04x04 - Death by Good Intentions

[bunniefuu]

Doctor Perez, report to C.C.U.

Hurry, get it down, get
out of my way! Epinephrine!

Come on, you live!

He shouldn't have started
hemorraghing again?

Well, it's obvious
that he did. He's dead.

I thought Dr. Mathews
was responsible.

Nobody is perfect. But
we must require perfection.

Thanks for ruining that boy.

He promised he'd
give me more time.

There it is, Quince.

Too bad we can't tell anybody.

Why not?

Well, we can't say we know Soriani
was m*rder*d until we find the k*ller.

He's not doing so well.

How much whole blood has he had?

He's on his sixth. I've
got two standing by.

We're nearly finished.

We'll close him up in a minute.

Can you keep him going?

I'd cross my fingers
if I had a free hand.

I'll do it for you.

There. Tight as a cork.

Doctor, will you close him up?

That's a nice job, Doctor.

Absolutely no leakage.

It's not a small
town clinic, is it?

No, it's not.

Beautiful job, Doctor.

Every time a patient
lives it's beautiful.

Anything past that
is just being neat.

Then you were awful neat.

Tell me about it,
Eric. What happened?

You mean the bleeding?

That's exactly what I mean.

The patient had a diseased
liver and there only one thing

that could have made
him bleed like that.

What did you give him?

Heparin.

I knew it. But why, Eric?

Why an anticoagulant?
Surely you knew.

Look, the man came
in here three days ago

suffering from a severe
pulmonary embolism.

I did a fast work up,
ran an E.K.G. him

which confirmed the embolus,
and I gave him routine care.

That included the heparin.

I didn't know about the liver
until his vital signs went bad.

Son, the angiomas
are all over him!

Didn't you see that?

No, so many people
die up there! I didn't see.

Maybe I was moving too fast,

maybe I was thinking
of too many other things.

And maybe you
were trying too hard.

Yeah, maybe I
was trying too hard.

All right, it's all over.

We'll keep it between us.

We can't afford to
make a mistake here

there are too many
people waiting for that.

And we've got too much to lose.

I know that. Don't
you think I know that?

I live with that
thirty hours a day!

Eric.

I went through it, too,

in a different way.

But I went through it.

Doctor, that's 500 ml IV
lactated ringers. I'll see to it. No...

Doctor Perez, C.C.U.

Doctor Perez, report to C.C.U.

I'll ventilate him.

Epinephrine!
Epinephrine! Hurry, woman!

Hurry, get it down,
get out of my way!

Still no sign.

Paddles! C'mon! C'mon!

Four hundred watts. Clear.

Clear.

He's in standstill.

C'mon, you, live!

C'mon, live!

What happened?

We lost him.

Cardiac arrest?

Yeah, I think so.

You think?

Doctor Taylor, around here
we don't thing, we know!

Sam, I think I'm up
on the Soriani case.

Death was caused by a
massive abdominal hemorrhage,

but there no evidence
as to the cause.

What about his liver?

Diseased. He drank a lot.

Probably an alcoholic.

Okay,

the guy has a heart att*ck.

He hemorrhages in the abdomen.

They do a section,
a terrific job.

The next day he
hemorrhages again. Why?

Do you think they would have
missed the bleeding around the liver?

The blood vessels
there are pretty small.

No, no, that's not the reason.

The surgeon did
a really tight job.

Too much blood, Sam.

He should never
have bled like that.

What are you going to do?

Pay a visit to Pratt Hospital. And
find out who did what to whom.

Nurse. I'm Doctor Quincy.
I'm a medical examiner.

May I help you?

You had a patient
named Ed Soriani?

Yes, the poor man. Do
you still have his chart?

I still might have
it. Let me check.

Off hand, could you tell me
who the attending physican was?

Well, there were quite a
number of people involved.

Mr. Soriani was
a charity patient.

But I believe Doctor
Taylor, the coronary resident,

spent most of the time with
him, along with Doctor Mathews.

Frank Mathews? Is he still here?

Oh, yes. He's become
an institution here at Pratt.

- Here you go.
- Thank you.

What happened when he d*ed?

The usual thing in here.

Fibrillation and
then a flat line.

- Well, this explains it.
- Excuse me?

Where could I
find Doctor Taylor?

Oh, he's making his rounds right
now, but he should be finished shortly.

May I borrow this?
Well, I don't know...

I want to see Doctor Mathews,
there's something here he should know.

Well, all right.
Where's his office?

Fourth floor,
opposite the elevator.

Thank you. Oh, when Doctor
Taylor returns from making the rounds,

send him up please.

After all, he what
this is all about.

Come in.

