Murdered By Plastic Surgery

by Dianne Harman

  Jeff stretched out on the bed and said, “I really am tired. This feels the best I’ve felt all day.”

  Marty laid down next to him and said, “Why don’t you tell me while you relax and get ready to go to sleep? I’m curious to find out about all the players.” She put her head on his shoulder, and he pulled her to him.

  “That’s a deal. I’m probably too wound up to go right to sleep anyway, so here’s what happened. I went to his office about 4:30 this afternoon. He’d been in surgery since early this morning and was clearly exhausted. He asked if I had a minute, because he’d like to change out of his scrubs. I told him that was fine. He went into the bathroom in his office to change clothes, and while he was in there, I looked around his office.”

  “I never was in his office when I was doing the appraisal. Anything of interest there?” she asked.

  “Depends on what you consider to be of interest,” he said as he smoothed back her hair that had fallen onto his face. “The guy is obviously a boat nut. There must have been fifteen photographs of boats, and he was next to a different boat in each one of them. When he came out of the bathroom, I asked him if he’d owned all those boats. They ranged from quite small ones to a couple of pretty large boats.”

  “Did he?”

  “He told me if I looked closely I could see how he’d aged through the years just by looking at the pictures of him next to them. The smaller boats were his first ones, and then he kept moving up to bigger and better ones. I asked him if he was through buying boats, and he told me his dream had always been to own a 40-foot Carver C40. They were built in 2014, and he’s wanted one ever since. I looked it up on my iPhone after our meeting, and they are really expensive.”

  “I’ve never heard of it, but that’s not surprising, considering I don’t know anything about boats.”

  “Nor do I, but I do know that those things cost a lot of money, but what it has to do with Dr. Ramsey’s death, that I don’t know.”

  “Okay, Jeff, this is pretty far-fetched, but I haven’t heard anything about the business arrangement between Dr. Ramsey and Dr. Thurston. If they were partners, does that mean Dr. Thurston now owns the medical practice?”

  “I found out from Sybil that they were not partners. Dr. Thurston essentially rented space and services from Dr. Ramsey. I followed up with Dr. Thurston to hear what he had to say about a business agreement between the two of them. Evidently, they both signed an agreement that in the event one of them could no longer work as a plastic surgeon, then the other one would have the right of first refusal to buy the other’s practice.”

  “Maybe I’m being a little skeptical, Jeff, but wouldn’t all, or at least most, of Dr. Ramsey’s patients assume that they were partners and just start going to Dr. Thurston?”

  He was quiet for several minutes and then said, “Probably, and I think I know where you’re going with this. If all of Dr. Ramsey’s patients just started going to Dr. Thurston, why would he need to spend the money to buy the practice? Is that what I’m hearing?”

  “Well, you said it probably better than I could have put it, but yes, and if that’s true, it would sure provide a motive, wouldn’t it? If Dr. Thurston kills Dr. Ramsey, he gets Ramsey’s patients almost automatically, without having to pay anything. On the other hand, if Ramsey retires or becomes disabled, he has to pay Ramsey to get the practice. Also, if he kills Ramsey, he’ll immediately get an increase in income, which will provide the funds he needs to buy the Carver C40 that he wants so badly.”

  “Yes, it would provide a motive under the scenario you just described, but that’s sheer speculation. I got a call today from the lab and there were no fingerprints on the scalpel that was used to kill Dr. Ramsey, other than Dr. Ramsey’s. Evidently it was one that he’d used in one of his surgeries.”

  “Did you ask Dr. Thurston about his diary or little black book?”

  “Not specifically. I really couldn’t, because he’d probably realize Sybil was the one who’d told me about it. Since Dr. Ramsey almost never entered Dr. Thurston’s office, and when he did it was only after checking with Sybil, it wasn’t the type of thing Dr. Ramsey would have known about, or probably anyone else, for that matter. I asked him if he used a computer exclusively in his practice or resorted to handwriting notes to himself. He assured me that computers were the best thing that had ever happened to medical practices.”

  “Where do you go from here?”

