damn sure.” He rubbed his throbbing temples. “Unless you’re looking for an overdose, and sometimes even if you are, it doesn’t show up in an autopsy.”
“It doesn’t?” Maggie asked, settling on the edge of the wooden coffee table far enough away that he couldn’t reach out and touch her. “The nurses didn’t mention that.”
“The way it was explained to me, the heart stops beating so quickly the potassium chloride never reaches the ocular fluid, which is where a forensic pathologist checks for poison,” Jack said. “And because red blood cells create potassium when they break down after death, it’s hard not to find massive amounts of it in your system. When you’re embalmed, the evidence of the crime drains away with your blood.”
“So how did you discover the Morgan child died of an overdose?” Maggie asked.
Jack smiled ruefully. “MEDCO was looking for a way they could avoid malpractice liability, so the investigator asked the medical examiner to look for some cause of death other than negligence by the doctor, like foul play. The hospital sent Laurel Morgan’s body for an autopsy with all the IVs intact, and the medical examiner discovered enough excess potassium chloride in the tubing to verify an overdose.”
“Couldn’t a nurse simply have made a mistake? Given an accidental second dose?”
“Of course,” Jack said. “But that wouldn’t have gotten MEDCO off the malpractice hook. The investigator did a computer search for similar deaths and found five of them, all with the same primary care physician. Assuming Hollander was committing murder rather than malpractice, and assuming MEDCO had no reason to suspect him of such nefarious activities before they hired him, they were home free. Because it’s an interjurisdictional matter, MEDCO called on the Texas Rangers to investigate further.”
Maggie knew most of MEDCO’ s business, but this had escaped her because it was a criminal matter, and the firm did no criminal work. She was appalled at what she’d just heard. “You mean Roman became a murder suspect because MEDCO didn’t want to pay a malpractice claim against him?”
“That’s about the size of it.”
She rose and paced away from him. “That’s absurd!”
“Somebody’s killing kids, Maggie,” Jack said seriously. “All the victims were less than ten years old. A couple were only babies.”
Maggie sank into Jack’s rocker. “Oh, God. It can’t be Roman. He has a little girl of his own. He could never—”
“Hollander may turn out to be innocent,” Jack interrupted. “But right now he’s my number one suspect, and I need the complete cooperation of the nurses and the staff when I’m asking questions about him. That’s why I’m posing as an insurance investigator looking for evidence to defend Hollander against the Morgan malpractice suit. If everybody I interrogate thinks they’re helping the doctor by giving me information, I’ll get more of the truth out of them.”
“Are you sure you’re looking for the truth?” Maggie said. “It sounds to me like you’ve already got Roman tried and convicted.”
A horn blared in the quiet.
“That’s my cab,” Maggie said, rising and heading for the door.
Jack stepped in front of her before she could get there but was careful not to touch her.
“Are you going to blow my cover?”
“Roman is my friend. He has the right to know he’s a suspect.”
“All I want to do is ask a few questions, Maggie. If the doctor’s innocent, no harm done. If he’s not . . .”
“You don’t play fair, Jack.”
“I’m not playing at all. Someone on staff may be a murderer, Maggie. I intend to find out who it is, so I can stop him. Are you going to help me?”
“I’ll have to think about it,” Maggie said. She stared into his eyes, the message clear: Stand aside, Jack.
He took a step to the left.
“I’ll see you Monday,” she said as she walked past him, shoulders back, chin high. She pulled the
“It doesn’t?” Maggie asked, settling on the edge of the wooden coffee table far enough away that he couldn’t reach out and touch her. “The nurses didn’t mention that.”
“The way it was explained to me, the heart stops beating so quickly the potassium chloride never reaches the ocular fluid, which is where a forensic pathologist checks for poison,” Jack said. “And because red blood cells create potassium when they break down after death, it’s hard not to find massive amounts of it in your system. When you’re embalmed, the evidence of the crime drains away with your blood.”
“So how did you discover the Morgan child died of an overdose?” Maggie asked.
Jack smiled ruefully. “MEDCO was looking for a way they could avoid malpractice liability, so the investigator asked the medical examiner to look for some cause of death other than negligence by the doctor, like foul play. The hospital sent Laurel Morgan’s body for an autopsy with all the IVs intact, and the medical examiner discovered enough excess potassium chloride in the tubing to verify an overdose.”
“Couldn’t a nurse simply have made a mistake? Given an accidental second dose?”
“Of course,” Jack said. “But that wouldn’t have gotten MEDCO off the malpractice hook. The investigator did a computer search for similar deaths and found five of them, all with the same primary care physician. Assuming Hollander was committing murder rather than malpractice, and assuming MEDCO had no reason to suspect him of such nefarious activities before they hired him, they were home free. Because it’s an interjurisdictional matter, MEDCO called on the Texas Rangers to investigate further.”
Maggie knew most of MEDCO’ s business, but this had escaped her because it was a criminal matter, and the firm did no criminal work. She was appalled at what she’d just heard. “You mean Roman became a murder suspect because MEDCO didn’t want to pay a malpractice claim against him?”
“That’s about the size of it.”
She rose and paced away from him. “That’s absurd!”
“Somebody’s killing kids, Maggie,” Jack said seriously. “All the victims were less than ten years old. A couple were only babies.”
Maggie sank into Jack’s rocker. “Oh, God. It can’t be Roman. He has a little girl of his own. He could never—”
“Hollander may turn out to be innocent,” Jack interrupted. “But right now he’s my number one suspect, and I need the complete cooperation of the nurses and the staff when I’m asking questions about him. That’s why I’m posing as an insurance investigator looking for evidence to defend Hollander against the Morgan malpractice suit. If everybody I interrogate thinks they’re helping the doctor by giving me information, I’ll get more of the truth out of them.”
“Are you sure you’re looking for the truth?” Maggie said. “It sounds to me like you’ve already got Roman tried and convicted.”
A horn blared in the quiet.
“That’s my cab,” Maggie said, rising and heading for the door.
Jack stepped in front of her before she could get there but was careful not to touch her.
“Are you going to blow my cover?”
“Roman is my friend. He has the right to know he’s a suspect.”
“All I want to do is ask a few questions, Maggie. If the doctor’s innocent, no harm done. If he’s not . . .”
“You don’t play fair, Jack.”
“I’m not playing at all. Someone on staff may be a murderer, Maggie. I intend to find out who it is, so I can stop him. Are you going to help me?”
“I’ll have to think about it,” Maggie said. She stared into his eyes, the message clear: Stand aside, Jack.
He took a step to the left.
“I’ll see you Monday,” she said as she walked past him, shoulders back, chin high. She pulled the
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