Lethal Remedies

by M. Louisa Locke

  After a long pause, Richard looked up at his wife and said, “I’m sorry.”

  For the first time, Ella thought that maybe the young man was truly sincere.

  However, Phoebe didn’t look convinced, and she said, “How did she take it when you said you were coming back here to see me?”

  “I didn’t tell her. After the police left, she retired to her room, and I didn’t want to disturb her. She was very agitated by the sergeant’s suggestion that Dr. Skerry, or I, for that matter, would have wished to do Dr. Granger harm. I didn’t want to upset her further.”

  “What do you mean? The policeman thought you might have killed Dr. Granger? That’s ridiculous,” Phoebe said.

  “He didn’t say that in so many words, but he asked me about my movements on Tuesday night. I guess that was the night the doctor died. Sergeant Thompson said that they simply needed to check out anyone who seemed to have a problem with Dr. Granger.”

  Richard glanced quickly over at Ella and then back to his wife, saying haltingly, “You see, I had written that letter, and I believe I might have said some stupid things to him on Monday afternoon when I first tried to see you. I may have given Dr. Blair, who was there, the wrong impression. Of course I didn’t mean anything by it. I was so terribly frustrated by not being able to see you. You do understand, don’t you, Phoebe?”

  Phoebe squeezed his hand, saying, “I understand. And you did satisfy that policeman that you couldn’t possibly have been the person who killed poor Dr. Granger, didn’t you?”

  Chapter 50

  Saturday evening, March 11, 1882

  Pacific Dispensary for Women and Children

  * * *

  Ella made sure the front door was locked after having waved good-bye to the volunteer, Miss Keene. It was only a little after seven, but she was tired. On the other hand, yesterday and today had, overall, been good days. Not that any of the problems facing the dispensary had been resolved. They still didn’t know where Hilda and baby Harry would go or even if they could keep them safe while they were here. They didn’t know how to ensure that the unfounded accusations being sent to the press wouldn’t permanently hurt the dispensary’s reputation or if Mrs. Branting would use the accusations to attack the dispensary staff. They didn’t know if Dr. Granger’s death had anything to do with the dispensary. And the police were still sniffing around, unsettling staff and patients. But with Dr. Brown and Dr. Wanzer now back, at least she didn’t have to face these problems alone.

  In addition, with no women in labor, no newly post-operative patients, and no critically ill children in the nursery, she might, for once, get a full-night’s sleep.

  As for Phoebe Truscott, for the first time, Ella was feeling more positive about the young woman’s future. She’d certainly shown remarkable backbone in her conversation with her husband. As a result, she finally convinced him that she wasn’t going to return home, even when fully recuperated, if his aunt still lived there.

  Once he finally accepted this, he was the one who came up with a solution. He promised that this very evening he would tell his aunt Ruby he was going to set her up with a “snug little home” over in Berkeley, where she could take in a few young men from the university as boarders. He said his aunt Ruby didn’t like to be idle and that, during his four years at the university, she had been practically adopted as an honorary aunt by his fraternity brothers.

  Joan Carpenter, when her mistress told her about the scheme, said she rather doubted that Aunt Ruby was going to be as excited about the idea as Richard thought she would be, but she did agree that Richard could be very persuasive. And, Ella had to admit, witnessing the way he finally brought Phoebe around to forgiving him, that Richard Truscott was very skilled at using his words. Maybe he’d be equally successful with his aunt.

  Ella, who once upon a time had dreamed of being swept away by some handsome man with honeyed words, wasn’t so sure she would be happy with a man like Richard Truscott. When she first met him, she’d been impressed. He had been so attentive while his wife recuperated at the dispensary after the operation, visiting, bringing her flowers, telling her how much he missed her. Yet, in the past couple of months, he had almost let her die for fear of upsetting his aunt. What good were his sweet words then?

