Cal.E.'s Korner

C.: And now, the conclusion of D.C. Scott's short story

MURDER OR MERCY?

As the jurist finished their pizzas and washed their hands, they discussed the case. Michael sensed that it was time to ask for a verdict. “How does everyone vote?”

As he went around the room asking for votes, everyone voted “not guilty” except Fred. He wasn’t sure that his blood sugar was at an adequate level to make a rational decision. One look from Jeremy, though, quickly changed his mind. He took a hard candy out of his pocket and put it in his mouth. He thought for a moment and then said, “Not guilty.”

Michael voted with the other jurists, and Joaquin was released. Michael was glad that the verdict had only taken a few hours to reach, because he had things to do. As he drove to the local feed store, he thought about what his roommate had said about his job. Tellez said that he could tell when someone was going to die, and when they were in severe pain and weren’t close enough to death to relieve it. He relayed how two of his clients, Jim Payne and Alfredo Salazar, were in severe pain. Tellez said that, if it were legal, he would have put each man out of his pain with an overdose, because it hurt him to see anyone suffer so much after he’d watched his parents die. Michael felt for his big brother figure. 

“One thing I don’t understand, though, Tellez,” Michael began. “How do you get into the house if the night nurse has left and the family is asleep? You say that they’re usually so exhausted that they never even hear the doorbell or a knock on the door.”

“When they know that I’m coming, they just leave the front door unlocked. I can usually be at the house just after the night nurse leaves, so they aren’t vulnerable for long. Most burglars are too lazy to get up early enough to do any damage at that time of day anyway.” Michael turned his car off and went inside the feed store. 9

“I need to return these boots. I didn’t have my contacts in when I bought them, so I bought the wrong size. I wear a size eleven, not a thirteen extra wide! They’ve only been worn a couple of times, so can I get my money back, even though I don’t have the receipt and it’s been a couple of years since I bought them?”

“I can give you store credit; that’s all. Pick out some elevens that you like, and we’ll just call it an even swap,” the proprietor said. Michael did as he was asked because he needed to be home before Tellez was, and he had one more stop to make. That stop was a two-hour drive away, in Houston.

Michael drove to the medical supply store and picked up a three-c.c. syringe and an 18-gauge X1/1/2” needle. “Is this all you need?” The clerk was confused.

“Yes, that’s it.” Michael started to pick up his purchase and leave, but the clerk recognized him.

“Weren’t you in here a couple of years ago, getting the same thing? I don’t remember all my customers, but strange orders get my attention. What do you need these for?”

“Look, I’ll level with you. I’m an addict, and my roommate is a nurse. I stole this stuff from him to get a fix when he wasn’t home. He’ll get in trouble, though, if any of his things are missing, so I want to replace them before he or his bosses realize that they’re missing. If you’ll just do me a solid and sell me this stuff, I’ll get help from Narcotics Anonymous or some organization like that, but I don’t think my roomie should pay for my addiction.”

“Get help, please. That’s a really big needle to use for shooting up. You’re going to kill yourself if you aren’t careful.” The clerk cautioned as he bagged the merchandise.

That night, Tellez counted his sharps as he did each night obsessively, and everything was accounted for. When the hands at the Payne Ranch counted their sharps and meds, none were missing. Judith decided to keep the ranch and make Joaquin Salazar her permanent foreman if he could pass a drug test each month.

Tellez was in a good mood that night. He decided that it was time to make an honest woman out of his former instructor. He called from the restaurant and asked his roommate to join them in celebrating the happy news when his girlfriend said “yes.” Michael accepted. He reasoned that he could gather a lot of valuable medical information from two nurses, and he really did enjoy watching the two men die.