~~
Mark had just got off the phone, following his conversation with Doctor Hammond, when Norman marched into his office, looking as agitated and frustrated as he usually did. "Good afternoon, Norman, what can I do for you?" Mark asked cheerfully. It was just after midday, and Mark had been home for a shower and six hours of sleep before returning to the hospital to do his own rounds.
"Mark, I thought there were no secrets between us," Norman said, clasping his hands and pacing the room. On second inspection, Mark decided that Norman looked more agitated and frustrated than usual.
Mark tried to smother a smile at Norman's choice of words, and asked, "What are you talking about, Norman?"
"I think you should fire Doctor Stewart."
This time, Mark thought to himself, Norman really has lost it. "Why should I do that? Jack's a great Doctor, why would I want to fire him?" After a moment, he asked, "Is it because he was shot?"
"You know," Norman stressed, wringing his hands, "we just can't have people like him waltzing around Community General, playing doctor."
"As far as I know, Norman, Jack doesn't waltz, and he most certainly does not play, he's very serious about his career," Mark told him firmly, wondering what on earth Norman was ranting about. Norman never made sense at the best of times, but today he was really taking it to the extreme. "Are you all right, Norman? Have you seen a doctor lately?"
"Very funny," Norman muttered, not realising the Mark was being very serious. "And by career, which one would you be talking about?" Norman shot at him.
Mark was now thoroughly lost. "Come again?"
"He told me everything, Mark, you don't need to play dumb with me." Norman edged towards the baffled doctor and whispered in his ear the tale that Jack had told him two days ago. It was then that Mark realised what Jack had said to Norman to upset him so, and make him all the more uptight.
"When did Jack tell you this?" Mark asked him.
"When I asked him how he got shot," Norman said, now in full swing. "He tried to cover up that he'd been shot by looking for the bathroom, but I figured it out, that he was a spy posing as a doctor, and he went to hear Doctor Holmes speak at the Charity Ball, because it was code for his investigation -"
"Calm down, Norman," Mark said, grasping the shorter man by the shoulders. "Listen, Jack really got shot when he was looking for the bathroom."
The penny dropped. "And I didn't believe him?"
"And you didn't believe him," Mark confirmed, letting Norman go. As an afterthought, he said, "and yet, you believed that he was a spy."
"Mention this to no one," Norman ordered, looking decidedly embarrassed at that moment, as well as ashamed for asking Mark to fire Jack. He straightened the arms of his suit that had become crumpled, and smoothed his tie, before turning on his heel and retreating from the room, Mark unable to resist chuckling as he left.
Delores walked into the room, jingling with gold jewellery as usual, as Mark's hand hovered over the receiver to call Steve and inform him about the conversation with Doctor Hammond. "Doctor Sloan," she said, wanting to catch him before he made the call. "Jack asked me to give you this. He said he forgot to give it to you, and sorry its creased but he fell asleep on it."
Chuckling, Mark picked it up and said, "Ah, good, he found the file on Anthony Holmes, too."
"He did?" Delores asked, cocking one eyebrow.
Mark bit his lower lip. The secret of Jack's adventure that early morning was meant to have stayed between him, Jack and Steve, plus the officer that Steve had called moments before Jack had arrived, but Steve had told him that it was a misunderstanding. If it got out, the hospital would have a lot of explaining to do. "You never heard that," Mark said, hoping that Delores would understand.
Delores winked and said, "Heard what?" before walking back into her office to continue her work.
Mark opened the file, read the top line and frowned. "This isn't Anthony's file, this is Richard's." He read another line and said to himself, "Richard never said he was a doctor." A few more lines and a smile replaced the frown on his face. "Jack doesn't know it," he said to no one in particular, "but he's just solved the murder. First, though, I'd better call Doctor Hammond and speak with him about this."
~~
"Good day, Doctor Sloan," Doctor Hammond greeted, getting up from his comfortable leather chair and shaking Mark's hand.
"Good afternoon, and thank you again for agreeing to an appointment with me, Doctor Hammond," Mark said, adding, "and it's Mark."
