“Hospitals review every instance of the death a patient.”
“Was Dr. Barry there?”
“No. He’d disappeared by then. As the head of surgery, I had to present, field questions, and lead the discussion of the incident.”
“Have you ever made a mistake that upset you like he was?”
“I’ve lost patients. I’ve gotten upset. A doctor always wonders if he or she could have done something more or differently.”
“Dr. Shannon, do you consider yourself a good witness?”
“I don’t know. I was never in this position before.”
“Surely there were lawsuits for malpractice and wrongful death at the hospital.”
“Not when I was in charge.”
“No more questions.”
* * *
“You’re an idiot.” Nick knew he shouldn’t be doing this. “What are you even going to say?” he asked himself aloud.
Still, he drove toward the clinic. From talking to Pax about the next steps in the lawsuit, Nick was aware that he wasn’t working today.
She was. Which is why he ended up going here. But no amount of rationalizing could keep him away. He was drawn to her.
He could still see her green eyes snapping in anger at the lawyer two days ago. And how she held herself through the entire testimony. When Nick questioned her, he was close enough to see her beautiful complexion heighten with color.
He arrived at closing time, parked in the newly paved parking lot behind the clinic and went around the front. Jon Anderson sat behind the receptionist’s desk. A new guard was present, sitting across the room. Stephanie was on her honeymoon. And only one patient waited to see the doctor.
“Hello, Mr. Redmond.”
“Call me, Nick, Jon. I’ve come to see Dr. Shannon. But I’ll wait until she’s seen her last patient.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah.”
It only took twenty minutes until Noreen came out to the reception area. Her hair was up in a knot on her head and she wore green scrubs. She headed toward him with a frown on her face. “What are you doing here?” Up close now, he noted the lines of fatigue around her eyes. Her unique scent wafted over to him.
“I’d like to talk to you.” He lowered his voice and added, “I’d have called but I was afraid you wouldn’t answer or would hang up on me.”
“Hmm.”
Jon interrupted them. “Dr. Shannon. It’s six. I’ll lock the front door and then leave by the back.”
“I’ll be going too,” the security guard said.
“Sure, Jon, Tom. Thanks for all you did today.” That sounded almost friendly. The woman was usually remote.
Alice, the nurse, also bade her goodbye. “I stocked the shelves, Dr. Shannon and made sure everything is clean. I’ll be going now, too.”
When they were alone, Noreen gave him a disgruntled look. As if he was a bother. “Let’s go to the office. I have to turn lights out in here or people will think we’re still open.”
Soon they were seated in the office she shared with Pax. He sat adjacent to her and she pivoted in a swivel chair to face him. “So tell me what you want.”
“I wanted to see how you are.”
