Bluegrass Baby. Judy Duarte

Milla said. “And, by the way, Kyle has agreed to testify on my behalf. He was the resident on call the night the Canfields brought the baby in.”

      Mari nodded. “I’m aware of that.”

      Kyle was also Mari’s cousin, although they never socialized, as far as Milla knew. Maybe because of Kyle’s illegitimacy. Still, she thought it was kind of…sad. Kyle having cousins, a family and all, and not being close.

      Milla tried to keep her thoughts on the trial. “Kyle said the Canfields had bandaged the umbilicus.”

      “I’m aware of that, too.” Mari appeared preoccupied, stressed.

      As much as Milla admired the OB/GYN, she didn’t ask what was weighing on the director’s mind. She figured Mari would mention it, if she wanted Milla to know.

      “By the way, I’m going to be interviewing the staff tomorrow,” Mari said.

      “Why?” Milla couldn’t mask the fear in her voice and hoped her mentor hadn’t noticed.

      Mari offered a tired smile. “Nothing about the lawsuit. I just have a few questions I’d like to have answered.”

      Milla nodded, hoping she would say more. She didn’t.

      “If you’ll excuse me,” Mari said, “I have a meeting in ten minutes with Lily. I’ll tell her you’ll be speaking to her soon.”

      “All right.” Milla gathered the remnants of her lunch and stood, watching as the doctor she’d grown to admire strode away.

      Mari would be interviewing the staff? Why?

      She’d said it didn’t have anything to do with the malpractice suit. Thank goodness. But what questions did Mari have?

      Were the interviews a routine procedure? Or was something other than the malpractice suit creating a problem for the clinic?

      There were rumors circulating, although there might not be much truth in any of them. There’d been a noticeable rise in the number of drug-addicted mothers and babies in recent months. Illegal use of prescription drugs, apparently, was on the rise in the community. And from what Milla had heard, the sheriff’s department was investigating a black market drug ring, which might or might not be connected to the Foster Clinic.

      The drug in question was Orcadol, an effective and highly addictive medication used for relief of chronic pain or pain after surgery. Orcadol had become the latest rage on the streets of Merlyn County. Abusers referred to it as Orchid and often tried to get around the timed-release formula in the pill by crushing them, chewing, snorting or injecting it. In fact, Orcadol had become so popular that addicts and dealers had been known to attack pharmacies in neighboring communities with guns to obtain the drug.