Off the Record

by Jill Elizabeth Nelson

  The nurse met the interruption with an impersonal glare from granite green eyes. “Please hold your request or question until I can get back to you in a few minutes.” The woman’s gaze fell to the chart that lay closed on the desk beyond the counter.

  Kate’s attention automatically fell to the binder as well. Nurse Pritchard’s meaty palm covered most of the resident’s name emblazoned in large print on the front, but Kate made out the first letter of the first name. It was S, and the little bit of the letter at the end of the last name looked as if it might belong on an R. Mrs. Kraemer’s file?

  The nurse let out a loud harrumph, snatched up the binder, and clutched it to her ample bosom. The renewed glare could have scorched a statue.

  Kate stepped back. “I beg your pardon. I was only going to say that we’re friends of Mrs. Kraemer’s family, and if there’s anything we can do, let us know.”

  Without acknowledging the offer—Kate wasn’t even sure the woman had heard it—Nurse Pritchard lifted her double chin and whirled away. She stabbed the key into the lock on the filing cabinet and jiggled but got no result. With a garbled mutter, she stuffed the key into her scrub-suit pocket and charged up the hall, chart still hugged in a death grip.

  Kate watched her go. The woman’s lack of response had been rude, but she was preoccupied. Evidently there was nothing Kate or Paul could do here.

  The rattle of wheels announced the approach of a gurney. A pair of intense-faced EMTs whisked the emergency bed toward Mrs. Kraemer’s apartment.

  Paul stepped up beside Kate. “Let’s get over to the hospital. We should be there when the Briddles arrive.”

  Kate nodded, her gaze on the hurrying EMTs. She prayed that Lucy Mae and Lawton would hear good news when they reached her mother’s side.

  Chapter Three

  Kate paced the emergency waiting room at the hospital, a Styrofoam cup of coffee molded in her hands. She attempted another sip of the brew and made a face. This stuff was worse than the black-as-Louisiana-mud concoction at the Country Diner in Copper Mill. Of course, she would never tell LuAnne Matthews, the waitress, why she generally drank tea when she visited the restaurant. Kate set the hospital coffee down on a table between a pair of stuffed chairs.

  Paul sat in one of the chairs, legs crossed, flipping through a health-and-fitness magazine. On the way over to the hospital, Kate had filled him in on what she’d overheard about anaphylactic shock and that some kind of medication error could have been the cause. Had she understood right that a new nurse had made a life-threatening mistake? And who was telling the lie that the aides at Orchard Hill were so upset about?

  The Briddles were going to have a lot of questions, and they deserved answers. Lucy Mae must be beside herself on the hour drive from Copper Mill to Chattanooga, not knowing her mother’s condition.

  Kate consulted her watch. “They should arrive any minute. I hope the doctor can give them a report soon.” She frowned toward the inner sanctum of emergency cubicles, where Mrs. Kraemer had disappeared. No one had as yet come out to see if family was present to discuss the prognosis. Was that a good or bad sign?

  Settling into a chair near Paul’s, Kate closed her eyes to pray some more, but the questions wouldn’t go away. Who had run crying past Mrs. Naples’ apartment? The young nurse? What kind of mistake had she made exactly? Allergic reactions were often associated with medications, so maybe the nurse had given Mrs. Kraemer the wrong medicine or an incorrect dosage. Weren’t nurses trained to double- and triple-check doctors’ orders? How could such a mistake have happened?

  “Oh, Kate...Paul.” A plaintive female voice exclaimed, announcing the arrival of Lucy Mae Briddle.

  Kate opened her eyes to see the dark-haired woman hurrying toward them, followed by her stocky husband, Lawton. Kate rose and hugged Lucy Mae, who all but collapsed against her. Over Lucy Mae’s quaking shoulders, Kate watched Paul and the mayor shake hands. Lawton’s face was stoic, but his rapidly blinking eyes spoke of deep emotion.

  Lucy Mae straightened and wiped at her cheeks. Her pearl gray eyes glistened with tears. “Thank you for staying. I know it was an imposition.”

  “Not at all,” Kate said. “We were happy to do it.”

  The woman wound her fingers together. “Have you heard anything?”

  Paul shook his head. “No word yet, but they probably wouldn’t tell us anyway. We’re not relatives.”

