Strong Medicine by Arthur Hailey Page B

Always."
    Townsend's patients felt much the same way. Some who exchanged anecdotes
    about his accurate diagnoses referred to him as "the witch doctor." One
    even brought back from Africa, as a gift, a witch doctor's mask which
    Townsend proudly hung on his office wall.
    Andrew, too, respected the older doctor's abilities. As well, there had
    grown up between the two a genuine and warm affection, not least on
    Andrew's part because Townsend had, in all ways, treated his much younger
    colleague generously.
    Contributing to Andrew's respect was the fact that Noah Townsend stayed
    up-to-date medically through systematic reading, some-

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thing many physicians of his age neglected. Yet Andrew had also noticed,
    over recent months, a certain vagueness at times on Townsend's part, and
    occasional slurred speech. Then there had been those incidents earlier in
    the year of Noah's apparently bizarre behavior. The combination of
    symptoms made Andrew uneasy, though he continued to rationalize that
    stress and tiredness could be their cause, since both doctors had been
    working hard, with heavy patient loads.
    It was during a November afternoon a month earlier-which Andrew now
    remembered as beginning for himself a time of agonized
    soul-searching-that unease and vague suspicion had turned to certainty.
    The way it happened was that Andrew wished to discuss their schedule of
    days off, days when he and Dr. Townsend covered for each other. After
    checking to be sure no patient was with his colleague, Andrew knocked
    lightly on Townsend's office door and went in. It was something each of
    them was used to doing frequently.
    Townsend had his back to Andrew and swung around, startled, in his haste
    failing to conceal what was in the palm of his hand-a sizable pile of
    tablets and capsules. Even then Andrew might have thought nothing of it,
    except for the older man's subsequent behavior. Townsend reddened with
    embarrassment, then with some bravado brought his hand to his mouth,
    shoved the pills inside and with a glass of water flushed them down.
    There was no way Townsend could ignore the significance of what Andrew
    had seen, but he attempted to make light of it. "So you caught me stoking
    up the furnace! . . . Well, I admit I do it now and then--been under a
    lot of pressure lately, as you know . . . But never let things get away
    from me . . . I'm an old-cowhand doctor, m'boy-know too much to ever lose
    control . . . A damn sight too much." Townsend laughed, a laugh which
    sounded false. "So don't worry, Andrew-I know where and when to stop."
    The explanation did not convince Andrew. Even less convincing was the
    slurred speech, a slurring which suggested that the pills Noah Townsend
    had just ingested were not the first he had had that day.
    Andrew asked, with a sharpness he immediately regretted, "What were you
    taking?"
    Again the false laugh. "Oh, just a few Dexedrine, some Percodan, a touch
    of Darvon for added flavor . . . Andrew, what
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the hell does it matter?" Then, with a touch of belligerence, "Told you
    I keep it under control. Now, what did you come to see me about?"
    With his mind in a turmoil, Andrew mentioned the subject of days
    off-which now seemed absurdly unimportant-speedily settled what was
    necessary, and left Noah Townsend's office as quickly as he could. He
    needed to be alone. To think.
    Andrew was horrified at the stew of drugs-there must have been a dozen
    or fifteen tablets and capsules-which his older colleague had casually
    downed. According to Noah's own admission, they were stimulants and
    depressants---drugs which reacted to each other and which no competent
    doctor would prescribe in combination. While not an expert on addiction,
    Andrew knew enough to realize the quantity and casualness were hallmarks
    of someone who was a long way down the addict's road. And prescription
    drugs taken indiscriminately, as Noah clearly was taking them, could be
    as dangerous and destroying as any street