Chaos at Crescent City Medical Center (7 page)

"Where's Bette?"
Alex looked around for the nurse executive.

"In the examining room interrogating Susan who's so
tired and
ups
et she can hardly talk.  Bette, B.F., the bitch,
is
brow
-
beating her to death.
"  Janelle again threw up her arms in frustration.
  Susan told the police everything she knows, there's nothing else to say.
Bette told her that if she had been on her toes, this wouldn’t have happened.
What kind of bull shit is that?
"  Janelle's
voice expressed her contempt for her boss
.

Alex smiled as Janelle referred to Bette as B.F.  She'd heard many interpretations of the initials by both nursing and medical staff, from big foot to butt face, and other less gracious interpretations.  "What's Bette want from her?"

"Who knows?  She's asking her over and over again why no one charted on Mrs. Raccine between two o-clock and five-fifte
en this morning.
Like, give me a break.  Who gives a damn about the charting?
Susan thinks she is blaming her for what happened.
"

Alex nodded
but made no comment.  "We'll worry about the documentation later.  Call the nursing office and see how many of these patients can be transferred to other units.  Have them call an agency and arrange for supplemental staffing to get us through the next few days."

Janelle's eyes dilated instantly, her fear evident.  "
Are you out of your mind?!
I can't do this without Bette's approval.  She'd fire me."  Janelle paled at the thought.

"I'll handle Bette
. 
Now, m
ove
before someone falls out of bed or leaves
AMA
,"   Alex said crisply.

Janelle hesitated,
and then
disappeared into her office to make the calls.

Alex walked down the hall.  Robert Bonnet was walking toward her.  He looked terrible. 

"Robert, any change in Mrs. Raccine?"

"No, Alex.  Things
are the same.  Physically, she was pretty stable but now
her heart's acting up.  She's traumatized. 
I d
on't know if she'll ever recover psychologically." 

"A little early for
such a dire prediction
isn't it?
   Please keep that to yourself, " Alex said, putting on her lawyer hat
.
"
How's the Governor taking this?"

"As well as he can.  Hasn't said much and hasn't asked any questions.  I don't think he's put things together, or realizes what's going on yet. 
I’m n
ot sure I do."  Robert sighed deeply.  "Anyway, he was spared seeing his wife covered in blood and didn't see the dead rooster, snake, and black candle in her room."

"Black candle.  I don't understand.  What's this mean?"  Alex looked confused.

Robert paused as his cell phone
went off. 
Checking it he said,
"
Got to
go. You'll know soon
enough
.  Jack
Francois is interviewing staff and security. 
He s
aid he'd speak to all of us soon."  He hurried toward the
doctors
'
lounge
to answer his
phone
.

"Where is Captain Francois?  I'd like to meet him," Alex hollered after him.

"He and several other members of his troop are in the lounge." 

Alex
bravely
opened the door of
the staff lounge
.  As she observed Captain Francois, she wasn't impressed.  He was
a big man
in his mid-fifties
and
a bit
overweight
and was
balding
.  He had a steely look about him, an effect increased by his
short
salt and pe
pper hair.
 
To top it
all off, he was eating a jelly doughnut and drinking coffee.  His tone was
condescending as he continued to interview
Susan.  He
was really pressing her, seeming
intent on getting her to admit to things she didn't know.
  He was a little
too
Gestapo
-like
for Alex. 

"Excuse me, Captain Francois --"  Alex began.

"
What the hell, e
xcuse me, M
issy," the captain barked at her.  "I'm bu
sy.  I'm conducting a
confidential police investigation.  Get the hell out of here."

Alex remained in the doorway, more from shock than defiance.  She didn't move.

Franco
is stood up and said in a mocking
voice, "You deaf.  Get out of here no
w or I'll have you escorted out
...on your ass
," the captain said as he
eyed her menacingly.

Alex
, red-faced,
composed herself
and began, "Let me introduce myself.  I'm Al
exandra Destephano, the CCMC
in-house
legal counsel.  I've got a right to be here --"

Captain Francois interrupted her, obviously unimpressed with Alex or her position.  He lost his temper
,
and his face turned red.  "I don't give a damn
who
you are!
  No one
needs
to be here.  This young lady isn't under arrest.  I told Ms. Farve I wanted to interview all staff, and she gave me her blanket permission.
I was just being nice.  I don't need anyone's consent.
  This is a crime scene, or
don't you know that?
" the policeman sneered, glaring at Alex.  "
You can leave," he gestured toward Susan.  "I'll talk with this 'important
lawyer
l
ady' for a while
,
and I'll
find
you again
later."  Francois came across so angry and sarcastic that Alex braced herself for the worst.