  “Well, then,” the mayor huffed. “It’s a good thing we’re here now. I’ll go check at the desk.”

  He strode away as if glad to have a task to pursue. However, he returned shortly with only a shrug to offer his distraught wife. Kate asked if she could get either of them a cup of coffee. Lucy Mae shook her head, but Lawton said yes. Then Paul insisted on running the errand, claiming he needed to stretch his legs. Kate wrinkled her nose at him, and he winked back. She sank into a chair next to the mayor’s wife and found her hand gripped in a vise between both of Lucy Mae’s.

  “We’re so glad you’re here for us,” the woman said. “At least we can be thankful friends were near at hand when this happened.”

  A tall, lanky man in blue scrubs with a stethoscope dangling from his neck approached their little group. Kate lifted her gaze to his somber one.

  Lucy Mae leaped to her feet. “Doctor, is my mother going to be all right? She’s Shirley Kraemer.”

  The doctor pulled a pair of glasses from his face and rubbed the bridge of his nose with the edge of his hand. “We’ve alleviated the anaphylactic shock, but the trauma has aggravated her heart arrhythmia. She’s still in serious condition. We’ll need to keep her here until the heart rate is under control.”

  “How long will that take?”

  “Hopefully only a day or two, but there are no guarantees with this kind of thing.”

  Lucy Mae drew herself up stiff. “What caused this allergic reaction? A medication? She’s very sensitive to different medicines.”

  The doctor’s gaze fell away, and he cleared his throat. “May I speak with you privately?” He motioned toward a room on the other side of the hall. “There are some...er...circumstances surrounding this incident that you should know about.”

  “You may speak to me and my husband”—Lucy Mae waved Lawton forward—“but then I want to see my mother.” The woman took several steps toward the consultation room, then turned and trotted back to Kate. “Thank you so much for your support today.”

  Paul stepped up with the coffee, and Lawton took the cup from him. “I know you folks went out of your way for us. If you’d like to get on back to Copper Mill now, we’ll understand.”

  “Not so fast, Lawton,” Lucy Mae chirped. “I didn’t ask them to stay just for us. I want Pastor Paul to come along to mother’s room and say a prayer.”

  Lawton grimaced a smile. “I should have thought of that myself.”

  The mayor, his wife, and the doctor disappeared into the small meeting room. Kate looked at Paul, who shook his head. If Kate had put two and two together properly from what she’d overheard at Orchard Hill, the Briddles weren’t going to like the doctor’s explanation of why Shirley Kraemer was in serious condition.

  The sound of raised voices drifted from the consultation room. Soon, Lucy Mae and Lawton stalked out. The mayor’s face and nearly bald head resembled a beefsteak tomato, but Lucy Mae’s color could only be described as a bilious shade of puce.

  “Can you believe it?” She strode up to Kate. “A nurse gave my mother the wrong medication. Mother could have died! She—”

  “Hush, now, dear.” Her husband laid a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll take this up later. Right now, we need to go see her, and we want to be calm. You won’t want to upset her further.”

  Lucy Mae heaved a long breath. “You’re quite right, Lawton. Come along.”

  She marched up a hallway to an elevator, her husband trailing. Kate and Paul followed in their wake.

  When they got to Mrs. Kraemer’s room, the woman’s eyes were open, and she attempted a
smile, but her complexion resembled melted wax, and tubes fed oxygen through her nostrils. Wires led from her body to a machine that beeped an irregular rhythm.

  Compassion surged through Kate as she touched Shirley Kraemer’s hand while Paul prayed for her recovery and wisdom for the medical staff. The Briddles thanked him and Kate once more as the elderly woman’s eyes drifted shut in sleep.

  As the Hanlons walked out of the hospital, Paul’s elbow in Kate’s ribs nudged her out of a silent funk. “What are you thinking about, hon? Trying to figure something out? I know that look on your face.”

  Kate sighed. “Let’s just say I have a lot of questions about what happened today.”

  Paul hummed a noncommittal sound. “What do you say you give that inquiring mind of yours a rest for a while, and I take you out to supper before we head for home?”

  “Sounds terrific.” Kate slipped her hand into his. “A date with you is exactly what I need after a day like this.”

