41.

They followed Thaddeus into the deposition room reserved for his cases. It was tastefully decorated with expensive Western art on the walls, flocked wallpaper, and deep wool carpet. The mandatory wide screens and whiteboards surrounded the occupants, ready to serve. The court reporter set up his machine and ran a few inches of paper through the machine, finally nodding "Ready" at Thaddeus. He took the cue.

"We're on the record," said Thaddeus.

"Ready," said the court reporter."

"Morgana?"

"Keith Haley is appearing today pursuant to your subpoena. Your witness, Mister Murfee."

Thaddeus launched in. "Before we took our break yesterday you had told us that you were the CEO of Hudd Hospital Chicago at or near the time of Chase Staples' birth, isn't that correct?"

Keith Haley hesitated, looking to his attorney Morgana for direction. He was a pink-skinned heavyweight, thick jowls, gray hair combed straight back from a widow's peak, bifocals perched on his flesh nose, his face tilting up and down as he went from reading his notes to looking back at Thaddeus.

"Correct. He was born during my tenure as CEO."

Thaddeus nodded and reviewed his yellow pad. He had probably a page and half of questions for the CEO. He felt confident in his preparation and pushed ahead.

"And your position as CEO required that you enforce official hospital policy, correct?"

"Correct."

"Tell us what hospital policies were in effect the night of Chase Staples' birth, with particular regard to Caesarean sections."

"You mean policies that affect this case?"

"I mean all policies, sir."

"Hudd Family Hospital Chicago, like all Level I hospitals, had in effect a policy requiring a completed Caesarean section within thirty minutes of a staff member's page. This is called Decision to Incision."

Thaddeus smiled. He was going to close the noose around the guy's neck. "Exactly. Now tell me. Was that policy complied with or violated as a result of Chase Staples' birth?"

"Complied with. In all respects."

"Let's take those respects one at a time. With regard to the nurse's notes, what do those tell us about the thirty-minute decision to incision policy?"

"Well, the page went out from the delivery room at six thirty-five o'clock in the evening, Dr. Payne was on the premises and the C-section was completed at six fifty-seven p.m. Well within the thirty-minute window."

"Mr. Haley, are those nurses' notes marked Plaintiffs' Exhibit Seven the only set of nurses' records from that birth?"

"What are you asking?"

"I am asking, sir, have you ever seen another set of nurses' notes from that same night, same delivery?"

"Never."

"Are those nurses' notes true and accurate?"

"Well, they're certified. That's this stamp right here in the corner."

Thaddeus felt his neck bristle. The guy was lying and Thaddeus knew it. That, or the guy had been terribly misled by his staff. "Do you know this for a fact? I'm asking, sir, did you personally review the hospital's records and determine for yourself that these notes are original and accurate?"

"I did not. No hospital administrator would ever do that."

"So you don't know if Exhibit Seven is a true and accurate copy of the actual nurses' notes in the hospital files at all, do you?"

"You're asking the same thing again. I did not personally check them, no."

"You realize you're under oath today?"

"I do."

"And you're standing by the authenticity of the notes?"

"I am."

"Nothing further. Thank you, sir."

THADDEUS AND ALBERT HIGHTOWER put their heads together. They made their trial plans. The first item on the agenda was whether they would take the depositions of Gerry Springer and Nurse Nancy, who had been on duty during Chase's struggles to be born.

Records were examined and re-examined. As near as the attorneys could tell, neither doctor nor nurse had made entries in the delivery room records. Nancy was a student nurse at the time and it would have been unusual for a student to make entries into the nursing notes during a troubled delivery. Same for Gerry Springer, as he was a brand new physician who wasn't writing orders during the delivery. In the end it was decided that neither would be deposed and neither would be called at trial to testify.

42.

Chase Staples clutched spasmodically at empty air as he flopped upon the examining table at Hudd Hospital ER. On either side of the exam table, Latoya and John Staples tried to touch and comfort their child as the ER staff and doctor worked feverishly to get drugs into the baby's system to control the seizure.

His name was Nathan Tonopah and he was a first-year intern. He said, "OK, Mr. Chase, you've got Dilantin onboard. Come on now, baby."

Latoya clutched her heart and rolled her eyes skyward. "Sweet Jesus, help this baby!"

John asked, as if from a distance, "How long will it take?"

