Corruption in the Or

by Barbara Ebel

  Jeff looked and nodded. “Forward the picture to me. Should I suspect anyone in particular, or don’t you know?”

  “If I were you, I would do some snooping around on Wednesday morning regarding the case load during the previous night. Jay Huff is on call Tuesday, tomorrow night.”

  Jeff rubbed his hand over his forehead. “I hate to hear that. Again, nothing leaves this table. You’ve given me more than enough to investigate this further myself.”

  “I’ll hold you to it.”

  “You thoroughly withhold the Hippocratic Oath regarding the business and moral ethics of physicians. How refreshing.” He edged the plate of cheese sticks toward her, and she picked one up. “

  “Well, most physicians do. In this instance, I hate to be a snitch, but I got wind of a problem and I can’t let my conscience just sit on it.”

  “Thank you, Viktoria.” He picked up his beer and tapped it against her wine glass. “Now, on to the pleasure part of the evening.” This time he locked onto her eyes.

  -----

  Jeff slid the remaining cheese sticks to the center of the table when Melody arrived with their entrees. “Plates are hot,” she said, placing them down. “Enjoy your meal.”

  Their forks rose at the same time and Viktoria sampled a golden-brown edge of a crab cake. “Scrumptious,” she said, rolling her eyes.

  “Would you like a sample?” Jeff asked.

  “I’m not shy. Bring it on.”

  Jeff cut a quarter of his steak and transferred it to her plate while she sliced her second crab cake and slipped him a sample as well.

  “Thanks for sharing,” he said.

  “Partners in crime,” she agreed, and tasted his steak. Buddy sat attentive, his ears alert, and his eyes glued between her and the dinner plate. She laughed and looked at Jeff. “We shouldn’t, should we?”

  “You give him a sample and it’ll be like giving a toddler one lick of an ice cream cone.”

  She hunched her shoulders, getting close to Buddy’s face. “Did you hear that? He called you a toddler. But Mr. Appleton is correct. Your desire to have a second, and a third piece of steak will be solicitous, if not demanding.”

  “Smart dog. He is extremely attentive to you, besides the food. He’s in love.”

  Viktoria straightened up. “He hasn’t been with me that long to fall in love.”

  “Haven’t you heard of love at first sight, head over heels, bolt from the blue?”

  She speared an asparagus and grimaced by mistake.

  “I guess not,” he said with a frown.

  “No, there is merit to those sayings.”

  “But not for you?”

  “You could say that. My husband mentioned love at first sight after we met.”

  “But?”

  “You are single. Not that this would go any further than this table, but would you like to find out my thoughts about marriage?”

  “Absolutely. But I have nothing to offer in return. Seems like you are an Icelandic Goddess come to Lake Erie with words of wisdom and heretofore undiscovered business practices.” He gestured with his hand and a smile to continue.

  “First of all, look around at the majority of heterosexual marriages you personally know or see. I will starkly tell you the progression of the relationship over time. First, Sally and Simon are lovers. Okay, great—the blissful years. Next thing you know, they are best friends, and the lover part is sliding away over an embankment. Next, the best friend’s part is losing steam and you could say that Sally and Simon can be best summed up as two roommates. And here comes the big bang. It’s a matter of time before the two roommates can barely tolerate each other. And I mean barely.”

  Having rested his fork on the plate, Jeff stared in amazement. “Wow. I’ve never heard what I suspected all along to be verbalized so succinctly. The scary part is that you probably speak the truth.” He furrowed his forehead and leaned in. “You seem to have this all figured out, more so than anyone I’ve ever talked to on the subject. So how do two people start off on a better foot or start off at all, in your opinion?”

  Viktoria considered his question, not sure how much she should continue. She was no expert in relationship or marital psychology or psychiatry, but some of what she’d gleaned was from personal experience. After searching his face, she believed he was open minded and curious about her thoughts, so decided to share one more thing.