  “Marty, I wish I had a good answer for that. The chief called me several times today to see what the status of the case was. I guess a lot of the movers and shakers in Palm Springs used the services of Dr. Ramsey, and they’re putting pressure on the chief to catch the murderer. You know how political Palm Springs is, and quite frankly, I think the chief is getting a little nervous about his own job.”

  “I’m so sorry, Jeff. I feel like I failed you today. I really thought I’d find out something that could help you, but I think all I got out of it was a new hairdo.”

  “Well, my love, at least I know there’s one good thing in my life, and that’s you. I love you, Marty, and even though your day wasn’t as productive as you’d hoped, thanks for trying. Matter of fact, I think I know something that will make me feel even better.”

  “I may not be psychic like my sister, but even I know what that is, but I have to say, I’m a very willing partner.”

  It was probably a good thing Jeff had insisted that Duke move to the living room to sleep at night after they got married.

  CHAPTER 24

  The next morning, Marty leaned over and kissed Jeff. “Good morning, sleepy. Thanks for last night, and as a thank you I’ll make you breakfast, complete with your favorite food, bacon, right after I walk Duke. How does that sound?”

  “Absolutely wonderful. Between us, we’ve talked to all the persons of interest in the Dr. Ramsey case, and we’ve drawn a big fat zero. I need to spend the day figuring out how I can solve this case and to do it, I’m definitely going to need some strength which I intend to get from breakfast. Meet you in the kitchen after I shave and shower,” he said, grinning at her.

  “You’re on,” Marty said as she pulled her robe around her and headed for the kitchen. A few minutes later, after a short walk with Duke, she was busy stirring waffle batter, frying bacon, cutting up fresh fruit, and cracking eggs for Jeff’s breakfast. For the first time in a couple of days she felt like she was doing something worthwhile.

  “That was delicious, thank you,” Jeff said a little while later. “You certainly know how to start a man’s day off on the right note. I honestly think today is the day I’m going to solve this case, at least I hope so.”

  “Me, too…” she said as Jeff’s buzzing phone interrupted her.

  He whistled in surprise when he looked at the screen on his phone and saw that the call was from Sybil. He tapped the speaker phone button, so Marty could hear the conversation and said, “Good morning, Sybil, how are you?”

  “Detective, I found something you need to know about. Dr. Thurston’s the murderer,” Sybil said in an hysterical tone of voice.

  “Calm down, Sybil, and tell me everything.”

  “I came in the office as usual this morning. Dr. Thurston and his nursing staff were in surgery, which is also usual at this time of day. He has his early surgery patients use the back door. Anyway, I’d just gotten seated at my desk when his phone rang. His regular staff doesn’t come in until a little later, so I answered it. I figured since I’ll soon be working for him, it was the least I could do.”

  “Who was on the phone?”

  “It was a yacht broker. He said the owner of the yacht that Dr. Thurston had been looking at had just reduced the price by $20,000, and he wanted the doctor to be the first to know. Evidently Dr. Thurston had told him to call immediately if the price was ever reduced.”

  “Sybil, you’re talking so fast, I’m having trouble understanding you. Please, take a deep breath and try to talk a little slower. I don’t want to miss anything.”
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br />   “Detective, I’m not very proud of what happened next, and as a matter of fact, I’m pretty ashamed of what I did.”

  “Sybil, please, get on with it.”

  “All right,” she said as she took a deep breath and once again, her words spilled out rapidly. “I knew he’d want to know about the boat’s drop in price right away, and since he was in surgery, I took the message from the yacht broker into his office to leave on his desk, so he’d see it first thing when he returned from surgery.”

  “Well, did you?” Jeff asked.

  “Yes and no. I went into his office to leave it, and I saw his diary, which really is a little black book, on his desk. Here’s the part I’m not very proud of. I opened it up and read the entries for the last few days. He wrote a detailed description in it of how he murdered Dr. Ramsey,” she said as she started to cry.

  “Sybil, was there anything in it to indicate why he did it?”

