Page 76 of Crow's Haven
Carla’s face goes white and her bottom lip trembles.
From her response, I can guess. “You didn’t know there was anything wrong with the IV bag until you hung it and he went into cardiac arrest, right?”
When she just closes her eyes and shakes her head, it all comes together in my head. “You freaked out when you realized it was the bag. That’s why you disappeared during the code. I looked around at one point and you were gone.”
Her expression turns remorseful, but she doesn’t admit to anything.
I say harshly, “It doesn’t matter if you deny it now. It’s all out in the open.”
“I’m sorry, you got stuck holding the ball. I just couldn’t handle seeing that little boy die. It was my first death, and I didn’t handle it well,” she says quietly.
I’m not buying her story, like at all. “You keyed in my employee number instead of scanning your badge when you dispensed the medication. You tried to frame me. If you didn’t know the medication was compromised, how did you know to use my number?”
She throws up both hands in a defensive gesture. “It wasn’t like that. I left my badge at home, so I couldn’t scan it. When I pulled up the med list in the computer, your employee number was the last one entered, so I just copy and pasted it in for mine. Those numbers are fourteen digits long. I couldn’t remember mine. I thought it would be okay. The one time I didn’t follow the rules, the patient coded.”
“That’s a lot to swallow, Carla.”
Her expression lifts. “I did what I was supposed to do, though. I told the DON, and she said that she would handle it.”
I tap my chest and tell her angrily, “Yeah, our Director of Nursing handled it by blaming me. They put out a warrant for my arrest for something that wasn’t either of our faults.”
“I’m really sorry about that. I didn’t know why Cynthia Brenner accused you of wrongdoing, so I stayed quiet.”
“What the hell is going on here? Why are you talking about me behind my back? What’s going on? I received a call telling me to get here as quick as possible.”
Cynthia rushes forward, looking a little disheveled, like she rolled out of bed and got dressed quickly. She’s not wearing makeup and has an angry, pinched look on her face. Catchingsight of me, she says, “You! What do you think you’re doing showing your face at this hospital?”
Agent Harper leans close. “Who is this?”
I lower my voice to match hers. “The Director of Nursing for this hospital.”
What I don’t say is that I’ve learned she is as ruthless as she is meticulous.
Harper’s hand goes to the earpiece she’s wearing as she steps away. I catch a glimpse of her turning her head to talk into a microphone attached to her collar.
Cynthia’s voice cuts through the whispers. “I asked you a question, Ms. Carlin.”
I used to be intimidated by her perfectly coiffed silver hair and polished demeanor. Now, I see her for the bitter, old woman that she is.”
“You will answer me,” she says coolly. “To what do I owe this intrusion?”
My pulse pounds in my ears, but my voice stays steady. “Fortunately, I don’t report to you anymore. Therefore, I’m not obligated to answer any of your questions.”
The night administrator steps forward and they talk with their heads together. For a brief second, Cynthia’s composure falters, her eyes flickering towards me with a dangerous intensity before she regains control. “Jesus, how did they get through the door?”
He whispers, “I had no choice.”
Cynthia reaches out to tap Agent Harper on the shoulder. “If your agents are finished traipsing through my hospital, I want you gone.”
Harper’s hand comes down from her ear and goes directly to her belt—and then out come the cuffs. “You’re not authorized to make demands because you’re under arrest.”
“Absolutely not. I have a right to know what this is about.”
Harper slaps the handcuffs around one of her wrists and jerks her around, twining the other arm back as well. Once the cuffs snap into place, she states, “Agents have reviewed your phone data. They discovered your brother-in-law works for Salinas Pharmaceuticals, the same company currently accused of malfeasance in an IV contamination scandal.”
“I did nothing wrong.” Cynthia’s voice is high pitched and panicked.
“To the contrary, you deliberately concealed a conflict of interest,” I reply, unwavering. “A child died because you put profit and family loyalty above patient safety. And you framed an innocent nurse to take the fall.”