Frank?

Quincy?

How are you?

- It has been,
what, twenty years?
- At least.

- How you been?
- Fine, good to see you.

Doctor Quincy, I'd like you
to meet Dr. Andrew Charles.

- How do you do?
- Hello, Doctor Quincy.

Are you the Andrew Charles that made
the breakthrough in cardiac prosthetics?

- That's right.
- I read about that.

-That's fantastic stuff
-I thank you very much.

I'm glad to know somebody
reads those articles.

I thought you'd be a lot older.

Well, now, I feel a lot older.

Frank, I've got to go.

Dr. Quincy, it's a
pleasure. Bye-bye.

Wow, now that's some doctor!

What did he do? A
breakthrough in cardiac surgery,

a new efficient heart valve.

The Charles Mitral Valve. Yeah.

And you, you've been
here twenty-three years?

Oh, at least.

You haven't aged a day.

You look exactly the way you did

when I came in for
my first dissection.

The way you handled that
Kn*fe, just like a magician.

Oh, we all change a bit, Quincy,

in more ways than one.

- You're a...
- I'm a medical examiner.

In fact, that why
I'm here, Frank.

I'm investigating the
death of a charity patient,

Ed Soriani.

He d*ed of a massive
abdominal hemorrhage.

Now when I examined the body,
I couldn't find any reason for it.

But now I think I have one.

Hold on.

Hemorrhage? Yeah.

- Are you sure?
- Oh, I'm sure, yeah.

I thought the man d*ed
from cardiac arrest?

Well, in this case, the cardiac
arrest is a result of the hemorrhaging.

Now it's the reason for the hemorrhaging
that I want to talk to you about.

Frank, I think you have a
wrongful death on your hands.

Come in.

Doctor Taylor.

You wanted to see
me, Doctor Mathews?

Why, no, I didn't
Frank. I had him sent up.

I hope it all right,
I'm Doctor Quincy.

I'm with the medical
examiner's office.

What was that about
a wrongful death?

Well, Ed Soriani was admitted to the
hospital with a severe pulmonary embolism.

According to his chart, he was
treated in standard procedure by you.

What I don't understand is why you
gave him heparin, an anticoagulant.

The last thing in the world
you should give a man

with a liver condition like
that. It probably k*lled him!

Now wait a minute, Doctor.

When Ed Soriani was admitted
here, it was on an emergency basis.

He was in bad trouble.

And to stop the blockage from getting
any worse, I administered the heparin.

That kept the man alive.

Didn't you recognize the
signs of his liver condition,

the spider angiomas?

We caught the
hemorrhaging, in time,

I put the man on vitamin K to
bring the bleeding under control,

then Doctor Mathews went
in to seal him surgically.

He shouldn't have started
hemorrhaging again.

Well, it obvious that he did.
He's dead because of the mistake.

Look, Doctor,

we work on an
emergency basis here, fast,

unlike the morgue where your
patients don't care if you take your time.

Now all I know is that Ed Soriani
shouldn't have started bleeding again,

and if I hadn't treated him when I
did, he would have d*ed even sooner.

I have work to do, Doctor,
I think I better get back to it.

Yes.

He was brought here through an
affirmative action program, you know.

He's doing good work.

And he wasn't wrong now.

They handle fifteen
cases at once down there.

He was trying his best to
save that man's life, and he did.

For a while. Frank,
the signs were clear.

The man had spider angiomas
all over his neck and his chest.

There were other ways. You
wouldn't have missed those signs.

Shall we talk about the
errors in our own careers?

He's not me, and he's not you.

But he's still a fine doctor
and he has a fantastic future.

Performing the autopsy,
you've seen Soriani heart.

Yeah.

Then you know he had maybe three,
four months to live at most anyhow.

Four weeks or four months or four
years. What the difference, Frank?

They're pieces of a man's life.

Quincy,

I'm sitting on an
affirmative action program.

I think it's the most important
accomplishment here.

So, when I was
working on Ed Soriani

I closed every vessel and
checked and double-checked.

I can't see hemorrhaging
as the cause of death.

I want you to do
me a favor, Quince.

Go back and take a look,

a good look before you
complete your report.

For me.

I'll do that. That's a promise.

- Thanks, Quince.
- Bye-bye.

One thing's for sure,

Doctor Mathews was
right about this man's heart.

Four months to live was
probably a liberal estimate.

We can't let that make us
overlook the facts, you know.

The cause of the
hemorrhaging was the heparin?

Oh yeah. That's why we
didn't find the reason before.

Heparin is absorbed right into
the system. Doesn't leave a trace.

What if we check
for metabolites?

Still wouldn't have
shown anything.