  “Would you like to listen to my spiel about what to ask on a date, especially if you are searching for a true-blue partner or soulmate?”

  “Please, absolutely.”

  “Think about how important first dates, first impressions are. You take in each other physical attributes and facial features, and launch into questions about what they do for a living, what recreational activities they like, their favorite music, places they’ve traveled to, etc., etc.”

  Jeff chewed on a succulent piece of steak, all ears.

  “Asking what your date’s favorite movie or restaurant is, is less important than asking this—you walk into your apartment or house after work, jacket and bag in hand, and what do you do? Walk me through it. Do you get pissed off at your dog who tinkled on the area rug after waiting twelve hours for you to get home? Do you go straight to the refrigerator for a beer and plop on the sofa for an hour to drink and eat potato chips? As the evening progresses, do you have habits that you would camouflage from the person you’re dating? Do you have a stash of recreational drugs that your partner would disapprove of, so you use them on the sly? Do you gamble away a huge chunk of your monthly income, or is your down-time before retiring a long session with online pornography? You see, knowing the answers to questions like these will be the information you need to go forward or not in a relationship. At least it would be for me. Not that I followed my own advice the first time around.”

  Jeffrey washed down his steak with some beer. “Wow. You are so correct. When I start dating someone, I assume they don’t have those negative attributes. Better to be blunt and ask.”

  “Otherwise, you’ll find out later what was concealed from you from the get-go.” She frowned and speared the last piece of crab cake.

  “I don’t mean to pry, but it sounds like you speak from experience.”

  “Ha! My directness will shock you. You could say that my participation in my own marriage is the basis of my knowledge.”

  .

  CHAPTER 26

  “Dinner was wonderful,” Viktoria said. “You didn’t need to pick up the tab.”

  She walked with Jeff Appleton along a sidewalk which stretched along a southern section of Lake Erie. Buddy and Mattie bobbed their heads up and down and bumped into each other along the way. Fast walkers, couples, and joggers shared the path and went in both directions. Every so often, a mist flew from the chop of the waves, and sprinkled past their faces.

  “The restaurant bill will go on my expense account, so don’t worry about that. We had business to discuss and you alluded to a topic that could be very important to the hospital. However, since that was a work-related issue, it means I would like to now really ask you out to dinner, not related to business, but as friends.”

  She slowed her pace and glanced over. He was studying her face, anticipating her reply. Needing to make a decision, she wondered how innocent his invitation was regarding going out as “friends.” But she liked him, and it was not uncommon for her to eat out with male colleagues and friends without her husband, especially since she traveled.

  “Sounds like another fine evening. I hate to impose on anyone, but you’re my official restaurant tourist guide.”

  “We can go somewhere different, and we can take the dogs or not.”

  “If we don’t bring them along, why don’t we leave them together in my hotel room?”

  “Or at my place. They could romp in the backyard. You could spring Buddy from the four walls of your Stay Long Hotel.”

  “That sounds wonderful. He’s all ears.” Buddy happened to glance up and Viktoria poin
ted at him.

  “So, tell me more about Iceland. My travels outside the U.S. have been few, so I googled your country and the first advertising that showed up was for some spa called the Blue Lagoon. A tourist trap or a must see?”

  “Not a must see, but a must participate. The lagoon’s hype is well deserved and it is one of the country’s most popular attractions. It’s a geothermal spa and the water comes from the geothermal power station nearby. The water is phenomenal, a milky blue color which is due to a high silica content, and it sits in volcanic rock. It looks like something out of the movie “Avatar.”

  “You can’t imagine wading in it in the dead of winter because the temperature of the water averages a hundred or a hundred- and one-degrees Fahrenheit. Quite heavenly. There’s a soft white mud which forms on the bottom from the silica and people rub it on themselves because it’s healthy for your skin. In addition, it has proven health benefits.”

  “With your medical knowledge, is that really true?”

