Chapter 11

Good morning sleepy head.’

Lisa was in the kitchen as Andrew shuffled in, still half asleep. He could smell the coffee. Lisa was standing in the kitchen sipping from a mug.

‘You look like you need a coffee badly. Didn’t you sleep well?’ Lisa asked and proceeded to put a pod into the Nespresso machine and pushed the button to start the flow of coffee.

‘What time is it Lisa? I slept okay, eventually. It took me a while to fall asleep.’

‘It’s only six fifteen Andrew, don’t panic. We have got lots of time, at least I have. I’m on afternoon shift today.’

It was Wednesday. Andrew had a late start. The research meeting had been cancelled for some reason and he did not have to be at Prince Charles until ten. He accepted the mug of coffee from Lisa, sat down on one of the kitchen stools and drank the coffee slowly. He loved the first cup of coffee in the morning. Within five minutes his head felt clear. Neither Lisa nor Andrew were breakfast eaters, just coffee first thing. They both had something to eat mid-morning as a rule.

‘Lisa, I’m glad we have got some time. There is something I need to tell you and I need your advice.’

‘Sounds ominous, Andrew.’ Lisa sat down on the other kitchen stool. ‘I’m all ears.’

For the next ten minutes Andrew told her the story in the order that it had unfolded, culminating with his discussion with George Edwards and his dilemma of how to proceed. He could see Lisa listening intently. She did not interrupt him once and when he finished talking, did not immediately respond.

‘I think I need a second coffee,’ she said after a few minutes. ‘You too?’

Andrew nodded and handed her his cup and two minutes later they were both drinking their coffees. Once they had both finished, Andrew waited for Lisa to respond.

‘Andrew, what you are suggesting may have happened is monstrous. And to be honest, it seems a bit far-fetched. Obviously, I have no idea if this is true or not but I do know Jeffrey Harris. I have worked with him for twelve years. Sure, he can be a prick at times but I have never met a more honest and dedicated doctor than Harris. I can’t see him ever doing anything to harm his patients. It’s not in his nature. There has to be another explan­ation Andrew. Maybe the Radiology Department did screw up. They are human, mistakes are made. They process thousands of X-rays a year and a handful could be mislabelled. That is more plausible that what you are suggesting Andrew.’

‘I agree about Jeffrey, Lisa. There is no way I can see him being a party to something like this. I hope you’re right, you probably are. There must be a simple explanation. I desperately want to believe that, but there are doubts. I am sure George Edwards has those too. And he is as rational and conservative as they come.’

Andrew paused. Lisa said nothing.

‘Three patients Lisa, all with mislabelled scans and all with brain tumours that turned up unexpectedly.’

Andrew saw a strange look come over Lisa’s face.

‘Not three Andrew, four,’ Lisa said.

‘Four? What do you mean?’

‘Good God. I had completely forgotten. One of my staff nurses, can’t recall her name, was in for a D&C. All pretty straightforward. I don’t know the details, I heard about it later on from her fiancé. After the procedure she had an MRI scan and they found a brain tumour. She was treated and made a full recovery. I’m pretty sure it was while the trial was on. I remember thinking later how lucky she was to be at Prince Charles for the D&C so that she could be enrolled in the trial. I wish I could remember her name. She doesn’t work here anymore. She got married and moved to Western Australia where her husband got a job in the mines. I could find out her name Andrew. There would be a staff file somewhere.’

‘Can you see why I can’t let this go Lisa? I have to find out. The only problem is I have no idea how to go about it. I’m not a detective.’

Lisa said nothing. Andrew could see that she was deep in thought.

‘I know someone who is,’ Lisa finally said. ‘Not a detective but someone who could know how to go about it.’

Andrew waited.

‘Brendan. My brother. Did you know he was an investigative reporter for The Australian before he joined The Age?’

Andrew did know that.

‘Brendan? I don’t want this ending up in the papers Lisa.’

‘Don’t worry about that. You can trust Brendan, I promise you that. If he knows this is confidential, he will keep it that way.’

‘Okay Lisa. Do you want to call him or will I?’

‘I think it’s best if I do it. I will invite him for dinner. Not tonight, tomorrow night if he’s free.’

Lisa picked up her mobile phone, dialled the number and Andrew could hear her talking quietly, after a minute or so she hung up.

‘All done. He’ll be here for dinner tomorrow at seven.’