Heparin breaks down into substances
which occur naturally in the body.

I'll tell you something, Sam.

I can understand why Taylor made
a mistake and gave him heparin.

It was a severe embolism.

It what's he missed that
supposedly did the damage.

Supposedly?

Well, look at the way Frank
took care of the hemorrhaging.

That's a beautiful
job. Perfect work.

The heparin shouldn't have
k*lled this man. He was sealed!

I don't see why he d*ed!

That's because you
don't want to see it.

C'mon, Quince,

you've spent more time on
this than on five other cases.

That's why he's always
behind in his work.

But since you've spent so much time
on this, I'm sure that report is ready.

Yes, it is. What's the
hurry? Potter field in a rush?

Hardly.

But Chester Banning, the
Chief Administrator of Pratt, is.

He just called.

It seems he thinks there's the
possibility of incompetence in this case.

He wants to settle
the matter right away.

I'm not so sure there was
incompetence. Oh, you're not sure.

- No.
- Well, it's not your
job to determine that.

Your job is to
determine the facts,

which you've done, so I'd
like the report for Banning.

I could stall.

Well...

You won't.

Not if you get Banning to agree not to
move on this case for forty-eight hours.

I need that much time.

What's happening? You
want to blackmail Banning?

No. I want to bargain with him.

That's not what it
sounds like to me.

Look, if I release this report
and say it isn't complete,

if anything goes wrong, you
are responsible, you know.

Oh, you need more time. Yeah.

Well, why didn't you
say that. I'll call Banning

and I'll have him delay
it for forty-eight hours.

- Thank you, thank you.
- Think nothing of it.

You wanted to see
me, Doctor Banning?

Yes, Eric, I did. Please,
come in. Sit down.

I've...

I've gone over your
handling of the Soriani case,

and the coroner's report
on the cause of death.

Eric, I know you've been working
hard and I know you've been trying.

Doctor Banning, I know that

Eric, please, let me finish.

I'm afraid it just
isn't working out.

You misdiagnosed a patient and,

it cost the man his life.

Look, when...

When we brought you in here
under the affirmative action program

which we implemented,

I was worried that
the transition between

the small town clinic where
you served your internship,

and a huge urban hospital like
Pratt might be a little difficult for you.

Look, I was trying to
save that man's life.

Next to us, another man was bleeding to
death from a g*nsh*t wound in the chest.

I also managed to see him, he was
discharged from the hospital yesterday.

Eric, every doctor in this hospital
works under those conditions.

Nobody's perfect, but we
must require perfection.

We must!

Our funding

could be greatly
affected if the competency

of the staff were suspect.

I simply cannot
afford that risk.

I'll have to place you on suspension,
pending a Peer Review Committee.

It's the only way I
know to handle this.

Eric Taylor is
getting railroaded.

I can't say it any
plainer than that.

All of you know
the situation by now.

As I see it, this is a
case where there's

a lot of room
for interpretation,

a gray area.

Doctor Banning, however,

has decided to take the
strongest action he could.

Banning's had an itchy
trigger finger for a long time.

Well, maybe he pulled that
trigger just a little too soon.

When is the review board
supposed to hear Eric's case?

As far as I know, the
day after tomorrow.

But if we can't exert
enough pressure,

enough reason, there
might not even be a review.

The question is: How
are we going to respond?

The question is
more than that, Phil.

Because whatever you do, however
you deal with Banning's decision,

the affirmative action
program that put most

of you in this room
must not be endangered.

But Banning has
already endangered it.

But his mistake was
in moving so unjustly.

Now everybody here knows
that if Eric Taylor was White,

Banning would never
have suspended him.

Besides, if Banning
has his way now,

we, and Eric,

won't have anything to lose.

You haven't been here long enough
to know just what we could lose.

Doctor Quincy, there's a Doctor
Mathews who would like to see you.

- Send him in, would ya, Chuck.
- Sure.

Frank, how are you?

I came in person, Quincy, to
say what I have to say to you.

Thanks a lot.

Banning lied!

He said he'd give me more time.

Thanks for ruining that boy.

I did what I said I
would do. I looked again.

And I reported my
honest observations.

Which included my doubts as to why
Soriani hemorrhaged the second time.

Banning just moved
too soon, that's all.

So, as a result, what might have
been a brilliant career is going to end.

And another desperately needed Black
doctor won't be able to serve his people.

Believe me. Eric Taylor is good!

All he needed was a break.

Frank, he's young. He's
come back. It'll all work out.

You don't understand.

How could you?

If you had lived with the disappointments,
the broken promises and the

but nevermind, it's here now.

The program that
will let us catch up.

