Shoot Not to Kill

by Daniel L Stephenson

  Nursing stations dotted the walls and exam rooms lined up behind the door. Dr. Slobeck introduced Geech to the nurse that seemed to be running the show.

  “Lucille, this is Dr. Geech, I am escorting him about. He’s interested in thoracic surgery, and may be interested in our hospital. May I show him Dr. Ballows’s office?”

  “Hi, I’m Lucille Lidig, and you certainly may see that office. It is right over here. Best view in the wing, next to Dr. Slobeck’s office,” Lucille said as she guided Geech by the elbow to a room with an impressive view.

  “Thank you Ms. Lidig, I’ll just stretch out here for a minute and enjoy the view.”

  Lucille exited and closed the door to Geech and Dr. Slobeck. Geech began going through the drawers. There were pens that advertised potency medications, diabetes medications, antibiotics, and stool softeners. Papers in the desk contained notes from labs on patients and dated back almost a year. Several had Dr. Ballows’s name on the ordering physician’s block. In a deep drawer, Geech found a notebook. It was a date book, and belonged to a Dr. Ridell. Finally, several prescription pads were cast about. These were generic to the hospital.

  “Dr. Slobeck, do you know a Dr. Ridell?” Geech asked.

  “He was an intern here last year. Went on to Seattle for internal medicine. No connection.”

  “OK, here’s a book he left,” Geech said as he passed it to Dr. Slobeck. Geech continued his search until he was fairly certain there were no clues. As he slid the drawers closed a receipt fell from the first drawer. It had been pushed over the back of that drawer and pulled out when Geech opened the drawer. The receipt was for a storage unit in Palmer called ‘The Arctic Cold Storage.’ It was during the time frame of Dr. Ballows’s work, and had a name that had been torn off. It was for unit 213.

  “Do you mind if I keep this?” Geech asked Dr. Slobeck.

  “No, hope it helps.”

  “Do you have a phone log for each of your phones?” Geech asked.

  “Clueless, we’ll have to go to plant management.”

  Geech picked up the phone and noted which line was automatically connected and wrote it down with a Viagra pen onto stationary that advertised a cholesterol medication. “OK, please take me to them, and then I’ll be out of your hair.”

  “Mr. Geech, I need to ask you something. We are a little hospital. If I have someone in Anchorage that wants to work out here on a weekend, I have my secretary write the boss in Anchorage and get a confirmation, and he has privileges here as locums. That may be what we did with Dr. Ballows, that or something similar. If that is the case, are we under any liability for allowing him to practice here?”

  Geech rubbed his chin for a moment, then said, “Dr. Slobeck, I am not the one to answer that. I would have to pass that question to our department. Right now we’re working Medicare fraud. If you bill for his services, and he was not a qualified physician, you may be in a position that is hard to defend. I would hold all his billing, review who he saw and what he did, and determine if there were outcomes that were questionable. Then I would hold my breath and see what happens. If no suits come from this, no one will have to determine if the process was appropriate. I am not sure what my department will do with it, but if you did allow him to practice here on a phone verification from Anchorage, you may be in a difficult position to defend.”

  “Thank you. I’ll try to get to the bottom of it. Why did it have to happen on my watch?”

  “That may be a good thing, Dr. Slobeck. It may not affect you, as you have not acted on credentialing recommendations that are fraudulent. Your predecessor did, and he may have troubles.”

  They went to plant management. The phones dumped into a computer in Anchorage. The plant manager said he had never had the necessity to look at the phone calls, as the line was a leased line and cost the same if it was sitting quiet or if it were working overtime. Geech noted the name of the manager and suggested he would be requesting the information soon, and that he would go through Mr. Surge.

  The drive back to Anchorage was interesting in the beauty and the size of the area. The number of recreational vehicles was staggering.

  Geech called Michelle that night.

  “Hey, girl. He was here. He quit a month ago. Did the same switch for credentials he likely did in Missouri. Not sure what had him leave, but he didn’t seem to be in any hurry.”