  “Yes, that’s how it all started. A patient with psoriasis bathed in the runoff water from the power plant years ago and discovered that his skin condition markedly improved. Studies confirmed the water’s beneficial effect and the Blue Lagoon became a company and opened facilities. If you decide to test your travel legs and set off for the country where the sun never sets, then be sure to prebook your ticket. You can’t just walk in there and take a dip.”

  “So, I can’t be a procrastinating tourist. Isn’t it too cold in winter? Aren’t there far more tourists in the summer?”

  “For sure. And you would experience Iceland’s nightless sky. Instead of setting, the sun scoots across the horizon. Not that I’m prejudiced, but the country, in my opinion, is the most unique continent in the whole world. One which is the most other-worldly, like it is the diamond in the rough of all countries.”

  “Sounds fantastic. You are giving me a bug to travel, or at least, to check out places in Iceland.”

  Viktoria nodded as a sea mist came their way. It made Buddy frisky and he picked up his pace. “Maybe we should turn around. I am not a night owl and by the time we get back to Masonville, I’ll be ready to turn in. My specialty dictates getting up way before sunrise and going to bed when people are just finishing their dinner.”

  “I hear you. I am fortunate that I really don’t have to start work until eight o’clock.”

  They turned and a silence filled the air. The seconds stretched into a minute, but a feeling of comfort grew along the way. They both held their dog’s leashes and took in the scenery of the husky trees, the great lake, and their four-legged friends leading the way.

  Jeff opened the back of his vehicle when they returned to the restaurant’s parking lot and the dogs jumped in. At the Stay Long Hotel, he let Buddy jump back out and Viktoria left him off leash. She petted Mattie on the head. “Nice to meet you, girl.”

  “I’ll see you at the hospital,” Jeff said, closing the Jeep door. “How about we touch base and see which day would work out best for both of us to grab dinner again?”

  “I would like that. Thanks for the fine meal and for Buddy’s opportunity to make a new friend—a girlfriend.”

  Jeff’s eyes met hers. “You’re welcome. My pleasure.”

  -----

  Jeffrey pulled away from the hotel and peered back in his rear-view mirror as Viktoria disappeared into her room. As he drove along Hospital Road, his thoughts were stuck on the female Icelander who was the most distinct and interesting woman he had ever met who was also close to his age.

  He wondered if the attraction he felt was solely due to the allure of her background. He’d been to numerous big cities, including the Big Apple; and Canada, the Bahamas, and Newfoundland, but he had never traveled anywhere else. Her country appealed to him, although he practically knew nothing about it.

  But there was more to her than her country of origin. She was damn independent and brave to be on the road herself and to work in a totally new hospital where she was an outsider. For her job, she needed to adapt to a new environment where she was essentially in charge of patients’ lives. He imagined a person needed guts to subject themselves to that.

  And her attractiveness. She had a rugged, earthy appearance which he found totally enchanting. No woman he ever dated came close to her figure, looks, or intelligence. There was a magnetism about her.

  He pulled into the driveway of his single-story ranch with a fenced-in backyard, let Mattie out in the garage, and opened the door into the kitchen.

  “I hope you liked your new friend,” Jeff said, letting his Golden retriever go in the house first, “because I really like Buddy’s mom. Too bad she’s married.”

  -----

  As she drove to the hospital on Tuesday morning, Viktoria’s thoughts jumped from one thing to another. On the plus side, she had thoroughly enjoyed her evening with Jeff Appleton the day before and hoped she would more regularly bump into him at work—which could not be that often since most of her time was spent in the OR.

  There were other things to attend to as well, such as checking on Fred,

  the worker from the hotel, especially since she wondered if he had been regularly doing drugs at the worksite. How could his co-workers not have known? How could they not have stopped him? He could have died, or perhaps he passed away overnight. And how on earth were IV drugs like that accessible to someone like him? Was there some underground drug lord in this small town keeping people hooked and stocked with potent drugs that should theoretically only be used by, and in the hands of, anesthesiologists and critical care physicians?

