by P. K. Abbot
“That is fine,” he said. “I have something I need to speak with you about.”
“What is it, Doctor?”
“Governor Jamieson has requested a medical update on your patient, Roshan Roshni, and I have additional sensitive information about Roshni which you may need to know.”
“Of course, Doctor. Let me get his chart so that we can talk.”
Annie started toward Roshni’s room, but Black caught her by the elbow.
“We do not need his chart, Dear. We are only talking about his general condition. But we do need a place where we can speak confidentially. Is there a private office where we can go to talk?”
“We can go to the charge nurse’s office. That is private, and it is only down the hall.”
“That sounds perfect.” Black took her by the elbow again, and they walked off down the hall.
Captain Elliot nodded to the trooper on guard outside Roshni’s door.
“Has it been a long shift for you, son?”
“Yes sir, Captain. I have been here six hours so far, but I am okay.”
“Doctor Black will be here for the better part of an hour. Since I have to wait for him anyway, why don’t you go to the cafeteria and get yourself a cup of coffee? I’ll keep your chair warm.”
“I couldn’t do that, Sir.”
“I am not going to tell anyone that I am relieving you, and you shouldn’t either.”
“I don’t know, Sir.”
“Listen. Are you going to force me to order you, Trooper? I do outrank you, you know.”
“If you insist, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to take a break for a few minutes. Thank you, Sir.”
“I do not want to see you back here for another twenty minutes.”
The trooper smiled and walked off the floor as Elliot settled into the chair in front of Roshni’s door. Elliot reached into his pocket and retrieved his phone. He typed something into the phone, pressed the send button, and returned it to his pocket.
In a minute, a woman dressed in nursing scrubs walked through the door of the back stairway. She stopped for a moment to listen to the soft groaning that came from the room next to the stairway. She walked into the room. After another minute or two, the woman came out of the room again. She was now wearing latex gloves, and she was carrying a sheet of paper in her hand.
The woman exchanged glances with Elliott and walked into Roshni’s room. Inside Roshni’s room, Roshni was sleeping soundly. The woman retrieved a syringe from her pocket, uncapped it, and quickly pushed its contents into Roshni’s IV.
She then walked to the foot of the bed. She opened Roshni’s chart and inserted the sheet of paper that she had carried into the room. She studied the page of nursing notes in the front of the chart. Then she wrote a note on the next empty line and returned the chart to where she had found it.
She looked at Roshni again. He was taking very shallow breaths now, and his breaths were coming only after long intervals. He was barely breathing now. Soon he would stop breathing entirely.
She walked quietly out of Roshni’s room. She touched Elliott on the shoulder as she passed. Then she walked into the back stairway and disappeared from view.
Chapter 28
The hospital did not treat Annie kindly.
At 4:00 AM, when she performed her patient rounds, Annie discovered that Roshan Roshni had died.
At 5:00 AM, the charge nurse was in her office, interviewing the state trooper who had been stationed outside Roshni’s door. He asserted that no one but Annie had entered Roshni’s room during his watch.
At 5:30 AM, the charge nurse found the physician’s order for morphine that had been misfiled into Roshni’s chart. When she saw the note in Annie’s handwriting on the last line of the nursing notes, she called Annie into her office. Annie agreed that the writing did look like her writing, but she insisted that she had not written that line and that she had not administered morphine to Roshan Roshni.
At 6:00 AM, the charge nurse ordered a toxicology screen on Roshni and put Annie on suspension, pending review by the hospital board. Annie could continue to work in the hospital for now, but she could have no contact with any patient during her suspension. The hospital had effectively demoted Annie from a registered nurse to a mere candy striper.
At 1:00 PM, Wilson Cooper telephoned Annie at home.
“Miss Morgen, I understand that the hospital has terminated you because of Roshni’s death.”
“No. I have been placed on suspension, pending review,” she replied. Her voice trembled. She was ashamed that this had happened. She was ashamed that she had let this happen to her.
