Page 89 of Booked for Kidnapping

I twitched, and judging from the expressions of my friends and family, Dr. Castor had lit a fire under every ass at the table. “How many people do you think will escape this?”

“Wealthy and old families will, as a general rule, be able to escape it. Private clinics and hospitals should still exist, and they’ll probably be operated by some of the greatest minds in the industry. Public hospitals will be poorly operated and controlled by insurance companies. They’ll also be more expensive than the private clinics, but the private clinics won’t accept those with poor credit. The military hospitals will be great; they’ll want their soldiers healthy so they can perform in the field.” Dr. Castor wrinkled her nose, went to the kitchen, and brought back a carafe of coffee, which she served. As promised, she made me a hot cocoa spiced with cinnamon and hint of hot peppers. “The idea is to leave just enough of an intact lower class to perform necessary functions to support the military and wealthy families who exist outside of the military structure. We are of the opinion that eliminating and controlling the entire medical system is one way the government can go about accomplishing their goals. The government forgot they don’t control everything, but the only way we could make certain Janette could be treated was to make her disappear for a while.”

Mrs. Hampton spewed curses, and she eyed her purse.

“Please don’t turn your purse into a projectile, Willamina,” Mr. Hampton said, smiling at his wife. “I’m pretty sure Dr. Castor wouldn’t have set this up without having an idea of what to do about it.”

“How perceptive of you,” the doctor complimented. “As a matter of fact, yes. There is something you can do.”

“What can we do to help?” I asked, wondering if whatever the woman had in mind might help balance the scales somewhat.

“There are certain politicians who might be able to help us, but they cannot be caught doing so. I have received positive indications from a few, who are willing to let us have access to more sensitive documentation to help prove what the government is attempting to do before it is turned to law and the United States of America becomes a giant war machine. More so than it already is. However, we can’t get caught gathering the information, nor can we show any signs we’re aware this is what the government may be angling for. As such, we’re going to have to steal the information.” Dr. Castor winced. “That sounds bad, but it’s less stealing and more picking up files helpfully left out when you go to interview them about their relationships with the killed politicians you’ve been looking into, especially as you have been given the government’s blessings to investigate those cases.”

The longer I thought about it, the more I wondered which side Senator Westonhaus batted for. “What do you think of Senator Westonhaus?”

“He is not to be trusted.”

Well, that matched some of my beliefs at any rate. “May I ask why?”

“Certainly. The medical bills are his brainchild. He’s fully behind making certain the only citizens of the United States to thrive—and survive—are those who serve a purpose. He values medical care, services like libraries, and so on, but he loathes the freeloaders who make use of those services. He would prefer if librarians existed only to serve men like him, and that doctors are available only for those who can afford them without needing a loan. He has a few redeeming qualities, although not enough for me to overlook his lack of regard for all human life. I swore an oath.”

I wasn’t a doctor, but in many ways, so had I. “And the whole thing with the goats?”

Dr. Castor smiled at me. “You love animals as much as you love people. We could have used any animal, and you would have insisted on stopping to help, but goats are wonderfully naughty and troublesome, especially the goats we used for that stunt. All of them have been cared for well and sent to good homes, and the owner has disappeared under mysterious circumstances, of course. In reality, he went back home to Germany, where he will enjoy time with his family, with no intentions of returning to the United States. He is a US citizen, but it’s simply safer for us medical types overseas right now. Politicians aren’t the only ones coming to an abrupt end, and wise doctors are moving abroad if they do not agree with the government’s grand scheme.”

The more Dr. Castor told me, the more I worried about the fate of my country. “And you think stealing these files will help?”

“Yes. They are the pieces of legislature being passed without public awareness. It’s this part of the system they are protesting. Once the documents have been liberated, copies need to be distributed to the media. At the same time, you can work to find out why those politicians were being murdered and bring the killers to justice. Yes, we mimicked what the serial killers were doing because we could. It’s worked better than we could hope for—nobody expects a bunch of doctors to get together and target a politician, and the perception we planted of you preventing a shooting gave us the wiggle room we needed to make it appear as though the attack was botched. We hadn’t known they were going to make another hit at the same time.”

I regarded the scar on my arm with a wrinkled nose. “Someone needs to teach me not to jump in front of bullets for asshole politicians. I’m a slow study. Jumping in front of bullets for nice people? I should do that. But these politicians are starting to piss me off.”

“You’d still try to save even the asshole politicians,” Beatrice muttered. “You’re utterly incapable of not helping when you can.”

“You might be my favorite bitch, but you’re still a bitch, Beatrice.”

“Come to my office in a few weeks, and I’ll show you bitchy.”

“But will you be showing me bitchy while feeding me that coffee I like?”

“Yes.”

“It’s a date.”

Beatrice scratched her head. “Is this the kind of date I tell Mickey I’m going on or not?”

I eyed Bradley. “Good question. Hey, Bradley? I’m going on a date with Beatrice.”

“Just don’t get into any trouble without me,” he replied. “If you’re going to get into any trouble, it’s helpful if I’m around to support you during your troublemaking efforts.”

“Can I bring Bradley? He could have a play date with Mickey.”

“That’s a good idea. Let’s call that a plan.”

“Girls,” my mother chided. “Settle down. You can plan your play date with your fiancés later.”

I shut my mouth with a click of my teeth.

“That leads me to the next item I wanted to discuss with you,” Dr. Castor admitted. “We’ve already gotten one piece of documentation from a politician, although through less-than-legal means. However, its contents are fairly disturbing.”