“Why isn’t the hospital telling us what happened with Ms. Mason!”
“Is Dr. Foster in there? Why is he still working?”
There was a reporter pushing her way forward. “Is the hospital trying to cover up a mistake?”
“Please, quiet down and I’ll do my best to answer your questions.”
“Yeah right. You’re the hospital lawyer, Mia. You’re not going to tell us shit.”
I looked to who said those last words. It was Lyle Mason, Ms. Mason’s son. “I’m not your lawyer Lyle, but your being here and causing a ruckus won’t be good for your lawsuit against the hospital.”
“I don’t give a shit about the lawsuit—”
“Then why are you suing?”
“I want the truth about what happened. And for that quack doctor Foster out. She’s not the first person he’s killed.”
My heart stalled in my chest as I noted the words he used to describe Nick. Quack. That was what Eli called him. Granted, it was a word often used to describe bogus doctors, but Eli was the only one I was hearing using it now. Until Lyle. Was Eli stirring up trouble?
“As long as there is a lawsuit, we are bound by law not to give some details. However, the hospital is looking into Ms. Mason’s case, and if there’s—”
“If?” Another person called out. “She’s dead. How can there be an if?”
The answer was that people die, but that would sound insensitive. “If you want answers, we’ll get them to you when we have them and can share them. Standing out here isn’t going to make that happen faster and, in fact, you may be harming people who need to have access to medical help.”
“Right, put it on us.”
“If someone has an emergency that doesn’t get help because you’re blocking their entrance, yes. I know most of you. Do you want their family standing outside your place of work demanding why you prevented their loved one from getting medical help? If they sue too, you can bet you’ll be included.” That was a cheap comment that told me I needed to rein in my annoyance.
“So now you’re threatening us?” Lyle said.
“No. I’m pointing out that you’re angry and upset at losing Ms. Mason, your mother. I get that. I lost my mother too. But preventing other people from getting help and harassing the medical staff doesn’t help and in fact, could cause others to go through the grief you’re going through.”
Lyle pushed forward, and the security guard stepped to block him. “You don’t care about any of us. You’re just a talking head trying to cover up the shoddy work of this hospital.”
I scanned the crowd. “Some of you have relatives that work here, are you all saying they do shoddy work?” I really needed to let this go and let the sheriff’s deputies handle it. Where were they anyway?
“Just Nick Foster,” another person yelled out, as the crowd pushed a little closer. All of a sudden, I began to feel claustrophobic.
I held my hands up again working to get back to professional civility. “I understand your concerns—"
“Bullshit. You’re one of them.”
“Why is he still there?”
“We should go and pull him out of there.”
Oh hell, I thought as the crowd inched closer.
“We should probably go back inside,” the security guard said. I looked up at him, his dark eyes scanning the crowd. If he thought it was bad, it had to be.
Just then I saw the two sheriff’s deputy cars pull into the ambulance area. God, I hoped there wasn’t an emergency that needed to get through here before this was all diffused.
“You called the sheriff?” someone yelled, and the crowd pushed closer. Now I wasn’t sure we could get in the door without being forced through it.
“You’re breaking the law by blocking access to the emergency room,” the security guard said.
“We have every right to protest.”
“Yeah, but not deny medical help. Back up.”
But they didn’t back up. As the deputies moved toward us, the crowded lurched forward. I stepped back to avoid being knocked over and tripped over something. As I started my fall, I had a moment to wonder if I was going to be trampled.
My head hit something hard, and for a second, I was glad that if I was trampled, I’d be unconscious and not experience it. Then everything went dark.
29
Nick
One good thing about the ER is that when things are busy, it’s hard to wallow in self-pity. Granted, I felt anxious and agitated most of the time, but at least I wasn’t thinking about Mia.
“There’s quite the mob out there,” Joyce said as I entered the area she was put for her exam. The word mob bothered me and I hoped that Mia was okay.
Christ, I was wrong. Even when I was working, I thought about her.
“I hope they didn’t bother you,” I said, going to look over her file again. I wasn’t sure why. At this point, I had it memorized.
She pouted. “I think it’s awful. You’re the best doctor in this town.”
“You know, you could have had the follow up on your sprained with your regular doctor.”
She gave me a coy smile. “You are my regular doctor.”
I worked to not roll my eyes. “Well since you’re here, let’s see how it’s healing.”
I began my exam and was nearly through when I heard a loud commotion outside the triage area.
“Excuse me a minute, Ms. Maynard.” I moved to where I could get a better look. A security guard was carrying a woman in, while a couple of deputies, and others in the waiting room, blocked the emergency room door.
“What the hell?” I moved closer and realized I knew the woman being carried in unconscious. “Oh God, Mia.”
“Dr. Foster,” Joyce called to me. “Is everything all right? It sounds like a riot.”
My insides ripped apart as I wanted to run to Mia but didn’t want to abandon my patient. “Fuck.”
Dr. Balding was there as the security guard set Mia on a bed.
“Let me see what’s going