And we're working till our
hearts break to keep those places.

Two, three times harder
than any White doctor.

Frank,

you're the best
doctor I have ever met.

Not the best Black doctor.

Just the finest doctor.

All these years

have I only been something
called a 'White' doctor to you?

Whatever you were to me,
or I to you, is unimportant.

It's the program.

It's all I've ever worked for.

I finally see some hope, and I'm
not going to let it be taken away.

Banning, I thought you
said you were gonna wait.

Didn't you understand
what Doctor Astin told you?

Oh, I understood.

But after I went over your
findings, I did what I had to do,

what any responsible
administrator would do.

I specifically mentioned
in my report there was

a possibility of an unknown
cause for the second hemorrhaging.

But Doctor Quincy,

it is my duty to eliminate
the possibility of anybody else

dying at the hands of
an incompetent physician.

You don't know that. You're
assuming incompetence.

Oh, well now, it doesn't
take much assumption

when somebody's here because
of politics rather than qualifications.

Oh, now we're getting
down to it, aren't we?

Tell me, Doctor Banning, if Eric Taylor
were White, would you have suspended him?

Don't you ever accuse
me of being unfair.

I'm against affirmative
action because I'm against

anybody getting
preferential treatment.

To be given a chance is
not to be given preference,

to be given what is yours
constitutionally is not a handout.

Don't you think it's about time

that we made up for the
disadvantages we inflicted on them?

Don't talk to me
about disadvantages.

Nobody ever reached
down and helped to pull me

and my brothers and
my sisters out of the dirt.

Eleven kids,

and everyone of us busted
our tails to amount to something.

Nobody ever helped me with
my internship, my residency,

or being administrator
of this hospital.

I earned every rung on
that ladder. And I paid for it.

- Doctor Banning.
- What is it?

I'm sorry, but I thought
you'd want to know.

I just heard it on my
radio. Heard what?

Well, it's about Doctor Mathews.

He has just accepted full responsibility
for causing the death of Mr. Soriani.

I just talked with your wife.

She told me I'd
probably find you here.

Emma knows me
like a book, all right.

That woman has
seen me through a lot.

Remember this room, Quince?

How could I forget it?

This is where I learned what
an artist you were with a scalpel.

How many times you hollered
because I almost made a mistake.

Everybody was afraid of you.

I didn't know you
were afraid of me.

Are you kidding! Because of
you, I almost became a dentist.

Well, you learned
something, didn't you?

I sure did.

Everybody did.

You're gonna be missed, Frank.

Medicine will be a
lot less without you.

- You think so.
- Yeah.

Why are you
making this sacrifice?

Well, how can I
explain this to you?

How does a sighted
man explain color

to someone who's blind?

Do you know what it
was like for a Black man

to want to be a
physician thirty-five years,

to want to go to a good
school, to get good training?

When I was an intern, my instructor
didn't even want to look at me.

I know that. I understand it

No, you don't. I know
you're trying, Quincy,

I know you think you
know but you don't.

You can't.

Look,

we've got the affirmative
action programs.

It's not perfect, but
it's a step forward.

Things are shaky with
the Bakke decision,

with public psychology
being what it is...

So you're going to
make the sacrifice?

You're going to throw
yourself to the wolves?

Frank, don't you see.

If the program is so weak that it can
fall apart because of this one case,

it's not going to make it,
with you or without you!

Your sacrifice is meaningless!

- That may well be.
- Then don't do it.

Don't, don't throw away
all that you've worked for,

your career, all the
years ahead of you.

If you do that, we all lose.

I appreciate that,
Quince. I really do.

But I've been around a long
time, I've put in a lot of years.

There are a lot of young doctors out
there who could be hurt by this now.

Doctors who could
become valuable.

As valuable as you.

I've made my decision.

I'm staying with it.

You're wrong. I really
think you're wrong.

Quincy, if you have any
respect for me, any regard,

please, do me this favor.

Leave it alone.

I'm going to do us all a favor.

I'm going to look for the truth
and see if that can help us.

You see, I once had a
teacher who taught me

never settle for less than that.

- There's
nothing to talk about.
- There's plenty to talk about!

Now you know that
Frank confession is bull.

He's just trying to protect
the kid, take the heat

off him and the
affirmative action program.

Doctor, I may be
stubborn, but I'm not stupid.

Of course, I know.
But it doesn't matter.

Why?

Because I want to protect
this hospital, that's why.

Ed Soriani had a
niece. Joan Campbell.

She and her attorney filed
in civil court this morning.

A lawsuit? Naming Frank Mathews

and this hospital as defendants.

