Every Fifteen Minutes (47 page)

“Say hi back.” Eric thought a minute. “Or I might go to the hospital, say hi to her, and sneak in a check on my patients.”

“Yes, that you can do. But stay off of Facebook or you're grounded. Feel me?”

“Yes,” Eric answered, reaching over and starting the car.

 

Chapter Fifty-three

Eric reached the hospital by the end of the business day, and rush-hour traffic was in full swing. He steered to the parking lot, stopped at the entrance, and slid his parking pass into the turnstile, but the parking attendant stepped out of his booth and waved him away.

“Sir, sir! That turnstile is for doctors only!”

“It's me, Bob!” Eric called back, sticking his head from the driver's side window.

“Sorry, Dr. Parrish. Didn't recognize the car. You get a new one?”

“Not exactly.” Eric wasn't about to explain, but Bob was grinning.

“Hey, way to go last night at the mall! You did us proud!”

“Thanks,” Eric said with a smile. The turnstile went up and he cruised through, drove to his parking spot, and turned off the ignition. He got out of the car, locked it up, and made his way to the breezeway that led to the main building. Hospital staff, doctors, and nurses flowed from the exit, and Eric approached, swimming upstream. As he got closer to the breezeway door, he realized that people were looking at him, doing double-takes, and his very appearance caused a frisson of reaction. He caught one or two of the staff smiling at him, and somebody flashed him a thumbs-up, but one of the nurses frowned, looking away.

Eric could read her expression at a glance, and he had anticipated as much. He'd hoped that most HGH employees would know him well enough, at least by reputation, to know he wouldn't kill anybody, but there had to be people who would disapprove of his protecting the killer of a young girl or suspect him of murder himself. Eric kept his head down, suddenly self-conscious, then spotted Ken Shu, one of his colleagues in oncology, flagging him down.

“Eric, my God, I saw what happened at the mall. What you did was positively heroic. Was that young man one of your patients? He could've killed you!”

“No, I'm fine, I wasn't in danger, thanks,” Eric said, grateful, though he wanted to keep going.

“I want you to know I'm behind you, and we know this thing will get straightened out. I can't stand some of the negative things they're saying, it's ridiculous. It's very difficult for laypeople to understand a physician's privilege. The police and the press, it's obvious they don't get it.”

“Right, but I have to go, take care. Good-bye now. Thanks again.” Eric barreled ahead, hearing the murmuring and feeling the stares as he went by.

“Dr. Parrish!” A group of nurses looked over at him, and one cupped a hand to her mouth to call out, “Looking good last night! Way to go!”

“Thanks,” Eric called back as he entered the breezeway, a long corridor under a glass-walled canopy that led to the hospital, plastered on both sides with large multicolored posters of hospital PR. He braced himself when he saw that Morris Brexler was coming toward him from the opposite direction, his eyes hardening.

“Eric, you're certainly in the news. What a hullabaloo. Of course, we're behind you a hundred percent. My wife was delighted that you saved Neiman Marcus.”

Eric forced a smile. “Yes, thanks.”

“I was surprised to hear that you were taking the time off, though I trust it's a good idea. Too many distractions. I imagine you have meetings with counsel and the authorities, things of that nature.”

“Yes, I do.” Eric couldn't tell if Morris was suspicious of the reason for the suspension.

“How long do you expect to be off? A week, two weeks?”

“I'm not sure. Why?”

“We have a meeting of the Pharmacy Review Board next Wednesday. If you recall, we vote on Rostatin.”

“Oh, right.” Eric realized that Morris was asking because he had a vote to deliver to his cronies at the drug company. A golf boondoggle probably hung in the balance. “I'm sure I can vote by email. I'll email Mike and copy everyone on the committee.”

“No, email won't do. I checked with Mike and you have to appoint someone to vote in your stead.”

“Then I'll have someone vote in my stead. I'll tell Mike.”

Morris frowned. “Eric, I emailed you some further information on the drug. I put in a request for those other studies you wanted. I never heard back from you. Did you get the information?”

“It probably came in but I'm behind on my email.”

