Sleight of Hand Read online

  CHAPTER 26

  Cassie walked back toward the ER, clutching the small bundle of files on Charlie Ulrich, her anger growing with each step. Other than Richard's accusations that she was deluded, Charlie's case had not been mentioned. No one seemed to care, everyone had their own agenda.

  At least Charlie was safely in protective custody. She could stop worrying about him.

  The cause of her new worries glided up to her on silent wheels.

  "I'm sorry, I had to do it," Richard said, his voice earnest.

  "I'm not having this conversation." Cassie kept on walking, but he kept pace with her.

  "Please, Ella, let me explain."

  Richard's voice held a note of pleading she'd never heard before. She shrugged, what did she have to lose by listening?

  "I know how you feel," he began, his words emerging in a slow, precise way as if he had practiced this speech. "You've lost everything important to you–just like I have." To her surprise, he reached out his strong hand and clasped hers. "I was wrong to blame you. I was angry, hurt."

  Cassie snatched her hand away. She took a step back. The Armani suit, despite its lapel smeared with saliva, the polished Italian leather shoes–he almost looked like the old Richard.

  "Don't you see, Ella? Now that we've both hit bottom we can climb back. Together. This is our chance to rebuild our lives." He caressed her ring finger. The one where his ring used to live. "You and me–just like it was always meant to be."

  "No." The single word echoed through the small space of the hallway. "Never."

  "Why?" He looked down, his face hidden from her and she wondered if he was crying. "Don't you understand? I love you, Ella. I need you." He wiped his face on his sleeve and looked back up. "You need me. Especially now. Drake can't help you now."

  "This has nothing to do with Drake. You think that I've lost everything today? You're wrong, Richard. You say that I've hit bottom just like you–"

  "You'll never get another job practicing medicine, not after today–"

  "Not after your lies, you mean!"

  "But," the word emerged a stuttered slur, "I did it for you, for us–"

  "You did it for you, Richard. And because Virginia Ulrich or someone in her family got hold of you and convinced you that I'd come back to you or I deserved it or whatever." The wheelchair rocked back and forth, a witness to his agitation, and she knew she was right.

  "Not Virginia." He shook his head, tiny bubbles of saliva splattering the air as he did.. "Alan said, and Scott Thayer and the Senator, he said–"

  "He told you to destroy my career to save his own reputation."

  "No. That's not why I did it. We're the same now, we've both lost everything–" His eyes clouded with confusion as he repeated his mantra.

  Cassie felt sorry for him. He'd done terrible things, awful things, he was narcissistic, sociopathic even–but once upon a time she had loved the man. And he had lost everything important to him.

  "They were wrong, Richard." She crouched down so that their eyes were level. "I did lose everything once. My pride, my integrity, my self respect–I lost it all once, but not today."

  "Not today?"

  She shook her head. "Not today. I lost it all that last night with you. You finished with me, left me in a bloody mess on the floor, and I got to my feet. I hurt all over, but I couldn't really feel it. Like everything you'd done hadn't really happened to me. I looked in the mirror and I thought–that's not me. Not that woman with the black eye and split lip. Who is that?"

  His hand covered hers on the arm of his chair. "It'll be different now, I promise."

  "You don't understand. I might have just stayed, let you keep separating me from my soul until I forgot who I really was. But then the phone rang."

  He frowned. "The phone?"

  "You were supposed to be on call. A patient needed you. And you were passed out, drunk." She stopped, looked down at the floor, stomach clenched as she remembered the shameful thing she'd done. "I lied for you, Richard. I told the hospital you had a bad case of food poisoning. I could barely talk, got blood all over the phone, couldn't even look at myself in the mirror–but I still loved you enough to lie for you, to protect you."

  "You love me." His hand tightened over hers as if she'd offered him a lifeline.

  "I did. Once. But when I hung up, thought about what I did, what you did–that was when I knew I had lost everything. That was when I hit bottom, Richard."

  "That was when you left me."

