Philips turned back to his angiogram and continued dictating. “In conclusion, the patient has a large arteriovenous malformation of the left basal ganglia area supplied by the left middle cerebral and left posterior cerebral choroidal artery. Period. End of Dictation. Thank you.”
Putting down the microphone, Martin turned to face the Director. It irked him that there was so little sense of privacy in the hospital that Drake would think nothing of just walking right into his office.
“Dr. Philips, good to see you,” said Drake, smiling. “How’s the wife?”
Philips looked at him for a moment, not sure whether to laugh or be angry. Finally he said evenly, “I got divorced four years ago.” He played it down the middle.
Drake swallowed, his smile faltering for a moment. He switched the subject to how pleased the Board of Directors of the hospital had been with the smooth functioning of the Department of Neuroradiology since Philips’ appointment. Then there was a pause. Philips just watched. He knew why Drake was here and he wasn’t going to make it any easier for him.
“Well,” said the administrator, assuming a more serious tone. His small mouth pulled together. “I’m here to discuss this unfortunate Marino situation.”
“What’s that?” said Philips.
“The fact that the poor girl’s body was irreverently handled and X-rayed without authorization of a postmortem examination.”
“And the brain was removed,” said Philips. “X-raying a body and removing a brain are not in the same category!”
“Yes, of course. Now, whether you were involved in actually taking the brain is immaterial at this point. The point is …”
“Wait a minute!” Philips sat up in his chair. “I want this perfectly clear. I X-rayed the body, that’s true. I did not remove the brain.”
“Dr. Philips. I’m not concerned who removed the brain. I’m concerned about the fact that the brain was removed. It’s my responsibility at this point to protect the hospital and its staff from bad publicity and financial burden.”
“Well I’m concerned about who removed the brain, especially if anybody thinks that it might have been me.”
“Dr. Philips, there’s no need to be alarmed. The hospital has already spoken to the mortuary. The family will not learn of this unfortunate episode. But I must remind you of your tenuous position in regard to this case and implore you to let the matter drop. It’s as simple as that.”
“Did Mannerheim put you up to this inquisition?” asked Philips, his composure beginning to wear thin;
“Dr. Philips, please understand my position,” said Drake. “I’m on your side. I’m trying to put out a small fire before it flares up and causes damage. It’s for everyone’s benefit. I’m just asking you to be reasonable.”
“Thank you,” said Philips, standing up. “Thank you for stopping by. I appreciate your comments, and I’ll give them deep thought.” Philips hustled Drake out of his office, then closed his door.
As he replayed the conversation, he had trouble believing it had happened. Through the door he could hear Drake talking with Helen, so he knew he hadn’t been dreaming. But more than anything to date, it made him determined to be free of the departmental rat race. More than ever he knew that his research had to succeed.
With an increased sense of motivation, Philips picked up the master list of skull films taken over the last ten years. Checking the unit numbers with the stack of films, he quickly determined the order in which they had been stored. He took the first envelope, crossed the name off the list, then pulled out the X rays. He took two matching lateral skull films, replacing the rest. After giving the computer the necessary information, he fed one of the films into the laser scanner. The other went up on his viewer. The old X-ray report was placed next to the print-out console.
Like most compulsive personalities, Martin was a listmaker. He had noted down Marino, Lucas, Collins, and McCarthy when the phone rang. It was Denise, saying that the first afternoon angiogram was all ready to go. Philips thought for a moment, then said that his presence was superfluous and suggested she go ahead with the study as long as she felt comfortable. As he had suspected, she was pleased with the vote of confidence.