  “Great. Well, I’m getting nowhere here. Seems the billing trail has run out. What are you doing now, coming home or what?” Michelle asked, yawning.

  “What time is it there?” Geech asked.

  “It is 3:00 am. Why?”

  “It is hardly dark here. Sorry, I forgot I’m so far away.”

  “That’s OK. You staying up there for any length of time?” Michelle asked.

  “Not sure. Think I’ll go over to the big hospital in Anchorage and snoop around. I had to gag the guys in Palmer, and don’t have the authority to do that in Anchorage, so can’t get too busy. Likely be home in two days.”

  “OK, well, we’ll talk. I think he slipped through again.”

  “Looks that way. See you soon. High to Colin.”

  “Good night,” Michelle said as she rang off.

  Geech was walking to his hotel room and heard automatic weapons fire some distance away. He ducked, and looked about. The others on the street looked at him and laughed. Someone yelled, “You must be from the lower forty-eight. That’s just high spirits here.” That brought a collective laugh as the group continued past the hotel.

  The next day, Geech headed back out to Palmer. He carried a small case he had picked up in his travels with the FBI. The Arctic Cold Storage was an impressive site. Geech drove in and noted the gate seemed substantial. Doors lined several levels of storage, and he found unit 213 on the second floor of a four-story building, third building back. The unit was just a normal door along a wall of small units. The lock was a standard common lock, but still took Geech several minutes to open. Geech stepped to one side and pulled the door open. Nothing surprising happened, and he peeked around the corner into the storage unit. It contained several boxes of medical books and old patient records. The hospital listed on the records was Matsu Valley Hospital, and the records appeared to be fairly fresh and all copies. Geech began examining the records and found no information that suggested any connection to Bishell. Other boxes contained clothes for a man and a woman, as well as some that suggested a child. No significant identification or other information was in the locker. After searching the boxes, Geech closed and locked the door. It was time to fly home.

  Chapter 36

  Kotzebue, Alaska

  Geech answered the call very early the next morning. “Paul Geech here,” he said.

  “Paul, this is Tony. We have something that is interesting, you mind spending a few more days in Alaska?” Tony asked.

  “No, what’s up?”

  “Well, one of the guys got an idea and tried to contact the locums agency that the Palmer hospital provided to us yesterday evening. Seems it is a hired service and a professional answering agency, and the gal must be real new because she indicated Dr. Ballows is presently engaged in Kotzebue, a town way up north on the coast. I’d like to send you up there for a day or two, see if you see our man, and then let us know. If you sniff him out, we’ll send a couple agents up with the local cops and try to pull him in,” Tony explained.

  “Sure, this place, is it on the tourist route here in Alaska? I’d fit in a lot easier if it has a pack of new faces every day,” Geech suggested.

  “From what I hear, all of Alaska is on the tourist route this time of year. Your tickets will be at the counter, no action, go in and get out.”

  “You want me to apply for work as an EMT up there?” Geech asked.

  “Well, now that might not be a bad idea. Why don’t you call around and see if you can get your EMT registration accepted up there, and if you can, we could put you in place. I’ll have to talk with the hospital administrator to get you on if there�
�s no opening, but that can be managed. Call around, wander up there, and call me when you have more information. Good thinking.”

  Geech called several licensing agencies and finally found the correct office. They told him he would have to provide proof of currency, proof of continuing education, and recent employment was optional depending on if he worked the Northern Slope with the oil companies, or some little hospital. Geech was surprised they accepted his credentials faxed to them, and within a day, he was licensed as and EMT in Alaska.

  Kotzebue surprised him. The town was located on the water north of Nome, on a little spit of land. There were no trees, but skeletons of coniferous trees used at Christmas still adorned the beach. The hospital was new, located close to the edge of town, but the entire town was close to an edge. Native Eskimos ran all over town on all terrain vehicles. Geech had to laugh when he saw the locals ride their ATVs across the street to meet friends. Teenagers whipped by at great speed all hours of the night on these vehicles.

  A bulletin board in the front hall of the hospital showed positions open. There were none for an EMT. Geech went into the office and asked to speak to the hospital administrator. A young man said quietly and simply, “That’s me.”

