HARMED - Book 1: First Do No Harm

by L Jan Eira

  Detective Herb Fuller, who was turning out to be first class at quarterback, gave each participant marching orders. With renewed interest, Fuller was once again calling all the right plays and doing it in such a way that engendered all team members to work hard toward the common goal.

  Jack’s assignment was to return to his office. At the behest of the detective, Jack requested Jeff Snyder’s hospital chart for his review. Quentin and Ganz would search for unusual homicide or suicide cases throughout surrounding counties, especially those typically obtaining medical care from Newton Memorial. On the hunch that the patient in CCU was drugged, since no drugs were known to cause those effects, Jack considered a research agent. He asked the cops to call Rupert and get him to disclose all the research drugs he was using. They would call the hospital’s attorney and get the ball rolling.

  • • •

  Jack retuned to the hospital and sat at his desk, going through the medical records, tabulating his results, and writing comments as he went. The door to his office suddenly opened.

  “Why are you sticking your nose into my business?”

  Jack recognized the voice, even before he looked up to see who had spoken. “Dr. Rupert, what makes you think I’m doing that?” This time Jack would not be intimidated.

  “You’re checking up on my research protocols, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, I am. I am interested in finding out what sorts of experiments are being done at Newton. Is that wrong of me?”

  “You’re damn right it’s wrong of you!” said Rupert. “It’s none of your damn business.”

  “Why, is it a secret?” said Jack.

  “It’s just none of your business, young man. You are in deep trouble. I will see to it that you never practice medicine in this state or in this country.” Rupert stomped out of the room.

  “Asshole,” whispered Jack to no one in particular.

  Jack called Susan Quentin’s cell phone. “I just received a visit from Rupert. He’s angry that we are looking into his research. This much opposition must mean he has something to hide, don’t you think?”

  “I don’t know,” said Quentin. “People sometimes overreact to simple requests by the police.”

  “I’m telling you, there’s something fishy going on in that research lab,” said Jack. “And if Rupert is responsible for John’s death, he’s going down.” Jack felt the acid begin to burn deep in his gut. “So, are you getting the research records?”

  “They have to give them to us, but it looks like they’ll drag their feet,” said Quentin. “We’ve contacted the district attorney to subpoena the files from Rupert. It’ll have to go to court, and it will take forever. But we’ll get them.”

  “Susan, thanks for reopening the case. I know there’s something going on, much more than meets the eye.”

  CHAPTER 23

  Clutching Mexican carryout, Jack opened the door leading from the garage to the kitchen. Claire met him at the door. With a kiss and embrace, she clasped her hands behind his neck. The aroma of Nachos Al Carbon emanated appetizingly from the bag. Claire directed Jack to the kitchen table, and together they dished out supper as they conversed.

  “Claire, I really believe Rupert is responsible for all these killings.”

  “I know you do,” said Claire. “How do we prove it?”

  “We?”

  “Sure, I’d like to help.”

  “Claire, there is one thing I can’t shake off my mind. The night before John and the others were killed, we had an indoor soccer game.”

  “Yes, I remember,” said Claire, putting her half-eaten nacho on her plate.

  “John tried to talk to me after the game about something that was bothering him. Something about work. The hospital. But we never actually talked. There was too much going on. Too many interruptions. So, John and I planned on talking the next day, the day he was—” A long pause. A sad face. A sob. A single tear escaped and made its way down his left cheek. Jack sniffled as Claire gave his right hand a sympathetic squeeze. With his left hand, he wiped the fallen drop.

  “What exactly did John tell you?” said Claire.

  “Not much. He tried to tell me there was something going on at work. I could see it was bothering him a lot. At the end of the game, normally he’d joke around and point out all my soccer blunders. That day, he was serious and quiet. I wish I had taken the time to talk to him longer.”

  “It wasn’t your fault. But whatever was bothering John was probably related to his death, don’t you think?”

  “I’m sure of it. But what?”

