Chaos at Crescent City Medical Center (9 page)

"Alex, Don,
those of you
who aren't from New Orleans.  Here
, like it or not,
voodoo is a reality. 
There are plenty of people who practice voodoo as a religion, just like we practice
Catholicism
. 
Whether we choose to believe in it or not, it's a large part of our culture.  We've got to consider it."  There were still skeptical looks from board members who were not native New Orleanians
,
but they were pondering John Marigny’s words
.

Robert Bonnet spoke, "I have to agree with John. 
Before Katrina and the destruction of the m
edical archives at Charity Hospital
,
you could read full
reports about patients who've been voodooed, or "hoodooed" as they call i
t.  Nurses and physicians
have been treating patients with these claims fo
r years.  Lots of patients would bring
their gris-gris
, or good luck charms,
to the hospital with them for good luck or protection and
keep it with them while they were
hospitalized.
  It’s the same
all over the city.  I’ve seen patients at Tulane
, East Jefferson
and LSU
H
ealth
S
ciences
C
enter who have gris gris
, or charms,
at their bedside or in their bedside tables.
We’ve even had nurses in the OR remove gris gris from patient’s clenched fists after their general anesthesia.
  Hell, I have given permission for patient’s to keep their gris gris with them during surgery.
"

Alex was
incredulous a
t
Robert’s admission and
flabbergasted to think that physic
ians in a world-class hospital w
ould give credence to Voodoo.  It was unthinkable to her
,
and she bristled at the thought of it.  She
glared angrily at Robert and attempted to interrupt him,
but he silenced her with his hand. 

Robert looked around
and
,
noting the rapt attention of the Board members, continued,
"There used to be tons of
information
, before Katrina,
on metals, charms, coins, strings, and stones that patients
’ would insist on keeping with them when they were sick and hospitalized.
  There
are
also reports that support patients claims that if their gris-gris
is away from them, they'll die and there are reports of patients actually dying when the charms were removed  I don’t know if any of those archives have survived, but I reviewed them as a medical student and actually completed
s
ome research that validated
many of the reports.
"

Don went off in a fit of temper. "
Bonnet, y
ou mean to tell me that patients believe that if this shit is taken away from they'll die?"

Robert nodded and said, "Yes, and there are
...w
ere
affidavits from professionals documenting that patients have died when their charms were removed.
  In
fact
, there are still many conjur
er
s and voodoo priests all over the Louisiana.  Voodoo is a religion here and a way of life for many people.
"  Dr. Bonnet
's
voice was firm, but polite.

Don's tirade continued
, as
he sneered at the board members.  "That's the stupidest, most idiotic thing I've heard.
This is some crazy shit and n
ow I'm convinced people in this town are ignorant." 

Several board members stared at him, their faces showing anger
and contempt
at his
denigration of their city.

Alex
noted the stares and attempted to defuse the situation.  She
looked at Gottfried LaSalle
whom she thought she knew very well
. 
“Gottfried
, s
urely you don't believe this?" 

"Ms. Destephano, I know this is hard for you and the
others.  But, I'm well aware
that voodoo is
readily
practiced in New Orleans.
Dr. Bonnet is correct.
I ha
ven't learned much about it, because
I'm sma
rt enough to acknowledge its presence and also smart enough to stay away from it.
"  Mr. LaSal
le looked at Lena Marquette.  "A
nything on this subject you'd care to share with the others
, Lena
?"

Lena shifted uncomfortably in her seat
and looked pained but said
, “
Many
people have
told me that
my mother died from
a curse placed on her by a Vood
oo
ie
nne, or voodoo Queen.  My mother fired her for
not taking good care of
my little brother.
She also refused to write the voodoo Queen any
reference letters
so she couldn’t find a job anywhere in the city.
Within three months
, my mother
was dead.  She'd been a
healthy, robust woman and had never
been sick a day in
her life.  They did an autopsy
but never determined the cause of death."

Elizabeth broke a long silence.  "Do you believe it was a curse or voodoo magic that killed her?"  Elizabeth was on the edge of her seat waiting for Lena's response.

Lena shrugged her shoulders and clasped her
hands.  "What's the difference?  Dead is dead.
  No one was able to explain it.  We found voodoo artifacts around the house during the time she was ill.  Every time we found a new
gris-gris, my mother became
sick
er
.  Finally, our gardener found a fish buried in the back yard. 
Following Voodoo custom, m
y father cut it open, and there was a slip of paper with my mother's name on it."  Lena was becoming
uncomfortable;
her face
was
marked with red.

"Wh
at was the fish for?"  Alex asked
her voice astounded.