"He should stop seizing in thirty to sixty seconds. Here we go, he's relaxing now as we speak. There we go."

Chase was seen to relax and fall back against the table as if the levitating force had dissipated. The mother gently laid her head on the baby's chest and whispered to him. "We're right here, baby. Sssh-sssh, mommy and daddy are right here with you."

The doctor asked, "Is Chase getting in-home medical care of any nature?"

John responded, "No, we're waiting for Medicaid to help with that."

"What's the holdup, anything I can help with?"

Latoya sadly shook her head. "Case manager tells us they're underfunded anymore. It's the economy, she says, there's just no money to help this baby."

The doctor shook his head. "Jesus."

"Yes."

"Is there any insurance for him?"

John spoke up. "They busted our collective bargaining agreement down at the bus line where I work. We lost our insurance coverage two weeks ago."

"Have you tried the federal program?"

"We're in the process. But none of them we found so far have in-home full-time care for Chase. Not like we need."

"Well, who else have you tried?"

"There's no one else."

Doctor Tonopah rubbed Chase's belly. All was calm. "You did the right thing bringing him here tonight. I'm going to write a script for Dilantin that should help control future problems. But this baby is still going to need regular in-home nursing and medical care. He's gaining weight every day and these lab values will be changing. Dosage will need constant adjustment."

"We know that. We just don't know how."

"Do you have a lawyer working on his case?"

"We do. Thaddeus Murfee."

"He's very good. You might want to give him a call and see if there's any kind of insurance help he can get at this stage of the case."

"I've asked him all that until he's sick of hearing from me. But I'll call him tonight."

"Yes, at least tell him what's going on now with the seizure development."

"I will certainly call him."

43.

It was late afternoon and the ski crowd was thinning on Aspen Mountain. Clouds were low in the valleys and fresh snow was floating down. As the shadows disappeared to dim light, A.W. and Morgana gave a quick look, nodded, and set off on a downhill race. Morgana fell behind and obviously was allowing A.W. to win. By the time she reached the bottom of the run, A.W. had wandered off to find after-ski drinks. As she was stepping out of her skis the cell phone in her pocket buzzed. It was Thaddeus Murfee.

"Hello?" she said.

"Morgana, Thad. We've got problems on the Staples baby case."

"Go on."

"Chase Staples seized tonight. Grand Mal seizures. Bottom line, the ER doc wants him to have in-home care as follow-up. Problem is Mom and Dad don't have insurance for that. They don't have any insurance. I need to get their case settled and get some money for this child. Is your client ready to talk sense?"

"I-I don't know what to say. Hudd Family isn't in any kind of position to settle. Where's the liability that I can recommend settlement? What did our doctor and hospital do wrong?"

"Look, it's a jury question whether Dr. Payne arrived in time for emergency C-section. You've got a fifty-fifty chance of losing that. Surely to God that means something to Olde Heartless Insurance Company?"

She poked her pole around the snow, thinking. "That's your assessment. We've got records to prove the treatment was well within the standard of care."

"Look, lady, I'm not going to argue the case with you. Can you at least ask your client if they have any motivation to settle? You do have a duty to ask your client now that I've opened the issue for discussion."

"You're right. I'll ask my client. I'll recommend against, but at least I'll ask."

"We'll take ten million, not a dime less."

"Right, and it's snowing in Phoenix."

"Ask, please."

"Goodbye, Thaddeus."

SHE SAT FIDGETING at the table next to the stone fireplace at Aspen Mountain Lodge. It was time for a little apres-ski, as A.W had suggested, and Morgana was toying with her Diet Coke and Caroline was sipping brandy as A.W and his wife worked on their second martinis. Morgana felt nervous and knew her skin was glistening but didn't know if the damp was from the proximity to the fireplace or a result of the very negative feelings she was having over her complicity in the Chase Staples cover-up. Alternatively she felt nauseous and loss of appetite followed by a craving for something sweet. Caroline had assured her that none of it was a return of the cancer, which had been in remission for seven months. Her health had been good, she knew, and so the sadness and sense of loss she felt was definitely about her role in the case. Maybe she could bring it to a head and get the damn thing settled, she told herself. And there was no time like the present to make a stab at it.

She caught the eye of A.W. "I had a call from Thaddeus Murfee. The Staples baby is in a bad way."