“I can also put you in touch with one of the reps, Clark Yoshida. He's very knowledgeable and he can answer any questions you may have. I know you're busy right now, but he'll work around your schedule. You can even discuss it over dinner.”

“Thanks, but no.” Eric tried not to laugh. Most doctors did everything they could to avoid drug reps, and Morris was sending him on a blind date with one.

“Eric, I wish you would keep an open mind.”

“If you're asking me if I'm changing my vote, I'm not. We can agree to disagree.” Eric wanted to go. “It isn't the first time, and it won't be the last. I'm the loyal opposition.”

Morris frowned. “I hope you reconsider after you've read the email.”

“Thank you, but I have to go. See you soon.” Eric took off, going the wrong way through the crowds, acknowledging the shouted approval and expressions of support, and trying to ignore the narrowed eyes and tight lips of those who didn't. He found it difficult to believe that people would actually think him a murderer, but it wasn't out of the question. The newspapers were full of similar stories, every day, and he knew that the face someone showed the world could be at odds with the psyche.

He got on the elevator as everyone got off, and hit the up button, heading for his unit. He realized he did it reflexively, as he had every day for the past fifteen years, and he knew he probably couldn't be here in an official capacity, with the indefinite suspension. Still, he thought he'd check on his patients informally, see if there was anything he needed from his office, then stop down and see Laurie.

Eric got off the elevator on Wright as staff piled on, reacting to his appearance, and he smiled and acknowledged their comments, then went down the short hallway to the unit. He realized he didn't have his employee lanyard to swipe himself in, so he knocked at the door, waited, then knocked again. He couldn't see anybody through the glass in the airlock, so he picked up the intercom phone on the wall.

“Anybody home? It's Eric, and I don't have my swipe card. Can you let me in?”

“Dr. Parrish, it's Tina. I'll let you in. Hold on a second, I'm in the dining room.”

“Thanks. I'll wait.” Eric hung up, feeling a comfort being back on the unit, its schedule fixed and familiar. Tina would be supervising the patients at dinner, the shift was over, and most of the day nurses had gone home except for Amaka, who always stayed late. Sam, David, and Jack would be getting ready to go home. Eric wondered how the patients were doing, and, in particular, if Perino was improving. It was too bad that his wife had decided to go public with her complaint, but if this experience was teaching Eric anything, it was to let go of what he couldn't control. He probably should've learned that lesson already, but better late than never.

“Dr. Parrish?” said a voice behind him, and Eric turned to see two smiling security guards in blue uniforms approaching him from the elevator.

“Yes?”

“You were awesome last night at the mall, Doc. My daughter works in the Lady Footlocker, and the cops evacuated her. She was scared out of her mind.”

“I'm sorry to hear that.”

“It's good that it ended peacefully, thanks to you. Anyway, we got a call to check on you.”

“Check on me? I'm fine, thanks.”

“No, it's not that way.” The security guard hesitated, shifting his feet. “You're not permitted on the premises while you're on suspension.”

“Oh, please.”

“Sorry, sir.”

“But I want to check on my patients and get some things out of my office.”

“They told us you can clean out your desk, but we have to escort you and wait with you while you do that. No suspended employee can be on the premises unescorted while they're on suspension. That's a procedure for all employees, including physicians.”

“I can't bring you into the unit. It upsets the patients and they've had enough of that already this week. Can't you wait here while I go in and talk to my people?”

“No, sorry, no can do.”

“Hold on a second.” Eric picked up the wall phone and punched in Mike's extension.

“Legal Department,” Dee Dee answered.

“Dee, this is Eric Parrish. Is he in?”

“Sure, Eric, hang on.” Dee Dee put him on hold, and in the next moment, there was a click on the line.

“Eric, this is Mike. Jeez, I can't believe what you did last night in King of Prussia! I hope that kid knows he owes you his life. Now I understand what was going on yesterday, when the cops—”

“Thanks, but I'm outside my unit now, trying to get into my own office.”

“I know, I heard. I would've come up to see you myself, but I'm in the middle of something.”