And since Frank publicly
admitted the wrongdoing,

we don't stand a snowball's
chance in hell if it reaches court.

So you're going
to cut Frank loose?

You're going to throw him to that
woman like you throw a bone to a dog

and hope she lays off you?

You've got it, Doctor. A suit
like that could ruin this hospital.

So as long as that lawsuit
exists, Frank Mathews doesn't.

But didn't you try to explain
things to her? Get her to lay off.

I'm still investigating
this case.

Explain? Look, she
doesn't want an explanation.

She and that shyster lawyer of hers
see a chance to pick up a fast buck.

She never cared about Ed Soriani.
She hadn't seen him for fifteen years.

She will settle for
no less than the most.

I simply just don't
have any other choice.

Frank Mathews will be
summarily dismissed.

You've got a choice, all right.

You just don't have
the guts to take it.

That's just the thing
you're not going to do!

Do you realize what it would
look if you came forward now

and said that Frank
lied to cover you?

That could hurt the credibility of the
program more than any wrongful death.

But it is my responsibility!

It was bad enough before
but now, with this lawsuit!

I just can't let this happen
to you, Doctor Mathews.

Yes, you can.

I knew what could happen
when I made my decision,

and I know what can happen
now. But you'll be wiped out.

This woman could take
everything you've ever worked for.

Me, I don't have anything.

You have your entire
career, your life ahead of you.

But more importantly, you represent
an ideal that's larger than any of us.

Sure, you could save me,

but you'd surely
hurt the program.

For a program that took a
hundred years to come about

has been reduced to a
game of public relations.

We have to play that
game, or lose the program.

You have to make
up your mind, son.

So this is what
we're left with, huh?

Aha.

And this man, whom I love

goes down the hole.

That what we're left with.

And until something changes,

that's the way it stays.

This case is crazy, Sam,
there's something here.

But you've been over
the body a dozen times.

We've examined those stitches
so much I know them by heart.

It's too perfect. Frank
did too good a job.

All right, Quincy, look, I'm
going home and I'm tired

and I need those reports.

I can work on them tonight.

I never got to them.

The Soriani case?

Yeah. Quincy thinks he shouldn't
have started hemorrhaging again.

Well, he shouldn't have.

Maybe there's a possibility of
a second injection of heparin.

That's a nice thought.

But nine injections
recorded on his chart equals

nine needle marks, and that's
how many he got. Only nine.

It's possible we could
have missed one.

I doubt that, Sam.

One, two

of course there a slight
discoloration on the side of this one.

It looks like a more
recent ecchymosis.

No, that's rather red.

Let me see that.

Almost as if a second injection
had been given in the same spot.

Sam, I want you to remove this.

Examine it under the
dissecting microscope.

Right.

Here it is. Quince, we found it.

Two needle holes, here and here.

This is the most
recent ecchymosis.

You did it. You
proved it was m*rder.

Too bad we can't tell anybody.

Why not?

Well, we can't say that we know Soriani
was m*rder*d until we find the k*ller.

Why on Earth can't we?

Because if we tip our hand,

he might go into hiding and
we'll never be able to prove that

Eric Taylor is innocent.

Now I want all the cases that

were sent here from Pratt
Hospital this past year.

I want to know if anybody
else was m*rder*d,

just like that.

According to the records,

we've received forty-two bodies
from Pratt in the last three months.

Seven of them were questionable.

These are the reports
from those autopsies.

Yeah, I remember
this one... Lawrence.

But didn't we find the cause of
death in all these cases to be natural?

Yeah.

Remember this one,
how frustrating that was?

- The Phillips case.
- Yeah.

There was something
kinda strange there.

It wasn't really
fully explainable.

There was arteriosclerosis
and Parkinsonism.

But it could have
been something else.

Yeah. That's not all fellas.

Five of the seven were either
indigent, comatose, or bedridden.

Well, there was no
problem from these two.

They suffered from
medistatic lung carcinoma and

a ruptured aneurism,
respectively.

Their deaths were natural.

No, wait a minute,
wait a minute.

You believe that five people,

five other than Soriani were
m*rder*d, and no one knew?

And the bodies were brought and no
one here even found a hint of evidence?

But why should we?

If somebody in that hospital is k*lling
people, they know what they're doing.

Like in the Soriani case,

they make each m*rder look
like a last minute complication

or a sudden cessation
of a vital function.

Quincy, you're talking
about hospital personnel:

Doctors, nurses,
lab technicians.

Well, who else could it be?

Should we have the bodies
exhumed so we can recheck them?

I don't think it would
help in this case, Sam.

They didn't tell us
anything the first time

and they probably won't
tell us anything now.

But the hospital records might.