  Geech suppressed a surprised gawk and smiled, extending his hand. “Hi, then. I am Paul Geech, and I’m up here looking for the Alaskan adventure. I’m an EMT and would like to find a job to support myself here for a while. What is your name?” Geech asked as he gestured to a chair.

  The administrator waved to the chair, “I’m Ed Skaktoolik. Pleased to meet you, Paul. So you’re an EMT, ‘eh? Well, guess there’s always something we need. Where are you staying? This is a pretty small town, and if you just got here, I might be able to help you find something to live in. This being summer, there are a lot of folks gone to Anchorage, and some are gone to fire teams from Alaska, and they travel all over the United States. Anyway, I can help you get a place to stay. Margie is our PA, and she’s leaving for two weeks. I can’t have you seeing patients, but I sure could use an EMT to cover the ER. You interested in that? You’ll have to work with Dr. Barrows, he’s the surgeon. And we’ve got another doctor here that’s a family practitioner.”

  Geech’s neck hair stood up at the sound of Dr. Barrow’s name. “I can do that. And thanks, Ed, I do need a place to stay. I’m running on my savings and have just enough to get back home to Missouri when I’m done, so the work will keep me in food.”

  “Sure enough. Well, you might as well get to know Margie, she’ll show you around. Your first day is tomorrow, and we’ll talk salary now if you like. I can’t firm it up until I take it to the Kotzebue Native Corporation. They have to sign the contract, but we can make it worth your while for a few weeks,” Ed said as he stood to shake Geech’s hand.

  “Thanks, I’ll get my papers to you in the morning, too.”

  Geech met Margie and looked over the small ER minor surgery suite. He found the staff helpful and friendly. Ed went to the native corporation office to get a contract, and Geech was told to wait, as Ed would take him to a small apartment that was available. Geech found the cafeteria for the hospital and sat listening to three nurses talk of their respective terrible pregnancies to a fourth young nurse that sat looking more and more dejected and forlorn. Geech suspected this fourth nurse was pregnant for the first time.

  Two doctors walked into the cafeteria. Geech did not recognize the first one and did not want to appear too interested, so went into his backpack for something while the two physicians purchased coffee and made small talk. Geech looked up and saw Bishell. He was heavier than Geech expected, as well as older and grayer, but Bishell. Bishell had rings on several fingers and a large mustache oddly dark compared to his graying hair. Bishell looked about him in the cafeteria and caught Geech’s eye before Geech could look away. Bishell had dark eyelashes as well, and a penetrating gaze that seemed to survey the area and size everyone up in seconds, then go back and stare deeply at whatever caught his attention. Much to Geech’s dismay he seemed to have caught Bishell’s undivided attention for many seconds. Bishell finally turned away and resumed an animated discussion with the other doctor, resurveying the room on several occasions. He never met Geech’s eyes again, and Geech made an attempt to read the Alaskan guidebook.

  Bishell and the other physician walked out, both had one hand casually tucked into their pant pocket, pushing the white coats back. Geech noted Bishell’s pager and cell phone was located on his left side, suggesting he was perhaps left-handed. Geech felt a wave of relief when Bishell left without another close examination.

  Ed returned soon with a contract that impressed Geech. They signed, and Ed took Geech to his grandfather’s house.

  “Grandpa, this is a guy that needs a room with a door outside. Can he take the apartment upstairs? He’s working for me,” Ed said as he turned the television down.

  “Hi, Eddie, what are you doing?” Grandpa said as he smiled a toothless smile. “Where’s Dottie? She’s supposed to take me to the store and fix dinner.”

  “Grandpa, Dottie is working for another hour. She knows you want to go to the Alaska Company Store, don’t worry. Can we use the apartment for a few weeks, maybe a month?” Ed asked again.

  Grandpa looked at Geech and smiled, holding out his hand, “You signing on for fishing season?” he asked.

  Ed smiled, “Grandpa was a fisherman, and he thinks the only reason someone comes up here is to be a fisherman. I used to fish with him, but now he’s too old.”

