Saracen.
“Out for the count. She’ll feel better after a good sleep.”
“What happened exactly?”
“A sudden emotional outburst, complete loss of control. I blame myself of course; I should have seen it coming. She’s just not up to the job. I should have said something to the board months ago but I was sorry for her, wanted to give her every chance.” Garten looked at the floor in a display of mock self condemnation.
Saracen was glad that Garten was looking at the floor otherwise he might have seen the look of distaste on his face. He had never disliked Garten as much before as he did at that moment. He looked at Chenhui, sleeping peacefully and moved over to the bed to feel her pulse; it was slow and regular. He noted the drip feed going into her other arm and asked Garten, “What are you giving her?”
“Heminevrin.”
“That’s a bit drastic isn’t it?”
“I deemed it necessary,” replied Garten with more than a hint of coldness in his voice.
Saracen felt the temperature drop and changed the subject. “Sister Turner said something about Chenhui dealing with a death in A&E when all this came on?”
“Nothing out of the ordinary. The man was dead on arrival.”
“I see, so it’s a complete mystery what triggered off Chenhui’s outburst?”
“Absolutely.”
“She does seem to have been under some kind of increased strain recently,” ventured Saracen.
“Really? I hadn’t noticed,” replied Garten.
Saracen got to his feet and said, “I’m here now, I’ll work Chenhui’s shift with you if you like.”.
“Wouldn’t hear of it old boy,” said Garten so quietly that Saracen thought he detected menace in it. ” You go on home.”
Saracen had to work hard to keep the astonishment off his face. “All right,” he said and left.
Chapter Five
Saracen returned to A&E and phoned Dave Moss with an explanation of what had happened.
“That’s rough,” said Moss. “I sometimes feel like screaming myself. Where is she now?”
Saracen told Moss that Chenhui was under heavy sedation.
“Did you get what you wanted from Peter Clyde this morning?” asked Moss.
“No, the autopsy must have been one of Cyril Wylie’s.
“Couldn’t Clyde have checked Wylie’s files for you?”
“He tried. They were locked.”
Moss snorted and said, “That sounds like Cyril all right. Paranoid old bugger. How important is this?”
“Very,” replied Saracen.
“And you really can’t go through channels?”
“It’s not a case of avoiding channels,” said Saracen feeling uncomfortable about not confiding in Moss. “It’s just that I don’t want Garten to know I’ve been asking about the case.”
“Oh I see,” said Moss. “It’s one of Garten’s cases. I can see the problem. Moss knew about Saracen’s past dealings with authority. “Look, I can’t promise anything but give me the patient’s name and I’ll see what I can come up with. Wylie is doing a PM for us tomorrow. If I get a chance to nip into his office while he’s occupied I will do.”
“I’d be in your debt,” said Saracen. “The name is Myra Archer. She died on the night of the twelfth.”
“Anything in particular you want me to look for?” asked Moss.
“The cause of death was given as cardiac arrest and she was also said to be suffering from a Salmonella infection. I’d like to know if the PM confirmed that or if there was more to it.”
“I’ll call you tomorrow.”
Saracen put down the phone thoughtfully. Moss’ offer was something he had not foreseen; he made a mental note to buy him dinner.
“Will you be working tonight Dr Saracen?” asked Sister Turner who had come up behind him. Saracen took pleasure in watching the flicker of surprise appear on her face when he replied that Garten would be covering A&E on his own. A comment almost passed her lips but Saracen saw her stifle it and replace it with a professional “Very good Doctor.”
“About the death that Dr Tang was asked to
“Out for the count. She’ll feel better after a good sleep.”
“What happened exactly?”
“A sudden emotional outburst, complete loss of control. I blame myself of course; I should have seen it coming. She’s just not up to the job. I should have said something to the board months ago but I was sorry for her, wanted to give her every chance.” Garten looked at the floor in a display of mock self condemnation.
Saracen was glad that Garten was looking at the floor otherwise he might have seen the look of distaste on his face. He had never disliked Garten as much before as he did at that moment. He looked at Chenhui, sleeping peacefully and moved over to the bed to feel her pulse; it was slow and regular. He noted the drip feed going into her other arm and asked Garten, “What are you giving her?”
“Heminevrin.”
“That’s a bit drastic isn’t it?”
“I deemed it necessary,” replied Garten with more than a hint of coldness in his voice.
Saracen felt the temperature drop and changed the subject. “Sister Turner said something about Chenhui dealing with a death in A&E when all this came on?”
“Nothing out of the ordinary. The man was dead on arrival.”
“I see, so it’s a complete mystery what triggered off Chenhui’s outburst?”
“Absolutely.”
“She does seem to have been under some kind of increased strain recently,” ventured Saracen.
“Really? I hadn’t noticed,” replied Garten.
Saracen got to his feet and said, “I’m here now, I’ll work Chenhui’s shift with you if you like.”.
“Wouldn’t hear of it old boy,” said Garten so quietly that Saracen thought he detected menace in it. ” You go on home.”
Saracen had to work hard to keep the astonishment off his face. “All right,” he said and left.
Chapter Five
Saracen returned to A&E and phoned Dave Moss with an explanation of what had happened.
“That’s rough,” said Moss. “I sometimes feel like screaming myself. Where is she now?”
Saracen told Moss that Chenhui was under heavy sedation.
“Did you get what you wanted from Peter Clyde this morning?” asked Moss.
“No, the autopsy must have been one of Cyril Wylie’s.
“Couldn’t Clyde have checked Wylie’s files for you?”
“He tried. They were locked.”
Moss snorted and said, “That sounds like Cyril all right. Paranoid old bugger. How important is this?”
“Very,” replied Saracen.
“And you really can’t go through channels?”
“It’s not a case of avoiding channels,” said Saracen feeling uncomfortable about not confiding in Moss. “It’s just that I don’t want Garten to know I’ve been asking about the case.”
“Oh I see,” said Moss. “It’s one of Garten’s cases. I can see the problem. Moss knew about Saracen’s past dealings with authority. “Look, I can’t promise anything but give me the patient’s name and I’ll see what I can come up with. Wylie is doing a PM for us tomorrow. If I get a chance to nip into his office while he’s occupied I will do.”
“I’d be in your debt,” said Saracen. “The name is Myra Archer. She died on the night of the twelfth.”
“Anything in particular you want me to look for?” asked Moss.
“The cause of death was given as cardiac arrest and she was also said to be suffering from a Salmonella infection. I’d like to know if the PM confirmed that or if there was more to it.”
“I’ll call you tomorrow.”
Saracen put down the phone thoughtfully. Moss’ offer was something he had not foreseen; he made a mental note to buy him dinner.
“Will you be working tonight Dr Saracen?” asked Sister Turner who had come up behind him. Saracen took pleasure in watching the flicker of surprise appear on her face when he replied that Garten would be covering A&E on his own. A comment almost passed her lips but Saracen saw her stifle it and replace it with a professional “Very good Doctor.”
“About the death that Dr Tang was asked to
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