by Maren Cooper
Clearly Jay was a Jim fan from way back, but what kept this friendship going? Jess wondered, reflecting on the few times she and Arthur had encountered Jim and Sally at social events. She could see Liz as a best friend of Sally, Jim’s wife. “How about you, Liz? What do you do?” Jess continued.
“Well, I take care of this guy.” Liz giggled. “Which can be a lot of work!” The tan skin of her tennis-toned arms glowing, she arranged her bangles noisily and leaned into Jay as they exchanged a loving look. “And I raised two children to adulthood, or at least college.” She sighed and looked at her husband. “We’re hoping for adulthood soon.” She giggled again. “I’ve always felt busy and fulfilled at home. My volunteer work with Sally, may she rest in peace”—she stopped and put her hand to her heart—“always gave me joy, and I’m trying to find my way back to that.” She teared up, and Jay gave her a comforting squeeze.
“Three minutes out on the steaks,” Jim announced. There is a God, Jess thought. She escaped to grab the rest of dinner from the kitchen.
As she carried the food out to the patio, Jim came to help her and whispered, “Thank you for doing this. Are you OK?”
“Of course. They’re very nice people.” She smiled back. “But let’s talk about something current over dinner.”
When they returned to the table, Jim started in: “Any travel in the works for you two?”
“Oh, gosh, it’s hard to think about taking a vacation without the kids. How many family trips do you think we took together?” Liz responded.
“Hmm.” Jay looked to Jim. “We probably started when your two kids and our two kids finally had spring break at the same time.” He paused for a moment. “Maybe when Jay Jr. was in fifth grade? So at least six. Four to Hawaii, and maybe two or three to Florida, and then that one trip to Costa Rica. Probably the best golf, right?”
“Yes, the golf was awesome there.” Liz beamed and got nods from both Jim and Jay. “Sally and I were always looking for family-friendly places near challenging golf courses. We needed kids’ programming or supervision so that we could golf with the boys for at least nine holes every day. Kept everybody happy!”
Jim attempted a course correction: “Those trips were a lot of fun, but that’s old history.”
Jess threw an appreciative smile at him, but he wasn’t looking at her. If they were to be a couple, they would have to work on their signals.
“Do you golf, Jess?” Liz asked.
“No, I don’t.” And I’m not likely to start anytime soon. Jess smiled and passed the rolls.
“Have you met Joanna and Andy yet?” Liz asked.
“No, I haven’t.” Jess felt her smile tighten. And meeting kids hasn’t even come up with Jim yet. Slow down, Liz.
But then, as Jess filled her wineglass, she forced herself to check her thinking. These people have been friends for years, and you’re a new woman in their world, after a tragic loss. Get a grip. They’re making an effort.
Jim got up to get another bottle of wine and squeezed Jess’s arm as he passed.
“And how old are your two kids? Is it Beth and Ted?”
“Beth just turned twenty, and Tom is eighteen.”
“Wow, all of our kids are around the same age,” Liz observed, sounding a bit wistful.
“Yes, they’re all starting to get out in the world on their own, as they should.” Jim raised a glass. “To our young adults. Let them find their own path.”
Jay added, “But not lose their way home.”
As they clinked glasses, Jess felt a whiff of solidarity with these fellow empty-nesters. Perhaps the fact that they were all starting a next phase was a common bond to build on. She felt the tension in her shoulders release.
Until, bless his heart, Jim tried again. “Well, back to travel: I’ve always wanted to go to Japan, so I’d like that to be my next trip. What do you say, Jess?” He nudged her playfully.
“Hmm . . . I’ve never really thought about it.” Too early, Jim, and this isn’t the right time or place. She smiled and asked Jay to pass the salad.
Jess and Cindy were working in Jess’s office when Claire called her cell. She always answered Claire’s calls, even if she was deep into her business day.
“Jess, good. Glad I caught you. I’m just heading out the door, but this will be quick: Will you come to Melody’s first show?”