  “Yes, he wrote that he and the doctor had argued over Dr. Ramsey attempting to make some of the women he operated on look like Lisbeth. He’d written that while Dr. Ramsey had said he didn’t care what they looked like, he, being Dr. Thurston, knew it could eventually affect the practice, and he needed the money from Dr. Ramsey’s patients, so he could buy a special boat he wanted. There was a lot more in the diary, but I was afraid he’d come back from surgery and find me in his office reading it, so I took the note from the yacht broker and left his office. Then I called you.”

  “I’m on my way, Sybil. If you see him when he gets out of surgery, act as normal as you can. If you have a problem, just tell him sometimes you still get affected thinking about Dr. Ramsey’s death. I’ll be there as soon as I can. I’m going to have several of my men meet me in the parking lot. And Sybil, I can’t imagine how hard this must be for you. Thank you. See you as soon as I can get there.”

  “Oh, Jeff. That poor woman. What can I do?” Marty asked.

  “Absolutely nothing,” he said as he grabbed his holster and put his pistol in it. A moment later he was out the door. Marty picked up his plate and was walking over to the sink when she heard Laura’s voice coming from the direction of the front door.

  CHAPTER 25

  “Marty, open up. I need to talk to you,” she heard Laura say from just outside the door.

  Marty opened it, and Laura strode into the room. “I just saw Jeff leave. We urgently need to get to Dr. Ramsey’s office.”

  “What are you talking about? Jeff’s on his way there now.”

  “There’s no time to waste, Marty. He needs my help,” she said as she pushed Marty towards the bedroom. “Quick, get dressed, and we’ll leave immediately. I’ll tell you all about it on the way there.”

  Moments later they were headed towards the freeway that led to Palm Desert. “Laura, what’s going on? Did you get some message from the other world telling you we need to go there?”

  “I had a dream about a little black book last night. It wasn’t even like a dream. It was more like I was actually there.”

  “Laura, I’m missing something. Where were you?”

  “At Dr. Ramsey’s office. Actually, I was in Dr. Thurston’s office. Jeff and some of his detectives were turning the office upside down looking for a black book. I seem to remember that Sybil told you something about Dr. Thurston and a diary. I don’t know what the relevance of it is, but I know where it is.”

  “Keep driving, and I’ll tell you about the phone call Jeff just received from Sybil. If you know where it is, it might just be the smoking gun Jeff needs to solve this case and the thing that could lead to Jeff being named as the head of the detectives on the force.” She spent the next several minutes telling Laura about the phone conversation she’d heard Jeff having with Sybil.

  When they got to the medical building, Laura pulled into the parking lot behind the building and parked. They noticed that the lot had already started to fill up with cars. There were several other doctors who had their offices in the building, and from the looks of the parking lot, a number of patients needed their services. Marty noticed a couple of nondescript cars parked near the back of the lot, and she assumed they belonged to detectives. Jeff’s car was there as well.

  They opened the door of the medical building and quickly walked down the hall to the reception area of Dr. Ramsey’s suite. Several women were seated in the reception room, but Sybil wasn’t behind the reception counter. Instead, a young woman Marty recognized from when she’d been there two days earlier was sitting behind the counter. She looked up, smiled, and said, “May I help you?”

  “Yes, I know Detective Combs is here. I’m his wife, and I need to speak with him. It’s urgent.”

  “I’m sorry, but Sybil told me they were not to be disturbed,” the young woman said.

  “Where is Dr. Thurston’s office?” Laura asked.

  Marty answered, “It’s down the hall to the right.”

  Laura bent down and in a threatening tone of voice, whispered to the young woman, “If you don’t open the door, I may not be responsible for what’s going to happen in the reception area. Believe me, it will not be a pretty sight, a lot of people are going to get hurt, and I’ll make sure to tell everyone that you were the one who caused it.” She reached into her purse as if she had a weapon in it.

  The terrified young woman whispered, “I’ll buzz you in. Please don’t do anything. We’ve had enough to deal with recently.”

  As Laura and Marty entered the hall behind the reception area, Marty looked down at the young woman and said, “We can find our own way. Believe me, Sybil and the detectives will be very happy we came.”

