But he made it clear to all of his clients who made the observation, that the proximity was entirely coincidental. “I’m not going to write you a prescription. I promise you that. Because you know by now, drugs aren’t going to resolve anything. And as for the clinic? If you needed a physician, you wouldn’t be here.” Ann’s mother lifted her bandaged right hand. Two days ago, those bandages had been applied in the emergency room at Perth County General, on top of deep, stitched-up cuts from which the doctors there had extracted three thin shards of glass. They had pulled six more from her shoulders and chest, but the bandages from those wounds were hidden under a thick sweater. “I wouldn’t say we don’t need a physician,” she said. Sunderland smiled a little sheepishly and looked down at his own hands. He was a tall man with very dark hair and a prominent chin, a deep tan for this time of year.
