Chaos at Crescent City Medical Center (14 page)

Elizabeth touched her shoulder and spoke to Sandy gently.  "Diane's in surgery.  Dr. Bonnet is operating on her
.  We hope she'll be okay. 
Bonnet's the best, you know."  Elizabeth was positive, but Sandy, in her shock and grief, just cried, her shoulders shaking with her tears.  

After a few minutes, Elizabeth
led
her out of the office and took her over to the Psychiatric Pavilion where Dr.
Monique
Desmonde
, the head psychiatrist in Crescent City Medical’s Psych Pavilion,
was setting up a post-traumatic stress treatment area.

Alex and Don
were still standing in Sandy’s office
when Dr. Ashley suggested they again check the patient care area and go upstairs to the administrative offices.

It was easy to locate Captain Francois in the inpatient area.  He was barking orders at the
uniformed cops.  Alex
urge
d
Don and John from the area.  I just can't deal with Francois now, she thought.  Her attempts were in vain.  He quickly saw them and walked over.

He had a
tight
smile on his face as he started tal
king.  "Well, we meet again.  More excitement at your world class hospital.
  What the hell.
  It looks like your Emergency department has an emergency.
”
 

Was Francois
actually mocking them
?
Alex was too numb to tell.

She was speechless with indignation.  "Captain Francois, really.  You've no right to act this way."

Dr. Ashley interrupted her.  "Francois,
it’s tragic here.  You
tone and manner of speaking to us is inappropriate. 
Please just help us and don’t harass.”  John’s
tone was quiet, but authoritative.

Francois laughed at the chief of medicine.  "Could've been worse you know." 
The Captain
stared at Alex and added
, “
Well, miss lawyer lady, do I have permission to interv
iew your staff or what?” 
Francois laughed at his own macabre humor. 

Alex
,
though appalled, ignored his behavior
.  "Do what you need to do, gently.  These people are traumatized.  Would you object if one of our staff psychiatrists was with them?"  Alex was surprised at how strong her voice was.

The captain looked at her with a grudging respect.  "No problem, lady.  Send the shrink to administration.  That's where I thought I'd start the interviews.  Plan to set up a command post there.   Any objections?"  Francois looked at Don who shook his head.

After they
left the emergency department, John said, "That man's impossible
.  I only hope he knows what he is doing.”

***

Alex
, John and Don
returned to the nursing suite.  Don told Bette's secretary to have Latetia come over from administration.  Alex asked where Bette was.

"Oh", her secretary said, "she's gone for the day.  She said she came in at five this morning.  She left a little after two to get ready to go on her trip."

Alex was furious that Bette had left.  "Call her at home and tell her to get here.  And beep Elizabeth Tippet and tell her where
we are."  Alex's voice was stern
,
and she was so angry she was shaking
.

   The three sat in silence until Elizabeth appeared.
"I've given a statement to the press.  I canceled the press conference at five o'clock and issued a statement that there'd been a shooting in the emergency department.  I neither
confirmed nor denied
any deaths.  I told the
m we'd have another statement later
this evening when we had more details."

Alex was glad Elizabeth was there.  The two men had regressed into a zombie-li
ke state.  "Thanks, Liz.  Good work.  Did the
press seem satisfied?" Alex
asked
.

Elizabeth looked strangely a
t Alex.  "You know, it's just too weird
.  They knew.  The press knew there was a death.  They knew Dr. Davis's name.  They even knew Diane was in surgery.  How'd they get their information?  They knew as much or more than I did at the time.  How do you explain this?"

She looked searchingly at her three colleagues.  Neither man responded, both contemplating what had happened. 

Alex said, "
I d
on't know. 
I don’t understand
,
and i
t worries me.  Did they know that a gunman had died?"

"No. I don't think so.  I know CCMC has a hell of a
grapevine.  But I talked with them
within forty minutes of the shootings.  Everyone in the emergency department was in a state of shock.  No one could've talked to them that quickly.  Hospital security had already block
ed
off the area."