“You are right. I understand, and I apologize for my error,” he said.
“No offense taken, Mr. Cooper.”
“Suspension does not necessarily lead to termination, Miss Morgen,” he said, “but very often a review is nothing more than a formality. You may be totally blameless in regard to Mr. Roshni, Miss Morgen, but that may not matter in this case.”
“Why would you say that, Mr. Cooper?” Her voice cracked a little as she spoke.
“A large corporation such as the hospital needs to protect its image in the community. Mishandling a high-profile case such as Mr. Roshni’s case could ruin the hospital’s reputation. The hospital’s review board will not be looking to uncover the truth, Miss Morgen. They will be looking for a scapegoat.”
He had shaken her now. She had difficulty breathing normally and felt short of breath.
Cooper went on. “I will be covering the Roshni story this evening, and I would like you to appear on my show.”
“Oh, I don’t think so,” she said.
“The hospital will be doing everything it can to present itself in a favorable light – which means that it will blame you for Roshni’s death. It will not be fair to you, Miss Morgen. I am giving you the opportunity to tell your side of the story to the public.”
Annie did not know how to reply. She did not say a word to Cooper, but the tension was palpable.
“We will pre-record your portion of the broadcast,” Cooper said. “If you are unhappy with any part of it, I promise you that we will discard it. You will be among friends, Annie. What do you say?”
After a few moments, she mumbled, “I guess so.”
“Good. I will send my car for you at 4:30 today.”
*****
Annie was sitting under the bright television lights when Wilson Cooper walked into the studio a few minutes before six.
“You’re Annie, I suppose? I am Will,” he said as he smiled at her. “There is no reason to be nervous. Just be yourself, be natural, and tell your story. Remember, Annie, you are among friends.”
The set director called out, “Five seconds until we go live, everyone.”
“Live?” Annie looked at Cooper.
Cooper smiled at her and winked as he took his chair. “You will do fine, Annie.”
“Four – three – two – one,” the director called out. Then he pointed to Will to take it live.
“Good evening. I am Will Cooper.
“Scarcely thirty hours ago, the New Jersey State Police had apprehended the prime suspect in the murder of Trey Jamieson. Tonight that suspect is dead. Tonight we will explore the reasons why that happened.
“This evening my special guest is Miss Annie Morgen, who is the registered nurse at the center of the controversy surrounding the death of Roshan Roshni.
“Good evening, Annie. I am happy to have you on tonight’s show, to tell your side of the story.”
“Thank you, Will. It is a pleasure to be here.”
“We should start with a brief explanation for our viewers about who Roshan Roshni was.
“Roshan Roshni was an Iranian national,” Cooper said. “He had a previous connection to an operations company owned by Doctor Lucien Black, who is Governor Jamieson’s Chief of Staff and campaign manager. During the Second Gulf War, Mr. Roshni was alleged to have stolen a large cache of weapons from the United States – specif
ically from Doctor Black’s operations company, which provided service and supplies for the U.S. Army.
“After the weapons theft in Iraq, Mr. Roshni seemed to disappear – perhaps returning to Iran. But then, ten days ago, Trey Jamieson was murdered and Mr. Roshni’s fingerprints were discovered at the murder scene. He became the prime suspect of the NJSP in Trey Jamieson’s murder.
“After we had broadcast Roshan Roshni’s photo on this show on New Year’s Day, Mr. Roshni came out of hiding and was arrested by the NJSP yesterday afternoon.
“Now, Miss Morgen… Annie…you first met Mr. Roshni when he was admitted to your hospital. Is that correct?”
“Yes, Will. Mr. Roshni had sustained a concussion, and he had been admitted to the hospital for treatment and observation. I was his nighttime nurse.”
“Did he sustain his concussion during his arrest?” Cooper asked. “Was the NJSP responsible for his concussion?”
“No, Will. I understand that Mr. Roshni had attempted to rob a church and that he received his concussion during an altercation with one of his victims.”