  "I built a new life, just like you will now. It won't be easy. But it can be done."

  "But, I need you, Ella. Can't do it without you–"

  She pulled her hand from his grasp and stood. "You will." She swiped errant tears from her eyes. "I did."

  She moved toward the ER's door, knew what she had to do now. First thing was to protect Ed Castro from any fallout. He'd risked a lot coming to her defense.

  Then she'd talk to Drake. Together, they'd think of something.

  <><><>

  Nellie Steadman sat in the family waiting room, hoping that Muriel would return from the CAT scan soon. The TV was tuned to a local news station covering an event at the front steps of Three Rivers Medical Center. She heard a familiar name and her attention perked.

  "Has the hospital begun an investigation into Dr. Hart's misconduct?"

  "Have any other patients or their families complained about Dr. Hart?"

  "What legal action are you taking, Mr. Ulrich?"

  The questions were fired in a staccato fashion. Paul Ulrich, one arm comforting his wife, raised a hand to quiet the reporters. Nellie looked up as Jacob roused from his nap on the couch and joined her, sitting on the arm of her chair, one arm automatically going around her shoulder.

  "We are working with both the hospital administration as well as the legal system to rectify this miscarriage of justice." Mr. Ulrich's was the voice of reason, not that of an upset or hysterical parent. "In fact Judge Flory and the Deputy Secretary of Children and Youth Services are meeting with us tomorrow. We can only pray that our son remains safe until then. Virginia and I would also like to thank Dr. Sterling for his excellent medical care as well as his compassion in coming forward to help us get our child back where he belongs, with his parents. Thank you, that is all."

  With a dramatic flourish, he dismissed the reporters. The camera zoomed in on the station's correspondent, a pretty young blonde in a perky red hat.

  "And that concludes the press conference convened by local attorney, Paul Ulrich. In summary, the Ulrichs claim that they are the targets of an unwarranted attack by a physician here at Three Rivers, Dr. Cassandra Hart. They claim that she has reported malicious and unfounded accusations which have resulted in CYS taking their child, who lies critically ill in the pediatric ward of Three Rivers, into protective custody.

  "Our thoughts go out to this family, and we hope that their son will recover. It remains to be seen what emotional ramifications these accusations will bring to this family. Pennsylvania law currently protects physicians who report suspicions of child abuse, however more cases of false accusations are being brought to the public attention daily. Some are lobbying for a change in that law in order to protect people such as the Ulrichs from this type of tragedy."

  Jacob clicked the TV off before the reporter could continue. "I especially liked the way they immediately presumed Hart's guilt without ever hearing her side of the story."

  They both knew that none of his reporters would have gotten away with coverage like that. Nellie nodded but said nothing, still staring at the darkened TV screen.

  "Of course, who couldn't help but sympathize with the distraught but brave parents that the Ulrichs portrayed themselves as."

  "You think we should have jumped in so fast?" Nellie asked, feeling doubt for the first time. She was a reporter, damn it. Should've questioned Hart more, investigated herself.

  "We're not reporting a story here. When it's family, you don't have to be objective," he assure
d her, effortlessly following her thoughts. "You just do what needs to be done."

  "Hart's not family," she reminded him.

  "Not yet," he said with a smile. "And Remy is."

  "Remy is." She still was uncertain.

  "What do you think we should do?"

  "For starters, as soon as Muriel gets back, one of us stays with her. Always. We can't take any chances until we learn what the truth is."

  <><><>

  Cassie made her way back to Ed Castro's office and found him waiting for her.

  "I'm sorry. I did everything I could," he told her, gesturing for her to take the chair across from him. "They decided to wait for a final vote until the Medical Board can investigate the allegations of drug use. Until then, you're on indefinite leave."

  In answer, Cassie dumped the stack of files onto his desk, watching as they cascaded over the surface, not bothering to pick up the ones that slid to the floor. She was so angry, so tired. She felt close to either tears or laughter, and she had no idea which. It was as if her body was no longer hers to control. Why not? She'd lost control of every other aspect of her life. She slumped into the chair.