Lena
continued
her voice quiet.  "Voodoo legend says that if you put someone's name inside of a fish and bury it in their back yard, that person will die.  My mother was only 33 years old.  She
lost her mind
and
went insane at the end from terrible
body
pains that medicine couldn't diagnose
or treat
.
She just got horrible stomach pains and died. 
None of the pain medicines worked and the doctors tried everything. 
Our priest did his best, but he said the black magic was too strong.
So yes,
Alex, I do believe in the power of voodoo.
Its spell killed my
mother when I was 11 years old and I have missed her all of my life.
"  Lena sobbed quietly into a tissue.

Alex
was feeling like all of this was a bad movie
.  It
was surreal.  There were smart, educated people
, leaders in the city. 
The
aristocracy of New Orleans and they believed in these hideous spells.
It was unbelievable.
She
looked at Andre Renou.  "Mr. Renou, do you know of any reason why someone would place a curse on Mrs. Raccine?

  Mr. Renou looked
uncomfortable and
perplexed.  "No idea whatsoever." 

Alex said, "Could it be a political maneuver, maybe a group angry with the Governor?
  A special interest group?
  Has he upset anyone lately?
"
Alex remember
ed
her conversation with her grandfather and pressed the aide.

Renou replied, "
No, not to my knowledge. 
Don't know.
I don’t think so
,
but
I'll look into
it.
  There is always some fringe group
that
is angry.
"

Alex searched
Renou’s face as well as
the
other
faces at the table.  She could hardly believe that Gottfried LaSalle, Lena Marquette, Robert Bonnet, and John Marigny actually supported the possibility that voodoo was responsible for the tragedy at CCMC.  Also, Alex couldn't overlook the behavior of Christina Baptiste.  Even Andre Renou had not questioned the possibility that voodoo could be the cause of the crime.

Dr. Ashley said, "
Well,
I guess we know why Ms. Baptiste
left.  Does anyone have
suggestions for dealing with the situation?
  I have no experience in dealing with Voodoo.
" 

Alex
shrugged her shoulders and
said
, “Me neither.
Let me work with our staff and John Marigny.  I'll tell you,
though;
I'm not in favor of suggesting to the media that we've a voodoo incident at CCMC.  Anyone disagree?"

"Yes, I disagree completely," said Mr. LaSalle.

Alex turned toward him as he continued to speak.

"Ms. Destephano, it makes no difference what you say to the media.  If there's news that a rooster was involved in Mrs. Raccine's situation, all of New Orleans will know.  I sugges
t that you be honest with them.
And, another thing, Alex
...
” he began
.

Alex attempted to give him her full attention
,
but her brain was moving at a million miles a minute,

“Yes, Gottfried
,
”

“This is important.  Pay attention to what I am saying. This isn’t over.  This Voodoo curse now includes all of CCMC, patients and staff, doctors, nurses and therapists as well as all of us in this room.  Tha
t’s why Bessie, the nursing aide,
left the hospital early this morning.  That’s probably why Christina left as well.  To learn about the curse and give it credence
and power
is to accept the curse and all of us here have done that.”

The silence in the room was deafening.  The group just stared at each other.  Finally Kevin Anderson looked at Gottfried
LaSalle
and asked, “What do we do?”

“I suggest
you
contact your parish priest. You
administrators
,” Gottfried looked at the CCME staff, “
should contact the Archdiocese of New Orleans as well as the departments of religious studies at our local Universities for further insight.”

Alex was clearly subdued as were the other members of the board of trustees.  “
I
will.  Thanks, Gottfried, we will do that
,”
Alex said, closing her legal pad.

Dr. Ashley stood, "I suppose we can stand adjourned.  Don, anything else from you?" 

Don shook his head, once again staring at the floor.

"In that case, thank you all for coming on short notice.  We'll keep you posted."

On the way out of the conference room, Gottfried LaSalle whispered to Alex and Don.  "You know that the voodoo is under the influence of someone else who apparently wants to damage this hospital.
I doubt the Voodoos are
acting on their own." 

Alex gave him a strained smile.  "Thanks, Mr. LaSalle.  We'll keep it in mind.  We'll keep you updated."

"Bad business, bad for business," LaSalle muttered on his way out.

Don glared at the remaining board members.  “Yeah, this is just
fucking
great.
These people are fucking lunatics.
We’ll be out of business in a year if this
doesn’t go away.  Nobody in this
heathen,
God-forsaken town is coming to a cursed
,
Voodoos
hospital.”

***

Raoul DuPree, his heart thudding, leaned against a door
jamb
outside the coronary care unit.  He'd seen the evil one and the ordinary man in the lobby and
, on an impulse,
followed them
.
He strained
, his heart beating furiously,
to hear their words behind the half-closed door in the empty patient room.