"Perhaps a patient left and told them
?
"

"
Impossible
or at least I don’t think so
,
" Elizabeth interrupted emphatically.  "No patients knew that anyone had died, or been shot, much less a doctor by the name of Ron Davis.  It reminds me of the accuracy of the news accounts in the
Times Picayune
yesterday.  The story was perfect.  I couldn't have given a better account myself.  Someone from this hospital gave out the information, or someone who knew it was going to happen reported it quickly."  Elizabeth's voice was suspicious.

"Could be,
I guess,
" Alex said, not picking up on her insinuation.  "But anyone could've told. 
We have a great grapevine in this place.
  Elizabeth, did you know a nurse had been shot and killed during the shootings?"

"Other than Diane?"

"Yes," Alex replied.  "Her name is Sheila.  I don't know her. I think somebody said that she was new." 

"So we have a dead doctor,
a dead
nurse and another nurse in surgery?" Liz
aske
d.

Alex nodded.  "
Yes, and a dead gunman and at least one dead patient.  Do y
ou know how the gunman died?"

"No, how?" Elizabeth was reeling from the
knowledge of another death.

"Diane Bradley shocked him with the cardiac defibrillator.
”

Elizabeth was speechless. 

Alex continued, "She shocked him
, she electrocuted him."

Elizabeth said simply, "Good.  He deserved it."

"Yes, he did.  I hope everyone sees it that way."

***

Outside,
Mitch stood and shook
in the phone booth near the hospital.  He'd followed their instructions to the letter.  He'd called the press a
n
d the police.  He hated them, but most of all he hated himself.

The day was never ending
.  It wasn’t easy working in a c
ursed hospital.  Between the media blitzes, the reruns of the ED shootings on the news, and the pundits telling the world about the Voodoo curse at Crescent City Medical Center, no one was getting any work done.  Alex only hoped that the patients were getting cared for.

By seven-thirty that evening,
the hospital leaders
had been joined by Bette Farve and
several other phy
s
icians
.
Elizabeth had left shortly before to hold a brief press conference. 

"Any word on Diane, John?"
  Alex was sure she had asked the same question every 20 minutes or so.

Dr. Ashley shook his head. "
I j
ust checked with the OR and Dr. Bonnet's doing a total bowel resection. 
Robert says her injuries are bad. 
The bullets from these
automatic weapons explode when they enter the body and make a terrible mess.  Most people don't survive this long.  Diane has extensive liver damage and lots of bleeding.  Sh
e's already received 12 units
of blood and Bonnet predicts she'll need twice that by morning.
Hospital's put out a call for O
negative blood."

"Anyone talked with her family?"  Al
ex asked
.

Bette replied.  "I talked with one of the nurses in surgery.  Her husband's
here
and
very upset
,
and her parents are driving in from Alabama."

Dr. Ashley nodded at Bette.  "Good," he s
aid.  He turned to Alex and added
, "Alex, will you go over with me to see her husband?  I want to offer my personal concern.  Don, you should go with us on behalf of administration.  I suppose you've been, Bette
?
"

"Why, no I haven't.  I've only been here a little wh
ile. I've been busy
," she replied.

Everyone stared at her, their eyes showing their disbelief at h
er behavior.  Alex was dumbfounded.
"You need to go with us
.  You're her direct superior.  Besides, Diane's behavior is heroic.  She saved the lives of staff and patients.  You must go
!
"

Bette looked
scorching
ly
at Alex.  "Ms. Destephano, I set my own priorities
!
"

Dr. Monique Desmonde, the CCMC chief of psychiatry,
looked weary as she entered the executive suite.  Between offering support to the hospital staff
that
was
present
,
she was constantly being harassed by the media.  Monique
gave Bette a disgusted look and said, "Have you seen or talked to Sheila Monroe's family?   They're local.  I've already seen them, and
they're traumatized.  I can assure you that once their grief subsides, her father is going to be ang
ry.  I suggest you go see them and offer them anything you can to
avoid a lawsuit.  I also suggest you meet with your emergency department staff and your surgery people and help them work through some of the trauma they've encountered the past two days.  I met with the Surgery
staff
today.  They've got a
lot to work though.
  The emergency department
staff is
even more traumatized and will need considerable help." 

