Chapter Fifty-Two

Trapper walked through the corridors of the hospital making his final rounds of the day. There had been no unexpected events and no emergencies the entire day, other than the meeting that morning. Everyone seemed relaxed and in a decent mood. He had delivered the promised sandwich along with a pint of milk to Leah, who was busy reading status reports and catching up on equipment orders, program implementations and the physical work of hardware installation…too busy to spend a few minutes to stop and eat her sandwich. She'd hardly noticed him, except to look up and say 'thank you.'

It was coming up on five in the afternoon, when Trapper decided to go back down to the basement and pull her away because based on instructions from her medical team, her day was over. When he stepped off the elevator, he could hear a very loud discussion coming from her cubical. She waved him to a chair when he stuck his head in the door as she held the receiver of her phone to her ear. "I don't care what you do and don't have available. Our contract called for N1C wiring harnesses and one-inch, twenty-five pair cables. I've only received half of those, and now you're telling me you can't get them anymore. That doesn't change what you agreed to in the contract. Now, I expect to have replacements that are compatible with what we've already installed on time. I don't care if you have to personally drive a truck to Poughkeepsie to get them."

"What happens if we can't get them?"

"Then you'll be in breach of contract, and you'll be charged a penalty until we receive them. I can't back up this implementation to install all new equipment. We've already installed seventy-five percent of it."

"I'll have to get our legal department involved then."

"You go right ahead. Based on our contract, you don't have a leg to stand on. My legal department will chew them up and spit them out." Hanging up the phone, she muttered to herself for a minute as she studied the drawings on her desk. When she had calmed herself, she clasped her hands and propped her chin on top of them, looking across her desk at Trapper. "I wanted to be a programmer when I grew up."

"I can empathize," said Trapper. "I wanted to be surgeon, but somehow, I became an administrator who dabbles in surgery."

"You don't dabble. You've managed to find a balance."

Looking beyond her worktable at the desk behind her, he smiled when he saw the empty plate that her lunch had once occupied.

She followed his gaze and smiled. "I keep my promises."

"How long did it take you?"

"Not long enough. I think I might have swallowed it whole."

Standing, Trapper held out his hand to her. "Come on. It's quitting time."

"Trapper, I can't. I've got to approve these designs and get them assigned tomorrow."

He glowered at first. Then he gathered all the paperwork spread over her desk, threw it in her briefcase and stood there, holding the briefcase hostage. "This is going with me."

She walked around her desk and took the briefcase out of his hand. "Thank you, Dr. McIntyre, for packing my work for me. I had forgotten that I have an appointment."

"Appointment?"

"Yes. I have several appointments this evening to look at apartments."

Cocking his head, he said, "I thought you were going to stay at my house."

"I said I would stay at your house before I would stay in a hotel," she said as they walked to the elevator. "I did not say I wasn't going to look for another place."

They said goodbye at the elevator and didn't talk to each other until the next morning.

Gonzo followed Trapper to his office after coming out of surgery to repair damage from a bullet. "Can we find out about the guy who came in with him?" asked Gonzo, pulling his surgical cap off.

Trapper picked up the phone. "Who got him?"

"Ferguson, I think."

"Stanley, Trapper. What happened to the second gunshot victim?" Bowing his head, Trapper breathed deeply. "All right. Our guy's going to make it, though life will never be the same for him. He lost most of his colon. Kids these days think guns make them better somehow. Do we have an ID on either one? All right. Let me know."

"Well?" asked Gonzo.

"He didn't make it to the OR. We still don't know who they are."

Leah stuck her head in the door, wearing a smile. "Good morning." Upon seeing their greens wet with sweat and the frown on both their faces, her smile faded. "Oh. You two look like you've been up awhile. Trapper, I just wanted to tell you I found a place, so I won't need your spare bedroom. See you later."

"Wa-wa-wa-wait just a minute," he said as she disappeared on the other side of the door. "Come back here!" She leaned back in the cracked door. "Come 'ere. I want to hear about this place you've found." Pushing the door open, she closed it behind her and sat in the chair in front of Trapper's desk. "Well?" asked Trapper with raised brows.

"The real estate agent said she had a friend who lived near the south end of Baker Beach. Her daughter had just recently gotten married and moved out of a pool house they had built down the cliff from the main house so the daughter would have some privacy. You can only see the roof of the pool house from the main house, and it seems people have been coming up from the beach and using the house…illegally, of course. The owner was just interested in someone living there to prevent any further damage. She interviewed me last night, and offered me the house for low rent for where it is and utilities. I couldn't turn it down. It's perfect."

"Was this the first place you looked?" asked Trapper with a concerned look.

"Yes," answered Leah, nodding.

"Are you sure it's legitimate? It sounds too good to be true?"

She puckered her lips and narrowed her eyes. "This is the same agent who found the roof apartment I'm leaving. The paperwork was standard, and it's all signed. I have no reason not to trust her."

"What about the people you're renting from? Do you know anything about them?"