Now, we have to find out who had
something to do with all these cases

and find the common denominator.

The sooner we do that,
the sooner we'll stop a k*ller.

Quincy, Quincy, please don't make any
accusations until you're absolutely sure!

Oh, I'll be as gentle as a lamb.

Uh-oh.

Jerry Bremer? Yeah, right.

I'm Doctor Quincy,
I called you before.

Oh, hi Doc. You said you needed
something from my machine.

If it can help me.

This baby can do
anything. What do you got?

These were patients who
d*ed here at Pratt Hospital.

- Yeah.
- I want the names of anybody

who had anything
to do with their cases.

- You want everybody?
- Everybody,

I mean doctors, nurses,
orderlies, lab people, everybody.

I thought you said the
machine could do anything?

You want it, Doc, you got it.

There she goes.

All these people for five cases?

Well, a couple of them might
have been here for a few months.

You know how it is. You got a
different aide every other night,

nurse rotation.

You probably got two
hundred names there.

Can that machine tell me if any of
these people worked on all five cases?

You mean if a given doctor had seen
all five patients, you want his name?

- That's right.
- No sweat.

Just one name.

I wonder what her motive was.

What was that, Doc?

Nothing, Jerry.
Thanks for everything.

Hey, you ought to
take up the piano.

Oh, you're looking
so much better.

You've got the roses
back in your cheeks.

That's great, You're
going home before too long.

Miss Davenport.

Why, hello, Doctor Quincy.

I thought your investigation
of Mr. Soriani was finished?

It is. I'm here on
other business.

Busy, busy, busy. I
should have thought so.

A man like you must
be terribly rushed.

Well, it's kind of
hectic here. Excuse me.

More than I care to say.

Sometimes there are

so many people to take care of.

Too many.

We just can't see them
all. The crowding is awful.

Usually with the wrong
kind, if you know what I mean.

You've noticed
that, too, Doctor?

You'd think they'd
do something about it.

Build a new wing, hire
more staff, something.

I'm afraid the hospital
can't afford that.

Well, I guess in a
way it's a blessing.

It would only be jammed
up with more of them,

even though it's
too late for them.

I guess it's just
like the weather.

Everybody talks about it,
but nobody can do anything.

Oh, there's
something you can do.

Really, what?

Give the beds to the
ones who need them.

So many beds are wasted.

Wasted? How?

The indigent, the ones who
barely hang on, the dying.

I know this must
sound awful, Doctor.

And if it does, I apologize.

But those people
have finished their lives.

These, like that boy and that young
woman, have only begun to live.

Now they need the
care, and the bed space.

Maybe, maybe the misery of
the helpless should be ended.

You don't think I'm
awful, do you, Doctor?

No, no.

I really understand now.

It's been very
interesting talking to you.

Oh, thank you, Doctor.

- Bye-bye.
- Bye.

Oh, not this form, we
don't use it anymore!

She hates indigents
and she's k*lling them?

People who take up
bed space, she kills?

How can you come in here and

make such a serious accusation
like that without any proof?

I mean everybody
in this hospital

hates it when beds are used by
people who shouldn't be here. I hate it.

But you don't k*ll
because of it! She does!

Oh, that absurd.

And besides, why didn't
you come to me when those

very same bodies went through
your hands at the morgue?

Because I didn't know
then. She was too clever.

Angela Davenport has been with
this hospital longer than anybody.

I mean she has got almost
thirty years service here and damn

good service at that.

Why won't you understand?

I'm not playing
games, this is real!

Well, I'm not
convinced that it is.

I'm telling you that
woman is a m*rder*r.

Now why don't you investigate?
Why don't you look into it?

Investigate? Why?

To spread a lot of rumors
around this hospital?

Oh no, Doctor.

I'm not going to let
you stall for your friend

Mathews, or that
incompetent Taylor.

Oh no, the die was cast when
we implemented their 'program'

and we're now
reaping the benefits.

I just don't believe you.
It's as simple as that.

If she kills someone else,

rumors are gonna be
the least of your problems.

I've been promising my
grandson a treehouse for two years.

Now I've got the time
to build one for him.

You haven't heard a word
I've said, have you, Frank?

She's k*lling people.

Well, why don't you talk
with Banning about it?

I already did. He
doesn't believe me.

Well, neither do I.

Quince, I've known Angela for...

Oh, you sound just like him!

I don't care if you've
known her since the ice age.

All I want you to do is
withdraw your confession.

I want to concentrate more investigative
action on the Soriani case again.

I can't do that, Quince. Not
from what you just told me.

She's k*lling people!
You have to, Frank!

Like hell I do!

