Chapter 8: Indictments, Flirtations, and the Battle of the Bands

February 24, 1986, McKinley, Ohio

On a normal weekday morning, I’d read the newspaper after our morning run at the YMCA, but because I wanted to see if there was an update on the whereabouts of the Bush family, I grabbed the paper from the driveway and got into the passenger seat of Elizaveta’s Thunderbird. As she backed out of the driveway, I pulled the paper from its plastic bag.

“The Clermont County Sheriff caught them late yesterday afternoon,” I said, reading the headline.

“Where?”

“A horse farm outside Bethel, owned by a family friend. According to the article, the friend didn’t know about the accident.”

“Who did they arrest?”

“All four of them. No charges have been filed.”

“How did they catch them?”

I quickly scanned the article and found the answer.

“The friend didn’t know about the accident until they saw it in the Sunday paper, and then called the McKinley PD. The car was found yesterday at Port Columbus Airport. It was in the parking garage, and Nadine Bush rented a car. So that explains how the friend didn’t know.”

“I was wondering. The car had to be badly damaged, right?”

“Broken windshield, broken grill, and other damage, according to the article.”

“What happens if they all deny driving the car?”

“That’s a question for a lawyer or someone who works in law enforcement. I think it’s possible for them to charge Melissa simply for the threats she made. If it works like it does on TV, which is a BIG assumption, they’ll charge her with the whole thing to get her to tell them who was actually driving the car.”

“The whole thing?”

“I don’t know what the charges would be, but maybe vehicular homicide to start, along with whatever it is they would charge her with for the threats she made. I think they can charge the mom for renting the car and driving them away, but I’m not sure. It just says all of them are ‘facing charges’, to be determined by the Hayes County Prosecutor.”

“Do you think they might have come after you?”

“I wasn’t a witness or anything, so why?”

“Because you whipped their pastor in the debate!”

“Well, they’re all under arrest, and they’re in the Clermont County Jail until the Hayes County Sheriff can get them, which the paper says will happen today.”

“What’s going to happen to Melissa?”

“Well, making the threats is a clear violation of the ethics pledge we took, and the school honor code. She was already on what amounted to probation for failing her Trauma Sub-I, and for her treatment of the AIDS patient.”

“Sub-I?” Elizaveta asked.

“Sub-internship. It’s clinical training which isn’t just sitting in the corner and watching as I’m doing this year and will do next year. We have to pass the first level of the ‘Part Exam’ before we can legally touch a patient.”

“OK. I remember that; I just didn’t know the shorthand.”

“You’ve helped me with my flashcards, but things like that aren’t on them.”

There wasn’t anything more in the article, so I put the paper on the dashboard. We arrived at the Y, ran our usual distance, then headed home for showers. Elizaveta ate breakfast, and then we left the house together so I could have breakfast with my study group, as I usually did on Monday mornings.

“How are you doing, Petrovich?” Clarissa asked when we met in the parking lot of the medical school.

“OK, I think. I assume you saw the newspaper?”

“Yes. How is Sophia?”

“Not good, but she agreed to see a counselor tomorrow. I think going to church with her parents yesterday helped some, though Elizaveta and I were in Columbus, so I didn’t get to see Sophia. I think she’ll be OK; it’s really Robby I’m worried about. I called the hospital last night, and they said he’ll be in the ICU at least until Wednesday. In my mind, the real problems start when he wakes up.”

“He’s going to be devastated.”

“Given how dangerous depression is, it might even be worse than the physical injuries. They’ll all heal, according to the doctors. The emotional scars are a very different thing.”

“Any guess as to who was driving?”

I shook my head, “No. Your guess is as good as mine. That said, I suspect Melissa will be suspended indefinitely today. Given her attitude towards gays, I think the medical profession is better off without her and her dad. The criminal conviction involving violence already ensured her brother wasn’t ever going to get into medical school or even college. There’s a good chance her dad will lose his license as well, if he’s directly involved. He’d certainly be investigated by the Medical Licensing Board for his involvement, no matter who was driving.”

