Tuesday, April 7, 10:05 A.M.
As the door to the anesthesia office closed behind them, Michael and Lynn heard Dr. Rhodes’s tirade continue. The man was clearly beside himself with rage at Wykoff.
“Talk about burning bridges and making enemies,” Michael said as they headed down the central corridor. “That turned out to be a big-time fuckup.”
“It wasn’t our fault,” Lynn said, keeping her voice down as they passed people. “It was just bad luck that Rhodes showed up. Everything had been going fine until then.”
“One way or another, we’re not going to be able to go back to Dr. Wykoff. Of course it might have happened anyway, considering the way you were talking to her.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Lynn said, taking offense.
“You were accusing her of screwing up, just like I told you not to do. That ain’t the way to keep your options open, girl. Take it from me. The reason that I never got shot or that I’m not in prison is that I learned early not to piss people off. The way you were acting, I’m surprised we got as much out of Dr.Wykoff as we did.”
“I’m the one who is pissed. I didn’t feel like giving her any slack.”
“And you certainly didn’t.”
“I still think she is hiding something. She has to have done something wrong. I’m sorry, but that’s the way I see it.”
“Well, I don’t,” Michael said. “My take is that she is hurting over the case and has no idea what happened. She wouldn’t have gone on about that blip. Electronic equipment has little burps like that, particularly video and sensory feed. It’s called a frame offset. My take is that she’s almost as desperate as you are to find out what the hell happened.”
“We are going to have to agree to disagree,” Lynn said. “And I’m bummed out we weren’t able to bring up either of the other cases, as similar as they seem to be. I also wanted to ask her what she thought of the idea of an anesthetic causing the protein abnormality Morrison has. And the fever she and Carl have. Hell, I’ve got a lot of questions that need answering. I think we should try to meet with the other anesthesiologists. Do you remember who did Ashanti’s case?”
Michael hated and pulled Lynn to a stop in the process. They were just abreast of the Surgical Pathology Department. He looked at her with disbelief. “You’re joking, of course. Tell me you’re joking!”
“No, I’m not joking. I think we should talk with the other anesthesiologists. Maybe they all made the same mistake. It could be the only way to find out. I’m not convinced they talk to each other when something like this happens. In that sense you are right: they are all defensive.”
“First of all, I don’t remember who the anesthesiologist was for Ashanti. But if I did, I wouldn’t tell you. You heard how pissed Dr. Rhodes was that we were discussing Carl with Wykoff. If he finds out you’re even thinking about talking with the other anesthesiologists, he’ll go berserk. He could get our asses kicked out of school. Wouldn’t that be nice now that we are within sight of graduating? I’m sure that a big reason he was so pissed is because Carl represents the third case.”
“Are you finished?”
“Yes, I’m finished. Let’s get changed and get out of here.”
They started walking again.
“I think we were lucky to get away pretty much unscathed,” Michael said.
“That’s not a given,” Lynn said. “What do you think the chances are that either Wykoff or Rhodes might say something to the nurses in the neuro ICU? It might occur to them to ask how it was we were able to look at Carl’s chart. If they do, it would be bad. We wouldn’t be able to go back, and I wouldn’t be able to follow Carl much less find out how this happened.”
“I think it’s hard to say what they might do. If they think about informing the nurses, they might. I believe it will come down to that, but in our favor, they have a lot on their minds. I’m sure they are running scared about a possibility of a serious lawsuit.”
“I don’t think Carl’s parents will sue,” Lynn said.
“I don’t think you can say that. With the dad being a lawyer—a litigator, no less—I personally think the chances are good. One of the malpractice guys will talk them into doing it supposedly as a way of keeping other people from falling victim to the same fate. I’m sure fear of a big lawsuit is why the hospital counsel is so concerned.”
They reached the main elevators and paused before going into the surgical lounge. Michael checked his watch. “We’re going to have to make tracks to get to the derm clinic. They are not going to be happy we missed the lecture. Thank God we can use the ER as an excuse. Listen, I’ll meet you out here after we change back into our street clothes.”
“I’m not going to any clinic,” Lynn said. “Particularly a derm clinic. In my state of mind there’s no way I could concentrate on looking at pimples and rashes.”
“What are you going to do? You’re not thinking of going back to talk to any anesthesiologists, are you?”
“No! I’ve got to make myself sleep, at least a few hours. I know I’m not thinking right, and I have a shitload of studying I want to get done. I need to learn more about those monoclonal gammopathies and multiple myeloma.”
“Suit yourself, but I’m going to the clinic. I don’t want to risk pissing off the admin at this point so close to graduation, especially with Rhodes possibly on our case.”
“Be real! You really think they might deny graduation from missing a few crummy specialty lectures and clinics?”
“Who knows? What I do know is that it ain’t worth the risk. If there is a sign-in for attendance, I’ll add your name.”
“Thanks, bro. One other thing! Can I look at that photo of Ashanti’s anesthesia record on your desktop computer?”
Michael eyed Lynn and hesitated, as if debating. “I’d have to give you my room key. You might copy it and come in and molest me.”
“As tempting as that may be, I’ll give you my word to hold myself back. And I promise not to disturb your stash of smack.”
“You better not! All right, then, I’ll meet you out here at the elevators in five.”
• • •
While Michael was changing back into his street clothes, he found himself wondering what would have happened had he not accompanied Lynn to meet Wykoff. As bad as it had turned out, he was certain it would have been much worse if she had been on her own. As he saw it, no matter what he had said, she needed close monitoring, as she’d copped an attitude Michael was certain was destined to get her in real trouble and possibly him, too. Yet he could understand and sympathize. If what happened to Carl had happened to his girlfriend, Kianna Young, he’d be a basket case, too.
When Michael got back out to the elevator lobby, he was moderately surprised that Lynn was already there. He thought he had changed quickly and had expected to have to wait. He handed her his room key and said: “Would you mind making the bed and cleaning the bathroom while you are in there?”
“Fat chance, you male chauvinist,” Lynn said as she snatched the key. “I’m going to e-mail the photo of Ashanti’s record to myself and that’s it. Another request! Would you e-mail me the photos you took of Carl’s and Morrison’s records? Then I’ll have all three. By comparing them, maybe I’ll be able to find something unexpected.”
“I think the first thing you need to do is get some sleep.”
“Thank you, Doctor. Meanwhile do the e-mails.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Michael said, saluting.