"I'll have you know, Dr. Desmonde, that I have no experienc
e in psychiatry. 
I don’t do psychobabble. 
My role is
to run a nursing service. 
You are the psychiatrist, you do it.
Besides, I'm going on vacation tomorrow afternoon and have important things to tie up." 

"Ms. Farve, how can you run a nursing service when half your
staff is
out sick, fearing voodoo hexes, and the other
part is
either dead, dying, or grieving?  Your job is to support your staff
! N
ow get
the hell out there
and do it
!
"   Dr. Desmonde got up from her chair and opened the door for Bette.

Bette immediately left.

Monique looked at Don Montgomery and spoke directly.
"That woman is worthless and incompetent
.  Why on earth do you keep her?  Her management style is founded on control an
d fear.  Her staff neither like nor trust
her.  From what I can see, she certainly isn't representative of the philosophy of nursing that prevails here at CCMC.  It's unforgivable that she hasn't seen the victims' families or spent time with her staff.  It's a damn good thing she is leaving tomorrow, or I'd probably kill her."  Dr. Desmonde looked around the room
,
and she saw that all heads at the conference table were nodding in agreement, except for Don.  Alex suppressed a s
mile, and wanted to give Monique a standing
ovation.

Don answered in an irritated voice. "Thanks for your comments, Dr. Desmonde.  We've more important things to discuss than the leadership of nursing at CCMC."  He looked at his
watch.  "Elizabeth is
giving a press statement confirming the deaths.  She'll also be confirming that Diane Bradley is in surgery and that CCMC knows of no motive for the emergency department shootings."

"Have we heard anything from the police
?
" Dr. Desmonde
aske
d.

"No," Dr. Ashley replied, "but I expect we'll be seeing Captain Francois soon.  How was he treating the staff he was interviewing?"

Dr. Ashley looked so
fatigued and
weary that Alex was concerned for him.  He wasn’t a
spring chicken
,
and he was carrying most of the administrative burden at CCMC.

"Actually, he was fairly good, at least as good as Jack can be.  He's pretty hard-nosed, but he knows these people have been under tremendous stress.  At several points he was actually gentle," Dr. Desmonde responded.

"Glad to hear that," Alex said.  "Yesterday, he seemed to be pretty rough with one of them.  Monique, it sounds like you know him.  Any inside information we should have?"

Dr. Desmonde laughed
, her long dark curl
s shook
and her eyes
crinkled at the corners when
she smiled.  “
Well
…..I can’t tell you everything but I
've known Jack Francois since we were kids.  We
grew up together,
lived in the same neighborhood and our parents were friends. 
We even had a few dates in high school.”

Alex
was speechless for a moment, unable to believe the revelation.  She was
fit to be tied. She had great respect for Monique Desmonde.  “What, you dated him.  Yuk
, OMG
.” 

Monique ignored Alex and continued, “What I do know
is that he's tough, a straight-shooter, and honest.  His bark is much worse than his bite.  I'm glad he's assigned to us
. N
ot all New Orleans
’
cops are as honest or first-rate.
  And Alex, he’s really not so bad.
"

Alex was surprised
and pleased
by Monique's favorable review of Jack Francois.  She made a mental note that Monique probably knew Mitch, too, since he'd also gone to school with the police captain.

As Monique finished speaking, Liz returned from the press conference.  Her cheeks were highly flushed and her eyes w
ere bright.  "We are big news
.
The media
loves
the idea of a ‘Cursed World-Class Hospital.’
Every major newspaper and national publication is represented.  After I read the statement, I took several questions from reporters."