Can you prove
she's the m*rder*r?

She, Angela Davenport?

No, not yet. But
given time I can.

Then I could
clear Eric for good.

There isn't any time.

Not here. Not now.

If I come forward and you
can't identify who the m*rder*r is

you know damn well Eric
going to be stuck with this.

They'll claim that he k*lled those
people and we covered for him.

I can't let that happen.

Now, do you want to talk
about my grandson's treehouse?

No, I don't.

Then we've just run
out of conversation.

You should've heard
them, both of them.

They didn't believe me.

They're not going to do
anything about Angela Davenport.

And I know it's her as well
as I know my own name.

I know she k*lled those people.

Quincy, maybe her working on both
cases is just an unusual coincidence.

Ed Soriani's m*rder had nothing
to do with coincidence I'll tell ya that.

Quincy, I've been
calling all over for you.

- I just heard you were back.
- What's going on?

Three bodies came in
from Pratt this morning.

I looked them over,
and two I can account for.

But the third sounds like a
perfect candidate for Angela.

Look: indigent, stroke
victim, comatose,

but the chart says he was showing
improvement. Then suddenly, he d*ed.

Sam, bless you! Gim him a raise.

Don't even think it, Sam.
I mean, I would like to,

I really would but I just
can't. Thank you, Sam.

And Sam. The next time, knock.

The man's name
was Roberto Sanchez.

Fifty-four years old. He
suffered three myocardial

infarctions in the past,
before he was admitted to

Pratt suffering from a stroke.
Now everything was steady

until he unexpectedly went
into ventricular fibrillation.

They know what started
his heart to flutter?

No, emergency aid
didn't do any good.

What's their guess
for the cause of death?

They couldn't figure if it was
because of the heart or the stroke.

Well, let's find out.

I'm sure we'll end up with a
'probable Angela Davenport.'

I want you to remove
the injection sites

and take a close look. I'm going
to start the exterior examination

The heart shows a
healed apical infarct,

a focus of myofibrosis
in the lateral wall.

Coronary arteries
show moderate sclerosis.

Two scars and a mild blockage,
none of them bad enough to k*ll him.

Quince, I tried to run some
sections from the injection site,

but the tissue was so saturated
with blood, I couldn't tell a thing.

That bad? Were the
vessels collapsed?

Totally. They must've tried a dozen
times before they could find a vein.

We won't be
able to tell a thing.

Do you want a full tox screen?

You'd better believe I do.

And check the cardiac
enzymes from the blood.

Because if his heart
muscle death is recent,

then that's the cause
and she's innocent.

Did the hospital send over a list of
the cardiogenic dr*gs he had taken?

Oh yeah. Standard stuff.

Propananol, digitalis,
epinephrine and lydocaine.

I want you to check
the level in his system.

I want to know everything
that is in him and how much.

This is going to take all night.

You got it.

Sanchez, Roberto. You mean
you've been working on this all night?

Somebody has to try
to stop that woman.

Quincy, you may have an occupational
hazard thinking all cases are foul play.

Now did you ever really considered
that maybe Sanchez d*ed a natural death?

Sure and I'm the King of Siam.

Ed Soriani did not die of natural
causes and neither did Sanchez here.

What did you find, Sam?

Well, this doesn't
make any sense.

He d*ed almost immediately after
the lydocaine was administered.

But the lydocaine should have
stopped his heart from twitching.

Also, his body couldn't have
broken down so much lydocaine

to account for the high
level of residue in his blood

in so short a time.

Did you run a level
on the liver yet?

I'm just about to.

Do you think we've
got something here?

If we don't, Sam,

I'll kiss your Aunt Sally!

Look at this! Four-point-five
milligrams percent.

Talk about a heavy push.

There's no way he could
have had this high a level in his

system from one
injection of lydocaine!

It's impossible!

It is possible that it could have
been a therapeutic misadventure.

You know how
busy that hospital is.

Someone could have given him a sh*t of
lydocaine not realizing he already had one.

Angela Davenport
is responsible for this

and she knew exactly
what she was doing.

But how are you going
to prove it was her?

Oh, I'll prove it, all right. Don't
you worry about that. I'll prove it.

Well, where is she, Quince?

I mean, do you
know what time it is?

It's seven o'clock in the
morning. I know what time it is.

Well, couldn't you tell us what
this was all about over the phone?

It's about m*rder, I'm sure.

That's right, and blindness too.

And you can prove
who the m*rder*r is?

I'm sure that my evidence will
meet even with your requirements.

Well, you'd better be able
to because if you can't,

I'm going to use all of my
authority to have you censured.

You know I wish you gentlemen
would tell me what this is all about.