“You mean the puppet show she wrote? Her directorial debut? Of course! I’d love to come. When is it?”
“Saturday afternoon. I was thinking we could all go to the premiere and then come back to my house and have some dinner. That way, I can take PJ and get him to bed at his usual time.”
“That sounds lovely; let’s think about an easy meal.” Jess tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “Is it OK if I invite Jim?”
“Wow. Of course. Great idea. I’d like to meet him; this would be a good time to do that. OK, gotta run. Details later.”
Cindy, seated at Jess’s office table, looked up from her computer and smiled. “So, you’re going to introduce him to the friends. That’s great.”
Jess returned the smile. “He’s a very nice guy, and I’d like my friends to meet him.” Jess fiddled with her hair again. “Speaking of friends, as Jim is one of mine and I’m thinking we may need to talk to him to complete the assessment, would you be willing to interview him?”
Cindy closed her laptop and followed the bright sun to the window to maneuver the shades until the work surface was without glare but shimmered in a prism of light. “Of course. What are you thinking, that we should add all the specialist consultants from the practice to the interview list?”
“No, not that. It’s just that Jim was the person who directed Larry Personne to Midwest Health. I’m almost positive it was because he saw the group floundering after Floyd Ramsey’s death. He’s now part of Midwest Health’s leadership, so I think he was motivated to keep them in the fold. But I want to rule out any other reason.”
“Ah. If this whole thing blows up around Personne, you want to see if there was anyone else in the know.” Cindy remained standing.
“Exactly. I’m pretty confident that the doctors in the group are clean, and that at least one, Dr. Sloane, had suspicions about the billing. But I don’t know . . .”
“Whether Jim was aware and maybe looking the other way? Or if Personne confided in him after Floyd died and sought his advice?”
“Thank you for saying it so that I didn’t have to.” Jess exhaled softly. “We just can’t finalize this before we know that.”
Cindy leaned down to put her arm around Jess. “Hey, girlfriend. I get it and I’ve got this. I’ll interview Jim, and we’ll see where that leads us.”
Chapter 41
Friday midday, Cindy poked her head into Jess’s office. “Interview just completed. Time for a debriefing while it’s still fresh in my mind?”
“Oh, wow, you got that finished faster than I expected. Yes, please. Do tell.” Jess headed to the seating area, and Cindy followed her, pulling her notes from her bag. Jess exhaled slowly, pleased that she could start off the weekend with more insight into Jim’s possible involvement with Goodmoor’s problems.
“OK, here goes. I arranged to meet Dr. Nathan—Jim—at his office on the university campus, now part of the Midwest Health system. I arrived early, and his assistant directed me to wait in his office, as he was running ten minutes late in surgery. So I used the opportunity to study this man’s world a bit before he arrived. Remember, all I really knew before today was that he was good-looking, a recent widower, and a skilled surgeon. And, of course, that both the university and now Midwest Health valued him for his ability to reach out and keep referrals from the community physicians.
“So I looked around. There were three walls devoted to bookshelves crammed with textbooks, mementos, and family pictures. A chess set stood in the middle of a round table with no dust collecting on it. A plant on a corner of his desk looked healthy. Photos of Jim and his wife were all over his desk and sh
elves. There were pictures of his children, too: a girl and a boy. Judging from the photos, the family has already celebrated two high school graduations and one college graduation. His credentials were framed and hanging on a wall above a university regents chair stacked with journals. It seemed like a comfortable, masculine retreat, until he opened the door and the beep and hum of the busy hospital corridor reminded me where I was. That, and the fact that he was still in his scrubs.”
Cindy stopped to grin at Jess. “And the green of the scrubs really set off those mesmerizing brown eyes.”
Jess wasn’t ready to relax, but she smiled back at Cindy. “Go on.”
“He was very straightforward. He told me he was happy to help in any way he could to get Goodmoor into the new Midwest Health family.”
“With that opening, I said to him, ‘I understand it was you who suggested Larry Personne seek out a relationship with Midwest Health. Is that correct?’”
