The Case of Dr Dude: A Michaela McPherson Mystery is available in ebook and Paperback format on Amazon:
Please follow along as we get to know the characters of Dr. Dude! See Episode One!
Meet Italian Countess Dorothy
+ Four Middle Names Borghase
“Hello, good afternoon, Countess Borghase. It is so good to see you here once again. Town & Country magazine is always delighted to do a spot on you and your incredibly interesting life.”
Dottie stared across the mahogany conference table in the nicely appointed conference room of the local newspaper and looked at the Town & Country reporter. She looked to be about 18 years old and Dottie wondered how she could possibly know about her life. She gave the woman her tight Countess smile and said formerly, "I'm delighted to be here. I suppose you know your photographer did the photo shoot last week of me at the shooting range and with my horse?"
The young reporter bobbed her head and said, "Yes yes. They're great. I saw them yesterday. From the looks of that target, you're a really good shot. Have you been working with weapons all of your life?"
Dottie gave her a brighter smile and turned her intent blue eyes on the young woman who shrank a little from the intensity of Dottie’s stare. Dottie noticed and decided she kind of liked the interviewer. She thought she would give her a pretty good interview. "Yes I've been shooting all kinds of weapons all of my life. When I was a young girl I used to foxhunt outside of Rome. After I married the Count Borghese he introduced me to the family arsenal of weapons and I learned how to use all of them. The Count was an expert marksman. Then we became part of the French resistance during the war and weapons and their use became second nature for me. So, I've been shooting and hunting all of my life."
The young reporter looked at her big eyes and said, "Wow, you've had quite a life. It's been very exciting hasn't it?"
Memories flashed across Dottie's beautiful, but aging face. She turned her vivid blue eyes on the reporter as she shoved a hair pin into her immaculate silver up do. If there were two words to describe the Countess Borghese they were beautiful and determined. She was 82 years old now and she had stockpiled a lifetime of memories. "Yes, I’ve had an amazing life, no question. My best years were with the Count Borghase when we lived, mainly in Austria and abroad. We loved the arts. After his death, I came to the US and decided to live in Richmond in his family's estate home on Monument Avenue. I love, love, love it here. I love Richmond and its home now.
"You have lots of friends and are one of the biggest movers in Richmond's society."
Dottie hesitated. "Well, uh, yes, I suppose I am, but I spend most of my time helping others fighting for justice. I'm not really retired yet."
"Of course not. You are solving crimes with you friend, correct?”
Dottie knew Mic would skin her alive if she said that in a national magazine spread. “I'll solve crimes for anyone who needs my help. I'm pretty good armchair sleuth and I'm good at figuring things out. I love to keep my brain working"
The young woman smiled and said "Not only do you keep your brain working, you also keep your body working. I hear you’re a participant in the national senior games triathlon. You must spend a lot of time at the gym."
Dorothy laughed, a real deep-bellied laugh for the first time during the interview. The reporter couldn't get over how lovely the elderly woman was. She had beautiful white teeth and her hair was a luxurious silver/white. Her eyes sparkled a deep blue when she was truly happy. She emanated intelligence and competence with her every move. "Yes I spent a lot of time at the gym. I have most of my equipment in my own home and I'm disciplined about working out. Exercise is always been a huge part of my life, ever since I was a little girl."
Her interviewer nodded and said, "Yes, I read you were at Olympic swimmer. Didn't you win a gold medal sometime back?"
"I won a silver medal but it felt like gold. I was the first female Olympic swimmer to take a silver metal. It was a lot of hoopla back then."
"Well, Countess Borghase. This has been a wonderful time for me... to get to know you. Do you have other advice for others who are entering their later years?”
This question pissed Dottie off. Her smile faded. She hated to be compartmentalized into ‘later years’ or stereo-typed as one of the “older-olds.” She reverted to her haughty, frosty Countess smile and said, “My advice is for anyone of any age. I suggest daily exercise, a fresh diet of wholesome food and that you do something you love or be with someone you love every single day. Also that you be charitable and do for others. This has been my mantra my entire life and it works.” She gave the young interviewer a false smile and stood to leave. She was done.
The interviewer stood as well and offered her hand. “Thank you Countess. It has been lovely. This magazine spread is scheduled to appear in the early fall.”
Dottie nodded. “Thank you my dear,” she said as she walked towards the door.
“I’m… I’m… sorry if I upset you,” the young woman admitted in a hesitant voice.
Dottie turned and looked at the woman. “Oh, it’s OK dear, I just don’t like to be thought of as old. I may be old chronologically, but in my heart I’m your age, just like you…try to remember that. Our bodies may age, but our hearts and spirits don’t.” Dottie gave her a genuine smile as she left the conference room.
The reported stared after her and thought she’d just met the most amazing woman of her life.
About The Book
About The Author
Judith Lucci writes what she knows.....Hospitals, Patients, Physicians and Health Care. She adds suspense and intrigue along with well developed plots, vivid descriptions and memorable characters, and produces medical thrillers that few readers can put down.