  She’d even begun to reassess her feelings about Dr. Granger. She had idealized him as the model of what a father should be like—kind, understanding, supportive. So different from her own, gruff, undemonstrative father. Yet, to be fair, her father had been the one to cuff her brothers on the ear and tell them to let her alone so she could study. He had complained. But, nevertheless, he had made sure that the hours she worked in the store permitted her to attend her medical classes. And her younger sister had confided that he’d been the one who insisted everyone in the family chip in to buy her the expensive, fully equipped medical case every doctor needed.

  And Dr. Granger? Well, he had been supportive of Ella, but he had also admitted that he’d not done anything to encourage his daughter Lydia to pursue a medical career. Instead, he’d turned her into some sort of housekeeper, something Ella’s own father had never tried to do to her. Now Dr. Granger was gone, and Ella was beginning to believe that that actions, not his words, were what counted.

  With this thought, Ella entered the reception room and stood looking at the fire that was dying down in the fireplace, wondering if she should put another log on the fire and ask Megs to bring out the cot and bedding for Martin Mitchell.

  This morning, she had Mrs. McClellan tell him that he needn’t come this evening or next since he wasn’t working at the hospital either night and wouldn’t be in this part of town. However, since Ella had never seen any proclivity on the man’s part to pay attention to her wishes, she supposed he would show up. Consequently, it would be easier for the night nurse and other staff if the bed were made up ahead of time.

  She sighed.

  She’d made such a fool of herself Wednesday night, berating him because he had treated Dr. Granger’s death too lightly. As far as she knew, Mitchell had never even met the doctor, so why did she expect him to be grieving over him? She also knew from experience that medical professionals tended to cultivate a macabre sense of humor about death, she supposed as a form of emotional protection.

  She should have just apologized and moved on.

  Instead, the past two nights she’d pointedly gone up to her attic rooms after her last rounds so she wouldn’t be down here when he arrived. Not that she’d gone to sleep before eleven, when the old servant bell for the front door gave its little ping, alerting her to his arrival. Irritatingly, she’d then fallen right to sleep, as if his presence alone made everybody safe.

  Just then that doorbell rang, making her jump. She met Megs in the hallway and was surprised when she looked through one of the side windows to see that Miss Caro Sutton had accompanied Martin Mitchell.

  As they entered the front hallway, Miss Sutton explained that when Mitchell had mentioned he was still coming to the dispensary tonight to act as night guard, she had offered to bring him, since she’d had something she wanted to discuss with Ella.

  Mitchell said gruffly, “If you don’t mind, Dr. Blair, I’ll nip upstairs for a moment. I told the boy, Jocko, I’d bring him a couple of books to read. Nice exciting adventure yarns. And thank you, Miss Sutton, for the ride.”

  Ella nodded. What else could she do? Have an argument with the man in front of Miss Sutton about his assumption he’d be staying the night? And when did he talk to Jocko? Realizing that she’d not responded to Miss Sutton’s request to speak to her, she said, “Please, Miss Sutton, do give me your coat and come into the reception area and have a seat.”

  “That won’t be necessary; I don’t intend on staying long,” Miss Sutton said.

  Ella gestured for her to go on into the reception room while she said quietly to Megs, “I suppose you should put together Dr. Mitchell’s cot a bit later, before you retire for the night, and let the night nurse know she doesn�
�t need to keep an ear out for him. Oh, and see if Cook can put together something for him to eat.”

  She followed Miss Sutton into the reception area and pulled a chair up next to the settee Miss Sutton had chosen to sit on, saying, “What can I do for you?”

  “First, I want to thank you again for giving me the opportunity to observe during Dr. Powers’ operation yesterday. It was quite illuminating. Not at all what I expected from reading the textbook on diseases of the eye.”

  Ella nodded. “I’ve found in my time as resident at the dispensary that very few cases present themselves exactly as described in textbooks or lectures.”

