The Christmas Remedy

by Cindy Woodsmall

  He hit Play again and watched his dad use the computer to make labels for the bottles, hit Print, and then fill the five medications. His dad wrote a note and placed it on his to-do pile. Brandon hit Pause. His heart thudded. There was a note after all. Why had none of their many thorough searches uncovered it? He backed up the footage and zoomed in, feeling his temples pulse.

  Even with the high-definition footage zoomed in, he wasn’t able to decipher the note, but maybe if he focused on the to-do pile, he could figure out what happened to it. He hit fast-forward, watching his dad close the pharmacy and turn off the lights. Brandon opened the file for Monday and kept it in fast-forward mode, watching the pile of notes. He saw Holly shuffle through the notes, show one to Lyle, and put it back. She then took her delivery items and left.

  As Brandon watched his dad fall, his heart dropped, his face grew hot, and tears brimmed. Despite everything that had happened in their adult lives, he loved that man. In the hustle and stress of school and bills, he’d forgotten just how much he loved him, but it was more than he could ever say. What would’ve happened if Dad had died before the two of them had resolved things? Being forced to stay in Raysburg had been a blessing, not an inconvenience or a curse.

  He could only see his dad’s feet as the footage showed Holly discovering his dad. A few stray tears rolled down his cheeks as he watched her panicked movements, clearly responding as a woman who loved his dad. The Amish guy who’d entered the pharmacy with her—Josh something—seemed to calm her. Then the EMTs came in and removed Dad from the pharmacy. Nothing else happened for a while. Hours later Adrienne came in, working hard to catch up. Holly returned later in the day, quickly trying to get all things pharmacy related back on track. They added a few more notes to the pile but didn’t remove any.

  The footage showed nothing different concerning the to-do stack in the following few days. He saw himself as well as Holly, Adrienne, and Harris talking with patients and filling medications. He opened the file of Saturday, October 21. This was the day of the health fair and Todd’s first day. He arrived early and stayed focused. Brandon saw him clicking on the computer for a while before turning his attention to the pile of papers and flipping through them. Since Brandon was searching for what happened to his dad’s note, he slowed the video to normal speed. Maybe Todd had dropped it while looking at messages and dealing with customers’ insurance companies.

  After several minutes of video, it appeared that Todd had found the paper his dad had written. Even though Brandon couldn’t read it, he recognized the note by the pattern of words. Under the note he could see what seemed to be labels removed from prescription bottles. At last a clue! Todd read the note carefully. He stood with it in his hand, as if reading it several times, before he flipped through the labels and then turned around and shredded all of it.

  Wait! Brandon gasped and clicked to watch it again. He leaned in as if he were half-blind and hit Play. He couldn’t believe his own eyes. Why? What reason would Todd have for destroying what his dad had written about the patient? And the labels? If the scripts were missing information in the computer, the labels held the missing pieces. An even bigger question was, Why hadn’t Todd mentioned the incident when he knew they were scouring every nook and cranny for it?

  Sweat beaded across Brandon’s forehead as his heart raced. He watched as Todd walked outside the camera’s scope. Then he came back into view and shredded several other documents. This can’t be happening. Brandon couldn’t move as his brain tried to reject this reality.

  But it did happen, and Brandon bet the footage was showing Todd shredding the records Lyle created the day Sam Miller came into the pharmacy, the paperwork that should’ve been Greene’s hard copies. “That lying, deceitful…”

  Memories of his dad’s hesitation to hire Todd pressed in, refusing to be ignored. What exactly had happened between the two men all those years ago? Was it enough to cause Todd to sabotage the pharmacy? And why had Brandon been so arrogant to think he knew better than his dad?

  He had no answers to those questions or any answers to the question of what to do next.

  He got up, opened the door, and peered into the pharmacy. Holly was at the counter counting pills. He stuck his head out. “Holly?”

  She finished counting and looked up. “Yes?”

  “Could you join me for just a minute? It won’t take long.”

