“Konrad doesn’t agree?” Cindy was astonished.
Todd practically stood up off the bench. “For all I know he’s using too,” he exclaimed heatedly. “If Konrad’s using his judgment has to be off. And I believe it is. There are all kinds of things he keeps doing that just don’t add up.”
“Like what?” asked Cindy, amazed to be hearing this.
“Well, for starters,” Todd continued, “Konrad was personally responsible for hiring Alana, the nurse in charge of Tara. He did it against my better judgment. I told him not to.”
“Why not?” asked Cindy.
“Have you seen Alana?” Todd shot back.
“Not yet, but soon,” Cindy became alarmed.
“Well, wait until you do,” Todd snapped. “She’s beautiful, charming, sexy as hell and doesn’t think twice about flaunting it. Don’t think Konrad didn’t notice that.”
Cindy’s head started spinning. Alana had a right to be sexy and charming, that wasn’t a reason for denying her a job. Why did that bother Todd so much?
“Did Alana’s charm affect Konrad’s decision to hire her?” Cindy pressed on. Could it be that Todd was jealous of Konrad, or jealous of Alana?
“That’s exactly why Konrad hired her,” Todd’s face became distorted. “He’s a sucker for gorgeous women, I’ve seen it before. But Alana was fired from another hospital for negligent patient care. She should never have been hired as part of our staff.”
Cindy’s heart started pounding. “Negligent patient care, that’s awful.”
“That’s what I told Konrad,” Todd’s head flipped back. “I said it’s a red flag, you can’t take a chance with her. But Konrad couldn’t care less. He told me not to say a word about Alana’s background to anyone, she was a great nurse, he felt it in his bones. And it’s obvious to me now that Konrad and Alana are romantically involved.”
“Makes sense,” said Cindy.
Todd took exception, however. “No, it doesn’t make sense,” he exclaimed. “Not to me. Konrad has no right to be distracted by someone like her. It’s self-indulgent and wrong.
Konrad’s in charge of a lot of sick people and the hospital rules forbid dating co-workers.”
Cindy thought about her and Mattheus dating and working together. It could be a distraction at times, of course, but it could also be a huge support. She wasn’t going to get into it with Todd, however.
“Tell me more about Alana,” Cindy went on, wondering what else Todd was harboring. “Do you have details of the case where she was negligent with a patient?”
“No, I don’t, unfortunately,” Todd snapped. “Konrad has made that information unavailable. When I ask him for it, he refuses to say a word. He says to forget it, it amounted to nothing.”
“He’s protecting her,” Cindy mused.
“Protecting her? He’s crazy in love, infatuated, can’t see straight in front of his nose.”
“Are you implying that Alana neglected Tara as well?” Cindy wanted to get specific. “Are you saying that Alana is also on drugs?”
Cindy’s questions seemed to snap Todd out of the mood that had gripped him.
“I’m not implying anything,” he objected. “I never said Alana was on drugs. As far as I know she took good care of Tara.”
His turnaround surprised Cindy, she didn’t know what to make of it.
“Is it just that Alana’s dating Konrad that’s bothering you?” Cindy wanted clarity.
“It’s that Konrad isn’t doing his job properly,” Todd’s voice rose again. “Tara’s case, which was front and center in the news and he assigned Alana to it. Why? If the press decided to investigate further, Alana’s background could have come out. Besides, Konrad should have never put Alana on a case with someone in a coma. Too many things can go wrong.”
Cindy couldn’t help but agree. “Wasn’t there a doctor overseeing the case?” Cindy asked. “What did he think about the care Tara was receiving?”
“Sure, Dr. Padden kept evaluating Tara to see if she was alive or dead,” said Todd. “There was lots of pressure on him from above, too. The case was going on too long and the hospital needed Tara’s bed because there’s not much room for coma patients here. The hospital also didn’t like the publicity the case was getting. Konrad really wanted the reporters off his back.”
“What a mess,” said Cindy.
“Now Owen keeps calling the hospital every day,” Todd went on, “telling them to investigate the nurses. But do you think anyone listens?”
Cindy didn’t know that Owen was doing that. “Is Owen calling about Alana in particular?” Cindy felt concerned. “Owen and Alana had spent a lot of time in Tara’s room together. What is he saying went on?”
“He just says investigate, investigate” Todd replied. “Of course he doesn’t mention Alana’s name directly, but who else could he mean? Will you be talking to Alana soon?”
“Yes, very soon,” said Cindy as the water from Noisy Water Cave suddenly began to flow more intensely, sounding like a roll of thunder warning them of something to come. When the water quieted down, Cindy turned back to Todd. “Are there many unexpected deaths at your hospital?” she asked quietly.
“You mean deaths from euthanasia?” Todd responded frankly.
“You could say that,” answered Cindy.
“Of course if the death is from euthanasia, no one talks about it or has any official idea,” Todd replied professionally. “But in answer to your general question, no, there are no more unexpected deaths at our hospital than anywhere else, I imagine. I’ve never actually taken a poll.”
“I just wondered why this particular case is bothering you so much,” Cindy continued.
“I liked Tara,” Todd said quietly then. “I liked her family.”
Cindy was startled. “Did you know Tara before the accident?”
“No, I didn’t,” Todd said softly, “but I read up about her. She was a good person, she took care of orphans. I respected that. Her accident was strange and gruesome, but we all thought she’d come out of the coma alright. I was rooting for her.”
Cindy felt a wave of warmth towards Todd. She felt she could speak to him frankly.
“Todd,” she asked, “do you blame Konrad or Alana for Tara’s death?”
“I do and I don’t,” he answered. “What I really need to know is who put the substance in Tara’s IV? Were they on drugs when they did it? Did someone bribe them to do it, or did they think they were helping the patient out. Or, on the other hand, was someone getting revenge?”
“Well put,” said Cindy, “we all want to know that.” She put hand on Todd’s gently. “Sounds like you don’t think it was Owen, at least?”
“Of course Owen didn’t do it,” Todd was emphatic. “That’s what upsets me the most. Obviously, there’s a cover up going on when a husband who took such good care of his wife could be going on trial for murder.”
*
Cindy and Todd spent a little while longer on the bench and then got up and walked back in the direction of Rat Bat Hole. Cindy wanted to share a ride with him back to town, but Todd wanted no part of it. He wanted to insure the secrecy of their meeting.
“You must never, ever tell anyone we met like this,” he looked at Cindy beseechingly.
“Of course I won’t, not ever,” Cindy promised.
“I hope our talk was helpful,” was the last thing Todd said, before dashing to the nearby bus stop as the bus came along.
“Very helpful,” Cindy called out to him. “And thank you so much for being here.”
“It’s the least I could do, the very least,” Todd called back before jumping on the bus and disappearing from view.
Chapter 11
Mattheus was delighted when Cindy left to talk with Todd, it was a perfect opportunity to interview Dr. Padden alone. It was different conducting interviews with Cindy around. Cindy was wonderful with innuendo, speculation and hidden motives, but right now Mattheus wanted the plain facts. He needed the medical information that could put Tara’s situation in context for him.