by Barbara Ebel
Viktoria poked her head back into the lounge. “You ready, guys?”
“You doctors sure drink lousy coffee from here,” Buster commented as they strolled through the hallway.
They passed the Director of Surgical Service’s office as he just arrived, and Jeff turned to spot the three of them on their official mission. “I’m coming too,” he barked out the door.
All heads at the front OR desk turned when the OR doors slid open and Viktoria, Jeff, Buster, and Patrick stood in front of the surgical scheduling board. Phillip turned, his jaw dropped, and he squinted through his thick glasses.
“These gentlemen need Casey and Jennie before they start any assignments you’ve given them,” Viktoria said.
Phillip stared at Buster’s patch on his breast pocket—“DEA.” He took a gulp. “Okay, they should both be in the preop holding area.”
“I’ll go,” Viktoria said, “subtlety and without fanfare.” She hastened next door and signaled Casey away from a patient and Jennie away from a chart at the desk.
“There’s been a scheduling change,” she told the couple. “Let’s go back to the front desk.”
Jennie thrust her lips out in a sullen expression. In no way did she want any unexpected happenings in her forthcoming day. In full denial of what could happen to her during the day, she wanted to start her assigned case for a tonsillectomy on a child and get on with anesthetic care. She reluctantly followed Casey and Viktoria.
“No way,” Jennie blurted out as she stepped through the automatic doors. It was horrid enough that two men stood there in official uniforms, but when they turned, and she saw “DEA,” her OR clogs froze to the hard, cold floor.
“Oh, shit,” Casey spoke aloud. He righted his crestfallen face and put on his charismatic expression, albeit with a slight tremble.
“Are you Jennie and Casey Johnston?” Patrick asked.
Casey nodded, but Jennie still stared like a deer caught in headlights.
“Then let’s not make a scene,” Patrick said. “We have your drugs from your house, we’ve matched OR vial lot numbers, we’ve got one of your worker’s statements, and enough evidence has been gathered to throw you in the slammer for a long time.”
Casey wanted nothing more than to leave and be spared the pairs of OR workers’ eyes that were adding up and viewing the scene by the minute. He locked his hand around Jennie’s forearm and tugged her along.
As the two CRNAs passed through OR double doors for the last time, Buster glanced over at them. “That elegant Hollywood mansion of yours is gonna be headed for the auction block.”
-----
“What the hell was that all about?” Phillip asked dumbfounded.
“They’ve been stealing anesthetic drugs,” Viktoria whispered, “and distributing them to their own employees.”
Dr. Nettle stared deep into Viktoria’s eyes, not believing what he heard. She stared back and nodded.
Jeffrey leaned in. “Dr. Nettle, we have an OR to run. Better make the necessary adjustments now that you’re short two CRNAs.”
Phillip twisted his mouth in a lopsided frown.
“You can put the CRNA that was going to give breaks into Casey or Jennie’s case,” Viktoria said, “put another anesthesiologist in a room, and I’ll supervise more cases. In addition, you and I can give breaks and lunches.”
“That’s a lot on you,” he said.
“I can handle it.”
Jeffrey smiled and patted Viktoria on the arm. “I’ll talk to you later about the other problem, after I investigate it this morning.” Jeff parted from their threesome and weaved his way out the door between onlookers.
Phillip sighed deeply. “Even though he’s at home sleeping off a call night, maybe I should call Jay Huff about the CRNA problem. This is a major development in the department.”
“I believe Jeffrey Appleton will be calling Dr. Huff about more than your nurse anesthetist coverage.”
Phillip stared after Viktoria as she hurried off to see patients in the holding area. He rubbed his glasses with a lens cloth and stuck them back on. How come this outlander from Long Island and Iceland knew more about what was going on in the department than he did? Especially after she was given the cold shoulder and no benefit of the doubt as to her clinical abilities when she arrived?