"No problem, and please call me John," Doctor Hammond said, gesturing for Mark to take a seat. "I wish we were meeting under better circumstances, but that's life, I guess."
"I agree," Mark said, now feeling that the time for introductions was over and they should be getting to the point. "Tell me about Anthony and Richard. What were they like to teach?"
"In the classroom, model students - attentive, always asking and answering questions, eager to learn, and generally a real joy to teach. But, after about a year or so, the tension began to build. They were so competitive, always trying to better each other with grades and so forth. One would give an answer, and the other would counter it, argue it, correct it, anything to get the better of the other." He paused for a moment, and said, "I have to say, Anthony was the worst of the two, but I think being the oldest twin was the reason for that. I suppose he felt that being the oldest gave him some kind of automatic authority over Richard."
Mark nodded, understanding. "So, how did it happen?" He asked, referring to what was written in the file.
"It was the night before their final exam, the one that both their grades were riding on, and the class went out to celebrate the night before, as one of the students was leaving to go to a funeral or something directly after the exam, and they all wanted to be together to celebrate. You and I both know the kinds of things that students have at these parties - drink, drugs. According to one of the other students I spoke to, Anthony basically got Richard high on just about everything there, he was drunk up to his eyeballs, and then Anthony introduced him to experimenting with the non-prescription kind of drugs. By the time he came crashing back down, he had to take his exam, and you can imagine he flunked it. There's no evidence to prove it bar eye-witnesses, but Anthony was responsible for what happened to Richard at the party, and therefore responsible for Richard losing out on a career as a doctor."
"Hmm," Mark said, the motive for murder reminding him of a certain Shakespearean play. "A case of Iago and Cassio here, possibly."
"Pardon?"
"Never mind," Mark said, going back to the subject at hand. "What happened to the brothers after that?"
"Richard, as far as I know, is working in a downtown supermarket by day, and studies to try and get his medical degree by night, whilst looking after Amelia in between, but since the day of their finals I've heard little from him," Doctor Hammond explained. "Anthony began work in the paediatrics department in Oakes Valley - he graduated top of the class and they took him immediately. Not long later, he's promoted to Head of Department - that's almost unheard of. Oakes Valley isn't a big hospital, I know, but still!" Doctor Hammond evidently had still not got over the shock of it - he knew that Anthony was bright, but surely he couldn't have climbed the ropes that fast?
"Anthony was chosen over another doctor in the department, as he apparently tipped off the Board about Doctor Forrester's previous problems with alcohol," Mark explained, he himself disbelieving at how fast Holmes had been promoted until he had heard how it had been managed.
Doctor Hammond too understood. "That's how he does it," he muttered in a disgusted tone, "and how he would have always done it. He'd climb to the top of the ladder by pushing everyone else off in the process. He did it to this Forrester guy, he did it to Ben, and he did it to his brother, too, his own flesh and blood."
At the mention of Ben's name Mark thought back to the conversation he'd had with Doctor Hammond but two hours ago. Ben Dawson had been the top student in the class for the first year at Medical School, John Hammond had told Mark over the phone, but Anthony had the yearning, the desire, to be the best. He dug deep to find something to incriminate Ben Dawson, and he found that Ben had copied an important essay from a lesser-known medical book. Anthony had shown the book to Doctor Hammond, and Dawson had been expelled from Medical School.
"But why do that to Richard? What did he gain?" Mark asked, seeing what was to be achieved for the other two cases, but not in Richard's case.
"It was sibling rivalry, pure betting of the other," Doctor Hammond told him in a grave voice. "You know what its like when you're kids, you always want to do better than your brother or sister, to make your parents proud of you, but these two never grew out of it. They joined all the same clubs - art classes, gymnastics, baseball, music classes, even a gun club when they reached the legal age - just to compete and see who would come out on top."
That finished it for Mark. He should have seen one of those examples before - he knew that Anthony had joined a gymnastics club, where he met Maria, and he should have guessed that Richard would go to, but a gun club too? This was all the evidence he needed. "John, time is of the essence and I have to go. Thank you so much for all that you've told me, you've been a great help." Mark got up from the chair, as did John, and they shook hands.
