Chapter 4

Sure enough, the people from the health board came back.

Three officials flashed their credentials.

"Ms. Gilbert, we've received a formal complaint accusing you of practicing medicine without a license."

"The complaint says you brewed herbal medicine on your own and gave it to people to take, endangering their health."

"We'll need your cooperation with the investigation."

A formal complaint.

I skimmed the contents, and my temples throbbed with anger.

It said I had:

"Used medicine of unknown origin, applied externally and taken internally by patients."

"Practiced on sick people."

"No medical ethics. Recommend revoking Otto Gilbert's practitioner license, recommend the medical school expel Abigail Gilbert."

The line at the end of the letter, "playing fast and loose with people's lives," was word for word what they'd used against my father back then.

The official looked at me.

"Have you brewed any herbal medicine recently?"

Justin Kane wasn't even bothering to pretend anymore.

My parents both froze.

If this accusation stuck, my father's career and mine were both finished.

My mother's eyes went red with panic.

"Our Abby would never—"

"I have."

I admitted it flat out. What was there to hide?

"But only for practice."

I pulled out the videos we'd kept at home. They were meant as study records.

"This is the security footage from yesterday, of me dumping the herb dregs by the back gate of our complex."

"Take a good look. The dregs went straight into the trash. Not once did any of it go to a single person."

"I brew medicine at home to practice controlling the heat. It's personal study, not a medical act."

"What law says a medical student can't brew herbal medicine at home?"

The three inspectors leaned in together to watch.

The footage was clear as day. Me alone, carrying a basin, dumping the dregs and walking off.

"Then where did this formula come from?"

The official's tone softened a little.

"Do you have any prescription basis for it?"

I handed over the invitation to the industry association's seminar, along with a copy of the formula the old master had written out by hand.

"It was a bone-disease treatment seminar hosted by the state association of traditional medicine."

"More than twenty practitioners were there that day. The old gentleman who taught us to brew it has forty years in the field."

"The formula was shared openly. I bought every herb from licensed pharmacies. I have all the receipts."

They flipped through the receipts and murmured, "These really are all from licensed pharmacies."

My father stood beside me. "That formula warms the meridians and clears the channels. No toxins, no harm."

"The girl wanted to learn. She brewed it and dumped it. It never touched anyone."

Just then, the doorbell rang again.

It was several patients my father had once treated with acupuncture for free.

Bruce Lawrence, the sanitation worker, and a few other old neighbors, all of them unsteady on their legs.

"Abby, we heard someone reported you. We came to speak up for you."

"Dr. Gilbert's treated us for years and never took a cent."

"That girl only ever helped dump the dregs. She never put a needle in anybody."

"Who reported her? Was it that bastard Justin Kane?"

The officials looked at the old people, then at the receipts and formula copies spread across my table, and fell silent.

"We understand the situation now."

They closed their folders. "We have to go back and follow procedure. Once there's an official conclusion, we'll notify you."

I walked the officials to the door and found Justin Kane actually waiting outside.

Looking every bit like a man there to watch a good show.

The moment he saw the officials, he couldn't hold back. "So? How'd it turn out?"

The official gave him a cold look. "You're the one who filed the report?"

Justin nodded. "I did. I was ridding the public of a menace!"

I ground my teeth. "Justin Kane, you repay kindness with a knife in the back. For the sake of your own business, now you've set your sights on us?"

"I brew a batch of herb dregs and you photograph it and file a report. Doesn't it wear you out?"

"I'm exercising my rights as a citizen!"

He shot back, "Those medicines your father gave me back then, who knows where they came from? Maybe there'll be aftereffects!"

Hearing that, my father gripped the door frame to keep from falling.

I caught his arm and said loudly, "Aftereffects? Then spell it out. Which bone is the problem? Which organ went bad?"

"You can run, you can jump, you can open a physical therapy shop and cheat people out of their money. Which of those did my father ruin with a needle?"

"Show your evidence! If you can't, then you're making a false accusation!"

Justin faltered, then puffed himself up again. "I have the right to report whatever I want!"

"If there's nothing to hide, what's the harm in an investigation?"

"Fine."

I gave a short laugh. "You exercise your rights, and I'll exercise mine."

"Justin Kane, listen carefully. A false accusation carries legal consequences."

"I've already called the police."