“Mike, I need to check on my patients and talk to my staff.”

“Sorry, it's not procedure. I know this seems formal, but it's out of my hands. Employees on suspension aren't permitted on the campus. I could cite you chapter and verse in the employee manual, if you wait a minute.”

“It's a matter of patient care, Mike. I just want to know how they're doing.”

“You're not supposed to be performing any of your duties as Chief. If you want to take belongings from your office, the guards will wait for you to finish and escort you out.”

“Mike, I can't have guards all over my unit again.”

“I'm sorry, but there's nothing I—”

Eric hung up in disgust, turning to see Amaka, Sam, David, and Jack, piling into the airlock and unlocking the outside door.

“Eric!” Amaka came over, gave him a big hug, then let him go, beaming at him. “Thank God you're okay. What a nightmare that must've been. We saw tanks and guns. It looked like a war zone.”

Sam emerged, shaking Eric's hand. “Chief, great to see you. You were unreal at the mall. We were at a baseball game and one of the moms had a video live-streaming on her phone. What a scene!”

David grinned at Eric, his eyes shining. “Chief, I'm proud to know you. I was gaming and I stopped when I saw it online. I gave up the win because of you.”

Jack leaned over and shook Eric's hand. “Chief, I'm telling everybody we're best friends. There's a really hot nurse in Endocrinology, and I think you just tipped the balance in my favor, if you follow.”

Amaka gave Jack a playful hit on the arm. “Stop, you.”

Everybody laughed except for Kristine, who showed up on the unit's side of the airlock, her only expression an interested smile. Eric ignored her. “Hi, everybody, thanks. I wanted to check on the patients and get some things out of my office, but I can't come in without security, so I'm not coming in.”

Amaka frowned at the security guards. “This is insulting! Dr. Parrish is the Chief of the unit. This is
his
unit.”

The security guard shook his head. “Sorry, but we have to follow procedure. The only way to admit Dr. Parrish into the unit is if he's escorted.”

Eric let it go, because Amaka, Sam, and David looked uniformly upset. Only Jack seemed typically detached. “Troops, let's not sweat this. There's nothing in my office that I need, and I'm not going to disrupt the unit.”

Amaka muttered, “This is ridiculous.”

“Don't worry about it.” Eric faced Sam. “Can I call you tonight and talk about Perino and the others?”

“Happy to do it. What time?”

“I'll call you at eight, okay?”

“Sure.”

“All right everybody, take care.” Eric managed a smile, though he hated to go. “Feel free to call me if anything comes up or if you have a question. I have a new phone number, and I'll email it to you.”

“Bye, Chief,” Amaka said, still frowning, and Sam gave his little hippie wave.

“We'll talk, Chief.”

David nodded, somber. “See you later, Chief.”

Jack flashed him his trademark too-cool-for-school smile. “Take care, Chief.”

“Will do.” Eric managed a smile back, though something about Jack bugged him, the attending's superior act wearing thin. Eric motioned the security guards to walk ahead of him down the hallway. “Let's go, gentlemen. I don't need you to walk me out of the building but we can share an elevator.”

“Okay, Dr. Parrish,” said one of the security guards, leading the way to the elevator lobby and pressing the down button.

Eric waited for the elevator.

But he'd be damned if he'd be kept out of his own hospital.

He made a call as soon as he got outside.

 

Chapter Fifty-four

Eric left the hospital by the front entrance, only to walk around the building to the emergency department and enter through its automatic doors. He waved at the nurse in the glass-walled triage station by reception, then slipped past the double doors of the ED entrance when one of the physician's assistants left, doing a double-take as Eric went past.

“Dr. Parrish, great job!” the PA called to him.

“Thanks,” Eric called back, over his shoulder. He entered the ED, and the two nurses looked up from the octagonal station.

The blond nurse smiled warmly. “Dr. Parrish, you were amazing last night! That was really something, the way you went to that mall.”

“Thanks.” Eric smiled. “Is Dr. Fortunato in?”

“She's in room D, but she's not finished. She said she'd meet you in her office. I'll let her know you're here.”