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About the Author and Some Important
Acknowledgements
     
    Years ago I was that pharmacist behind
the prescription counter. I worked a graveyard shift for five years
as a retail pharmacist while working on my advanced clinical
degree. I often thought that one night I would be robbed of either
money or narcotics—or possibly both—during those long quiet
evenings behind the prescription counter.
     
    Parts of this story are
fictionalized for an extra dose of drama. The basic
story—that
a rough-looking guy came in one night and
presented me with an altered prescription—actually did happen,
however. It’s also true that the man got himself caught in the
blood pressure machine precisely at the time the police arrived. It
was a memorable experience with an interesting outcome.
     
    This story has been in the
back of my mind for a couple of decades and I’m delighted to now
share it with you. I hope you enjoy this and my other works,
especially my upcoming novel Lethal
Medicine , which will be out later this
month.
     
    Like Cuffed
, Lethal Medicine draws on
my past pharmaceutical experiences to create a story intertwined
into a lethal concoction of Murder, Mayhem and Medicine.
     
    None of this would have been possible
without the support and encouragement of my wife Ginger. She
managed house, kids and a job long ago while I worked nights to
further my career. More recently she encouraged me to unlock my
brain, share my imagination and write the stories that have been
bouncing around my gray matter all these years.
     
    I thank my fellow authors of the Author
Social Media Support Group who initially encouraged me to write
this story of an ill-fated prescription forger. And I thank my
fellow writers in the Writing Workshop II Group and also the Long
Form Critique Group. They offered advice and critiques to refine
and tighten this story for publication.
     
    My publishing agent, Joel Scott,
deserves some special thanks for guiding me through the
ever-changing publication process and for believing that I might
have a bit of writing talent.
     
    To all of my Facebook and Twitter fans,
I am grateful for your support and your continued promotion of my
weekly “Prescription For Murder” blog. Know that you are truly
appreciated.
     
    And finally to you, my reader, who has
taken time out of your life to allow me to share a little of my
real and imaginary world. I thank you from the bottom of my
heart.
     
    James J. Murray
     
    Website:  http://www.jamesjmurray.com/
    Blog:  http://jamesjmurray.wordpress.com/
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jamesjmurraywriter
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/JamesJMurray1
     

 
     
    Cuffed
     
    I parked in the lot of the
24-hour pharmacy at precisely 9:55 P.M. and walked toward the store
to begin my shift—the graveyard shift. I heard thunder in the
distance. A storm’s rolling in, I thought. It’s going to
be slow tonight. I shivered and pulled the
coat collar tighter around my neck.
     
    As I arrived at the prescription
counter, the pharmacist I was relieving patted my shoulder and
said, “It’s all yours.” He grabbed his coat, turned and walked out
as if I no longer existed.

    A few customers roamed the aisles and a
couple of people stopped by to pick up prescriptions called in
earlier. At midnight, the assistant manager—flat butt, no hips, a
pimply-faced string bean—walked over and handed me the keys to his
kingdom.

    He repeated his nightly
script. “Sam, my man, time for me to go home and take care of the
wife—if you know what I mean.” He looked like he was twelve and I
thought of asking him if he knew what that meant, but I resisted. He gave me
a smug smile, spun around and walked out of my life for another 24
hours.

    Now in charge, I relaxed and prepared
to do some studying. That’s the whole reason I work this
upside-down shift—so I can study and still pay the bills. I sleep
some in the morning, go to class for an advanced clinical degree in
the afternoon and work