"You're welcome, Mark," John said, walking with him to the door of his office. "I'm sorry this business got so messy."
"So am I," Mark told him, before realising what the doctor had meant and hastily added, "this is not your fault, or anyone's, at all. It's in their characters, and no one could do anything to change that. I'll be in touch," he said as he walked out of the room, knowing that the doctor might be required to speak at a probable court case.
~~
On the way back to the hospital, Mark was called by Steve, and Mark sighed as he had totally forgotten about keeping his son updated in his side of the investigation. "Hi, Steve," he said, switching the hands-free phone on. "Did you find anything out?"
"Dad, do you know someone called Amelia?"
"Sure, she's Anthony Holmes' younger sister," Mark told him, alarm bells immediately sounding inside his mind. Where was Amelia in relation to Richard at that moment? "Why? Is she all right? Is she in some kind of trouble?"
"No, she's okay, she went to see Jack in the hospital," Steve said, remembering what Jack had told him in the phone conversation he'd had only moments ago. "The alibi Richard Holmes had wasn't as airtight as he thought. Sure, he took Amelia and her friend to the movies that evening, but he went outside to the bathroom and to get some popcorn ten minutes before Anthony was shot, for half an hour. Richard claims that there was a long queue, but the movie theatre is only three blocks away from the Mayfair."
"Steve, he did it," Mark said, driving faster as the pieces of the puzzle continued to fall into place before his eyes. He explained the conversations he had had with John Hammond, Steve listening intently throughout.
"Means, motive, opportunity," Steve said when his father had finished speaking.
"Exactly," Mark said, pulling into the hospital parking lot. "Where's Amelia now?"
"Still with Jack," Steve said, planning ahead with that one and asking Jack to make sure Amelia stayed in the hospital, away from Richard. "Holmes should be at work about now. Shall I bring him in?"
"No," Mark said firmly, sitting in his parked car. "I have a better idea."
~~
Mark had just got off the phone, following his conversation with Doctor Hammond, when Norman marched into his office, looking as agitated and frustrated as he usually did. "Good afternoon, Norman, what can I do for you?" Mark asked cheerfully. It was just after midday, and Mark had been home for a shower and six hours of sleep before returning to the hospital to do his own rounds.
"Mark, I thought there were no secrets between us," Norman said, clasping his hands and pacing the room. On second inspection, Mark decided that Norman looked more agitated and frustrated than usual.
Mark tried to smother a smile at Norman's choice of words, and asked, "What are you talking about, Norman?"
"I think you should fire Doctor Stewart."
This time, Mark thought to himself, Norman really has lost it. "Why should I do that? Jack's a great Doctor, why would I want to fire him?" After a moment, he asked, "Is it because he was shot?"
"You know," Norman stressed, wringing his hands, "we just can't have people like him waltzing around Community General, playing doctor."
"As far as I know, Norman, Jack doesn't waltz, and he most certainly does not play, he's very serious about his career," Mark told him firmly, wondering what on earth Norman was ranting about. Norman never made sense at the best of times, but today he was really taking it to the extreme. "Are you all right, Norman? Have you seen a doctor lately?"
"Very funny," Norman muttered, not realising the Mark was being very serious. "And by career, which one would you be talking about?" Norman shot at him.
Mark was now thoroughly lost. "Come again?"
"He told me everything, Mark, you don't need to play dumb with me." Norman edged towards the baffled doctor and whispered in his ear the tale that Jack had told him two days ago. It was then that Mark realised what Jack had said to Norman to upset him so, and make him all the more uptight.
"When did Jack tell you this?" Mark asked him.
"When I asked him how he got shot," Norman said, now in full swing. "He tried to cover up that he'd been shot by looking for the bathroom, but I figured it out, that he was a spy posing as a doctor, and he went to hear Doctor Holmes speak at the Charity Ball, because it was code for his investigation -"
"Calm down, Norman," Mark said, grasping the shorter man by the shoulders. "Listen, Jack really got shot when he was looking for the bathroom."