CHAPTER 32
Jeffrey slipped between more onlookers as they speculated over the scene they had just witnessed. Two of the OR employees most charming coworkers had just been led out by officers. Most people loitering about had witnessed the couple’s wedding but three days ago, where they had attended the most prestigious event in all of Masonville. Being able to say that you’d been inside the home of Jennie and Casey Johnston was high on the city’s social bragging rights.
Mr. Appleton ignored the speculation, realizing it would sweep through the hospital and be reiterated in the President’s office within no time. It made his next chore that much more critical, with a need to be expeditious. He did not want to waste Cathy Banker’s time by telling her one huge debacle, but he wanted to bring both issues he suspected right to her great mahogany desk at the same time. Kill two birds with one stone, he thought.
First, at the OR front desk, he closed the door and sat close to the secretary. She smiled, and tugged on the dreadlocks from an extension hair piece clipped to the back of her hair.
“Miss Lamont, I don’t only want a copy of yesterday’s printed schedule, but handwritten adds-on through the evening and night on every single case that went in and out of the OR receiving anesthesia services.”
“It was busy last night,” she said, and went about preparing his request.
Jeff studied the sheet when she was finished. The add-on cases Viktoria had told him about were there as well as some more. “Thank you so much.”
Luckily, he knew how things operated and poked into the anesthesia office. The pile of billing slips from the day before were already missing, carried off by the mail department and headed to the billing office. He headed straight upstairs and wanted to avoid Sarah Wentworth, but knew she would be the most capable person to help him out.
“Sarah, I am here to bother you again about billing slips.” He stood inches from her desk and handed over the personalized OR schedule he had brought.
Looking up, her face beamed with enthusiasm, and she managed to slide the V-neck collar of her blouse aside to expose more skin. She extended her hand and took the sheet. “Anything for you, Jeff. Is this all of yesterday’s?”
“Yes, please compare it to the anesthesia billing slips which I hope have been deposited up here.”
She rose and walked slowly and closely past him. “Might as well come with me.”
Between the open room of workers at their desks, they came to a file cabinet with all the early morning inter-departmental mail stacked in piles. They both began sorting through until they found the OR slips they desired. With heads bent together, they compared the slips with the cases done.
Jeffrey raised his head with a thrust. “Three slips are missing.”
“I agree. Healthy tickets for reimbursement too. An emergency burr hole, a long hand case, and a facial fracture from an MVA.”
Jeff clenched his teeth, angry at the skulduggery of it. It was straight out-and-out double dipping by the President of the group, who was in charge of the department and entrusted with a moral code to be expected from someone in his position. Why did the anesthesia providers at Masonville General Hospital need to be making extra money outside their normal work salaries? Greedy and immoral, that sums them up.
He shook his head while Sarah tapped on the sheet he held. “Nice detective work. We should get together and celebrate our discovery!”
“Umm… some other time. My damage control is just beginning.” Jeff made haste to leave and headed straight for the office of the President.
Cathy Banker rose and closed her office door with a loud click after Jeff walked in. “Jessy Winter’s suicide in our hospital was eno
ugh big news for a year, but this takes the cake. What the ‘f” is going on in that OR you’re in charge of?” She stormed back to her side of the desk and turned to him abruptly.
Her anger surprised him, especially since it was directed at him. “As I imagined, you heard the news. The two newly wedded CRNAs have been hauled off by the DEA, no doubt guilty of stealing anesthesia drugs from the OR.”
“Probably for some time!”
“Ma’am, there are checks and balances for signing in and out of the narcotic machine, but then there is the human element of anesthesia and OR providers to not scam the system. These two were skillfully milking the records to indicate that the drugs were given, and then taking the vials home themselves. It could have happened anywhere.”
The tension in her lips subsided, but Jeffrey knew he had to forge ahead. “This is not the only scandalous news I have this morning. Jay Huff, the President of the department, has been making off with charge slips, billing separately for cases which are rightfully to be reimbursed to the hospital.”
