Frankie, John, Christy, and Kelsey 1993--Douglas's Preliminary Autopsy Results

When John comes to pick up Gregory, who's still sleeping, Frankie tells him to let Gregory sleep for a few more minutes and asks what John wanted to see Cass about. John wants to see Cass because he's the Carsons' lawyer. John tells Frankie that they don't have all the details yet so he doesn't want her to overreact, but Douglas Carson did not die of natural causes. Frankie points out that Douglas had a terminal heart condition. When John mentions the postmortem, Frankie is shocked. She says that in a case like Douglas's, there wouldn't have been an autopsy unless someone from the family requested it. She realizes Christy requested an autopsy just as Christy comes breezing in loaded down with shopping bags complaining about the stores in town. When Christy sees the looks on Frankie's and John's faces, she asks what's happened now; is it Cass? No, Frankie informs Christy, it's not Cass. Why did Christy request an autopsy for Douglas, and why didn't she tell Frankie about it? Christy says she thought Frankie knew, but Frankie asks how she would know. Christy assumed that because Frankie and Douglas were so close at the end, Douglas told Frankie that he was leaving his body to science. Christy then says she hates talking about this because it makes Douglas seem farther away from her than he is. Christy then asks John if they found something in the autopsy. John replies that the preliminary results indicate that Douglas ingested a very large quantity of a substance that may have caused a cardiac arrhythmia, leading to his death. "An overdose?" Christy asks. John tells her they don't know yet. Christy asks if Douglas killed himself. John says that's not what he's saying. All he's saying is that it's possible the cardiac arrest was brought on by something other than the natural progression of Douglas's disease. When Christy gets upset about this, Frankie starts to console her but has to answer the ringing phone: it's Kelsey, calling for John. Kelsey asks John to come back to the hospital even though he's off duty. John tells her it's not a good time because he has Greg with him. Kelsey informs John that Spader got wind of Douglas Carson's postmortem and is insisting that a senior doctor consult on the case because Spader doesn't want Darryl on the case alone. John tells Kelsey he'll be there in half an hour and hangs up. Thanks to Janie for the scenes.