“What does your gut tell you?”

I shrugged, “Not much. It could have been any of them, including the mom.”

“The mom?”

“How upset would your mom be if she felt you’d been wrongly jailed, and your life basically ruined because you couldn’t get into college or the military? And I suspect not into any of the union apprenticeships, either. So not only no college and no military, but no skilled trades. I don’t know for sure, but eventually enough time might pass for someone to hire him, but a violent assault is a real problem, even if it’s a misdemeanor. He’ll need someone like Mr. Zhuravlyov to take a chance on him.”

“This is a fast-free week, right?” Clarissa asked as we entered the building.

I nodded, “Yesterday was the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee, so yes.”

We headed for the cafeteria where we got our breakfast, and then joined Fran and Maryam, who were already at our usual table.

“I saw the paper this morning,” Fran said, “and when I arrived this morning, I heard from Arnie Johnson that the Student Organization is asking for Melissa to be suspended immediately.”

“No surprise,” I replied. “That was going to happen whether they asked or not.”

“How are you doing, Deacon?” Maryam asked.

“OK,” I replied with a smile. “Thanks for asking, Maryam.”

Peter joined us next, with a grim look on his face. He wasn’t ‘out’, so I couldn’t say anything in front of Fran or Maryam, but I knew we’d have a good talk in the steam room after lunch. Sandy arrived a couple of minutes later, looking as if she hadn’t slept.

“You OK?” Clarissa asked Sandy.

“I didn’t sleep well the last two nights,” she replied.

Which, for Sandy, wasn’t surprising at all. She’d always dealt very poorly with stress, and I suspected her usual ‘stress relief’ wasn’t going to be effective in this case. Clarissa and I exchanged a look, and we both understood that Clarissa would speak with Sandy privately to see how we could help her.

“This Saturday is your tryout for the Prom gig, right?” Fran asked.

Right then it dawned on me that we wouldn’t have Robby and Lee to MC for us. That had been in the offing because they had planned to go to Stanford, but now there was likely no way Robby could graduate on time, and that would affect Sophia’s plans as well. She’d been accepted at Stanford Medical School, and the boys had been accepted into the graduate biochemistry program at Stanford as well. But that was a problem for a different day.

“Yes,” I replied, “but nobody is allowed in the auditorium except the Prom Committee and their advisor. Supposedly it’s to keep cheering sections from interfering with the decision.”

“I bet THAT went over well with Elizaveta!” Fran declared.

“José is one step ahead—Elizaveta and Dona are our ‘roadies’. So long as they stay backstage, it’s cool.”

“More like groupies!” Clarissa teased.

Maryam frowned, “Clarissa, you shouldn’t imply something like that about Deacon Michael.”

“Sorry, Maryam,” Clarissa replied. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“It’s Deacon Michael who should take offense.”

Fran smiled, “He just considers the source!”

“You’re a sweetheart, Fran!” Clarissa replied.

“I know!” Fran responded with a wink.

We finished our breakfast, then headed to anatomy class. After lab, showers, and lunch, Peter and I headed for the steam room.

“If you didn’t understand why I wasn’t out before, I think what happened to Lee pretty much explains it.”

“I knew,” I replied with resignation. “Robby and Lee told me about some of the attacks on gay men and lesbians. And obviously I knew about the attack by James Bush and his friends.”

“And that jackass, Doctor Bush, is the likely culprit, don’t you think? I mean, he’s the one who chased you down in the parking lot and then stood in front of your car.”

“And Melissa Bush failed a Sub-I because of the way she treated a patient with Kaposi’s sarcoma and was dressed down in front of me. She also made verbal threats against Robby and Lee. And James Bush had all his college applications rejected as well as being turned down for enlistment. I’d say all three of them have means, motive, and opportunity. Heck, for that matter, so does the mom, if you think about it.”

“That church they attend is a menace to society!”

“As my friend Melody said, even assholes are entitled to free speech and free exercise of religion.”