  “Sure.” She finished what she was doing and then walked toward him. Brandon held open the door, and once she was in the small room, he shut it behind her.

  He drew a breath, determined to speak low and even. “I need your assurance that what I’m about to tell you won’t leave this room. Not yet anyway.”

  Holly’s eyes opened wide. “What’s going on?”

  “I found out what happened to the scripts. I even have video evidence.” He leaned down to his laptop, pulled up that particular Saturday’s video, and rewound to the spot where Todd shredded the note and the five labels.

  She leaned in closer to the screen. “What’s he doing?”

  “That’s the note Dad created on Sunday, October fifteenth. I bet it had vital information about the prescriptions and where they are from. And those appear to be labels from empty prescription bottles. I bet they’re for our five missing heart med scripts. Todd is shredding them. Now watch.” He hit fast-forward to the part where Todd returned from a different area and shredded a few more pieces of paper. “Based on their color and size, I’m willing to wager those are the printed hard copies that Dad made. And it’s a safe bet that after he did this, he went into the prescription editor on the computer and removed information like the doctor’s name, practice, and NPI number.”

  “So you’re saying…”

  “I’m saying this evidence shows that Todd deliberately sabotaged us. And if he was willing to do this, I feel certain he reported to the board that we were filling scripts without a doctor’s prescription. I didn’t ask any of the relief pharmacists if they filed a report because the innocent as well as the guilty would have given me the same answer: ‘I didn’t turn in anything to the board.’ And like Dad said, it might have been that the board inspector uncovered the missing information while we weren’t in the pharmacy.”

  “Wow.” Holly plunked into the chair. Brandon took a few breaths in silence as he tried to adjust to the shock of Todd’s betrayal. Holly’s hands closed into fists, and moments later her knuckles were white. “What do we do now?” She looked up at Brandon. “Are we going upstairs to tell Lyle?”

  “No, not yet. I don’t want to cause him that kind of stress, and the best way to avoid that is to remain quiet until I have a solution. I want Dad well and with us for many years to come. The problem is we need Todd. I’m not licensed, and the other pharmacists can’t work enough hours to make up for us not having Todd. We can’t just close shop during Todd’s usual hours until I get my license.”

  Holly glared at the door. “I wish we could confront him right now.” She crossed her arms. “How can we let him continue working here? What if he does something else?”

  Brandon shook his head. “I don’t think he would. It wouldn’t be likely for Greene’s to suddenly start operating illegally after so many years of carefully following the law. The board would be suspicious of who was working here other than Dad and would start looking further into things. What Todd did was set us up for fines that would force Dad to sell the pharmacy and personally go bankrupt. He doesn’t have to do anything else now but sit and wait. However, just in case, you and I are going to keep our eyes on him one hundred percent of the time he is in the building, starting right now.”

  Holly nodded. “Okay.”

  “He’s not working tomorrow. Adrienne will be here, and I’ll be taking my licensing exams.”

  “Tomorrow? Oh, Brandon, I didn’t realize they were coming up so soon. Are you ready?”

  “I sure h
ope I am. I can’t say I feel ready. But I’m not sure I ever would.” If he came this far and failed one or both of them…He shuddered at the thought.

  Holly looked out the back passenger window as the sedan slowed and turned into the unfinished subdivision. Josh was across from her, lightly tapping on the armrest.

  Of all the places she could imagine finding their missing patient, this would never have entered her mind.

  “Looks like this is the place.” Josh gave Holly a half smile as their driver pulled up to the run-down trailer that was supposed to be the workplace of Sam Miller.

  “Please, please, let this be the right person,” Holly prayed aloud. Maybe, just maybe, this would be the break they needed. The sting of betrayal from Todd had stolen most of her sleep lately. How could anyone purposely try to ruin the life of someone as kind as Lyle? And take advantage of the man as he recuperated from the stroke? That was really low. She had kept her promise to Brandon and not spoken of Todd’s actions, not to anyone, not even to Josh. They needed this to be the right Sam Miller. They needed this to work out.