The penny dropped. "And I didn't believe him?"
"And you didn't believe him," Mark confirmed, letting Norman go. As an afterthought, he said, "and yet, you believed that he was a spy."
"Mention this to no one," Norman ordered, looking decidedly embarrassed at that moment, as well as ashamed for asking Mark to fire Jack. He straightened the arms of his suit that had become crumpled, and smoothed his tie, before turning on his heel and retreating from the room, Mark unable to resist chuckling as he left.
Delores walked into the room, jingling with gold jewellery as usual, as Mark's hand hovered over the receiver to call Steve and inform him about the conversation with Doctor Hammond. "Doctor Sloan," she said, wanting to catch him before he made the call. "Jack asked me to give you this. He said he forgot to give it to you, and sorry its creased but he fell asleep on it."
Chuckling, Mark picked it up and said, "Ah, good, he found the file on Anthony Holmes, too."
"He did?" Delores asked, cocking one eyebrow.
Mark bit his lower lip. The secret of Jack's adventure that early morning was meant to have stayed between him, Jack and Steve, plus the officer that Steve had called moments before Jack had arrived, but Steve had told him that it was a misunderstanding. If it got out, the hospital would have a lot of explaining to do. "You never heard that," Mark said, hoping that Delores would understand.
Delores winked and said, "Heard what?" before walking back into her office to continue her work.
Mark opened the file, read the top line and frowned. "This isn't Anthony's file, this is Richard's." He read another line and said to himself, "Richard never said he was a doctor." A few more lines and a smile replaced the frown on his face. "Jack doesn't know it," he said to no one in particular, "but he's just solved the murder. First, though, I'd better call Doctor Hammond and speak with him about this."
~~
"Good day, Doctor Sloan," Doctor Hammond greeted, getting up from his comfortable leather chair and shaking Mark's hand.
"Good afternoon, and thank you again for agreeing to an appointment with me, Doctor Hammond," Mark said, adding, "and it's Mark."
"No problem, and please call me John," Doctor Hammond said, gesturing for Mark to take a seat. "I wish we were meeting under better circumstances, but that's life, I guess."
"I agree," Mark said, now feeling that the time for introductions was over and they should be getting to the point. "Tell me about Anthony and Richard. What were they like to teach?"
"In the classroom, model students - attentive, always asking and answering questions, eager to learn, and generally a real joy to teach. But, after about a year or so, the tension began to build. They were so competitive, always trying to better each other with grades and so forth. One would give an answer, and the other would counter it, argue it, correct it, anything to get the better of the other." He paused for a moment, and said, "I have to say, Anthony was the worst of the two, but I think being the oldest twin was the reason for that. I suppose he felt that being the oldest gave him some kind of automatic authority over Richard."
Mark nodded, understanding. "So, how did it happen?" He asked, referring to what was written in the file.
"It was the night before their final exam, the one that both their grades were riding on, and the class went out to celebrate the night before, as one of the students was leaving to go to a funeral or something directly after the exam, and they all wanted to be together to celebrate. You and I both know the kinds of things that students have at these parties - drink, drugs. According to one of the other students I spoke to, Anthony basically got Richard high on just about everything there, he was drunk up to his eyeballs, and then Anthony introduced him to experimenting with the non-prescription kind of drugs. By the time he came crashing back down, he had to take his exam, and you can imagine he flunked it. There's no evidence to prove it bar eye-witnesses, but Anthony was responsible for what happened to Richard at the party, and therefore responsible for Richard losing out on a career as a doctor."
"Hmm," Mark said, the motive for murder reminding him of a certain Shakespearean play. "A case of Iago and Cassio here, possibly."
"Pardon?"
"Never mind," Mark said, going back to the subject at hand. "What happened to the brothers after that?"