Peter laughed, “I haven’t heard you swear since we met.”

“This is the one place I can be in public and not have on my cassock,” I chuckled.

“The men’s steam room isn’t exactly public!”

“I think you know what I meant.”

“I did. But is it really their right to teach hate?”

“I guess I have to ask where you draw the line? I mean, if you could ban their speech and close their church, then what’s next? There’s always going to be a ‘worst’ thing because once you get rid of the worst, there’s something that was just slightly less bad that becomes the new ‘worst’.”

“You took philosophy?”

“I did.”

“I get what you’re saying, but it sounds like you think anything goes?” Peter asked.

“Melody once told me that the only thing you can do about bad speech is ignore it or counter it with good speech. Our goal has to be to counter what they teach.”

“But your church teaches the same thing!”

“If that were true, would I, as a clergyman, be your friend? Would Clarissa be my best friend?”

“No, but it’s a distinction without a difference.”

“Really?” I asked. “People at my church, including me, act exactly like those at Faith Bible?”

“Well, no,” Peter admitted.

“Then there is a difference. As I’ve said, I don’t have an explanation which will satisfy you, but I will love you like a brother no matter what.”

“Sorry.”

“No need to apologize. In your position, I’d probably feel the same way.”

“What about forgiveness?”

“You mean of whichever one of them murdered Lee? I’d have to see true repentance first.”

“I wouldn’t hold my breath.”

“I won’t.”

February 25, 1986, McKinley, Ohio

“Do you know the medical student who was arrested and suspended?” Doctor Forsberg asked when I arrived for my final Preceptorship with her.

“I do. The man who was killed was a close friend.”

“Oh! I’m so sorry! That was insensitive of me.”

“You didn’t know, and you asked a reasonable question.”

“How is his friend?”

“Still in the ICU as of lunchtime today. He’s scheduled to have surgery to repair his leg tomorrow. Did you know Doctor Bush?”

“Of him, but we didn’t have any interactions.”

“I was assigned to him for my pediatric Preceptorship, but because his son had beaten up my friends, I was allowed to transfer to a different spot.”

“Do you know more than the newspapers have said about who was driving?”

I shook my head, “No. The police talked to my friend Sophia on Saturday, but they haven’t revealed anything to any of us that hasn’t been in the paper.”

“How are you holding up?”

“OK. I spoke to my priest on Saturday and I’ll speak to him again tomorrow. If I need more help, I’ll call a clinical psychologist I know in Milford.”

“Good. Are you ready for your last group of patients until your OB/GYN Clerkship?”

“I am.”

The afternoon was uneventful, with a mix of regular gynecological exams and pre-natal exams, with only one person objecting to me being in the room—a pregnant seventeen-year-old. That had happened a few other times with teenage girls, and Doctor Forsberg had said it wasn’t anything about me specifically, just about the fact that I was male.

“Mike, I think you’ll make an excellent physician,” Doctor Forsberg said at the end of the day. “Just remember, there are innumerable ways to wash out. You can’t let up for a second between now and when you complete your Residency. Let’s have dinner again soon, if that suits you.”

“It does.”

“And, when the time comes, I’d be privileged to deliver your children.”

“I’ll mention that to Elizaveta. I don’t want to interfere in her relationships with her doctors.”

“A very good philosophy for a doctor with regard to his wife and children, though obviously you’ll help pick your children’s pediatrician. I think I’d avoid Doctor Bush.”

“No kidding,” I replied flatly, not caring for the attempt at humor.

“Too soon, I guess,” Doctor Forsberg said. “Sorry. Anyway, we’ll see you soon!”

“Thanks for everything, Doctor Forsberg. I really appreciate everything you’ve done.”

We said ‘goodbye’ and I left her office, then left the medical building.

“Hi!” Erin exclaimed as I approached my car.

I chuckled, “Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action!”

“What?” she asked, sounding perplexed.