  Josh grabbed the door handle. “I really think we’ll get to talk to the right man. But if by chance we still have the wrong Sam Miller, we will regroup and keep at it until we find the right one. Got it?”

  It was suddenly easier to breathe. “Ya, I got it.” Armed with his confidence, she opened her door.

  Josh exited the vehicle too. Before he closed the door, he leaned in to speak to the driver. “We’ll probably need thirty minutes or so if you want to run an errand or something.”

  “Sounds good. When I get back, I’ll park around the side where there’s shade.” The driver nodded at both Josh and Holly.

  “Good plan.” Josh closed the door. He caught her looking his way, and he smiled.

  Her face flushed with warmth. Why did he have to have such an effect on her?

  When they were together, she felt like this daunting task—and many more—were possible. They would clear the pharmacy’s name, and they could accomplish even more together through his connections in his community.

  They walked to the front door of the trailer, and Josh knocked on the flimsy metal. The door opened after just a few seconds.

  “Hello.” A large Amish man greeted them. Holly could see that behind him were desks and lots of papers spread across them. He looked from Josh to Holly. “You two must be from Greene’s Pharmacy.”

  “That’s right.” Josh smiled and held out his hand. The man shook it. “I’m Joshua Smucker, and this is Holly Zook.”

  “Hello.” Holly also shook the man’s hand. “I think we spoke on the phone. You are Elmer, right?”

  He had been pleasant during their call and seemed glad to help. Hopefully the Sam Miller in his employ would be the one they were looking for. She hadn’t even considered what would happen if they found the right man and for some reason he was uncooperative.

  “Come on in. Welcome to our very, very humble abode.” He stood to the side as they walked in. “Sorry about the mess. It’s just the way temporary construction offices look.” He held up one finger as he drew a two-way radio to his lips. “Sam, you there?”

  The two-way crackled. “Here, boss.”

  “The people I mentioned earlier are here. Could you return to the office?”

  “On my way.”

  He lowered the radio. “He’ll be here shortly. One of the workers needed him to inspect something before he could continue with his job.”

  “Not a problem,” Josh said.

  Holly would have taken a seat, but the few chairs in the trailer were covered with folders. Papers were stacked on the desks and the floor, empty foam coffee cups were strewn about, and several large rulers and protractors were lying among the papers. Holly couldn’t imagine working in a place like this. Not only was being tidy and well-organized her personal preference, but Lyle always emphasized that keeping the pharmacy clean and organized was essential.

  “Our company is fairly large,” Elmer said. “We’re building homes all over the state, but we only have one Amish man who can inspect the electrical wiring, so Sam stays pretty busy and travels constantly.”

  Josh’s eyes met Holly’s, and he looked as hopeful as she felt. The trailer door swung open, and a man stepped inside. Could it actually be…

  “Sam Miller?” Holly stepped toward him as he closed the door.

  “That’s me. What can I help you with?” The man smiled as he looked from Holly to Josh.

  “I’m Holly Zook from Greene’s Pharmacy in Raysburg. We’re looking for a Sam Miller who went to the pharmacy on a Sunday in mid-October.”

  “That was me. Got several prescriptions filled.” He tapped his chest. “I have heart issues, and I’d let myself run slap out of my medicines.”

  Josh thrust his hand forward. “We are very glad to finally meet you, Sam.” He shook his hand, grinning. “Over the past few weeks we met a bunch of your relatives in the hope of having this conversation.”

  Sam laughed in a few short bursts. “Can’t say people have wanted to meet me this badly before.” He stroked his chin with its slightly gray stubble. “Did I shortchange the man somehow?”

  “No, nothing like that.” Relief swept through Holly, and it was all she could do to keep from hugging the man. She tried to keep herself professional, and it would help if she could stop grinning. “It’s kind of a long story. I work at Greene’s as a pharmacy tech.”