"Richard, as far as I know, is working in a downtown supermarket by day, and studies to try and get his medical degree by night, whilst looking after Amelia in between, but since the day of their finals I've heard little from him," Doctor Hammond explained. "Anthony began work in the paediatrics department in Oakes Valley - he graduated top of the class and they took him immediately. Not long later, he's promoted to Head of Department - that's almost unheard of. Oakes Valley isn't a big hospital, I know, but still!" Doctor Hammond evidently had still not got over the shock of it - he knew that Anthony was bright, but surely he couldn't have climbed the ropes that fast?
"Anthony was chosen over another doctor in the department, as he apparently tipped off the Board about Doctor Forrester's previous problems with alcohol," Mark explained, he himself disbelieving at how fast Holmes had been promoted until he had heard how it had been managed.
Doctor Hammond too understood. "That's how he does it," he muttered in a disgusted tone, "and how he would have always done it. He'd climb to the top of the ladder by pushing everyone else off in the process. He did it to this Forrester guy, he did it to Ben, and he did it to his brother, too, his own flesh and blood."
At the mention of Ben's name Mark thought back to the conversation he'd had with Doctor Hammond but two hours ago. Ben Dawson had been the top student in the class for the first year at Medical School, John Hammond had told Mark over the phone, but Anthony had the yearning, the desire, to be the best. He dug deep to find something to incriminate Ben Dawson, and he found that Ben had copied an important essay from a lesser-known medical book. Anthony had shown the book to Doctor Hammond, and Dawson had been expelled from Medical School.
"But why do that to Richard? What did he gain?" Mark asked, seeing what was to be achieved for the other two cases, but not in Richard's case.
"It was sibling rivalry, pure betting of the other," Doctor Hammond told him in a grave voice. "You know what its like when you're kids, you always want to do better than your brother or sister, to make your parents proud of you, but these two never grew out of it. They joined all the same clubs - art classes, gymnastics, baseball, music classes, even a gun club when they reached the legal age - just to compete and see who would come out on top."
That finished it for Mark. He should have seen one of those examples before - he knew that Anthony had joined a gymnastics club, where he met Maria, and he should have guessed that Richard would go to, but a gun club too? This was all the evidence he needed. "John, time is of the essence and I have to go. Thank you so much for all that you've told me, you've been a great help." Mark got up from the chair, as did John, and they shook hands.
"You're welcome, Mark," John said, walking with him to the door of his office. "I'm sorry this business got so messy."
"So am I," Mark told him, before realising what the doctor had meant and hastily added, "this is not your fault, or anyone's, at all. It's in their characters, and no one could do anything to change that. I'll be in touch," he said as he walked out of the room, knowing that the doctor might be required to speak at a probable court case.
~~
On the way back to the hospital, Mark was called by Steve, and Mark sighed as he had totally forgotten about keeping his son updated in his side of the investigation. "Hi, Steve," he said, switching the hands-free phone on. "Did you find anything out?"
"Dad, do you know someone called Amelia?"
"Sure, she's Anthony Holmes' younger sister," Mark told him, alarm bells immediately sounding inside his mind. Where was Amelia in relation to Richard at that moment? "Why? Is she all right? Is she in some kind of trouble?"
"No, she's okay, she went to see Jack in the hospital," Steve said, remembering what Jack had told him in the phone conversation he'd had only moments ago. "The alibi Richard Holmes had wasn't as airtight as he thought. Sure, he took Amelia and her friend to the movies that evening, but he went outside to the bathroom and to get some popcorn ten minutes before Anthony was shot, for half an hour. Richard claims that there was a long queue, but the movie theatre is only three blocks away from the Mayfair."
"Steve, he did it," Mark said, driving faster as the pieces of the puzzle continued to fall into place before his eyes. He explained the conversations he had had with John Hammond, Steve listening intently throughout.
"Means, motive, opportunity," Steve said when his father had finished speaking.
"Exactly," Mark said, pulling into the hospital parking lot. "Where's Amelia now?"
"Still with Jack," Steve said, planning ahead with that one and asking Jack to make sure Amelia stayed in the hospital, away from Richard. "Holmes should be at work about now. Shall I bring him in?"
"No," Mark said firmly, sitting in his parked car. "I have a better idea."
~~