  They hurriedly walked down the hall to where they could hear Jeff’s firm voice coming from behind a closed door. “Dr. Thurston, you’re wasting our time and yours. We know a black book was on your desk earlier this morning. Just tell us where it is, and let’s get this over with.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Dr. Thurston said. “To my knowledge, there’s never been a black book in this room. Did Sybil tell you there was one? If she did, she’s a liar.”

  It was quiet in the room for a moment, and then they heard Sybil respond. “Dr. Thurston, I saw a black book on your desk this morning when I came into your office to leave a message for you from a yacht broker. It was right in front of your chair.”

  “My yacht broker called? What did he have to say?” Dr. Thurston asked excitedly.

  “Give me the black book, and Sybil will tell you,” Jeff said.

  “How many times do I have to tell you that there is no black book. I need to go now. My time is very valuable, and you’re wasting it. I need to prepare for my next surgery.” Marty and Laura heard his voice getting louder, and it sounded like he was walking towards the door they were standing behind.

  Laura swung the door open and said, “Jeff, I know where the black book is. I don’t know what’s in it, but I think you better restrain the doctor while I find it.”

  Jeff nodded to the two men who were standing next to Dr. Thurston. Each of them took one of the doctor’s arms while Laura strode across the room to a bookcase located on the back wall of the office. She stood on her tiptoes and retrieved a book from the upper shelf. She opened it, flipped through several pages, and then carefully removed a black book from a plastic sleeve that had been glued to one of the pages in the book. She turned and handed the small black book to Jeff.

  “I think this is the black book you’re looking for,” Laura said.

  Jeff looked at Sybil as he took the book from Laura and said, “Sybil, is this the one you saw earlier?”

  She walked over to Jeff, looked at it, and said, “Yes, Detective, that’s it.”

  “This is ridiculous,” Dr. Thurston said. “Someone must have planted a black book in one of my medical research books. I don’t know anything about this.”

  Jeff leafed through the last few pages of the book and caught his breath. The room was quiet while he read several of them, then he looked up and said, �
��Tell you what, Doctor, I want to hear you say that again after we have our handwriting analyst examine this little book and compare it to your handwriting. When that’s been completed, based on what I just read, you’re going to be charged with the murder of Dr. Keith Ramsey. Right now, I’m placing you under arrest, and my men are going to take you to the station for questioning.”

  As Jeff’s detectives escorted Dr. Thurston out of his office, he looked at Sybil and said, “You’re fired. I wouldn’t ever have anyone like you work for me. I’ll soon be getting a much better administrative assistant, one that’s loyal and that I can trust.”

  When they’d left, Jeff said, “Sybil, I think you’re going to have to look for another job. Dr. Thurston isn’t going to be practicing medicine again. Those days are over for him, and so are his days on his boat. I know you have plenty to do with cancelling more appointments, but I want you to know how much I appreciate what you did. You could have decided to ignore the book and keep your job. No one would have known. Because of you, justice will be served.”

  “Detective, I don’t know what to think about any of this. It’s been the worst few days of my life. After I see to some of the more immediate fires that need to be put out, I want to take a little time off and figure out what I’m going to do with the rest of my life.” She walked out the door and back to the surgery center, presumably to tell the woman who was expecting to be operated on shortly, that her surgery was being delayed, and it might be a long delay.

  Jeff turned to where Marty and Laura were standing. “Laura, I can only assume that you were given some information psychically, but I don’t know how I’m going to explain it to the chief, or anyone else, for that matter.”

  “I had a dream last night, Jeff. Actually, it was more than a dream. I was in this office, and I saw Dr. Thurston put the black book in the sleeve in the book on the top shelf. How it happened, I have no idea, but then I never do.”

  “This is way beyond me, but all I know is that you really saved my case. I was going nowhere with this, and I’m not sure Dr. Thurston would have been at the top of my list of suspects. I need to get in touch with the psychiatrist the police force works with as well as our handwriting expert. Dr. Thurston didn’t appear to have any major psychological problems, so it looks like he’ll be able to stand trial for Dr. Ramsey’s murder.”