Breathing deeply, she glanced over at Gonzo, and then looked back at Trapper. "They're empty nesters in their late fifties, and they will be retiring to this home. He's a lawyer, and she was a stay-at-home mom who does a lot of charity work. She asked for references, and my agent gave her the list we used from my current apartment. She also wanted to know if I dated or if I was in a steady relationship. She didn't want men coming and going at all hours."

"What did you tell her?" asked Trapper with a sideways glance. Gonzo sat forward on the sofa, resting his arms on his thighs, paying close attention. Trapper looked up at a quick knock on the door that brought Ernie in. Holding up a finger to Ernie, he looked expectantly at Leah. Leah turned around to see Ernie, glanced back over at Gonzo, and then looked hesitantly at Trapper, who gave her an amused grin. "We just spent a long weekend together at your lake house. They know."

"About you and Trapper?" asked Ernie, sitting next to Gonzo on the sofa. "Everyone here has known since your catered dinner, and if not by then, certainly after Trapper left here running after you. Everyone outside the hospital has known since your evening at the symphony."

Leah blushed, and unable to look Trapper in the eye, she mumbled, "Excuse me," as she stood and headed for the door.

"Leah!" yelled Trapper, following her out the door.

Ernie was close behind him. "Trapper, two police officers are at the nurse's station. They want to speak to you about the gunshot victims."

When Trapper got to the nurse's station, he stopped at the sight of the policemen and watched as Leah turned forward in the elevator. Catching the disconcerted look she gave him just before the door closed, he took a deep breath and turned to the officers.

Leah had punched the button for the executive suites. She knocked on Slocum's door, and waited to be invited in. "Ms. Haverty, I'm glad you're here. Please sit down," said Arnold, motioning to a chair in front of his desk. "I want to apologize for putting you on the spot yesterday, but the committee wanted to hear it firsthand."

"No apologies are necessary, Mr. Slocum. I'm happy to provide them with whatever information they need. The reason I stopped by was to ask you to approve some training time for the personnel who will have exception authority. They need to understand the regulatory ramifications of their decisions."

"Why, of course. I agree that kind of training is necessary. I'm sure Dr. McIntyre and Dr. Riverside understand the idea, but I'm not sure they know the letter of the law. And I'm sure whoever they choose as their backup isn't even familiar with the basic idea. I'll talk to them and make sure you have their full cooperation."

"Thank you, Mr. Slocum. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

"Before you go, Ms. Haverty, I wanted to speak with you about office space."

"Office space?"

"Yes. In light of your knowledge of regulatory matters, I think it would benefit the hospital to have you more accessible for questions. I'd like to offer you an office here on the executive floor."

"Mr. Slocum, there's no need to spend any money on floor space for my team. During implementation, we need to be near the mainframe."

"Well, I'm not really spending any more money than I'll already have to. The board has agreed to add the new position of Chief Information Officer to lead the technical team after turnover, and I thought the staff might be better prepared to deal with the new role if they were already dealing with something similar." He passed a set of keys over the desk to her. "The office is yours until the position is filled. You can use it as you wish. I assume you'll be installing equipment there fairly soon?"

Looking at the keys in her hand, she said, "Uh…" before she looked back up. "Yes, of course. We'll install the new equipment within the week, and I'll make sure you get the updated invoice," she said, smiling. "But Mr. Slocum, don't be surprised if you don't see much of me up here. I work very closely with my staff, so I'll still be spending quite a bit of time with them in the basement."

"Of course. Good day, Ms. Haverty."

Leah boarded the elevator, and when the door had closed, she slumped against the wall with her cheeks blown out. When it stopped on the third floor, she straightened back up only to fall back again with her eyes cut up toward the ceiling as Trapper boarded. She gave him a tired look.

"Meeting with Arnold?" he asked rather flippantly.

Dangling the keys in front of him, she said a bit acerbically, "I now have an office on the executive floor."

"Oh, really?" he said, chuckling, "Better you than me."

She sighed, and looked down at the briefcase he was carrying. "I guess I left that in your office."

"Yes, in your haste to leave. What was that all about?"

She frowned. "I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but everyone knowing that I'm seeing you weakens my position as the "Ice Queen."

"You still want to be the "Ice Queen?" he said, slightly grimacing. "Haven't we all, and by we all, I mean all of your doctors, told you that disposition needed to go."

"That's how I got things done. Everyone did what I asked when I asked just to get rid of me."

Shaking his head, Trapper said, "You might try using some of that charm you tend to hide." They stepped out of the elevator together and walked into her cube. "Now, tell me what my restrictions are at your new place."

"Mrs. Murphy was delighted when I told her who you are, where you work and in what capacity. The only restriction you have is that you can't park on the driveway. You have to park on the street and walk in through my private gate, and you can't surprise me because you'll have to call me to let you in. There's a call button at the gate."

"I still think this is too good to be true. Especially since your last apartment should have been difficult to get."

"What can I say? The agent working for me is good at finding steals. "Albert Shaeffer, my attorney, found her for me."