  “I ain’t too old, you little toot. You sold my boat,” Grandpa said.

  “Geech, Grandpa has a good point there, we did sell his boat, but that was because he was escorted back once by the coast guard, but it was the Russian Coast Guard, and they told him to stay home. Grandpa Eddie, I’m named after him, can we put this guy in the apartment until fishing season’s over?” Ed asked.

  “Sure, always room. He’ll have to fix the toilet, though. Froze up last winter, and we’ve not used it since.”

  “Grandpa, that was three winters ago, and I’ll fix it today. Paul will pay you what you want, if you are reasonable,” Ed said.

  Grandpa Eddie smiled his toothless grin again and asked, “And if I’m not reasonable?”

  “Then we’ll go to Aunt Lois at the Bayside Inn. She’ll rent Paul the summer house.”

  “No, you won’t. She’ll scalp you, Paul,” Grandpa Eddie said. “You can stay in the place free if you fix the pot and don’t burn us out. Gotta eat down here if you want to cook. If you don’t want to cook, you can get a pizza delivered from Nome for forty bucks, it’s real good, but it only comes on days the mail plane comes in.”

  “Thanks, Grandpa,” Ed said. “I’ll go get my tools and some parts from the Alaska Company, and we’ll fix the pot right now. Mr. Geech, you can get your stuff from the airport or wherever you have it? Meet me back here in an hour. I’m walking, most folks ride their ATVs around here, but there is a taxi, if you’re interested.”

  “I’ll walk.”

  Chapter 37

  Kotzebue Hospital

  Geech worked with Margie the next few days, getting a feeling for the ER and his responsibilities. Margie came in on her last day before vacation. “Paul, I feel badly about leaving you at this time. The native corporation is just about to hand out the corporate checks. That means money flows pretty freely up here. We’re supposed to be dry in this town, but the booze gets here somehow when the money is there, and it usually means a pretty wild time in the ER. How are you with suturing? Any problems? Dr. Ballows will help, but last time I called him in, he was pretty obviously pissed that I was bothering him with something so trivial as suturing a leg.”

  “I’m OK with it. I don’t have the experience you do, but I’ll manage. Can I call the other doctor in to back me up?” Geech asked as he sat down in Margie’s office.

  “Dr. Gibbs is cool with that. He’ll help all he can if he’s in town. He likes to get out once in awhile, but if he’s here, he is a
big help.”

  “OK, anything else you think I should know?” Geech asked as he stood to leave.

  “No, I’ll be back in two weeks, hope you stay on for awhile. It has been fun to have another face around here,” Margie said as she started closing her computer down.

  “Yeah, I may hang for a while. Fishing season’s coming up, might do that.”

  “Likely as not, you’ll pass that up. The fishing has been real poor last few years, and a lot of the locals have sold their licenses to big companies that come in once every few years. Not much action there. The slope may need you, but they usually have a pretty stable population there. Some of the villages on the Yukon are always looking, but I have to tell you, there’s good reason they can’t keep staff up there. Anyway, Paul, enjoy, and Ed is a good guy, even if he’s young. If he can’t help you, he’ll find someone that can,” Margie said as she turned her lights off.

  Geech was in the ER twice the first night, and the first Saturday he seemed to spend most of the day in the clinic. Dr. Gibbs proved good to Margie’s summation; he was available and helpful at all times. The following week had a fairly bad four-wheel all-terrain vehicle accident at one in the morning. Geech still was surprised to walk to work in near daylight. The kid riding the four-wheeler had hit a building and cut his neck fairly deeply. Geech knew he couldn’t fix it and called Clinker.

  “Dr. Ballows, this is Paul Geech in ER. I need you to come in to see a kid that was on a four-wheeler and got cut up pretty badly,” Geech said.

  “You can’t handle it? What did they hire you for, playing cards on the computer?” Dr. Ballows asked.

  “Sir, they hired me to take care of what I could, and to call the doctor on call when I’m over my head. I need you to look at this guy.”