  “You, an Amish girl?” He looked to Josh, as if he needed a man to assure him it was okay for a woman to work there.

  “Ya.” Holly responded. “Strange, I know, but that pharmacy means a lot to the Amish, and the Amish mean a lot to me, so it all works out well, I think.”

  Josh nodded. “The bishop thinks it’s a smart move for the community. Chances are you had heard about that pharmacy because of how hard Holly works to get the word out and how welcome the Amish feel at Greene’s even on a Sunday or even if they don’t have all the funds needed to pay for their medications.”

  The man’s lips thinned. “Everything you said is true. I was there because I’d heard about it through the Amish grapevine. Just didn’t expect an Amish girl to be behind all the buzz, that’s all.”

  Holly tugged at the folds of her dress. “And yet here I am.” She grinned. It didn’t bother her that Amish men needed time to warm up to her less-than-typical life. “So…is it okay if we speak freely about your pharmacy visit in front of my friend Joshua and your boss?”

  “Don’t mind me.” Elmer gathered some papers. “I’m on my way out anyway.” He waved and exited the trailer.

  “Sure,” Sam agreed.

  “You remember my boss, Lyle Greene? He filled your prescriptions.”

  “That’s right. He was very helpful, which was good, because I needed those meds, and the pharmacy I use in Pottersville was closed.”

  So it was an emergency fill. Holly didn’t know all the rules of pharmacy law in Pennsylvania, but she did know there were special allowances for emergency fills. “Lyle has had some medical troubles himself, and it affected his memory of that Sunday. Because of that and the fact that we need to prove to the Board of Pharmacy that your prescriptions are legitimate, our pharmacy is in a bit of trouble, and it would help us very much if we could get a statement from you about exactly what happened on that day.”

  “I’m sorry to hear about Lyle. Such a nice fella. I’ll pray for his health, and I would be glad to help in any way I can.”

  Holly spent the next few minutes collecting the bits of vital information they were missing. Sam Miller’s date of birth and his correct phone number. The physician’s info: the doctor’s name, which was Christine Smith, the name of her practice, the address, and the phone number. And all the identifying information of the original pharmacy from which the medications were supposed to be transferred. With each bit h
e shared, joy filled her. It felt the same as when she gathered around a table with her family completing a jigsaw puzzle and she was the lucky one to find all the key pieces, turning a jumbled mess into a clear picture.

  “I know life is busy and I’m asking a lot, but do you think you could send a signed, notarized statement about what happened on Sunday, October fifteenth, to the pharmacy?”

  “Sure. I deal with that kind of stuff sometimes in my line of business. Not often, but some.” Sam grabbed his suspenders. “I’m just glad I can be of help. I can’t believe someone is trying to get your pharmacy in trouble with a person as kind as Lyle owning it.”

  “I can’t say I understand it myself.” Holly jotted down the last of the information. “But I’m glad things are looking up.” She handed him two pharmacy business cards with Lyle’s name, pharmacy address, and phone number on them. “We need the sealed, signed letter soon. Okay?”

  “I should be able to have that done in a few days and in the mail. We even have a notary who often visits our work site.”

  “Perfect, Sam. I can’t thank you enough. Lyle will be so relieved. I know I am.”

  Holly and Josh shook Sam’s hand, wishing him well. Holly had managed to keep her excitement tamped down so that she behaved professionally. But once they exited the trailer, her excitement ricocheted wildly inside her. As they made their way across the gravel parking lot toward the side of the trailer, each step she took was bouncier than the one before.

  When Sam could no longer see them out the front window, even if he had been looking, and it seemed clear no one was aware of them, she turned to Josh. “I can’t believe we did it! Finally!” She leaped in the air, and Josh caught her as if they were choreographed dancers.

  He spun her around, grinning. After one spin he seemed to be embarrassed and set her down and straightened his shirt, regaining composure. “You did great. Everyone will be very proud of you.”