  Secondly, did Evie, the laboratory director, finish the mass spectrometer reading of the drug syringe she had brought her yesterday from Casey Johnston’s case? Did she verify its content—supposedly fentanyl?

  And thirdly, she was way too curious what the results of Jeff’s investigation would be regarding the reimbursement-slip, cell phone picture she forwarded to him. What if there was double-dipping going on? The thought repulsed her.

  Albeit, physicians work very hard for their salaries and deserve their income, but she knew all too well that some of them become greedy and no amount of money was enough for them. Medicare fraud by doctors and overcharging in other ways was not an uncommon occurrence. Why the hell they did that, she had no idea. What benefit would all that money be to them if they ended up behind bars? Were they bad people to begin with starting out in medical school, or did the comfortable salaries turn them into crooks later on? On the other hand, some doctors worked grueling hours with heavy responsibilities and made a lot less than veterinarians and even CRNAs. She frowned at the discrepancies, and realized how important some specialties were to allow a physician a more balanced life when it came to responsibility, hours, and income.

  Viktoria changed in the locker room still mulling over these thoughts and hoped she would be assigned to supervise CRNAs for the day. That would make it easier to be flexible to step away between cases and check off her tasks to do outside the OR. It was Jay Huff’s day on call, so he would more than likely be the one running the schedule. After her discussion with Jeff last night, his record of cases tonight, and how the reimbursement tickets would be handled would also be under scrutiny. Heck, she thought, she felt like a potential whistle blower. Hopefully, she was off base and totally wrong about the President of the group.

  She slipped out of the locker room in fresh scrubs, clogs, an OR jacket, and cap, and walked up behind Jay Huff standing at the schedule board, his shoulders sagging as if under the weight of being in charge. He spun to the side.

  “Miss Viktoria. Welcome back. I’m assigning you an ortho room and the eye room—bones and eyes. Ready for another day at Masonville General Hospital?”

  “Absolutely. I’m looking forward to an in-depth day. Nothing’s going to hold me back.”

  “Glad to hear it. Your patients are ready to be seen in the preop holding area.”

  -----

  Parting the curtain in the
holding area, Viktoria found a man and a woman, their eyes glued on her arrival. “Good morning. I’m Dr. Thorsdottir, the anesthesiologist.”

  “I was waiting on you,” the man on the stretcher said. “Not you in particular, but the anesthesiologist—who happens to be you.”

  “Bobby,” the woman next to him said, “quiet it up and let the lady talk.”

  “Mr. Glade,” Viktoria said, “the preliminary notes in my hand indicate you’re a healthy seventy-two-year old. Any medical problems I need to know about?” She figured he was active for his age. Trim, with good muscle tone, he filled the stretcher’s length with a full six-foot-one frame.

  “Except for occasional indigestion with those greasy burgers at the golf course club house, my handicap is seven. So, I’m healthy.”

  His wife rolled her eyes. “Bobby lives on the golf course. That’s why he’s finally having his knee replaced, because his arthritic knee is causing him to shoot like someone his age. God forbid.”

  “Now, now,” he said. “A man has to have a pastime besides his spouse.”

  “Yeah, but you’ll be taking your hat off from the putting green to show respect as my casket goes by the golf course in a limousine.”

  “Honey,” he said, “I’ll be there for the most important part. After the funeral procession passes, I’ll catch up for the preacher’s remarks when they lower you in the ground.” He laughed, blew her a kiss, and patted her knee.

  She gave him a scowl. “Stop and consider that you’ll pass away first. Your ears will be ringing when I throw a celebration party.”

  “Ouch,” he commented, not patting her knee this time.

  Viktoria stepped up and interjected before they theoretically took out and signed divorce papers right in front of her.

  “Mr. Brady, have you experienced problems with anesthesia in the past?” she asked referring to his record. “For your appendectomy or neck surgery?

  “Nope. I go to sleep like I do at home, where I don’t know anything until the sun comes up.”