  “Have you brought it up at the meetings with the cops?”

  “No. I feel really horrible about it.” Jack gave a wan smile. “I’ll discuss it with them at our next meeting.”

  “For now, what can I do to help you?”

  “Help me think through this. How can we begin to tie Rupert to the murders?”

  “Motive and opportunity,” said Claire. “And money. Or fame?”

  “I do know Rupert was at the crime scene before the murder, and him being at the hospital that early is very unusual. It cannot be a coincidence. How would he…how would anyone make a killer out of a God-fearing, law-abiding man?”

  Claire’s eyes transformed from semiclosed to wide open. “I just thought about something when you said Rupert was at the hospital much earlier than usual the day of the murders. There have been other incidents—what do you call it? An epidemic of cardiac arrests? Was Rupert in early all those days, too? Let’s look for a pattern.” Claire nodded her head. “We need to see his schedule.”

  “That’s a great idea,” said Jack. He chewed and swallowed a piece of shrimp. “We’ll need to get into his office. We’ll need to trick his secretary. Are you in on this with me?”

  “Of course. Till the end, my love!”

  “The other thing I’d love to get my hands on is the research files. The police asked Rupert for them. According to Susan, he has to produce the records, but they’ll drag their feet. They’ll bury us in legal paperwork for months.”

  “That one is even easier,” said Claire. “All research protocols have to be approved by the IRB committee. Get the records from them.”

  Jack’s demeanor changed; the previously ever-present grim look that had overwhelmed him earlier began to fade. “You know, I would have married you just for your titanic sex appeal. But you’re pretty darn smart, too. And you can cook.”

  A cheesy shrimp from Claire’s plate suddenly became a projectile. With precise, bulls-eye accuracy, the cooked crustacean whacked Jack squarely on the tip of his nose. With catlike reflexes, he caught the piece of fish in the air and stuck it in his mouth. “Food fight,” he yelled, picking up a soggy nacho.

  Claire’s hand went up. “You mess it up, you clean it up.”

  Jack reconsidered the throw. Instead, he placed the nacho in his mouth. He was a strong, well-built man who could bench-press well over three times his own body weight. But like most men, he hated the prospect of being defeated by a woman barely one hundred and twenty pounds soaking wet. Again.

  “That is a great idea,” said Jack. “Rupert is out of town for meetings and conferences more often than he is in town. Will you help me figure out if he is in town and at the hospital every time someone prematurely goes to meet his maker?”

  “Sure. How do we do it?”

  “I have an idea,” said Jack. “Tomorrow, let’s get dangerous!”

  CHAPTER 24

  “Good morning, Janet,” said Jack as he entered the administration-office area. Janet Boyer was a beautiful short brunet who loved the attention she received from wearing tight-fitting clothes. Today, she was sporting tight black pants and an overstretched red blouse buttoned up only to midbosom, almost revealing more than it concealed. Despite leaving little to the imagination, she managed to give the appearance of being professional and proficient at her job.

  “Hello, Dr. Norris,” she said, gesturing for him to sit down. “May I get you a cup of coffee?
”

  “Oh, no thanks,” said Jack. “I just finished a cappuccino. I’m interested in research. I know this office coordinates all the research projects here at Newton Memorial—”

  “Here and all the affiliated facilities,” she explained. “Dr. Shuman is in charge of the department. He coordinates the Institutional Review Board for the entire system; there are five sister hospitals, including the medical school. Newton is the largest research facility and does require most of our attention.”

  Jack nodded, a twinge of nervousness in his voice. “I would like to research, well, medical research: what we know, what we are studying, what we need to study, and so on.” Jack stopped for a moment, hoping Janet would pipe in.

  She did not. She returned a look of confusion, remaining intrigued and silent.