“What? Are you sure about this?”
“Beyond a shadow of a doubt.”
She took her fingers and thumb and rubbed them across her eyebrows, then she threw her hands in the air. “I’ll call an emergency board meeting. It won’t be solely up to me, but what do I want? Fire the whole GD department.”
“I understand and agree,” Jeff said timidly.
“Go back downstairs and try the hell to put a lid on the gossip that will be flying out of that OR. Have a meeting or something to stem gossip.” The thin woman grabbed her chair first before lowering herself. “Don’t think that your job, however, is secure, Mr. Appleton.”
Jeffrey’s heart pounded as he left the top floor of the hospital. He had not considered it, that his own job was in jeopardy. So much for doing the correct thing.
-----
The pace was steady and almost too much to handle. Viktoria started a case with a CRNA, and checked her watch. The time had flown, and she had not hydrated during the last few hectic hours, nor had she had the opportunity to talk with Jeffrey Appleton.
She scurried out into the hallway where she noticed Jeff in front of her, turning into the lounge. Making the same right turn, she sidled next to him at the food counter.
He glanced over. “You eat lunch yet?”
“No. But it’ll be an eat and dash.”
He nodded to the one empty table as they both quickly grabbed the chef’s sandwich of the day. Jeffrey poured two coffees, and they sat across from each other.
“I’m dying to know,” Viktoria said, leaning in.
“Jay Huff kept the slips from last night’s neurosurgical burr hole case and two others. I already reported his actions to Cathy Banker.”
“That must have gone over like catching dead fish. Did you tell her about the CRNAs?”
“She heard about that already. I corroborated the rumor. She’s calling an emergency board meeting. More than likely, they will fire the whole department.” The spark in his brown eyes faded as he frowned. “That will make it almost impossible to provide anesthesia coverage and to keep the OR running like usual.”
“You will see to the manpower and run it as efficiently as possible.”
“That is, if I still have a job at the end of the week.”
“Oh, no.” Viktoria took a deep sigh. The last thing that should happen is that Jeff ends up the fall guy. She slid her hand forward close to his. “Hopefully, it won’t come to that, Jeff.”
They each took a bite out of their panini sandwiches and thought about the current situations.
“You can contact my locum tenens agency if the need arises. Regina does a fine job of finding quality health care providers.”
“Yes, I may have to. Thank goodness you’re at least here for another two weeks.”
Two internists passed their table, chatting about the arrest in the OR. Jeffrey shook his head.
“Say, why don’t we go out for dinner this evening? Get our minds off our work. Take the dogs. There’s a picture-perfect lighthouse in the area where we can walk them before hitting the nearby restaurant.”
“That’s the most sensible thing I’ve heard all day.”
“I’ll pick you up. We’ll throw the dogs in my Jeep.”
-----
Since arriving in Masonville, Viktoria dolled up more than usual, even more so than for the previous weekend’s wedding. As she fastened her favorite necklace around her neck, she wondered why. She deserved the effort on herself for a change. After all, she took care of other people all day long. But she also admitted to herself, in a short time, she would be sharing a few hours with a man whom she’d grown fond of. Very fond of.
Like a mini-dermabrasion, she scrubbed her face with a polishing cream, and added more highlight to her dark eyebrows. She moistened her wide, full lips with lip gloss, a deep autumn rose color. Throwing some clothes on the bed, she chose a casual, sporty outfit—crisp, wrinkle free, smart black cargo pants and a shiny white blouse which would flutter in the wind. She changed into the different set of clothes and surveyed herself in the door mirror. Pleased, her eyes settled on Buddy lying behind her. For late afternoon, he seemed more tuckered than usual.
Viktoria scooped out Buddy’s dry dog food and placed it in his bowl on the floor. His usual warped speed inhalation of his dinner was less robust than normal. Without his finishing every kibble, she finally picked up his bowl and washed it.
