Chapter 6 - THE PATIENT WHO NEVER RECEIVED THE DEVICE
The nurse's name was Laura Bennett.
She had worked in Harrington's pediatric cardiac unit for nearly twenty years and had been one of the kindest people I'd ever known.
Her death had followed a brief battle with cancer.
She had never been involved in procurement, and she certainly hadn't signed a delivery confirmation months after her death.
The invoice wasn't merely suspicious.
It was impossible.
I sent the document to compliance and asked them to verify the equipment order through the hospital's purchasing records.
I didn't access anything beyond what I was authorized to review.
Within hours, the procurement director confirmed that the monitoring system had never arrived.
The vendor listed on the invoice was a company called Sterling Clinical Solutions.
Its address led to a small office in another state.
Its listed contact person was Peter Caldwell.
Again.
The hospital's independent review found that Sterling had received payments for several equipment orders over the previous year.
Some items had been delivered.
Others had no reliable delivery records.
The missing equipment included supplies used in emergency cardiac care.
I felt a cold anger settle inside me.
This was no longer about my marriage or even my money.
If hospital funds had been diverted from essential equipment, patients might have been placed at risk.
I met with the hospital's chief executive and the compliance director.
I requested an urgent review of every disputed order and insisted that patient care be protected while the investigation continued.
No one accused me of being responsible.
But no one could yet tell me how far the scheme reached.
That evening, I returned home to find Grant waiting in the kitchen.
He had poured two glasses of wine.
I didn't touch mine.
"You need to stop cooperating with compliance," he said.
I stared at him.
"Why?"
"Because they're going to misunderstand everything."
"Then the evidence should clear it up."
He rubbed his forehead.
"Evelyn, this is bigger than you realize."
"That's what you keep saying. Tell me what it means."
He looked toward the hallway, as though checking whether someone could hear us.
Then he lowered his voice.
"Peter wasn't supposed to use the money for equipment orders."
I felt my stomach tighten.
"What was he supposed to use it for?"
Grant's face crumpled.
Before he could answer, his phone rang.
Serena's name appeared on the screen.
He rejected the call.
A second later, a message arrived.
He glanced at it, and all the color drained from his face.
I reached for the phone.
He pulled it away.
May you like
But I'd already seen the first line.
If Evelyn knows about Laura, we have to move the original file.
