“Katherine O’Reilly, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Dr. Al-Siddiqui.” He pulled up a chair, sat facing Kathy, and flipped open her chart. “It says here you’ve been suffering from fatigue.”

“Yes. It’s not like I’m lacking strength, it’s just I feel… well, it’s almost as if I’m walking through water. Everything takes more effort than it should. It’s hard to explain.”

The doctor scribbled something in the chart. He looked up at Kathy with a sympathetic expression. “Well, it seems like your vitals are all good. Your temperature is slightly elevated, but it’s warm outside and you might be catching a cold or something. That’s nothing to worry about.” He flipped a page in the chart. “Your bloodwork is mostly all good, but you do show some signs of having a low B12 and mild anemia. That might explain the fatigue you’re experiencing. Before you leave here, we’ll give you a B12 shot, but the anemia is something I’d rather treat with dietary changes. Are you by chance vegetarian?”

“No, I’m a meat and potatoes girl, but I’ve been trying to stick to fish and chicken lately.”

“Let me suggest you add some red meat—at least once or twice a week. Dark-green leafy vegetables, like spinach or kale, are also high in iron. And getting more iron in your system will help your blood transport oxygen—which should give you more of that oomph you feel you’re missing. You think you can do that?”

Kathy smiled. “My dad’s a cattle rancher. So yeah, I’m pretty okay with beef.” The truth was, if her dad knew that the doctor had told her to eat more beef, he’d probably ship her half a cow in steak form, overnight.

“Excellent, then that’s what we’ll do.” The doctor stood, a towering skyscraper of a man. “Let’s have you come back in a month so we can re-check your blood and see how the anemia is doing.”

As Kathy stood, the doctor asked, “Any other questions?”

“No, sir.”

“Okay then, take care. If for some reason you feel the fatigue gets worse, don’t hesitate to come back and we’ll see what else we can do.”

The doctor left and the gray-haired nurse handed Kathy a yellow lollipop. “I find that a sucker tends to help with the ouchies. I’ll be back in a second, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to stick you.”

As the nurse left, Kathy smiled, unwrapped the lemon lollipop, and waited for her shot.

###

Nate handed his supervisor the evidence report.