a woman or a man."

"Well, thanks for reporting the calls."

"Night, Chief." He pushed 'end'.

Cameron asked, "Is he taking the calls seriously?"

"I think so."

"So, now what? What can we do about them?"

"We can go home, call Will, and enjoy some time alone together."

But that wasn't to be, not for a while, because Wilson walked in with Jessica.

"We were hoping you'd both still be here." Wilson sat next to Cameron while Jessica joined House.

"Actually, we were just leaving, but I guess now we can't." House glared at his friend.

"I wanted to say good-bye. I'll leave in the morning."

"We enjoyed having you here," Cameron said.

House's glare shifted to her. "Speak for yourself."

Wilson laughed. "I'll miss you, too. I'm looking into a few openings in different parts of the country."

"Let us know where you end up." Cameron smirked at House. "Maybe we'll pay you a visit."

"Jim, tell them." Jessica smiled at him.

"I've resigned from my position at PPTH."

"Isn't that a little premature?" House couldn't help asking.

"Whatever happens, I can't work there anymore. You've both shown me that there's life elsewhere, that I can find another place to practice where the atmosphere is pleasant, the people are friendly and welcoming."

House and Cameron exchanged a glance. And House said, "Don't want to burst your bubble, but Shelby isn't all butterflies and moonbeams."

"I know. That whole affair with Ian and Mary showed me that there could be crime, even here. But the overall environment of the place is...comforting." Wilson looked at the alarmed expression on House's face. "No, maybe that's not the right word, certainly not for you, but I guess I mean..."

Cameron patted his hand and chuckled. "I think you can leave it with you like it here."

He nodded. "Yes. I do. Not just because the two of you live here, or Jessica, either."

House scrunched up his face. "So does that mean you'll be visiting frequently?"

Wilson laughed. "Sorry, you're not completely rid of me. And you'll have to let me know the final diagnosis on the Davis front."

Jessica winked. "James has caught the bug. He's almost as interested in your puzzles as your patients."

But House and Cameron refrained from telling them about the latest developments.

"Once you're settled, let us know how to reach you and we will," Cameron promised.

Linda came to take their order. Once she wrote it down, her gaze shifted to House. "I thought of something else about Flynn. At one time he was under suspicion for killing his boss' wife, but he was cleared."

"Wasn't that one of the incidents your morning patient mentioned?" House asked Cameron.

She nodded. "She died within the last couple of years, but he didn't say it was suspicious. Linda, what do you know about Mrs. Langley's death?"

Linda shrugged. "It was all very hush hush, but some said it was because she was an alcoholic and drank herself to death. It happened a few months before you arrived, Dr. Cameron."

"Thanks, Linda." Cameron watched the waitress go off to put in Wilson and Jessica's orders, then faced their two quizzical faces. She had to say something. "One of my patients listed all the things he could think of that had happened in the town over the last couple of years. The list wasn't long. One was the death of the hotel owner's wife."

"Who's Flynn?" Jessica asked.

"He's the desk clerk at the hotel." Cameron left it at that.

"There's something you're not telling us." Wilson looked from Cameron to House, then sighed. "And you're not about to tell us. It's not the first time."

"Wilson, if you or Jessica could help in any way, you know we'd ask."

"Cameron, you might. I don't know about my sometime best friend." Wilson couldn't glare the way Wilson did, but he tried.

"And on that note, we really must go." House tried to rise, but with Jessica next to him, he couldn't exit the booth. She got out, and so did he.

Wilson let Cameron out as well. "Take care of him."

"House will take care of himself, but I'll keep an eye on him, try to keep him in line." She was laughing as she slipped her arm through House's and the left the diner.

They drove home deep in thought. Cameron finally spoke as House pulled the car into the driveway. "Maybe I should pay a visit to the hotel sometime tomorrow."

"I'll come home early so we can do it together."

"Are you afraid something might happen to me without you there?"

"I'd like to meet this Flynn guy." He opened the back door. The kitchen was dark. "Either Mrs. McClelland is out somewhere or she headed up to her bedroom early."

But when they reached their room, they found it in shambles.