"Lafayette? Please…give me a break."
Simon Swanson circled the elegant office in undisguised agitation, the late afternoon appointment not doing much to raise the busy CFO's spirits.
"We understand that Doctor Lafayette had an office on the 8th Floor. But there were some internal issues that led to him being…replaced. We're just trying to investigate anything regarding that dismissal that might relate to our case."
"Lafayette was an airhead. A…a believer in magic. A martyr in his own right. He should have known better."
The blonde businessman in his late 40's circled the room anxiously, not attempting to hide his misgivings about the two people disrupting his workday.
Carelessly dropping back down in his luxurious leather chair, he interwove his hands tightly, his eyes searching the vast room top to bottom before making eye-contact with Beckett again.
"What about his patients? You are the CFO of Saint Mary's Hospital. Your name was mentioned when it came to the reasons for Lafayette's dismissal. It states on your paperwork that it had to do with his clients. Did the hospital refuse to allow his patients entry?"
She should have known there was a catch. And as such, she wasn't surprised when Swanson ran a hand through his thinning hair, then let out a pained groan as he straightened out his facts.
"Come on now, detective. This is a hospital. Do you honestly think we turn away patients? I have seen the most awkward, socially inapt, physically disabled person make it through those corridors to see a doctor. Everything we do in this hospital is geared toward those with special needs, rich or poor. Why do you think we have bed pans and puke buckets around every damn corner? Nobody was ever afraid to welcome the kind of clientele that Lafayette brought in, because honestly, we've seen it all."
"And yet it was mentioned in his dismissal paperwork…", Castle repeated once again, causing the other man to roll his eyes.
"It wasn't his patients as much as what he did with them. You see, we have strict rules on how much time a doctor is to spend with each patient. This makes it easier to schedule appointments and keep our billing straight. But Lafayette…he was notorious for going over the allotted time, even taking patients for a walk down in the hospital's park to conduct his…therapy. A week later he was caught doing hypnotherapy on a patient with severe bi-polar disorder. His…therapy went awry, and the patient stormed out of his office and proceeded to trash the whole floor, even assaulting several orderlies. He did a lot of work with combat vets suffering from PTSD, but again, he refused to follow strict protocol when it came to therapy methods and time allotted. Between that and a few other issues that I received complaints about, I saw no choice but to bring this up to the board and have him dismissed. You may think that his goals are noble, but his methods leave much to be desired."
Sharing a brief glance with Castle, Beckett frowned and approached the large desk, her eyes tracing the wall behind it, noticing the impressive assortment of framed magazine covers with Swanson's face on the front page.
"What other issues were there besides the way he was treating his patients and disrespecting the hospital guidelines on treatment times?"
"Just a few childish and unpleasant things you wouldn't expect from a doctor of his ranking, but it added to the big picture, if you know what I mean."
Beckett was about to rebut, but Castle was faster.
"No, actually…she doesn't know…"
With an annoyed sigh, Swanson leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms in front of his chest in awkward discomfort.
"Little things like hustling some of the female staff. He never touched any of them, but he'd say things or bring in flowers and heart-shaped candy. It made the ladies uncomfortable. A few months prior to his dismissal, we started noticing a significant shortage on some of the medications in our pharmacy. We could never directly tie him to it, and yet it seemed that whenever he was around, the drugs would go missing. I presumed he stole them for his cash patients."
"What kind of medications are we talking about?"
"One of them was a light sedative, the type we use to calm down patients and create compliance. The drug is actually off the market now because it compounds in the body, making its efficiency decrease significantly if used on a regular basis. The other one was the opposite. It's a drug that acts as a stimulant for catatonic or severely depressed patients. It a dopamine booster that allows them to be more focused and raises general awareness, increases heart rate and blood pressure and…"
Stopping mid-sentence, Swanson frowned, then reached for a notebook inside his desk drawer, taking several moments to look something up before shrugging.
"…and it also has been taken off the market because if taken over time, it caused excessive aggression in some patients. In others, it caused heart attacks and strokes."
"What would be the point in stealing these medications for his patients? A doctor with his kind of credentials should have known about the side effects long before they were taken off the market.", Beckett pried, receiving only a half-hearted headshake.
"I honestly don't know. It makes very little sense to me. Then again, many things he did made little sense."
"What were to happen if a patient took both?"
Castle's bizarre question caused both of them to turn their heads, brows furrowed as they stared at the writer.
"I guess…I guess I am not sure. It would perhaps control some of the lighter mental issues such as anxiety and help the patient focus, but on the other hand, it could do the exact opposite and put the patient into a heightened state of anxiety and intensify the physical symptoms. I would have to talk to a doctor to be sure but as far as I know, it wouldn't be standard practice to prescribe both medications. I'd be happy to give you a list of those medications though and you can ask around."
