Rausch & Donlon - Can Be Murder 01 - Headaches Can Be Murder Read Online Free Page A

don’t skimp on the details.
    Lucinda
     
    Chip opened his Brain Freeze file. He read the description of the body found in the snow and thought about brain traumas. What could have happened to this guy? His mind switched to the story’s location as he dredged up images and details about Duluth and Two Harbors from his memory of summer visits to his Uncle Edward. Ed had owned an iron ore barge company there at one time. He remembered the sensational murders at Glensheen; maybe he could work that into his story.
    He couldn’t focus. The past twelve hours kept replaying in his head … the dog, Iver, the microchip scan, Dr. Jane Swanson … especially her. He wrote a list of words to describe Jane: professional, compassionate, clearly competent, stunning. Story ideas about a female character, a woman who would capture Dr. Goodman the way Dr. Jane had entranced him, began to form, then to percolate and finally to appear on the first page of the next chapter of Brain Freeze .
     
     

Chapter Four
    Brain Freeze
    Minneapolis, Minnesota
     
    Dr. John Goodman shifted in his seat. Airplane seats were not built with his six-foot-three frame in mind. He set aside the file he was reviewing on the pull-down tray and looked out the window. His mind wandered as his eyes took in the cloud cover below the aircraft.
    He had been surprised to hear about another case from his old friend, Mark Tinsdale. He and Mark had been college roommates and had stayed in touch, in spite of the different paths their lives had taken. John had gone on to med school and became a neurosurgeon. Mark had joined the FBI and married his college sweetheart. He had called John in to work on the Cranium Killer case last year, but John had thought that was a one-time thing. Now Mark needed his help again.
    John smiled at the memory of Mark’s phone call, “We have a new case that I think you’ll be interested in. God knows we could use your help. And John? Grab your parka, my friend. You’re headed to the North Country.”
    Mark made it clear that he wouldn’t be working with him on this case, however. Another agent, Joe Schwann, would be his contact person. Agent Schwann was based in Minneapolis, which had jurisdiction in Duluth, the location of the crime. Mark didn’t go into a lot of detail about the case, but had told him it concerned unusual brain trauma. Since John’s specialty was neurosurgery, Mark said that his insight would be invaluable.
    John was intrigued. Truth be told, the timing couldn’t have been better. He needed a change. The last couple of weeks had been tough. One of his favorite patients, an eight-year-old girl with a dimpled smile, big blue eyes, and, unfortunately, a brain tumor had died the previous Tuesday. In spite of all his expertise, his degrees, his credentials, John was unable to save her. He felt responsible. Everyone lost patients now and then, but sometimes the loss hit him especially hard.
    Doctors were always warned not to get emotionally involved with their patients. But, friends and colleagues insisted that it was his compassion that made John so good at his job. But damn if it didn’t feel personal sometimes.
    On top of losing the little girl, his private life was a train wreck. Tanya, his girlfriend of the last two years had finally given up on him and moved out. John frowned at the memory of their last conversation.
    He had been holding her hand, trying to make her understand. “Tanya, we’ve been through this before. My job has to come first. My patients deserve my full attention. Can’t you see that?”
    She yanked her hand from his grip. “You know what I think, Dr. Goodman? I think you hide behind that job of yours so that you never have to commit to a relationship. What are you so damned afraid of?”
    As he sat on the plane en route to Minneapolis, he had time to consider her question. What am I afraid of exactly? He did care for Tanya. But maybe it wasn’t enough. He was beginning to think he wasn’t cut