CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Susan found herself humming and singing with the radio, as she headed toward the station house. She’d slept beautifully in Jim’s bed after putting just a few things in his closet and pushing his socks over in the draw just a few inches to make space for some of her socks and underwear. This morning, she’d run to the department store and grabbed her father two shirts, two pairs of flannel pants, and a package of diabetic socks that were meant to increase circulation. She knew Jim would hold to his word and take care of an entire wardrobe, but she wanted to do something right away and give him something herself.
When she’d gone into his bedroom, she’d been surprised to see him somewhat alert and eating a bit of runny oatmeal that Bridgette had made. She was feeding him patiently, as she read to him from one of the books Jim had gotten. Taking Susan aside, Bridgette muttered, “I have a sneaking suspicion that they were overdosing him on his meds so he couldn’t ask for anything or talk about mistreatment. I took an extra blood sample to test for the levels of drugs in his system. That can be solid proof against the hospital for more than negligence.”
For a few minutes, Susan had fumed, and she’d crawled under a cold shower to cool down her rage. Then, she’d realized that this was good news. Her father may not be as sick as they thought and could have weeks or even months instead of days. In the meantime, she was going to talk to a lawyer.
Jim had called as she’d dressed, just to let her know that everything had worked out so far. They were planning on heading back a little early because they wanted to try to hit Snoqualmie Pass before the predicted storm came through. Susan wasn’t the least bit upset about that; it meant Jim would be home sooner.
Rather than wait around and twiddle her thumbs on her day off or study for a final she knew she was going to ace tomorrow, she needed to do something to keep busy. So, she decided to see if she could catch Eric at work and have a little talk with him.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, as she walked into the huge double kitchen that served both paramedics and firefighters. “I thought you were off today.”
She shrugged. “I’m not here to work, and I thought I remembered you were covering for Felicia today. I wanted to talk for a few minutes.”
He tilted his head and assessed her with narrow eyes, but he nodded amicably. “Sure. Why don’t we go sit on the balcony? It’s pretty quiet up there today. I spent some time up there earlier, just thinking for a few minutes.” They started walking, and he continued, “My son’s doing a lot better. His tutor’s helping tremendously with his learning disability, and his grades have improved an entire letter in a little under a month. If he can conquer this thing, he’ll be at the top of his class. I was out here, considering my blessings and trying to find that gratitude in myself. Sometimes, it’s not easy with the hours we work, you know.”
Susan nodded. She was especially aware of that now that her father was sick. “Well, I’m glad he’s doing well. Actually, that’s part of what I wanted to talk to you about. My father seems a lot better today, and there are some circumstances that seem a bit questionable around that since we just moved him out of St. Pete yesterday.”
“What do you mean?” Eric asked, a frown making deep creases in his forehead. He opened the door to the balcony and held it for Susan to go first.
Stepping out in the brisk wind, which wasn’t all that cold but blew much stronger up in the balcony, Susan wasn’t sure where to start. Eric was the right person to talk to. He had friends and contacts at the hospital, but he was also very private and didn’t spread rumors. She could trust that he would listen and not repeat a word, and he might have some advice on how to go about filing her lawsuit.
Crossing her arms against the force of the wind, Susan told him everything—from Jim going thirteen rounds with Jim Beam to transporting her father and moving in with Jim. When she was done, she rounded back to her father’s condition. “I’m telling you, Eric, if I didn’t know any better, I’d call it a miraculous recovery. Two days ago, I would have thought I would be making funeral arrangements this week. Today, he was sitting up, eating oatmeal. This nurse told me straight up that his IVs hadn’t been cleaned in a week in her professional opinion. I had my suspicions, but she confirmed them. And the bed sores…” She trailed off, shuddering.
She glanced at Eric, whose expression was distant and thoughtful. “So, you’re saying you started out with neglect, which is bad enough, and now, you may have evidence of abuse that could even be construed as attempted murder.”
Susan’s heart seized. She hadn’t even thought that far. “Why would someone purposely want to kill Dad? And if they did, why not just give him enough Dilaudid to take him in one dose?”
“Because that would look more suspicious.” Eric rubbed his face. “When it builds up in the body over time, it just looks like his liver caused it not to process right, instead of the huge amount in his system showing on a tox screen.” He shook his head and stared at his feet. “Christ, Susan, the allegations are big and bad, and they’re going to try to stomp all over you, but they’re valid accusations. Even without the excess meds, he was obviously neglected. He didn’t get fed properly, he wasn’t treated properly, and he wasn’t even cleaned.”
She nodded, a knot forming in her throat. “The question is, how do I get this started, and how am I supposed to afford a lawyer who can take on an entire hospital?”
Eric didn’t say anything, but his face contorted into a mask of rage. “The first thing we’re going to do is get the records that give the name of every individual who’s been tasked with caring for your father since the day you took him in.”
Susan raised her eyebrows. “We?”
He nodded. “I’m behind you on this, and I have the contacts to get us the information we need to secure the attorney I know. Once he sees the evidence you already have, he’ll start measures to get the rest of the information, and he’ll have a suit so big you won’t have to pay a dime. Even if St. Pete’s were to settle out of court and this guy took a 15% fee, you’d be paying his entire salary for the year and then some.”
It sounded much bigger than she’d first thought. Susan hadn’t figured on a large sum of money. In fact, she mostly wanted the place cleaned up and enough money to finish school so she could move on in her career. However, if Eric was right and if there was any kind of attempted murder charge that could be leveled, there would also be specific individuals named in the lawsuit. Then, the hospital would be liable for an outrageous payment, simply for hiring anyone who would treat a patient so poorly or purposely cause them harm.
The wheels in Susan’s head were turning a million miles an hour, and she couldn’t even form words clearly. It took several long minutes to organize her thoughts to a point that she could ask Eric, “Who is this lawyer?”
“He’s a guy I knew in high school, who’s an absolute genius. He’s already won two settlements like this, and his track record is untarnished. As soon as I give him even the smallest detail of what we’re looking at, he’ll hop on board.” Eric turned to face her. “How soon will those lab results come back?”
“Bridgette said tomorrow morning.”
“Okay. I’ll get the records from the hospital unofficially. Donald, the lawyer, will have to request them officially once he’s on the case and files the lawsuit, but this will also give us something to compare—in case those records get doctored. I’ll call you in the morning, as soon as I have the paperwork in hand.”
Susan hugged him. “You are the best friend a girl could have, Eric. Thank you, for everything. You’ve always supported me, no matter what anyone has said or done, and that means a lot to me.”
“Well, you’re a pretty damn good partner and friend yourself. Now, get out of here. Go spend the afternoon with your father and enjoy your new home.” He chuckled and pushed her away, turning her toward the door. Susan waved over her shoulder, and she wondered what was going through his head right now since he didn’t follow her inside. She knew she’d just dropped a heavy load, and Eric had picked up some of the slack. It wasn’t fair, and Susan hadn’t meant to get him that involved; but, that was just the sort of guy Eric was.
Like Jim.
She sighed and looked at her watch, as she got in her car and cranked the engine. It was still only midafternoon. Based on her estimations and when the storm was going to hit the mountain pass, she expected Jim to be home sometime around midnight or one—depending on if he had to stop at the clubhouse or his office first. The hours were going to crawl by.
She made one more stop at the store, picking up some salmon to sear and all the ingredients for a very robust salad. She’d make a nice dinner to share with Bridgette before the nurse headed home for the evening, and maybe it would help ease the anxiety Susan felt at the thought of simply waiting around.