Mitch’s two weeks were up. He got dressed and left for the hos
pital. On his way through the main lobby toward triage, he
passed some friends and colleagues.
“Nice trip?” one called out.
“Hey, Mitch, good to see you. How was your vacay?” called
another.
Mitch smiled and gave a wave.
Okay, so they think I was off on vacation, he thought. That’s
good. Yes, everything was going to be just fine.
As he turned down the hallway to triage, Madeline was walk
ing toward him. What convenient timing. She was flanked by two
administrators from Metro General, the bosses of the “big hospi
tal,” as Mitch and others referred to the main hospital.
“Good morning, Madeline,” Mitch said in a friendly tone.
“Gentlemen.” He nodded.
“Good morning, Mitch.”
Amid the swarm of people in the lobby, Mitch caught sight of
Sophie Young walking toward the exit.
“Mitch.” Madeline called his attention back. “We need to
meet.”
“Okay. Right now?”
“Three o’clock, Wednesday.”
“May I ask why? I’ve done my two weeks of penance. For
what, I don’t even know.”
“We’ll talk on Wednesday. In the small auditorium on the
232
JULIE HATCH
main floor of Metro General. You know the one I’m talking
about?”
“Of course I do.”
“Good. In the meantime, your privileges are suspended.”
Mitch’s jaw dropped. In one of the rare times of his life, he
was speechless.
“Don’t worry, other obstetricians will be happy to fill in for
you in triage,” Madeline said with a smile of mild amusement.
Still trying to recover, Mitch said, “I’d like to be prepared
for this meeting, Madeline. Can you give me an idea of what it’s
about?”
“Yes. It’s a follow-up on what we discussed earlier. Your deliv
ery numbers, specifically those that were premature.”
Mitch gave a chuckle. “I trust you’ve done a thorough and
accurate investigation. Because if you have, I don’t know what
we’ll have to talk about. The administration has had nothing but
good things to say about my performance.”
“That remains to be determined.”
“Okay. Then I look forward to our meeting in two days.” He
turned to leave.
“And, Mitch?” Madeline grabbed his arm. “Stop harassing
Mrs. Young.”
She walked away, still accompanied by the two men.
So, Sophie had gone to Madeline, Mitch thought to himself.
He had hoped he had scared her off from making such a dumb
move. Why did Madeline think he was harassing Sophie? He
thought back to all his calls to his dopehead friend Tommy. As
far as Mitch knew, nobody could make the connection between
him and Tommy and Tommy’s delinquent friends. Tommy owed
Mitch his new life out of prison, working for a major corporation,
even if it was among the bottom dwellers of WMI.