  "We'll appeal," Ed said, straightening the files.

  "Sterling and the Ulrichs are holding a press conference denouncing me as some mad fanatic who forced CYS to take Charlie away. Virginia is already practicing her martyred mother routine, and Sterling has the pompous ass role nailed."

  "We'll get through this," Ed said softly.

  "No." The syllable came out with a force she hadn't expected. She rose to her feet and stood again. "I'm out of it. Virginia Ulrich and the rest can go to hell."

  She started out, feeling giddy, lighter somehow.

  "Cassie–"

  "If they want my resignation, give it to them," she told him.

  With Drake protecting Charlie, she was free to escape the tangled mess of lies and accusations her life had become. She could trust Drake to get to the heart of things, keep Charlie safe. Virginia Ulrich may have won the battle, but she hadn't won the war.

  Cassie closed the door behind her. Time for her to get back to Muriel, keep her promise to Drake.

  <><><>

  Paul had a deposition, so Virginia stayed after the press conference to talk to the reporters and answer their questions. Dr. Sterling remained with her, giving her moral support.

  "If there aren't any further questions," he finally said, "Mrs. Ulrich needs her rest. This has been a grueling ordeal for her." With that, he wrapped his arm around Virginia and escorted her inside the hospital.

  "I don't know how to thank you," she told him once the sliding doors closed behind them. "I'm certain that you must have other, more important things to do."

  "Nonsense. Until we get this straightened out, you and Charlie are my top priority."

  "Dr. Sterling, I just don't know what to do." Her voice broke, but she couldn't control herself. "It's hard enough to be a parent and be forced to sit by and do nothing–but at least I was there for Charlie, I could comfort him. I could at least do that. But now–" Sobs overcame her, and she turned away so that he wouldn't be embarrassed.

  "It will be all right, Virginia," he told her, guiding her to an empty couch near the information desk and handing her his handkerchief. "I promise, I won't let you down."

  "But you've done so much, already," she protested. "Without you Charlie would be dead–" Her voice broke once more, and she looked up at him, anguished. "You will still be his doctor, won't you?" She gripped his hands tightly, ignoring the tear-stained handkerchief. "Promise me, you won't let them take you off the case and give it to some stranger who doesn't even know Charlie or what he's been through–I couldn't bear it!"

  "That will never happen, Virginia. You know better than that."

  "It's just that Dr. Hart has convinced everyone else that I'm a monster of some sort. Do you know she even accused me of trying to run her down with my car? And she's saying I had some kind of affair with her husband."

  "The woman is delusional. I'm certain she won't be practicing medicine here much longer."

  "Scott told me that her boyfriend's family was instrumental in getting Judge Flory to issue the protection order. Do you think talking to them, giving them my side of the story would help?"

  He considered this. "That might not be a bad idea, Virginia. Maybe they could convince Hart to withdraw her allegations against you."

  Virginia straightened in her seat. "Would that mean that I could be with Charlie?"

  "It would be the first step."

  She wiped her face with the handkerchief, took a deep breath and stood. "Let's go."

  They found the Steadmans in the ICU waiting room. Virginia knew right away that the tall, dark-haired woman was related to Muriel Drake by the way the woman tensed and glared at her as soon as she and Dr. Sterling entered.

  "Mr. and Mrs. Steadman?" Virginia was glad of Dr. Sterling's reassuring presence behind her as she moved forward to introduce herself. "I'm Virginia Ulrich and this is Dr. Karl Sterling, the Chief of Pediatrics. Dr. Sterling is my son's doctor."

  The husband remained silent, letting his wife take the lead.

  "We know who you are," Mrs. Steadman said, nodding at the television.

  "I just wanted to offer my condolences about your sister. I know how terrible it is to have a loved one so critically ill." Silence as Mrs. Steadman continued the staring match.