“It’s from a James Bond movie—Goldfinger—when Bond runs into the bad guy, Auric Goldfinger, for a third time, Goldfinger says that. And he’s right, because Bond is investigating Goldfinger. This is the third time we’ve met, since that first encounter in the ER.”

“So now you think I’m the enemy?”

She was certainly dangling very interesting bait, even if it wasn’t intentional, and under very different circumstances, I’d have been interested. But in my current circumstances, I couldn’t be interested, even if I wanted to be, which I didn’t. And knowing my past proclivity to say ‘yes’ to cute blondes with great bodies, I had to act firmly to put a stop to it before I made a mistake which I would regret for the remainder of my life, which would be short and painful.

“No, but I guarantee that Elizaveta would! You’re flirting with her husband, and I’d say, flirting with intent. I’m married, Erin, so even if it’s just ‘innocent’ flirting, it has to stop. I’m flattered, but I’m not interested in violating my wedding vows, nor the vows I took upon ordination. Please, and I say this with as much kindness as I can, stop finding ways to ‘run into me’.”

Technically, I hadn’t taken vows, but given a non-Orthodox context, that was the best way to say it.

Erin frowned, “Sorry. I guess ... well, no. I’m sorry.”

She turned and walked away. I felt a little bad for speaking to her the way I had, but I really had no choice. The only question now was whether or not to say anything to Elizaveta. I felt it was better if I did, though I’d have to ensure that my Kitten didn’t try to take some kind of revenge. I got in my car and headed home, arriving about ten minutes later.

“I need to tell you about something that happened today,” I said after I changed into sweats.

“What?” Elizaveta queried, sounding a bit concerned.

“Nothing bad, at least on my part. You remember I told you about Erin, the girl from the golf team? Well, she showed up ‘coincidentally’ in the parking lot of the medical building. I reminded her in clear terms that I was married and asked her to please stop flirting with me.”

“I’ll take care of it!” Elizaveta said fiercely.

“There’s nothing to take care of, Kitten. I made it clear that she should stop, and that I wasn’t interested. If she shows up again, THEN it will probably be necessary for you to say something to her. Today was my last day with Doctor Forsberg, so Erin won’t know where to find me, and I honestly think she’ll stop now that I forcefully told her to.”

“Girls like that don’t stop,” Elizaveta said firmly. “They have to be put in their place!”

“I can’t stop you, Kitten, but would you please let it go unless she tries again? The last thing we need is drama at your school.”

“I won’t put up with girls like that!”

“I understand. Just let it go unless she shows up again. If she does, then it’s OK to ‘cry havoc, and let slip the kittens of war’!”

“I’ll show YOU the ‘kittens of war’, husband!”

“I don’t think we have enough time before dinner and study group ... how about at 10:00pm?”

“Just you wait!”

I would, because with Elizaveta, even the pain was good!

February 28, 1986, McKinley, Ohio

“Does he know?” I asked Sophia when we met at the hospital after my practice of medicine class on Friday.

“His parents told him this morning. They had a psych Attending in the room along with his regular doctors. The doctors felt it was best if they handled it that way. I would have preferred to be the one to tell him.”

“I think I agree with you,” I replied, “but I have my first psych Preceptorship next Tuesday, so I have zero experience except with Angie, and that’s a completely different thing. How are you holding up?”

“OK, I guess. I spent some time with the social worker who does grief counseling. She’s a licensed clinical psychologist.”

“That’s what Doctor Mercer is, and she’s been helpful.”

“You talked to her about Lee?”

“Briefly, yesterday. Talking to Father Nicholas has helped the most. My problem, if you will, is more of barely controlled rage than sadness. I know that will come, but I guess I’m too angry to be sad, if that makes any sense.”

“It does. I’m angry as well, and I think I hurt more for Robby than for me.”

“Same here. Do you know any more?”

“Oh! I guess nobody could get in touch with you. They charged Frank Bush with aggravated vehicular homicide, with the likelihood of making it first degree murder, plus attempted vehicular homicide, which could be upgraded as well. A Grand Jury has to decide the murder charges, and at what level.”