“I understand that you had another connection with Mr. Roshni?”
“I am sorry?”she said.
“Tell us about the arresting officer, Miss Morgen.”
“Oh. The officer who arrested Mr. Roshni is Sergeant Peter Mueller. Pete is my boyfriend.”
“He is your live-in boyfriend, isn’t he?”
Annie’s face flushed a little at his question.
“Yes,” she replied. “We have been living together for a few months now.”
Cooper smiled at her, and he paused for a moment before he went on.
“Now, Annie, I want you to take this next question in the way that I intend it. You are among friends here. I want you to tell your side of the story, but I must ask you this question.”
“All right, Mr. Cooper. I will do my best. Go ahead and ask your question.”
“The hospital maintains – these are their words not mine – the hospital maintains that Mr. Roshni’s death was caused by your actions. Is it possible that your relationship with Sergeant Mueller tainted your view of Mr. Roshni? Is it possible that you thought justice would be better served if Mr. Roshni were dead?”
Annie did not answer. She was flabbergasted. She was dumbfounded.
“Annie?” Cooper asked.
“No,” she replied after another moment. “No. It is not possible. I followed standard protocol in caring for Mr. Roshni. I wanted him to become healthy again.”
“But, Annie, the medical record shows that you are the one who had administered the fatal dose of morphine to Mr. Roshni.”
“I never did that.”
“I am not saying that you did it intentionally, Annie. A physician’s order for morphine for another patient had been misfiled into Mr. Roshni’s medical chart. And the nursing notes in your own handwriting indicate that you are the one who had administered the morphine to Mr. Roshni.”
“The writing in the nursing notes looks like my writing, but I never wrote that entry. It must have been forged by someone who had access to Mr. Roshni’s chart.”
“But, Miss Morgen, the state trooper who had guarded Mr. Roshni said that you were the only one who entered Mr. Roshni’s room that night. You did it, Miss Morgen. Whether you want to admit it or not, Miss Morgen, you are the one who killed Roshan Roshni.”
“Doctor Black was there that night. He came into the hospital at 2 AM with the Governor’s driver. Doctor Black took me away from the floor. Perhaps all of this happened then.”
“Doctor Black?” Cooper asked. “Governor Jamieson’s Chief of Staff? Are you implying that Doctor Black led a conspiracy to murder Roshan Roshni?”
“It’s possible.”
“Do you realize how ridiculous you sound, Miss Morgen?”
Annie did not reply. She felt herself trembling with anger and shame.
“Miss Morgen,” Cooper said, “whether you want to admit it or not, Trey Jamieson’s last chance for justice was destroyed by your incompetence.”
Annie now burst into tears on camera. She no longer felt like she was among friends.
Chapter 29
Tuesday, January 5
Burton and Mike Kieran had spent most of the day in a meeting with the State Attorney General at the State House. They did not arrive at the CSU until late Tuesday afternoon.
Mike came to Ryan’s and Mueller’s desks and asked them to come to Burton’s office.
When they walked into Burton’s office, the window blinds were already closed. Mike shut the door behind them as soon as they came in.
Burton was sitting behind his desk. He was already wearing his captain’s bars.
“Sit down,” he said. “Your uncle tells me that you and Mueller have a new theory about the case.” He made quotation marks in the air as he said the word, theory.
“It is more than a theory,” Ryan replied.
“Tell us about it.”
“After JR’s funeral mass, I received a phone call from a detective in New York. He was investigating a hit-and-run death – a probable murder – that is connected to our investigation.”
“What is the connection?” Burton asked.
“It took us a while to find it,” Ryan replied, “but we now have video and financial records which prove that Trey Jamieson was having a clandestine, homosexual affair for a number of months before he was murdered.”
“I still do not see the connection.”
“It provides motive for Trey’s murder.”
“Motive for whom, Ryan?”
“Motive for anyone associated with Governor Jamieson’s presidential campaign. If Trey’s affair would be exposed, it would be the end of the Governor’s campaign.”