  Miss Sutton nodded. “Yes, I can certainly see how the dispensary benefits women, not just because it provides superior care for women, who might not be able to get it otherwise. It also provides practical experience for those women who wish to train as doctors or nurses.”

  “Yes, the only thing that comes close is the internships that the City and County Hospital offers newly graduated students, and so far none of those have gone to women. I highly doubt any of them will, at least in the near future,” Ella said. “I have been truly fortunate. It might have taken me years to accumulate a similar level of experience in private practice.”

  Miss Sutton said, “That’s why I so appreciated the opportunity you gave me yesterday and why I wondered if you would be amenable to having me occasionally observe, not just other operations, but your work in the dispensary?”

  “You mean sit in while I meet patients? I don’t know if Dr. Brown…”

  “Oh, I certainly intend on discussing this with the attending physicians. However, I didn’t want to do so until I assured myself that you would be comfortable with the decision if they did agree.”

  Ella thought for a moment. She knew she would have been nervous about being observed when she started her residency. Feeling judged, worried about making a mistake in front of someone else, even if that person was just a medical student. But these past two weeks, being responsible for the dispensary while both Dr. Brown and Dr. Wanzer were out of town, had certainly increased her confidence. In addition, she knew from experience how difficult it was as a woman to get the same opportunities for hands-on experience. Would the women attending her own school, the Medical College of the Pacific, even have the support she’d had, now that Dr. Granger was dead?

  “Please, Dr. Blair, I didn’t mean to put you on the spot,” Caro Sutton said hastily.

  “Oh, no, Miss Sutton. Actually, I was thinking about what a loss Dr. Granger’s death will be to future female medical students, since he was one of the rare professors who made sure women had as many opportunities as men. If Dr. Brown and the other attending physicians agree, I would be delighted to have you observe…of course, as long as the patients also agree.”

  Miss Sutton gave her one of her rare smiles and said, “Of course.” She then added, “Did I understand you to say the other day that your residency ends sometimes this summer?”

  “Yes, I started in June, and the residency lasts a year. While I would love to continue past then, it is only fair that another recent female graduate be given this opportunity. I know that Dr. Granger had…”

  Ella stopped. She purposely had not thought much about what she was going to do when her residency was over. She couldn’t possibly cover the costs of setting up her own practice, so she would have to see if any of the doctors in town were interested in having her as a partner. Secretly, she’d been hoping that Dr. Granger, who’d been talking of retiring in a few years, would take her on. But now?

  “Dr. Blair, are you all right?”

  Ella started. What must Miss Sutton think of her, she was so distracted this evening? She said, “I’m sorry. It’s been a long day, in fact, a long couple of weeks.”

  “Of course,” Miss Sutton said. “I understand. I’ll leave you now, but I would like you to think about one other proposition I have for you. As you may know, I have bought a house near Toland Hall. I have a young cousin who is going to be coming to live with me this summer; he intends to enter the University of California in the fall. I chose the house, not just because of its proximity to the medical school and convenient transit for him to Berkeley, but because I can easily turn the bottom floor into medical offices.”

  Miss Sutton paused, and Ella searched for something to say that didn’t sound too envious.

  “You understand, this is down the road a couple of years for me. In the interim, however, I thought I would ask several physicians to set up their practices in my home, so that there was a going concern ready for me when I do graduate. I would fund the basics for office staff, examination rooms, and equipment, in exchange for a small rent and the opportunity to observe when there were certain patients with heart-related diseases, which is of specific interest to me. I was wondering if you would consider joining this new practice when you leave your residency here? I understand your intention is to set up a gynecology and obstetrics practice.”

  Ella couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. Could this woman, a woman she barely knew, have just offered her a chance of the lifetime?

  “I can’t believe what courage that boy has to have to face each day with such pain,” Mitchell said as he entered the reception room where Ella sat, staring with bemusement into the fire.

  He sat down beside her with a sigh. “Miss Sutton gone already? Did she talk to you about her idea of setting up medical offices in her home?”