  “So I’d like to know if I need IRB consent for that sort of study,” continued Jack. This was proving more difficult than he anticipated. Bullshit can only get you part way into the IRB files; for the rest, you need a strategy with abundant cunning and sneakiness. However, so far, the bullshit part was not going well. Right outside the main door, Jack thought he could hear Claire’s intense but silent laughter. On the other hand, maybe what he thought he was hearing was his nerves of steel melting with his sudden lack of bravado.

  “Let me get this straight, Dr. Norris,” Janet said finally. “You want to know if you need IRB permission to look over the files for all the ongoing research efforts so that you can study their content?”

  “Yeah, that’s it,” said Jack, adding the beginnings of a crooked smirk. “I want to study the studies going on here and everywhere, too.” Boy, this was tougher than he thought. Could he end up in jail for this?

  A short pause later, Janet smiled as if something clicked inside her head. Jack could almost swear he briefly saw a light bulb over her head. On the other hand, maybe it was just the light reflection from the window behind her, announcing the beginning of a gorgeous sunny day ahead.

  “No, IRB files are not confidential. Anyone can look at them anytime. Would you like to look at them here, or should I make you copies?”

  “Copies. Yeah, copies. Copies would be great,” said Jack. “Wow, yeah, definitely copies. I can look at them later. After rounds. I’m pretty busy. Lots of patients to see. Yeah, copies. Please. That’d be great.”

  “OK. Give me a couple of hours, and I’ll have all the IRB summaries for you. And let me know if you need anything else.” Janet stood up.

  With a smile, Jack got up, shook her hand, and turned to leave the room. Unfortunately, he tripped on a large chair and almost fell. Gathering his composure, he straightened up his lab coat and tie and gracefully walked out of the room.

  “Did you hear all that?” he finally said to Claire, once out of earshot from the secretary.

  “Every word.” Claire chortled. “You are some clever detective. Don’t give up your day job.”

  “Was it that bad?”

  “I want to study the studies you got going for my study of the studies,” mocked Claire.

  Jack rolled his eyes. They walked to the main elevators. Jack tried to regain his dignity, but Claire continued to tease him about his encounter with the ditsy secretary.

  “OK. Can we continue with our plan? What time is it?” said Jack.

  Claire looked at her watch. “It’s five after eight. She should be there by now.”

  Jack’s demeanor became stern. “OK, make the call. We have to get serious. This part is even more involved and potentially dangerous.” They walked to a phone on a desk right outside the research lab. The area was deserted. Claire dialed. Jack kissed her and left.

  Claire tried to sound unpolished and unsophisticated. “This is Ruth down in the mail room. There’s a package here for one Ian Rupert. Does he work up there?” She even gave it a bit of a drawl.

  “Yes,” said Rupert’s secretary. “Joey usually brings those up to me. Is he in?”

  “Nope,” said Claire, still acting out her part. “He ain’t workin’ today. And this box says ‘urgent’ on it. If you want it now, you have to come pick it up yourself.”

  Claire hung up the phone and hurried to the previously agreed area.

  • • •

  Jack waited until Rupert’s secretary left her desk. A sign declared that her name was Donna Noonan. He took a picture of the name and text-messaged it to Claire. There was no one else around. It certainly was too early for Rupert to be in. When he was sure the coast was clear, Jack approached and sat at her desk. All items were meticulously arranged and organized. He first looked at the appointment book. Rupert was in Michigan giving a lecture today. Jack took the appointment book and photocopied all the pages going back twelve months. He returned the appointment book to Donna’s desk, ascertaining that it was placed exactly as he found it.

  Jack then entered Rupert’s office. The lights were off. He turned them on and shut the door behind him. He took a deep breath and began digging through the folders inside an elegant stack of file cabinets lined with mahogany and oak.

  • • •

  “Excuse me, but aren’t you Donna?” asked Claire, who had positioned herself as a sentinel near the main elevators.

  “Yes. Have we met?” said Donna, an inquisitive look on her face.

  “No, but I have heard about you,” said Claire. “You’re Dr. Rupert’s secretary, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, I am.”