“You two are accusing Governor Jamieson?”
“And Doctor Black.”
“That is preposterous. The most that you have here is a possible motive. Without proving that both Doctor Black and Governor Jamieson were involved in Trey’s murder, you only have conjecture. Without proof, you have nothing.”
“We have proof,” Mueller said. “Here, plug this into your computer and play it.”
Mueller handed Burton the copy of Roshni’s recording.
Burton played the recording so that they all could hear it. Ryan and Mueller watched Burton as first surprise, then concern, and finally worry came over his face.
When the recording ended, neither Burton nor Mike said anything for a few moments. Then Burton pulled the recording from his computer, held it between his thumb and forefinger, and looked at it.
“This is sobering,” Burton said. Then he turned to Mueller. “Is this the only copy?”
Mueller hesitated.
“That is the only copy,” Ryan interrupted.
Burton turned quickly to Ryan, then back again to Mueller.
“Mueller, is this the only copy? Is he right?” Burton asked Mueller.
After a moment, Mueller replied, “Yes. He is right, Sir. That is the only copy.”
Burton slipped the recording into his pocket.
“I am going to hold on to this,” Burton said, “until we decide how to proceed...if we proceed.”
“If we proceed? What is that supposed to mean?” Ryan asked.
“Now calm down, Billy,” Mike said. “We may not be able to proceed.”
“Why not?”
“The Attorney General has determined that Roshan Roshni is responsible for everything – Trey Jamieson’s murder, the attack on the funeral train, and the bombing at Washington’s Crossing. The AG has ordered us to close Trey Jamieson’s case today.”
“How can you do that?” Mueller asked. “You just heard Black and Jamie on Roshni’s recording. They were planning Trey’s murder. How can you go along with their cover up?”
“Pete,” Mike said, “I am concerned for you and for Billy. You two are facing extremely powerful, ruthless people with no viable legal recourse on your side. This is a fight that you cannot win. You two w
ill be risking your careers and perhaps your lives if you continue with this case. This is one time when you need to accept the outcome.”
“We will not do that,” Ryan said. “We can prove motive. We have the evidence. We are going to make those arrests.”
“And who will prosecute your case?” Burton asked. “The State Attorney General was appointed by Governor Jamieson. The AG is in Jamie’s pocket. You will never get the Attorney General to prosecute this case. You need to realize when you are beaten, boys.”
“Billy is still right,” Mueller said. “This is something that we have to do.”
“I do not think that you realize what you are facing,” Mike said. “If you continue to pursue this case, you are putting yourself at risk, but you are also putting Annie and your family at risk.”
“Cooper embarrassed Annie on television last night,” Mike said, “but that is nothing compared to what the State can do. If the State decides to pursue a criminal investigation or a tax investigation against you, Annie, or your family, you would not be able to withstand it. You would all be ruined.”
“We still have to do it,” Mueller said.
Burton slammed his hand against the top of his desk and yelled.
“We are talking about murderers here – murderers whom we cannot get to legally. They will not play nice with you, Mueller. They may kill you to stop you. They may even kill or injure your girlfriend to get to you. They may do the same thing to your family.”
“That is a risk that I have to take,” said Mueller.
“You are more stupid than I thought you were, Mueller. You need to let this one go.”
Mueller jumped up and shouted at Burton, “You are a coward, Captain. Do you really think that this is why JR sacrificed his life? You are betraying everything that your son died for.”
Burton charged Mueller from behind his desk.
“Leave JR out of this,” he screamed. The veins popped in Burton’s neck. He stood chest to chest and eye to eye with Mueller. Spittle flew from Burton’s lips as he screamed again, “Leave JR out of this.”
Mike and Ryan jumped up, grabbed them by their arms, and pulled them apart as they continued to scream at each other.
“JR has nothing to do with this,” Burton screamed. “The Attorney General has given us an order. If you refuse to follow that order, Mueller, I will arrest you and charge you with obstruction of justice.”