Susan left quickly.  Alex sat down next to the captain.  "Have any preliminary information you'd like to share with me?"

Captain Francois looked amused.  "Oh, I've got lots of information, but I ain't ready to share it with nobody.  I'm far fro
m done.  I'll have a short
report for your board of trustees when they meet this afternoon."  The captain stopped for a few minutes and surveyed Alex critically.  "
Incidentally
, Andre Renou, the Governor's chief aide, would like to be present when the board of trustees meets.  I trust you ain't worried about him being there?"  He smirked at her.

Alex was astounded at the captain’s barrage of sarcasm. "We'll be happy
to have Mr
. Renou present for the meeting but of course, i
f the board goes into executive session, he'll have to leave." 

Francois gave Alex a deprecating look and said
sarcastically, “You’ve
got to be kidding. Who
in the hell
do you think you
are?
  You really think you can throw out the Governor’s right hand man?
We'll see about that now, won't
we?
 
Anything else, Ms.
Destephano?" 

Alex continued bravely,
"Could you arrange for the uniformed officers to leave?  It's upsetting the patients and their families.  If you need to continue surveillance, you could do it with plainclothes police officers."

"Surveillance with plainclothes of
ficers.  What
kind of bull shit it that?  Are you a policeman too, and a lawyer?
I'll think about it.
Now get out of here, now.
"  The captain
dismissed her with his behavior and
retu
r
ned his attention to his notes
.

Alex quickly left.  She was appalled at Francois
’
la
nguage and coarseness
.  Still smarting from his condescending behavior, Alex left and immediately ran into
a red-
faced and obviously pissed
Bette Farve.

"Destephano, how dare you authorize the transfer of patients from this unit, or approve supplemental staffing, especially from an agency.  Those are my decisions.  Not yours.  Who do you think you are?" 

Alex looked st
raight at the nursing executive
and said, "
I am the hospital attorney. 
There's no staff to run this unit. How're you going to provide care with no nurses? 
As
the legal cou
nsel for this medical center,
it is within my purview to evaluate risk potential.  This unit and
its
complex medical patients present a high risk. 
Thirty patients and three nurses in a crisis situation predicts
, rather guarantees
,
unsafe care.
  What you are doing is
unsafe;
now get out of my way.
"

Alex turned and walked away
, feeling Bette’s eyes as they bored
into her back.  She
knew Bette
was vengeful and
would get her back.  B.F. carried grudges
,
and Alex had previously been the victim of her vindictive behavior.
  It was usually pretty bad. 

What the hell, Alex thought to herself. 
On her wa
y to her office, Alex stopped in
administration and found it still in chaos.  Elizabeth was seated at the conference table.

"Has Don straightened out yet
?"

Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders.  "
Nope, n
ot really.  How does this sound for the press? 
'
Early this morning, Mrs. Grace Raccine, First Lady of Louisiana, enco
untered an
assault
in her hospital room at Crescent C
ity Medical Center.  She is currently
in stable condition, and resting in her room.  Gov
ernor Raccine is with her.  The
hospital is investigating, and details will be forthcoming.
'
"

"Sounds good.  Let it go."  Alex
wondered if the day could get any worse as she
waved to Dr. Ashley on her way ou
t.

Alex
f
ound Bridgett strangely quiet when
she
finally reached her office at eleven o'clock
.  She had expected
Bridgett to pellet her with a
million questions.  Even more, Alex had expected Bridgett to work her inside
network
and have the inside scoop about Mrs. Raccine.  Bridgett was quiet and seemed unwilling to talk.  She answered Alex’s questions with a perfunctory “yes or no.”
Alex was surprised
, even stunned
by Bridgett's
reticence and lack of interest in the events surrounding them.

"You okay, Bridge?  You're mighty quiet."

Bridgett nodded
without meeting her eyes
, picking up the phone
when it rang
.  "It's for you.  Your
grandfather.  I'll put it through."

Alex closed the door of her office and pushed the button on her phone."

"
Granddad
, where are you?"