  "I don't know what Dr. Hart has told you about Virginia," Dr. Sterling put in, "but I assure you that Mrs. Ulrich would never harm any of her children. I've been involved in their care since they were born, and I have over thirty years of expertise and experience in Pediatrics. Dr. Hart hasn't been practicing very long, yet she's already facing possible suspension and a review of her license by the Medical Board. She has many serious problems and when I met with her this morning she appeared to be emotionally unbalanced."

  Mr. Steadman spoke up at that. "You met with Cassie this morning?"

  "She came to me, wanting my support for yet another ridiculous theory about how Virginia hurt her first child. As before she offered no proof, only vague innuendos. Of course, I didn't fully understand why she's been so obsessed with this until her ex-husband explained to us that she has a history of drug use and is suffering from paranoid delusions as a result. You knew that he was hospitalized and is still recovering from an accidental drug overdose that he received because of Hart, don't you? In any case, it's perfectly obvious that young lady needs a great deal of help."

  He didn't wait for their answer, turning to Virginia as if his statement should be enough to convince any reasonable party. "Virginia, shall I leave you to it, then?"

  "Of course, Dr. Sterling. Thank you for your help." The pediatrician left the room. Virginia rubbed her belly and took another step toward the Steadmans. "May I sit down?"

  She took a seat in the chair across from them. "I wanted you to see for yourselves that I'm not a monster. Actually, I'm quite worried about Dr. Hart. I'm good friends with Richard King, and I know he's been trying desperately to reach out to her, to get her help. I don't understand what I did to make her dislike me so, but she even has it in her head that I'm somehow responsible for your sister's accident. And that's impossible, because I was here all last night. You can ask anyone down the hall in the PICU.

  "So," she took a deep breath, "I need your help. Because of Dr. Hart, they took my child away from me. I'm asking you to help me get him back." She leaned forward, returning Mrs. Steadman's gaze without flinching.

  "What do you want us to do?" Mr. Steadman asked.

  Virginia was surprised, she'd assumed that the wife would be the one making the decisions. She took her time answering, rubbing her swollen belly in a slow, rhythmic pattern.

  "I thought if you could talk to Dr. Hart, maybe convince her to work with Dr. Sterling if she's really interested in helping Charlie, instead of going behind his back–" Virginia brightened, deciding that she was on the right track. "After all, he's bee
n working with cases like Charlie's for years. Although he says that our case is the biggest challenge of his career, he promised me that we'd get some answers in time to help Samantha." She patted her belly. "That's Charlie's new sister.

  "Dr. Sterling assures me that this isn't the first time allegations of child abuse have been made in difficult cases like ours, so I totally understand why a naive young doctor who doesn't specialize in these complex areas could assume the worse. I'm even grateful that Dr. Hart has so much passion when it comes to protecting her patients. But," her voice choked with tears and she swallowed, "I need to be with my son. Can you imagine him locked in a room all alone, no one to take care of him or comfort him? That's another form of abuse in my mind."

  Virginia opened her purse and removed the bundle of snapshots that she always carried. "Most of these were taken while Charlie was in the hospital." She spread them out on the tabletop so that the Steadmans could view them.

  "That one was just three months ago." She pointed to an image with Charlie, surrounded by balloons and smiling nurses. "We were going home after his G-tube was placed. Then we were back a week later–there was a mix up with his medications and he had a severe reaction." Her voice dropped. "I almost lost him then."

  "What about all this Munchausen's business?" Mrs. Steadman spoke up. "Maybe Cassie is right."

  "It's true, I probably do fit the profile for Munchausen's," Virginia admitted. She met the wife's gaze without flinching. "But, I'll bet you do also, Mrs. Steadman."

  "Me?" The wife straightened at that.

  "Don't you watch your sister closely–even though you know your doctors have her best interests at heart? Don't you ask them questions to make sure they're giving her the best possible treatment? Do you ask the nurses to double check before they give her any medication or perform a procedure–just to avoid any mistakes?"

  Mrs. Steadman nodded her head slowly.