Lethal Weapon Pt. 03

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Amanda was completely drug free now, she saw the way Trish and Martin behaved with each other and the love they shared and decided that was what she was hoping to find. She now had her new dentures and had made tremendous progress with losing the deep southern 'hillbilly' dialect. Martin had even commented to Trish about how attractive Amanda was now that she had cleaned up and dropped the accent.

"Don't go getting any ideas there buster!" Trish had told him, "I know that she used to have a big thing for you.

Amanda had gone out to dinner with Martin and Trish one evening, when several of Martin's former co-workers came in and sat down at a table nearby. A new employee, Jason Ronard, was with the group had spotted Amanda, asking about her. The introductions were made and. . . Amanda and Jason's relationship was progressing.

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Trish's mom didn't press charges on Joshua, he had heeded Trish's advice and cleaned himself up, he even did a short stint in rehab himself. Martin spoke with his former employer (ZMA) and convinced them to give Josh a chance, and for the first time in his life, Joshua was providing for himself. Mitchell and Sally Murtaugh were also very proud of their son and helped him with his transition as much as they could. He had even moved out on his own, it wasn't a luxurious place, just an efficiency apartment, but he really felt a sense of pride. Joshua had gone on a few dates and had been out with one of the women several times. It also made Josh feel special . . . when Jeff started calling him 'uncle Josh'.

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Late September, front page story in the local newspaper,

CINCINNATI LAB CAUGHT UP IN CHEATING SCANDAL

(AP) Boyette Labs of Cincinnati, a prominent agency for the testing of sexual diseases and DNA work, has been caught up in a major cheating scandal. According to Cincinnati Police and the Centers For Disease Control, two employees of the Burnet Ave location were caught switching test results from personal samples for STD and DNA , some back as far as five years ago. In an interview with Traci Wolfe, spokesperson for the CDC, she stated; "We may have people who are taking medications now to clear up STDs they never tested positive for. . . we may have people who unknowingly have an STD because they tested negative. This case has major implications as far as the public's health is concerned--there could be people spreading diseases around and not know they're doing so."

When asked about DNA results, she continued with her analysis; "These two men may have put people in prison who were not guilty, while the real perpetrators walk free. There could be fathers paying support on children that don't belong to them, and fathers who don't even know they have children. There could have been divorces. . . or marriages for that matter, caused by these results being tampered with , it's a horrible, horrible situation. We're going to have to go back several years and re-test absolutely every single lab result on a case by case basis, the time and the manpower to achieve this is going to take extraordinary efforts. . ." She went on to urge everyone to consult with their doctors to find if they have had any tests performed by this facility, she also asked that people who brought or sent samples of their own accord to submit new samples. Letters will be sent, but the CDC wants to make sure no one slips through the cracks.

A photo of the two perpetrators also accompanied the article, the caption read,

(AP) Jimmie F. Skaggs and Al Leong as are led out of Potter Stewart United States Courthouse on Tuesday, after being charged with tampering with medical test specimens. The two were employed by Boyette Labs of Cincinnati and are accused of switching samples submitted for STD and DNA testing, going back as far five years. The CDC is advising anyone having any type of test ran in the last five years to submit new specimens for testing, stating that this crime has far reaching implications. Many medical facilities, over a five hundred mile radius could be affected. . .

The end. . .?