In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

143 Before I got to my truck,the pager on my belt erupted in shrill repetitive beeps. Looking at the tiny screen, I saw that the call originated from Robert Blake’s home number in Austin. I toyed with the idea of ignoring the call, but curiosity and habit were too strong.I dialed Blake’s home number on my cell phone as we all pulled out from the cemetery in a caravan. Charlie led, Billy Rex next, then Robert Earl, and I brought up the rear. Blake answered the telephone before the first ring had finished. “Tom? Is that you?” “Yes, it’s me Robert,” I answered. “What’s up?” “Tom, we really need you to get back here.This situation is getting out of hand. Dr. Kerley has joined Dr. Howard and Dr. Fine. I think they agreed to support his new imaging machine if he’d back them at the board meeting. You need to get back here and stop this before it goes any further.” Something was not ringing true as I listened to the nearly panicked Blake. My returning to Austin and solving the problem should have been the last thing he would want. My absence had given him the opportunity to make a move on my job. Something was not right. Then I had a flash of logical assumption. “The doctors told you they wouldn’t support you as my replacement, didn’t they Robert?” I said. No sound came from the cell phone for perhaps thirty seconds. Then Blake said, with defeat in his voice, “They said they would only support a physician as the next CEO of the hospital. They said they had had enough incompetent administration by non-professionals.” I could not resist snorting a gleefully derisive laugh. “Damn Robert!” I said.“It sounds like you’ve nailed your own ass to the wall.”I could not help but enjoy the position he found himself in. “Tom, we can talk about that later,” Blake said, making no attempt to conceal his desperation.“We can put a stop to all this if you will just get back here and open negotiations with these doctors. Paul Jordan is going to meet me at the hospital in about an hour to plot strategy. We can call you on your cell phone and make plans while you drive back.” “I don’t know, Robert,” I replied. “I’ve still got some things to do here. I’m not sure when I’m coming back. Hell!” I suddenly said, “I’m not even sure if I’m coming back.” Chapter 25 9:00 AM, Sunday, October 10, 2004, Alpine, West Texas 144 “Now don’t talk like that!” Blake pleaded, sounding as if he was near a total nervous breakdown. “I’ll call you when Paul gets here.” “I don’t know Robert,” I said. “I’ll think about it.” I pushed the button ending the call. I turned my attention to following Charlie. Ordinarily a situation such as the one that had evolved at the hospital would have commanded my full attention, but the events of the last couple of days in Alpine made it seem almost inconsequential. It took me only a few blocks to put it out of my mind. We drove westward out of Alpine. Charlie led in a green Ford Explorer that appeared to be new. Billy Rex was in a four-year-old gold Chevrolet Suburban, and Robert Earl drove behind him in a white Toyota Celica that looked to be at least ten years old. I brought up the rear in my truck. It was a bright, clear, sunny day. There was a brisk October coolness in the mountain air. We headed toward Twin Peaks, massive against the western sky. We passed the Cable house at the western edge of town and kept going until we were about five miles west of town, climbing steadily if not steeply toward the mountains. I noticed the left turn signal blinking on Charlie’s Explorer. He turned off the road and stopped at a gate in the fence. Billy Rex, Robert Earl, and I pulled off behind him. There was just enough room for all of us to line up at the gate with my truck barely off the highway. Charlie got out to open the gate, left it open, climbed back into his vehicle, and drove through. Billy Rex and Robert Earl drove through behind him. After following my three cousins...

Share