“Morning, Girdy. How are you?”
“Awesome.” She grinned, adjusting her purple-framed glasses. “I hope you’re ready to work. You have a full day ahead of you.”
“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.” I nodded at River’s receptionist, Lilly, and she smiled back. At least she showed no animosity toward me. Was she not aware of her employer’s hostility toward me? Or was she just a good actress?
I glanced toward the chairs where the patients sat waiting for their appointments. Most of the seats were taken and many of the faces familiar. One middle-aged woman with spiky blue hair was staring at me expectantly. I’d examined Mrs. Henrietta a few weeks ago for a case of walking pneumonia. I assumed she was here for a follow-up visit.
There was also a young woman with three toddlers, one of whom was running around making raspberries noises. The little blond boy almost ran into me, but I somehow managed to dodge him. “Careful… little… boy,” I muttered, making sure not to touch him. His face was coated with some sticky substance, hopefully candy. With children, one never could be sure.
“Mrs. Henrietta is your first patient,” Girdy said brightly. “The room is ready; just let me know when you want me to send her in, Dr. Thornton.”
“Give me five minutes, Girdy.” I shot Mrs. Henrietta a polite smile and made my way down the narrow hallway to the examination room.
Once inside the room, I slipped into my white coat and hung my stethoscope around my neck. I made sure I had all the supplies needed for the day ahead and then let Girdy know I was ready for Mrs. Henrietta.
After a moment, there was a soft knock on the door, and it opened. “Hello, Dr. Thornton.” Mrs. Henrietta gave me a toothy smile.
“Come in and take a seat on the table.”
She came into the room, closing the door behind her. “I wasn’t sure if you’d be open for business today.”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” I frowned. Had she heard about my little spat with River yesterday? That would certainly make things awkward. If everybody in town suddenly weighed in on our disagreement, things would only get worse.
“Oh, well, because I heard about that horrible murder.”
“I see. It was dreadful, but that really had nothing to do with me.”
“But you were there.”
“Yes.” I frowned. “As a guest. But other than that, it’s none of my business.”
“You sure about that?” She cackled. “There was a nice big photo of you and Sheriff Callum on the front page of the newspaper this morning.”
“There was?” I wasn’t sure how I felt about being on the front page. Surely Janelle or her parents would’ve made more sense. I certainly wasn’t a part of the story. “Sheriff Callum is investigating the murder, but why on earth would they have usedmyphoto?”
“You’re acting so modest.” She smiled.
I blinked at her, feeling confused. “I don’t understand.”
“They used your quote in the headline.”
“What?” I lifted my brows in shock. “What quote?”
Her smile faded. “The headline was a quote from you. Let’s see… it said ‘Dr. Thornton Says Marriage is Murder.’”
I widened my eyes. “Excuse me?”
“That was the headline.”
I stared at her in dismay.
She wilted a little under my scrutiny. “Is something wrong, Doc?”
“I… I said no such thing,” I spluttered.
“You sure?” She grimaced. “The article said it was a direct quote from you.”
“Of course I’m sure. I didn’t even speak to a reporter.”
