“Well… Tim, come here. Bring that chart.” Tuck sighed. “Maintenance found this stuck in the back of the drawer in Rene Sommerstone’s desk. No name but the intake statement is compelling.”
Kip rubbed his tired eyes and grabbed a seat. He read the statement:
Female patient found unresponsive on the floor at her place of business. Male assailant was forcibly removed by work security after attempting to further assault patient. Clothing remained intact.
Physical exam revealed: Pulse 52 regular. BP 180/100. Respirations 28 and shallow. Bleeding and swelling was massive. Patient suffered bilateral orbit fractures as well as fractured nasal bone and maxilla. Large finger marks were visible around throat, upper arms, and along ribs.
CT scan showed an epidural hematoma and diffuse brain swelling. Patient was immediately prepped for surgery and underwent evacuation of the clot as well as stabilization of the fractures.
Patient awakened fourteen hours post-op with only small awareness of the attack. Patient remained in ICU for three weeks, two weeks inpatient. Patient was discharged to my care, and home care was provided for three months. RS.
Kip pinched the bridge of his nose as he looked at Tuck and Tim. Awareness washed over him like an ice bath. “I’ll kill him.”
“Kip, this was over a year ago,” Tim said. “Well, at least some of it was.”
“How did you put it together?” Kip closed his eyes to kick his tired brain into gear.
“The CT—old fractures. The neurosurgeon drilled well into her hairline. The maxilla-facial surgeon likely did the repair through her mouth. No visible scars. The ribs—they’re cracked on the right. In the accident, she was driving. I’d expect the cracks on the left. The bruises to her lower throat aren’t from the accident either; they’re red with a yellow tinge. All likely done in the last week,” Tim explained.
Kip looked down and then back at the two PAs. “Mike Johnson is covering for me. First, don’t tell him I’m not sleeping. Then show him this. If I handle this…”
Tuck smiled. “Smart move. Now go lie down.”
A man Kip didn’t recognize walked out of Chantal’s room. “I’m Derek Sweetman, family medicine. They’re both stable. Harper and Chantal are close, huh? They’re fast asleep together.”
“Kip Brennan. Welcome.”
“I left Louisiana five years ago. I was a fellow at Charity Hospital when Katrina happened. Then I worked for the Sommerstones—got tired of banging my head into the wall. I was working in Jacksonville when I saw the posting. Thanks for giving the city a chance.”
“I haven’t done much of anything, and we are facing Greta.” Kip pressed his lips together.
“Look around on the nursing home floors. You’ll see the good. Plus, what you made happen at the hospital.
“I know you have a lot on your plate, but I transferred a patient back to the hospital. She has dementia, but pain is pain. She acts like she has a hot abdomen. GI scoped her and found odd pockets of inflammation. Almost like a poisoning but only in the large intestine. I asked them to send Dr. Montgomery the slides. A couple of nurses said they’d seen it happen before with a few other patients. They also said they were not sent to the hospital. Bad care.”
“I’ll follow up,” Tim said.
“Derek, did you know Jerrold Sommerstone?” Kip asked.
“You mean the man child? What a waste. Damn talented doctor. Damn miserable man with fast hands, especially with people who crossed him.”
“I’m going to get some sleep.” Kip walked into another empty patient room. His eyes closed before his body sank into the bed.
Chapter 22
Kip’s hip was vibrating. He rolled over and pulled the phone free. He’d been asleep six hours.Urgent: report to your office.He opened the door to be greeted by Josh, who handed Kip a washcloth and face towel.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“I’m not sure. Mark Hart… I’ve known him since he joined the company. He looks sick. I’ve never seen him like this. Coop and Bruce are with him. So is Hunt.”
Kip ran into his office, which was already occupied by Kyle, Bruce, and Brock Carpenter. Also present were Hunt Montgomery, Logan Shepard and Crescent 3’s leader and his XO. One look at Brock and Kip knew something major happened. “What?”
Mark Hart stood and stepped to parade rest. “Sir, at your request, we continued the door-to-door inspection of the facility. At the morgue, three patients were listed as due to be picked up by funeral homes. Inspection found eight corpses.”
“Only four of the eight have ID bands. I secured samples for DNA and sent them by two of Mark’s team to the lab at the hospital and to the ME’s office,” Hunt said.
Kip returned his stare to the team leader. Mark had served five tours with the Army’s Delta force. He was good at being stoic, but this morning his eyes were swirling.