  “Yes, she did,” Ella said. “She also mentioned she’d asked you as well.”

  “Yes, she did tonight on the way over. I thought she was joshing me at first. Then she pointed out that if I was sincere about wanting to be a general practitioner, this would be a good complement to your practice, if you specialized in women’s health. She even talked about renting out a room to me, since she thought it would be good for her young cousin to have a responsible man in the house. I could hardly believe it. This was the answer to a prayer for me.”

  Ella nodded. Miss Caro had made a similar offer to rent a room to her, only in this case she’d mentioned the fact that she would appreciate having another female on the premises. She didn’t know how attractive this would be if Martin Mitchell was a member of the household. Sharing office space would be one thing; sharing meals with him might be more than she could take. Although, if she could put up with her older brothers, she supposed she could get used to his attempt at wit. Didn’t she just tell herself that she should judge a man by his actions, not his words? And the thought of lively discussions around the dinner table on various medical issues with him and Miss Sutton did have some appeal…

  “Dr. Blair, please, there’s a boy that’s come to the back door.” The servant Megs stood in the doorway, breath coming in gasps. “Says he needs to speak to you. Says you know him, name’s Bobby, said you treated him for a bad cough last fall.”

  Mitchell had risen when Ella did, but she waved him to be seated, saying, “Please stay here. Megs will bring you up something to eat. We try to discourage people from coming outside of office hours, making them wait until the next morning. But with tomorrow being Sunday, I better go check and see if there’s a real emergency.”

  When she arrived downstairs to the dispensary waiting room, Mrs. McClellan was already there, lighting the two lamps in the room. A thin beanpole of a boy, not wearing nearly enough clothes for a cold February night, stood, cap in hand. She thought guiltily that she didn’t remember him; she’d seen so many boys with coughs over the past nine months.

  When he saw Ella he said, “Miss, miss, I knew you’d help. It’s a girl in terrible trouble, bleeding something awful. You need to come.”

  Ella said, “Bleeding? From a wound? Has there been an accident?”

  “No, no, the man said she’s having a baby, but it’s way too soon. He’s afraid she’s losing it.”

  Ella looked at Mrs. McClellan and said, “Could you put together the medicine I might need if she’s hemorrhaging, clean cloths, a bottle of alco
hol to use for sterilizing…you know what I need.”

  As the matron accompanied her into the examination room and unlocked the door to the supply cabinet, Ella got her medical bag from its shelf, checking to see if she had everything she should have if the poor girl was either miscarrying or going into early labor. She got the thick shawl she kept in the office, not wanting to take the time to go upstairs and get her cloak.

  Mrs. McClellan put the supplies she’d gathered into the bag, saying, “You shouldn’t go alone. Let me get Kate Dewar. I don’t think she’s retired yet.”

  “No, with Bessie ill, and it being Dora Thurston’s evening off, I can’t leave you that short-handed. Besides, Kate’s been up for twenty-four hours.”

  “What about Dr. Mitchell?”

  “No, that would leave the dispensary unguarded.”

  As they went back into the waiting room, Ella said, “Bobby, where’s this girl? What’s her address?”

  “414 Ninth Street, miss.”

  Ella pulled her shawl over her shoulders and lit the lantern they kept near the back door, giving it to the boy.

  She said, “See, Mrs. McClellan, it’s just a few blocks from here, near Harrison. I’ll send Bobby back if I need additional help, I promise.”

  Chapter 51

  “Are you sure this is the address?” Ella asked, looking at a front door that hung askew in a tall narrow building squashed between two shorter buildings.

  “Yes, miss, he said they were on the top floor.”

  Bobby lifted the lantern, and she saw the correct number in peeling paint on the door frame.

  Pushing the door open to reveal a narrow hallway barely illuminated by the light coming from the gas lamp on the corner, Ella said, “You go up first with the lantern, but watch your step. The man said to go on to the top floor?”