Chapter 37
Downstairs, Ryan had made his way to the Hospital Human Resources offices. He walked in to the offices and unclipped his badge from his belt.
A light brown headed, young woman, who had been sitting at her desk, had seen him come in, and had gotten up from her desk, and approached Ryan from her side of the counter. "May I help you, sir?"
"Yes, ma'am." Ryan felt this eerie feeling, knowing that Horatio would be the one to use the terms 'ma'am' and 'sir'. "My name is Ryan Wolfe, and I'm with the Miami Dade Police Department. I'm going to need a copy of the file for one Dennis Miller, he's a therapist here at the hospital."
"I do apologize, Officer Wolfe, but those records are kept in the Therapy Department Administrative offices, which will be on the 3rd floor."
"Third floor, Therapy Administrative offices." He asked to confirm. When she nodded, he turned back to the door. "Ok, thank you."
He walked out into the hallway, and made his way to the elevators. He stepped into the car, then pressed the 3rd floor button. When the car stopped at that floor, he got off, and looked around for a moment, trying to get his bearings. Ryan noticed a 'direction tree' on one corner of the hall, with the arrows pointing down the hall to the Therapy Administrative Offices. He opened the door, and stepped into the office. One of the secretaries, a mid height blonde lady with hazel eyes, noticed him and got up from behind her desk.
"Good afternoon, sir. May I help you?"
"Yes, please." Ryan replied. He showed her his badge. "My name is Ryan Wolfe, and I'm with Miami Dade Police Department. We need the file for Dennis Miller, please?"
"I'm sorry, Officer Wolfe, but that would not be possible, without a warrant. We are quite committed to our patient's as well as our staff's security and privacy."
"Really?" Ryan asked, feeling his suspicions go up. H is right, there's definitely something very hinky going on here. "Ok. I mean, I can come back with a warrant, if you really need me to, but if I do, that warrant will give me all that I need in order to turn this department upside down and inside out. If you were as concerned as you claim to be about your patients' privacy and security, you never would have hired Dennis in the first place. His is the only record we want, at least for now." He thought about it for a moment, then added. "Actually, I take that back. We're also going to want a list of the other Therapists.
"Just then, another woman came in to the office. She wore a dark brown skirted woman's business suit, and had auburn hair and blue eyes. "What's going on, Rachel?" She asked.
The other woman turned to her. "Mrs Menendez, this is Ryan Wolfe, he's with the Police Department, and he's asking for Dennis Miller's file, as well as a list of all of our therapists.
"The office supervisor continued to walk up to Ryan, offering her hand. "Officer Wolfe."
He shook her hand.
She continued. "You have to understand, Officer. We hold a sacred trust with our patients that we will see them through whatever injury has brought them to our Rehab Center, and show them that, although their injury may have been life threatening, and life altering, that life can continue. As a result, we place a very high value on their security, and their privacy. I'm afraid that I'm not at liberty to give you the information that you want, at least not without a warrant."
Ryan nodded, and tried to tap into his impressions of Horatio. When he looked back up, and over to the office supervisor, his head was in fact tilted in an 'H' style tilt. "I applaud your reasoning, and your ethics, Mrs Menendez, but I will tell you the same thing I told Rachel. If you really want me to come back with a warrant, I can, but when I do, that warrant will be so complete that we will be able to, and we will take full advantage of the proverbial microscope that this department would then be under, and there really is no way of telling how long our research could take. It could take weeks to complete. If you value your patients nearly as much as you say, you wouldn't have hired Dennis in the first place." Ryan was only partially satisfied with the shocked look on the supervisor's face, and added what he thought was the final nail in their coffin. "If you would be so kind, though, and give me the information that I want, I won't have to bring my supervisor, Lt Caine down here. He would not be happy if I were to tell him that I'm having an unusually difficult time in getting some basic information that we need for an ongoing investigation." Ryan fought not to smile at the ghost white expression on the supervisor's face.
"Do you mean Lt Horatio Caine of the Crime Lab?" She asked.
"Yes, ma'am, I do." Ryan confirmed.
Without so much as blinking an eye, Mrs Menendez turned back to Rachel, and said. "Get him the information he wants, Rachel, but only make him copies. We need the originals here."
"Yes, ma'am." Rachel replied.
"Thank you." Ryan added.