Dr. Lucci is the author of the Alexandra Destephano Series, a series of medical thrillers that offer fans an escape into the busy world of a fictitious world-class hospital in New Orleans. The main characters are Alexandra Destephano, a nurse attorney who is legal counsel for Crescent City Medical Center(CCMC) and Jack Francoise, a dedicated, gnarly, unyielding NOPD Commander who covers the 8th Precinct and the French Quarter in New Orleans. Add dashing surgeon Robert Bonnet, Alex's ex-husband and her best friend and psychiatrist Monique Desmonde, and the cast is complete. Lucci's thrillers are a fast-paced, riveting medical thrillers that offer readers believable drama, and memorable characters and extraordinary thrilers that allow them to escape into the complex, often mysterious world of health care.
Virginia born Judith Lucci holds graduate and doctoral degrees from Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Virginia. She is the author of numerous academic and health-related articles and documents. Her novels are based on her clinical experiences, very active imagination and experiences living in New Orleans and Virginia. When not teaching or writing, Judith is an avid silk painter and multi-media artist. She lives in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia with her family and six dogs.
Enjoy Another Excerpt
From Chapter Four
Dottie chewed on her soda bread. “For a new
restaurant, Biddy McPherson’s is doing great. You had a good write up in the
restaurant column last week and that restaurant critic can be a real pain.”
In truth, Dottie had been jealous when Mic had decided
to open the bar in memory of her parents. She’d been waiting for Mic to retire
for years, so they could solve crimes together. They’d been like Thelma and
Louise in years past, and Dottie wanted more of it.
Mic laughed. “Yeah, how well I know. And yeah, I’m
happy with the way things are goin’. I’d been saving all of my life to open the
place and have been lucky we’ve we done so well. We’ve got a great manager in
place, a fantastic cook who takes direction from me, a bunch of loyal customers,
and we’re the ‘official home away from home’ for the Richmond police
department.”
Dottie shook her head “The local watering hole for the
RPD. Can’t ask for more than that, Michaela. Now that Biddy’s is up and running
are you gonna do more of your private detective stuff,” she asked, hoping to
hear a resounding yes.
Michaela munched her bread. She dipped her spoon into
the succulent beef stew and sniffed the aroma before replying. “You know, I
probably will. Kind of miss the excitement of police work. I just don’t want to
have too much work to do to all of the time. After all, I am retired.” She
smiled broadly.
Dottie hid her smile behind a piece of bread. That was
just what she’d been hoping to hear. Thelma and Louise would ride again.
“Umm, the stew needs
more Guinness,” Mic said. “I think I cooked it down too much.” She pushed her
chair back, walked to her refrigerator and reached for another bottle of the
Irish stout.
Dottie’s mouth dropped open. She couldn’t believe what
she heard. “The stew is great. You have more energy than anyone I know. I think
you can handle both. You were complaining last week about having too much free
time.”
Dottie paused for a moment and glanced at Angel, Mic’s
seventy-eight pound German Shepherd retired police dog as he limped into the
kitchen to his bed by the fireplace. “Is he okay, Micaela? He’s limping pretty
badly.” Dottie scratched Angel’s ears as he passed.
Michaela nodded as she rose from her chair. “Yeah,
it’s his leg where he took the bullet, but I think his Lyme disease is acting
up, too. Dogs are just like us. In this kind of weather, they need their
medicine. I need to give him his anti-inflammatory. It’s so damp outside he’s
probably hurting worse than usual.”
Dottie laughed. “Yes my bones are hurting today, too
and I haven’t taken a bullet. It’s the damp weather.”
Mic moved towards the island, removed Angel’s
Meloxicam from the dog drawer, and drew up the dosage for an eighty-pound dog.
She set it on the counter as she reached for his heartburn medicine. She called
softly to Angel as he struggled off his dog bed by the kitchen hearth.
“Come on, baby, this’ll make you feel so much better.”
Mic said. She sat on the kitchen rug next to Angel, her faithful friend and
protector. Angel dutifully took his medicine and was rewarded with a beef jerky
treat. She sat on the floor with Angel and rubbed the dog’s ears as the dog struggled
to hunker into his bed.
Dottie watched, mesmerized by the obvious attachment
between the dog and her mistress. The love between the two was crystal-clear
and the scene was poignant. Mic and Angel were inseparable, and truth to tell,
Angel had saved Mic’s butt more than a few times.
Mic returned to the table and continued to eat until she
heard Dottie’s phone vibrating again in the living room. Another text.
She stood. “I’m getting your phone because someone
wants to talk to you badly.”
Dottie nodded, her mouth full of bread. She smiled as
Angel’s tail thudded on the floor as his mistress passed.
A few seconds later, Mic returned with Dottie’s phone,
her face serious. “It’s a second text from Margaret, plus she’s called three
times. You need to pay more attention to your phone.”
Dottie took the phone from Mic and read it. “Oh no,”
she wailed, “Allison never came home from her job interview at the dentist’s
office. Margaret’s hysterical. Should we call the police?”
Get Your Copy of Dr. Dude Today!
No comments:
Post a Comment