A knock sounded at the door and Jeffrey Appleton stood there with a glow like a teenager on his first prom date.
“Dr. Thorsdottir, you are a wonderful sight after such a shaky day.”
“Likewise, Mr. Appleton.”
Viktoria patted her thigh, Buddy followed her, and jumped into the back of Jeff’s car. For a moment, Viktoria rustled Mattie’s coat, and then slid into the passenger’s seat as Jeff held the door open.
“How about we eat first and then stroll by the lighthouse?” Jeff asked, putting his vehicle in drive.
“Yes, especially since I’m hungry. There was no time for munching after that lunch we had.”
“I’ll try to steer away from all that happened today, but for an update, the President and the board is meeting as we speak.”
“It scares me to imagine what they are thinking after one OR event which will be hard-pressed to stay out of the media and a billing, financial scam all in one day. How will the hospital save face with its shareholders after news like that?”
“We both know heads will fly. They must purge the riff-raff. I believe more and more that they’ll can me.”
“Don’t worry about it tonight. You will find out soon enough.”
They silenced as Viktoria scanned the countryside, for the first time gazing out at the Pennsylvania orchards she previously heard so much about. Set back from the two-lane road, apple trees lined both sides of the street, and before long, pear trees took their place.
“Too bad you’re not staying longer,” Jeff said. “The fall markets and seasonal get-togethers are magnificent. Us northern Pennsylvanians throw parties geared around fruit, such as all-things apples.”
“Every place has its attributes. Maybe I should bring a basket of fresh apples home to Long Island.”
Jeff frowned, sorry to contemplate her eventual departure. Before long, they parked in the lot of another of Jeff’s favorite eateries. A wooden deck surrounded the building and customers dotted the aluminum table sets. They asked the inside maître d’ for a table outside and tethered the dogs to the railing.
With menus in hand, Viktoria settled on grilled salmon and Jeff ordered a prime rib. When the waitress returned, she placed garlic bread and two glasses of wine on the table.
“To a fine dinner and fine company,” Jeff said, raising his glass.
“I second that notion.”
Their glasses clinked together and over the next hour and a half, Viktoria and Jeff grew more immersed in their conversation and less strained from the day
which faded behind them. They both waited for dessert—a bourbon bread pudding which they decided to share.
Mattie and Buddy remained patient and yet alert to the customers who went up and down the porch stairs. The golden retriever stood quickly when an old sedan’s engine rattled laboriously from the parking lot. Buddy stayed down and hardly flinched, but a few moments later, he stood and arched his back. Retching forward, he vomited to the side, as far away from his spot as his leash would allow.
“Buddy,” Viktoria said, and rose. She took a paper napkin and cleaned up the compact mess and laid it off to the side for disposal later, and moved Buddy a foot over while Jeff did the same with Mattie. “Are you okay?” She looked the dog over, but other than his vomiting and being less peppy than Mattie, she could see nothing else wrong. The area on his leg previously cared for also appeared to be fine.
“I hope he’s okay,” Jeff said.
“Maybe he caught a stomach bug.”
The dessert arrived and Jeff picked up a spoon. He extended his utensil over to Viktoria’s mouth with a scoop of the soft, bourbon y pudding. She obliged and opened her mouth.
“You’re stunning in the outdoor light, you know,” he said.
Viktoria closed her eyes, savoring the taste, and opened them. The handsome man across from her, the wine’s enhancement of her mellowness, and the loving dogs beside them were blissful. Her heartbeat pattered along with a slow, steady rhythm of contentment.
“Thank you, and this pudding is irresistible, like you.”
Jeff leaned further in. “So why resist?”
She again closed her eyes. Yes, why resist him? She could not remember having such a wonderful evening with a man in years. At home, she rarely sat with her husband for meals anymore. She had grown weary and intolerant of him scrolling through his iPhone, reading a magazine, or checking out what was on television in the background while they ate. And his actions were independent of his mental status, whether he was high or not.