"In my hotel.  What the hell's going on over there
?
  What's happened to Grace Raccine?" 
Her grandfather'
s voice was loud, demanding.

"What did you hear?"

"TV said she
ha
d an accident in her hospital room and was in a coma.  That true?"

Alex rolled her eyes.  "Pretty much.  It's
actually
a little worse.  They found a dead rooster and a snake in the room with her
early this morning.  She was in shock and is unresponsive
."

"What?
What the hell!
What's that mean?  What the hell, this is one heathen damn city
!"

"
I d
on't know,
Granddad
.
I have no idea.
It's weird.  I'll tell you more tonight when we get together, Okay?"
  At any other time, Alex would have admonished her grandfather’s language.

"Yeah.
Yeah,
Okay.  Be careful, Alex.  Don't like this, especially this snake shit. 
This is one fucking low-life place.  I want you back in Virginia. Don't understand you love for this hell-hole
.
  Why would anyone
d
o something like that to a sick and dying woman?
"

"
I don’t know and
I will
be careful
.  Bye,
Granddad
."  Alex hun
g up the phone, just as her cell phone
rang again.  She was already tired and it wasn't even noon.

Her grandfather hung up the phone and was soon
deep in thought as he dressed for his lunch appointment.  The events concerning Grace Raccine concerned him, mainly because he was fond of her and was disturbed by the brutality, or at least the symbolism of it.  He shook his head as he left the hotel.  Damn this city, he thought as he hailed a cab.
  Alex need
s
to move back home to Virginia.
  We
've
got plenty of hospitals there that need a good lawyer.

Alex returned to work and
as she
began
to outline the events
of the morning for the board of trustees
, she became acutely aware that she didn’t have the understanding or expertise to deal with the Raccine situation. 
S
he
called John Marigny, an esteemed
and political
ly-wise
New Orleans lawyer, who handled most of the trial work for CCMC.

Alex explained the situation at the hospital
,
and John made no comment, but agreed to meet with the board at one o'clock.  Alex prodded John for an explanation of rooster and snake, but he remained silent.

***

    
The three men who had dined at
Tujague’s
Friday night met for an early lunch at Bocco's on Tuesday at noon. 
Frederico
, t
he mafia boss, glared
at the
evil-faced, ponytailed man and asked
, "Things set for tomorrow, Salvadal?" 

    
The ponytail
ed
man
stroked his leather strap and
shifted in his seat and replied softly, "All set."

Frederico
then turned his attention to the third man
, the ordinary man, and asked
roughly
, “What do you know?
  Are t
hings in place?" 

The
ordinary
man nodded. 

"No mistakes, you hear, none.  People who work for me don't make mistakes
or if they do, that don’t live to make another one
.
" 
Frederico
glared at the man, his
intent clear.

The
ordinary
man looked subdued.  "Don'
t worry, R
ico.  Landry's a shoe in.
He’s weak.  I have known him forever and he
o
wes me. 
I have a
meeting over there
as
s
oon as
we eat."

Monte Salvadal
fingered his ponytail
, looked bored and wondered just
how stupid his companions were.  How'd he ever get hooked up with such
bozos?
  His employer sure called this one wrong.  Proved business people didn't know shit about crime
and how t
o get things done
.  'Course, the bozos were supposed to provide for his cover, keep the heat off him.  Maybe it'd work.  Who knows? 
But, in
reality
,
he never depended on anybody.  He always took care of things himself.  Long as he had his friend here, he'd be okay.  Salvadal smiled as he
caressed the strap in his lap.  His friend had never deserted him.

"Hey,
asshole, you talking?  Eating's supposed to be social." 
Frederico
glared across the table at him, forking food in his mouth. 

"Yeah, man.  Talk.  I'll listen."
Salvadal started eating
and wished
that
lunch was history.

Suddenly, the ordinary man got up and looked around frantically.
"Got to go, got a meeting,"
the
ordinary
man said as he threw his napkin and a fifty dollar bill on the table.
He ran out of
Bocco’s
, not looking back at his companions.

"What's with the choir boy?"

Salvadal shrugged his shoulders and
gave his plate his full attention
and said, “Don’t know,
and don’t
give a shit.”

***

At one o'clock, the board of trustees of Crescent City Medical Center convened in the main conference room.  As Alex entered, she noticed two faces she didn't recognize.  She seated herself between Elizabeth and John Ashley, and
asked
Dr. Ashley who they were.