  Claire shook her hand. “I just think the world of him. I am highly interested in research. My focus is mindfulness meditation and how it can help the healing process. You know, so many people do not care about mindfulness meditation and the existential being that is the soul. Nevertheless, if all is not properly aligned, how can we expect the sick body to repair and restore health and well-being?” She interlocked the fingers of both hands together. “I believe we need to study how the soul and body interact to make us whole.”

  “Let me interrupt you,” said Donna. “Dr. Rupert is out of town today and tomorrow. If you’d like to make an appointment, I would be more than happy to arrange one for you. What did you say your name was?”

  Despite the body language and feeble attempts Claire made not to allow Donna to get near the elevators, Donna slowly crept up and approached the buttons. She pushed the up button.

  “Yes, I would love to share my ideas with Dr. Rupert. I will be back in town in two or three weeks. I will contact you then and arrange for an appointment. Can I buy you a cup of coffee? I’d love to chat with you and find out more about Dr. Rupert and his work here at Newton Memorial.”

  “No, thanks,” said Donna. “I have a lot of work to do. I must return to my office!”

  Feeling defeated and unable to delay the secretary further, Claire stopped trying. “Well, good to talk to you. We’ll talk again soon.” Claire walked off. Soon the elevator door opened, and Donna entered the car. The doors closed. Claire quickly fished out her cell phone from her purse and speed-dialed Jack’s number.

  “She’s on the way up. I couldn’t stall her any longer. Sorry.”

  CHAPTER 25

  Jack and Claire went out to eat at their favorite restaurant. They were excited about their recent finds and couldn’t wait to discuss them.

  Jack’s cell phone rang. It was Detective Susan Quentin. “Hi, Jack. I searched the county for unusual murders or homicides over the last six months. I found two other bizarre circumstances that resemble our case and the one you discovered. Then I searched surrounding counties. Six more cases.”

  “I knew it,” said Jack. His eyes found Claire’s. “What else did you find, Susan?”

  “Some committed suicide under suspicious and bizarre situations; others had murdered loved ones before dying of odd medical conditions.”

  Claire signaled to Jack that she wanted to know what was being said, but Jack raised his index finger at her. “I’ll tell you in a second,” he mouthed to her.

  Quentin continued on the other side of the call. “All these cases
occurred out of town. Interestingly, none took place in the same police jurisdiction. Is this a coincidence, or is it the strategy of a deranged assassin picking and choosing victims to purposefully avoid suspicion by the separate authorities?”

  “This goes much deeper than we thought, doesn’t it?” said Jack. Claire looked on, puzzled.

  “We contacted the families and obtained proper legal permission for review of their medical charts,” said Quentin. “Will you check these out for us? I’ll have the files delivered to you in a few hours. Will you report on your preliminary findings tomorrow morning?”

  “Sure, I will,” said Jack. “I’ll have the charts reviewed.”

  Bubbling with anticipation, Jack filled Claire in on the conversation and the news Quentin had shared with him.

  “Let’s get home and begin looking through all the new data,” said Claire.

  CHAPTER 26

  Jack and Claire rushed through dinner and hurried home, hoping to start on the investigation right away. They were eager to analyze all the new information they had at their disposal.

  “Here is the list of all the dates of homicides and suicides we just got from Susan,” said Claire. “Let’s compare that to Rupert’s appointment book.”

  Jack nodded and began arranging the paperwork on the table. In silence, the couple compared the dates.

  “You were right.” Claire spoke first. “Rupert spends more time out of town than in town.”

  “Every time someone offs themself or others, he happens to be in Evansville. Coincidence?” said Jack.

  “That’s true. This is not proof positive that he’s involved, but it is intriguing. What about timing? Was he in the hospital early in the day?” asked Claire.

  “For some of these dates, he has appointments as early as eight o’clock. I arrive at the hospital at that time every morning, and I have never seen his car in the parking lot that early.” Jack remained puzzled.