“He said yes, he’d been working with Goodmoor for twenty years and hoped he was part of the reason they had stayed in Midwest Health’s orbit. Goodmoor sent them a lot of cases, important teaching cases. It means a lot to all of the faculty to keep those referrals coming.”
Cindy checked her notes. “I specifically asked him to tell me how his initial conversation with Dr. Personne came about. He told me that it happened awhile back. He thought it was just a matter of noticing that Larry Personne was anxious. Certainly, it came as a big shock when their business manager died, and it was a real blow to Larry. Jim got the impression that, over the years, Larry had basically let that business manager call the shots. So, once that guy was gone, Larry must have realized he had to make some major changes to ensure the future of the practice.
“Jim made a point of telling me that, while in retrospect it may seem overtly opportunistic of him, Midwest Health had a stated strategy of bringing practices into the fold, so he just mentioned it to Larry and asked him to think about it. A day later, Larry called Jim and asked him to set up a meeting, which Jim did happily.
“I also asked Jim if Larry Personne ever specified the problems he was hoping to solve or revealed why he was so anxious. Jim said Larry didn’t get specific, although he also admitted he didn’t press Larry. That wasn’t long after his wife died. He said he was still pretty much into righting his own world and didn’t ask too many questions about other people’s lives at the time.
“When I asked Jim if he ever met Floyd Ramsey, he wasn’t even aware of who that was until I added ‘the business manager of the practice,’ so he definitely didn’t know Floyd. He had heard through the grapevine that the manager ran a tight ship. Jim feels fortunate that he can stay clear of all the business aspects of how a practice runs. Evidently, he has no interest in it at Midwest, either. Businesspeople do that. He does surgery and teaches surgery. He gets no remuneration from Goodmoor. His fees come from the patients they send him who end up getting surgery there.
“I also asked him about the other physicians at Goodmoor, whether they ever offered him any opinions about the health of the practice or raised any concerns. He answered that he hadn’t heard anything from any of them, but he also noted that he interacted with them only in clinical cases.”
Cindy looked up from her notes and smiled at Jess. “You’ll love this part. He said he may have seen some of them at the annual golf event for community physicians that the university hospital, and now Midwest Health, sponsors, but he didn’t develop any close relationships with them. Not even with Larry, who Jim described as a quiet, morose sort of guy. His relationship with Larry Personne was a business relationship only. And Larry doesn’t golf.
“In summary, he was very forthcoming and not hiding anything, from my perspective. I really enjoyed talking with him.”
“Is that it?” Jess asked.
“Well, that’s all concerning Goodmoor. But he did ask about you . . .” Cindy shifted her weight and leaned toward Jess.
Jess perked up a bit. “And?”
“And he was pleased that I knew you two were dating. Thought it was a good sign.” Cindy chuckled.
Jess joined in. “Thank you, Cindy, not only for doing the interview, but for sharing this with me so quickly. The peace of mind is a gift.”
“Hey, I’m just relieved I didn’t have to shoot him,” Cindy said. They laughed again, and Jess walked her to the door.
The Puppet Master Theater was filled to capacity with noisy young kids squealing in anticipation of the performance. Jess had expected a library-type auditorium, but this was a custom-made puppet theater with dramatic lighting and a sound system to match. The raised, carpeted bench seating was clearly designed for a lively and ambulatory group.
“Wow, this isn’t something I see every day,” Jim said.
Jess scanned the audience for her group. “There they are.” She grabbed his arm, and they headed to the front of the theater, where Claire and Diane had held seats for them. George couldn’t join them until dinner at Claire’s. “Sorry— we aren’t late, are we?” Jess hugged her friends and turned to introduce Jim.
“I already like you,” Claire said with a smile. “It’s not every man who would agree to meet his girl’s friends at a puppet show. But then you already know that Jess is not just any girl, right?” Jess saw Claire wait for Jim’s quick smile, but when none came, Claire continued, “And this is Peter James, my son and Jess’s godson.”