"The man seated next to Don is Andre Renou, the chief aide for Gover
nor Raccine.  The other gentlema
n is a new member of the board.  I'm not sure of his name, but I believe he's
originally
from the east coast
but has lived in Texas until recently.  He
has tons of money
in oil.  Anyway, his strength on the board is supposedly his business acumen."

Alex studied the man, noting that he was young, mid-to-late thirties and pretty ordinary in appearance.  Somehow he seemed vaguely familiar to her, but she couldn't seem to place him. 

The tens
ion in the well-appointed
conference room was palpable as board members twisted and turned in their seats
, uncertain of why they had been called in
.
Several members were at the coffee bar.
They spoke to each other in low voices.
They were not talking with the staff or administrators which seemed strange to Alex. 
Alex
was always impressed by the collective power
and wisdom
represented by the trustees
.  They were pillars of the community and well acquainted with the nuances of New Orleans.  She had appreciated their
wisdom and the open discussions in previous meetings on how to best prepare for Obama
C
are.
 

Alex
turned to John Ashley, "
Is
Don
able to run this meeting?" 

John shook his head and said, "Don't know, but I am if he isn't.  He's taking this rather
poorly
, particularly the media fallout.
Of course, we all are."

Alex thought John was merely being kind.  Don was incoherent, and seemed unable to speak. It seemed
to take an
eternity
for the next few minutes to pass.  Alex glanced up and saw Dr. Bonnet enter.  She
was startled by the look of hatred
and disgust
that crossed the new board member's face. 
She could see the muscles tighten in his jaw as he clenched the table with his hands. 
It made her distinctly uncomfortable and even chilled her.  She shrugged off a shiver. "John, maybe you'd better
get
started.  Doesn't look like Don's going to."

Dr. Ashley stood up.  "Thank you all for coming
on such short notice
.  We've a difficult situation
here and wanted to update you and get your insight
and help
.
Before we begin, let's introduce ourselves since we have several new people.  I'm John Ashley, the Chief of Medicine here at CCMC
.
"

Alex and the other board members
re-
introduced themselves.
   Alex noted
that the new board m
ember’s name was Kevin Anderson
.  She also observed the rapt look that Robert Bonnet gave him.  The look was first confusion, followed by
recognition and
fear
and uncertainty
.

Andre Renou seemed pleasant enough and expressed his concerns, on behalf of Governor Raccine, related to the First Lady's condition. "The Governor is anguished and grieved over this situation.  He's authorized me to offer any and all of his resources, including the State Bureau of Investigation and the State Police
,
to
find out and explain what is happening here
as soon as possible."

Mr. Gottfried LaSalle, an older member of the board of trustees spoke directly to Don Montgomery.  "Mr. Montgomery, I don't know what has happened here.  My secretary was told that there was a crisis over here and to come.  Can you fill me in?"

Don seemed unable to speak and
l
ooked helplessly at John Ashley. Picking up on Don’s cue,
Dr. Ashley turned to Mr. LaSalle and said, "Sorry, Mr. LaSalle.  I wasn't aware that you hadn't been briefed.  Let me tell you what we know at this point in time.  Later, Captain Francois will be updating us on his investigation."

Dr. Ashley
, his gentle face tense,
took a deep breath and
began describing the bloody scene hoping he wouldn’t traumatize the older members
of the board.  He shuddered inwardly, his stomach knotting as he began the gory tale.
"At five-fifteen this morning, the night nurse on
Six North was making rounds on her patients.  When she entered Mrs
. Raccine's room
,
she found the first l
ady covered in blood and unresponsive.
After examining her, t
he nurses rang for help.
Mrs. Raccine did not appear to be injured.  Her room was in shambles, almost completely destroyed.  The nurse immediately called hospital security and Bette Farve, the administrator on call, who notified me.  I called the others as well as Dr.
Bonnet, Mrs. Raccine's physician.  We all arrived here at six.  Someone
, we don’t know who,
n
otified
the press and they arrived
shortly after we did."  As John stopped for a breath, the board members looked at each other in confusion.  Alex detected bewilderment on several board
members’
faces. 

Lena Marquette said, "Dr. Ashley, I don't understand.  If Mrs. Raccine wasn't injured, where'd the blood come from?"