“Not that day.”
“During the surgery, was he careful?”
“Yes, until blood spurted out of the patient’s chest.”
“Ah. I think we all agree that he made amistake. The question here is did you observe any negligence?”
“No, I didn’t. But with all the blood, something had to be wrong.”
“Yet you didn’t actuallyseeany negligence.”
“I didn’t. He did, though. Dr. Barry was so upset that he left the room. Another surgeon had to come in to take over. Later we learned he nicked an artery.”
“During a very complicated surgery. You’re an experienced nurse. Have you seen other doctors make mistakes?”
“Yes, of course. But I never saw one leave the operating room.”
“So the fact that he left was a mistake?”
“I don’t know. The patient died, for God’s sake.”
“Again, have you seen other patients die on the table?”
“Yes.”
“Where was the negligence in this surgery?”
“The patient died.”
“I think we clarified that one. Nurse Landers, did you like Dr. Barry?”
“No. Nobody did. He was conceited and arrogant. And he didn’t treat the staff very well.”
“Hmm. So you’re testifying against him because of his personality?”
“No!”
“Did the autopsy reveal negligence?”
“It was inconclusive.”
“I see. No other questions for you, Nurse Landers.” He clicked off the recording.
Pax sat back, his eyes bleak. “She was right, you know. I was a bastard.Icouldn’t even tolerate what happened so I left.”
“Understandable. But because you weren’t a nice person then, doesn’t mean you were negligent. Pax, you made a mistake.”
Steph spoke for the first time. “I keep telling him that, Nick.”
Pax put his arm around her. For a fleeting moment, Nick was jealous of their closeness. “Iamcoming to see that in counseling.”
“That’s terrific.”
“Shall we listen to the people in the bar? For the record, they were drinking, like you. No one observed how many drinks you had. And no one saw you drive home.”
“I didn’t. I called an Uber. I’ve never driven drunk.”
“That’s in your favor.”