I didn't get up at 7
a.m. to play games.

We're not playing
games, believe me.

Miss Davenport Why,
hello, Doctor Quincy.

Doctor Banning.

Doctor Mathews! What
a pleasant surprise!

This is not going to be that
pleasant. Sit down, Miss Davenport.

Well, Doctor, get on with
it. And it better be good.

Get on with what?

What's this about,
Doctor Banning?

It's about the m*rder of Ed
Soriani and Roberto Sanchez.

I thought Doctor
Mathews was responsible.

After the initial mistake,

Doctor Mathews and Doctor
Taylor stopped the hemorrhaging.

Soriani was recovering until you gave
him that second injection of heparin.

But I'm a nurse,

I don't hurt
people, I help them.

You didn't help
Soriani or Sanchez.

When the resident
physican was alerted that

Sanchez had gone into
ventricular fibrillation,

he administered an
injection of lydocaine.

Now, that's standard.

Of course he expected
the patient to respond

but he didn't.

Instead, his heart stopped. Why?

Because he had been given a
previous injection of lydocaine.

You see, Lieutenant, when
your heart is fibrillating,

lydocaine can
stop that twitching.

And when your heart
is functioning properly,

lydocaine can
cause an arrhythmia.

That's the
uniqueness of the drug.

And an overdose will
stop your heart forever.

You gave him that previous
injection of lydocaine.

The resident came in,
he saw him fibrillating

and unknowingly he gave
him the second injection

and that's what k*lled
him, that overdose.

I have two nurses who will testify
they saw you go into that room

when that drug had to
have been administered.

Well, yes. I did.

I had to.

When I checked on Mr. Sanchez, I saw that
he was having heavy, periodic arrhythmias.

He needed a doctor right away,
but as always here, they were busy.

I know it was beyond my
authority, but I took it upon

myself to try to stabilize
his condition. I had to.

That's not true.

Roberto Sanchez' heart
was functioning normally.

There were no arrhythmias
before your injection.

You m*rder*d that man.

But there were arrhythmias.

Something must've been
wrong with the monitor.

After thirty years as
a nurse here at Pratt,

I know the manifestations
of arrhythmia.

But why are you
making so much fuss?

The man was dying anyway.

They were all dying.

Angela, did you do this?

Do you think you were helping?

Angela, these
are people's lives!

Because they don't have much
longer, every moment is precious,

every moment is treasured.

You've hurt them and
you've hurt other people too.

People like Eric Taylor and
all the Eric Taylors to come.

They want what you want,

to provide decent medical
care to help people.

Did you give Soriani that
second injection of heparin?

Yes. I didn't do it to
hurt, Doctor Taylor.

He's a good doctor.

I thought it would be all
right. Just like the others.

My children were
sleeping in the halls.

I'm sorry.

I am so sorry.

Well, Frank, obviously there's
no need to go through with

your resignation now,
unless you want to.

What about Eric?

Well, there was still a mistake
made, I can't ignore that.

Don't ignore it.
Never ignore it.

But do try to understand it.

The Eric Taylors of the world
don't want special treatment,

nor do they need to be placed
under a magnifying glass.

They just want to be
treated like regular doctors.

Because that's what they are.

So Soriani's niece is going to
drop the lawsuit? I think that's terrific.

You know Banning was still
worried that she'd try to stick

it to the hospital because
Angela was an employee, but I

guess she figured it wasn't
worth the trouble since no

mistake contributed
to his death.

And Banning is going
to back Eric to the hill.

Well, that's quite a
turnaround, isn't it?

Well, no, not really. You know,
he only cares about the hospital

and he has finally
accepted Eric as part of that.

- Hey.
- About time!

- You cooked that yourself?
- Yeah, I stuffed it
with lasagna, come on.

Here we go.

Now, doesn't
that look beautiful?

- Excuse me, will ya?
- No, no, what are you doing?

- I'm going to
carve the turkey.
- Oh, Quincy, no offense.

You know what
kind of work you do.

Besides, you said he's one of
the best surgeons in the country.

Doctor, would you do the honors?

Thank you.

And I'll start with the breast.

You know whenever I
carve the breast of a turkey,

I don't know why but I
think of the breast of a man.

Now, if you were to cut into
this turkey before it was cooked,

you would see blood
vessels, blood, muscles,

tendons, structures that make
it function, not unlike a man's.

If you cooked a man's breast,
you would break down the blood

and muscle tissues and
arteries, not unlike a turkey's.

So you see why some people
think that cannibalism is not

such an outrageous practice.
You did say breast, didn't you?

I think I'll have
a little oatmeal.

- Me, too.
- Yeah.