  LATE FRIDAY EVENING, Kate relaxed in her rocking chair in front of a small fire popping in the river-rock fireplace that occupied one corner of their living room. Spring evenings could be cool in the Tennessee mountains, and the little blaze was welcome as she nursed a cup of mint tea. Nearby, Paul lounged in an overstuffed chair, reading the Copper Mill Chronicle, their community’s weekly newspaper. The paper came out on Thursday, but a church meeting the previous night had kept him from enjoying it until now.

  Kate sipped at her tea and stretched her stocking-clad toes toward the fire. Scenes from the incident at Orchard Hill kept running past her mind’s eye. Something about it felt...off. And it was more than that bombshell about the medication error. Was she mistaken, or had several members of the staff acted strangely during the incident?

  Who was the thin woman who had made changes in a medical chart in the middle of a crisis? She’d seemed more than flustered. Kate recalled her heavy breaths and deathly pale face. Was the chart Shirley Kraemer’s, or did someone else live at Orchard Hill with a first name that began with S and a last name that ended with R? It certainly was possible, but it would be quite a coincidence. And why had Nurse Pritchard been so rude when Kate approached the desk with an offer of help? The woman had acted downright paranoid over protecting that chart. Did that indicate it was actually Mrs. Kraemer’s file, or was Kate jumping to conclusions?

  Then there were the aides. They sure seemed eager to believe the worst about a co-worker. And what was that mention of a lie all about? Lying usually meant someone was trying to conceal a painful or damaging truth. Could the aides have been attempting some kind of cover-up concerning the patient records? No, they had been the only ones not involved with the chart. Their comment must have had something to do with the mistake that had caused Mrs. Kraemer’s allergic reaction. But could the medical chart and the mistake be connected?

  She didn’t need to be flirting with conspiracy theories quite yet. Her brain was really getting out there. Kate sighed and took another sip of tea. She didn’t have enough information to answer any of those questions.

  “I hope Mrs. Kraemer’s doing well tonight,” she said out loud to Paul. “Lawton and Lucy Mae were really upset. I’ve never seen them so—”

  “You’ve got to be kidding!” Paul’s exclamation interrupted Kate’s musings.

  “What?” She set her cup on the side table.

  Her husband got up and came over to her chair. He showed her the paper and pointed to an article at the bottom of the front page of the Chronicle. “There’s going to be a blood drive in the Copper Mill Elementary School gymnasium two weeks from tomorrow.”

  Kate chuckled at Paul’s astonishment about the news. “That sounds great, but what’s so amazing?”

  “It could be amazing. It will probably be amusing. But it will definitely take some heavy-duty defusing. I wonder who they’re going to get to do that.”

  Kate laced her fingers and cocked her head. “Now you’ve got me mystified.”

  Paul angled a smirk at her. “You’ll never guess who the city council placed in charge of the event.”

  Smiling back, Kate tapped the end of her chin with her pointer finger. “I give up. Are you going to tell me?”

  “Renee Lambert and Joe Tucker.”

  “You’re kidding!” Kate sat back in her chair and laughed with Paul.

  He pointed at the paper. “That’s what I just said. But evidently they’re not. It’s right here in black and white.”

  Renee and Joe were both members of Faith Briar Church. Joe was as opinionated as he was faithful and as down-home as he was intelligent. And Renee was as bossy as she was generous and as fancy as she was proud. They were both go-getters, but the two had distinct ways of doing things, and their approaches mixed like grits and caviar.

  Kate laughed. “I hope the event doesn’t turn into more of a circus than a service to the community.”

  Paul echoed her chuckle. “Whatever happens, it’s sure to be quite interesting.”

  Chapter Four

  Shortly before ten thirty the next morning, the tiny bell over the door and the smell of perm solution greeted Kate as she walked into Betty’s Beauty Parlor on Main Street. As usual, the place was crowded.

  From one of the three vinyl salon chairs, Dot Bagley’s plump face broke into a wide grin, while Betty, the salon owner, snipped away at the woman’s steel-colored hair. Alicia and Ronda, the other stylists, attended Arletta Walner, the Copper Mill Elementary School principal, and Melvin McKinney, the manager at the Mid-Cumberland Bank and Trust. Two other women, Abby Pippins and Emma Blount, waited their turns on a padded bench at the front of the shop. All the women called a greeting, but Melvin only managed a wave. Normally he was a people person, but his eyes, behind his horn-rimmed glasses, looked a bit glazed from an overload of female company.