Just then, the music started. The curtain parted and Melody Barnes, the puppet master for the premiere of Peter and the Adventure in the Lost Forest, was introduced.
At the end of the show, as the cast took their bows, Claire threw a bouquet of flowers up onstage. PJ giggled in recognition when he finally saw his nanny, blowing kisses his way.
When the group arrived back at Claire’s house after the show, George was waiting there with barbecue. Claire disappeared to put PJ to bed while Jess, Jim, Diane, and George poured themselves drinks. They were watching dusk fall from the somewhat chilly screened porch when Claire rejoined them and moved them to the living room and the fireplace.
“Now, wasn’t that a magical performance? Melody is really talented. I’m so lucky to have found her. Thank you all for coming to that show. George, you really missed out.”
“Sorry, Claire, but I had to take care of a builders’ issue. Customer service is necessary even on a Saturday afternoon.”
“Are you worried that Melody will take off for a bigger opportunity, Claire?” Diane asked.
“Well, not right yet. I mean, gosh, she’s so good that I hope she takes her talent wherever it leads her, but, selfishly, I hope that doesn’t happen in the next two or three years.” Claire crossed her fingers and looked at Jess for reassurance.
“That would get our boy to preschool and new adventures. But let’s not worry about it yet. Melody’s here, and she’s ours for the moment. She’s a first-class nanny.” Jess stifled a giggle. “Let me tell you about when I met Melody.” She looked at Claire, and they both told the story of the young woman’s colorful first appearance.
When she finished, she noted that Jim was studying Claire closely, his features frozen on his face. She remembered his curiosity when she had explained Claire’s situation. Claire was not the sort of independent woman Jim knew much about. She could almost see his mind puzzling over her friend’s situation.
“So, Jim, what did you think of the puppet show?” Claire asked.
“I thought it was great,” he replied. “It made me wistful about what I missed back when I was too busy to participate much in my own children’s outings. And seeing PJ reminds me how quickly they grow up—”
“Oh, oh!” Diane interjected. “George and I have first dibs on babysitting. You were just about to offer, weren’t you?” She teased.
Jim’s face contorted in a look of such surprise and worry that Jess stood and walked toward the screened-in porch to give him time to recover. “Claire, I think it’s time to think about putting the twinkly lights on in there. Look at t
hat sunset.”
Chapter 42
“So, one thing I forgot to mention about Jim’s office . . .” Cindy was priming Jess while they walked toward Dan’s office the following Monday morning. “There’s a full human skeleton in there!”
Jess smiled and, seeing Dan motion them in, opened the door. “So, ladies, are we ready to wind this up?” He moved from his standing desk to the conference table in his office and offered them coffee.
Jess and Claire presented the material to Dan. It didn’t take more than an hour for him to gauge the full scope of the problems. He took a quick break to take a call and then said, “I’ve seen enough. How should we approach Personne with this mess? The two of you together, since you both worked on the project? Cindy alone, as an attorney who can speak to the legalities if he needs that detail? Or just you, Jess, to keep it more personal and perhaps not as threatening as two-on-one? Or should I be involved? What do you think?”
Jess straightened in her chair. “I’ve been thinking about that and would recommend that I meet with him on my own. He came across as a real victim when I met with him the first time. Almost broke down, in fact. Clearly, we need to confront him with our findings in a nonjudgmental way. I think that’s our best chance of getting him to come clean about his involvement and confirm our hunches. Cindy, are you OK with that?”
“Gosh, yes. I only saw the guy at that first meeting. It’s going to be hard for him—he doesn’t need an audience. Actually, it might be better, if he wants to meet later about some of the legal aspects, that I hold back.”
They agreed that Jess would meet with Personne as soon as possible and that all would be quiet until after that meeting.
“Just paying bills,” Jess responded to Jim, who always seemed to start a phone conversation wanting to know exactly what she was doing. “What about you?”
“Barely home and looking at what I have to eat. Wishing you were here.”