Doctor Frances Twist arrived at her office, saw her morning patients on time, and was preparing to visit Yvette Smith in the hospital for the fourth of five court ordered appointments to determine the prisoner's mental state when she got the call from Detective Denny Miles.
"Arrangements have been made for you to see Smith's old man if you can be here within an hour," he announced.
"Full access?" asked Frances, while checking her wristwatch.
"Within reason," replied Miles. "Since you are neither his lawyer nor his doctor of record, we get to listen in from outside, but you'll be in the Interview Room with him alone."
"I can live with that. Be there as soon as I can," said Frances, before thanking the detective and hanging up.
Next she called Moon Lake Hospital and said something had come up, so would not being seeing Yvette Smith again before tomorrow. Then she called the car service for a ride to jail.
Detective Miles personally met Frances at the front desk and escorted her back to the Interview Room. There, through the one-way glass window, she saw an elderly man sitting on one side of a wooden table, with an uniformed cop standing nearby.
"Not exactly what I pictured," admitted Frances, observing the prisoner. Except for the mandatory orange jump suit, he looked like a well groomed man somewhere between his late seventies and early eighties, which would put him over 300 for a were easily.
"No record other than recent events," said Miles, while handing her a file. "Definitely guilty of cashing Margaret Smith's Social Security checks long after the lady passed, and failing to report the death or properly deal with the deceased. Bartholomew Smith is not only Margaret's biological brother and Yvette Smith's maternal uncle, DNA tests confirm he's also the rogue were-vixen's biological father too."
"I see," replied Frances, never looking up from the report. Yvette was guilty of turning two innocent normal humans into weres, but it was up to her to determine Smith's mental state at the time of the incidents. "How aware is he on current events concerning Yvette?"
"We've kept him relatively isolated from the other prisoners for now, so he hasn't heard anything from them or asked us any questions about her. Whether or not he heard anything before being arrested is another matter. Meanwhile, the coroner's report says Margaret Smith died of an overdose of pain pills and anti-depressants, but we're still waiting for the final word in case there's any evidence that Smith didn't take the meds willingly."
"Is there any way we can arrange a supervised meeting between these two with me present?"
"How long will Yvette Smith be at Moon Lake Hospital?" asked Miles.
"At least until after my last official visit with her. Then she'll be coming back here, pending the judge's final ruling, based on my findings," answered Frances.
"I can talk to my superiors, but the earliest we could arrange anything would be for tomorrow afternoon."
"That would work out great for me. I'm ready whenever you are," announced Frances.
As Frances entered the room, the uniformed officer nodded in acknowledgement of her presence, before leaving.
"Well hello. If they had told me I would be receiving such a lovely visitor, I would have worn something other than this drab old thing," said Bartholomew Smith, indicating the orange jump suit.
"I'm Doctor Frances Twist," she said, but was a bit taken aback as Smith kissed her hand.
"Doctor? Well, some of the people I've encountered since becoming a guest here have been less than civilized in my personal opinion, but I'm not in need of any medical attention," he replied, not sitting down until after she did. "I'm Bartholomew Smith, but please, call me Bart," he added, giving her a big smile.
The charmer type, noted Frances, before saying, "I'm here about Yvette Smith."
"Is my niece all right?" asked Bart, with genuine concern in his voice.
"That's what I'm trying to determine. Why don't you tell me about her," suggested Frances.
"Lovely child. I should visit more often, but her mother had terrible mood swings. Couldn't stand being around her more than a week or so before things went from one extreme to another."
Bi-polar? wondered Frances, as she asked, "When was the last time you did see Yvette, and how was she then?"
"Sadly, it was almost 10 years ago," admitted Bart, "but she seemed fine then. You never really answered my question though. Is my niece all right?"
"Honestly? I'm not sure about either her or your daughter," said Frances, eyeing him closely.
"I see those busy body detectives have been talking to you," complained Bart, while slumping back in his chair. "Look, whether it's blood or something else, as long as I can spare it, I'll donate whatever Yvette needs."
"I'm not that type of doctor," admitted Frances, before explaining what she did as a therapist. "I'm trying to determine Yvette's mental state."
"Why? What did she do?" asked Bart in return. "Whatever it was, it had to be from her mother's side. Margaret never had a good childhood, let alone the best adult life."
"That's interesting, considering you're both from the same branch of the family tree. Why don't we start from the beginning and you tell me everything about yourself, Margaret, and Yvette," suggested Frances.
For almost an hour, Bart talked, telling Frances basically everything he had already said to Detective Miles and his partner Jensen Lukasky*. "At first it was a question of necessity, but as time passed..."
"Being werefoxes, did Margaret ever form a life/mate bond with you?" asked Frances.
"Honestly? She never said and I never asked. Why?" asked Bart in return.
"Did you ever form a life/mate bond with Margaret?"
"She was my sister," he pointed out.
"That didn't stop you from having sex with her on numerous occasions throughout the rest of her life, let alone fathering a daughter," Frances pointed out in return.
"And as enjoyable as those times were, and as much as a willing partner Margaret was during all of them, I never formed any life/mate bond with her. I hate the term 'love them and leave them', but I've always been a nomadic fox."
That might be the most honest answer you've given me during this whole interview, thought Frances.
"We may never know the whole truth, but something definitely happened over all those years," Doctor Twist would tell Detectives Miles and Lukasky later, in the privacy of what passed for their office.
"That story he gave you about their history together was practically verbatim what he told us*. I can have a copy of the transcript sent to your office if you'd like," offered Miles.
"Yes, please. And is there any way I can get a list of the medications you found in Margaret Smith's house too?" asked Frances.
"I can run you a copy of that right now," offered Lukasky, searching a folder for the evidence inventory. "Would you also like a copy of what the coroner found in her system at the time of death?"
"Yes, please. Thank you. I'm wondering about something though. Yvette told me she once read a passage in a diary her mother kept that referred to her biological father as either the greatest achievement or worst mistake of her life**."
"We didn't find any diaries, although the Crime Scene people still have a whole bedroom full of boxes to go through. I'll keep you informed in case anything turns up," promised Miles.
"I'd appreciate that," replied Frances, as Lukasky handed her the copies. "Hmmm...."
"What is it Doctor Twist?" asked Jensen, while returning the originals to the folder.
"If these lists are totally accurate, no doctor I know would willingly prescribe some of these pain medications to a person already taking a couple of these anti-depressants, or vice-versa. Gentlemen, I'm no detective, but if you can confirm the origin of these pills and who they were officially prescribed to, provided Margaret Smith didn't just help herself to everything that was available and took them voluntarily if she truly wanted to end it all, I think you might have proof of murder here."
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*Back in Episode 219: "Truth and Consequences".
**Episode 207: "Consultations".