  Kate took a place on the bench beside Abby, another member of Faith Briar. The kindhearted woman sent Kate a smile, and the two of them added to the din of chatter in the room.

  A few minutes later, the front door sprang open, bell jingling as if it might break its clapper, and Lucy Mae Briddle burst inside. “This is an emergency,” she announced.

  Kate stiffened. “Your mother, you mean? Has she taken a turn for the worse?”

  “Oh no, not that. Though she’s no better. It’s this.” Lucy Mae fluffed her gray-streaked hair. “I need to return to Chattanooga right after lunch to sit with Mother at the hospital, and I’m desperate for a cut and a style. Betty”—she looked toward the salon owner—“is there any possible way you could squeeze—”

  “Your mother’s back in the hospital?” Arletta interrupted. “I thought she just got out after her hip-replacement surgery.”

  Lucy Mae pruned her lips. “You won’t believe what happened. A nurse at Orchard Hill gave her Vicodin as a pain reliever. Vicodin! Mother’s deathly allergic to it.” Her chin quivered. “We almost lost her yesterday.”

  The beauty shop went quiet. Then everyone chorused their sympathies for Mrs. Kraemer.

  “Aw, honey”—Betty clucked her tongue—“we’ll get you done some way.”

  Ronda pointed her comb at the upset mayor’s wife. “I’m about done here. If you others don’t mind waiting, I’ll do Lucy Mae first.”

  Kate rose. “I could skip my appointment.”

  “Oh no, I couldn’t possibly take your place, Kate.” Lucy Mae pressed a hand to her chest. “That wouldn’t be right.”

  “I insist.” Kate bobbed a nod.

  “You’re a gem!” The woman made a happy sound and hugged Kate for a nanosecond, then beelined for the spot being vacated by Melvin.

  The man slipped out the front door, looking anything but sad to make his escape. Kate started to exit behind him.

  “Hold on now,” Betty called, and Kate turned. The salon owner motioned for her to sit down. “We might have to do some juggling, but we’ll fit everyone in.”

  Kate’s gaze followed Ronda and Lucy Mae into the shampoo room behind an oak partition. “
If you’re sure.” She settled back onto the bench.

  “Positive.” The salon owner grinned. “Betty’s Beauty Parlor has the fastest scissors in town.”

  Abby giggled. “Easy for you to say, Betty Anderson, when you’re the only place in town that offers a haircut.”

  Betty shot Abby a mock glower. “That’s enough out of a certain sassy customer who just might have to start getting her dos in Pine Ridge.”

  Everyone laughed, though Kate silently noticed that Lucy Mae, now hidden behind the partition, didn’t join in. Dot’s cut was finished, and Emma Blount heaved to her feet and lumbered over to take her turn in Betty’s chair. Dot picked up a magazine and claimed Emma’s place on the bench. Kate suppressed a smile. Dot was as sweet as they come, but she was also a flourishing conduit on the Copper Mill grapevine. She wasn’t about to miss anything else that Lucy Mae might spill. Ronda brought the mayor’s wife back into the main room and started trimming away.

  “It’s the hydrocodone in Vicodin that Mother can’t tolerate,” Lucy Mae said. “It’s well known at Orchard Hill that Mother’s terribly sensitive to all kinds of medications.”

  “I thought I heard that the nurse who administered the Vicodin is new at Orchard Hill,” Kate commented as she watched Abby settle into the salmon-colored chair in front of Alicia.

  Lucy Mae awarded Kate with a disgusted look. “She’s not just new at Orchard Hill. She’s a fresh graduate from nursing school. But nurses aren’t supposed to issue medication willy-nilly, no matter how green they are.”

  “That’s the part I don’t understand.” Kate sat up straighter. “Why would she give medicine without a doctor’s order?”

  Lucy Mae’s perfectly plucked brows pinched together. “Exactly. The little conniver is trying to get out of tak-ing responsibility for her actions. She insists there was an order for Vicodin in the chart, but now it’s mysteriously disappeared.”