Alex said, "How'd it go?" 

"Pretty well.  They wanted to know what safety precautions we're taking to prevent this
from happening
again, and they wanted to know if CCMC was a safe place to come for medical care.  One reporter even asked if the staff were afraid to come to work.  Of course
,
I told him no.  Only one question really bothered me."

"What was that?" Dr. Ashley asked
, his face
reflecting worry
.

"One journalist asked me if
the emergency department shootings
were the work of the
voodoo curse."  Elizabeth was interrupted by Don.

He howled at her, "What the hell'd you say?"

Elizabeth looked angrily at Don.  "I denied it, of course.  I told them, based on the preliminary evidence, the emergency department shootings were the result of gunmen after narcotics."

Alex turned to Elizabeth.  "That seem
ed
to satisfy him?"

Elizabeth shook her head and said, "I couldn't tell.  He mentioned twice that he had it on good authority that the incident was related to the Raccine case and involved a voodoo curse directed at Crescent City Medical Center."

Dr. Ashley said, "Where was this journalist from?"

"I don't know.  Local, I think.  He didn't identify himself.  He had a Cajun accent." 

"So what'd you say to him?"  Don confronted Elizabeth.

Elizabeth gave him an irritated look and said, "I denied the rumor and attributed it to gunmen after drugs.  I told you.  Do you forget I'm on your side?
  Did you even listen to what I said?
"  

"Side, who the hell is
worried about
sides
?  I'm worried about staying in business.  Stop whining about who's on who's side."  Don turned and left the room.

The group in the conference room began talking with
and over
each other but stopped
when Captain Francois entered.

He looked smug as he eyed the group around the table.  His look and voice were condescending.  His eyes rested on Alex.  "CCMC's in trouble again.
Big news.  You’re the lead story on the local and national news networks.  You guys just don’t take care of the sick and suffering, you create them.
"   

Confused,
Dr. Desmonde loo
ked at Jack Francois and said,
"Jack, please, we're under considerable pressure here.  We're all feeling a lot of stress.  Finished your investigation?
  What have you turned up?
"

The captain gave Monique a short look and said, "I've some preliminary information.  First of all, we've had to call in the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.  It's standard procedure.  The dead gunman has been identified and he's a known drug dealer, user, and
snitch.  He's got a rap sheet three
feet long.  The emergency department nurses say the second gunman, the one with the glass
head injury
, had
dreadlocks
and spoke with a foreign accent, Jamaican or some sort of Caribbean lilt.  Don't
know who he is yet.  We're trying to pick up prints, but doubt we'll get any
good ones
.   There seems to be some question of whether there was even a third man.  My men are asking questions.  The emergency department staff only report seeing two gunmen.  Anybody here know about the third man?"  Everyone shook their head.

"Do you think any of our staff could identify the second gunman, the one with th
e
dreadlocks
?"  Dr. Desmonde asked
.

"Possibly.  Place on his head where the glass hit him is the giveaway.  It's gonna be hard to ID him with a ski mask.  We'll get men on the street to check with the dead man's friends.  We should turn up something. 

"Well,"
replied
Dr. Ashley
as he
continu
ed
to look troubled,
"at least this is normal, or as normal as these things go.  I guess there is really no normal emergency department shoot-out."  Dr. Ashley stumbled over his words.

Francois stared at Ashley
and replied
sarcastically
, “
Well, D
oc, what do you mean normal?    There ain
't no such thing as a normal crime
.  They're all different in lots of ways."

Dr. Ashley looked pensive.  "I guess I mean this was a typical drug crime, only they disrupted the running of a hospital and killed two, possibly three, staff members before they got away."

Francois looked around.  "There
ain’t nothing
normal about this crime.   Public ain't gonna think it's normal either.  Ain't gonna help your public relations.
”