“I’m serious.”
He said nothing until they were in an empty hallway again. “Christine was a big personality, as you know. People loved her or hated her. Well, no, that’s not true. People tolerated her or hated her. She didn’t have many friends. You tangled with her, remember? When you were trying to get us away from using so much Demerol, using all your charm and all your data, she went ballistic. That was classic Christine.”
“I’d actually forgotten that. There was another time, too. She told me her patient was being a problem, and I said, ‘Dr. Lustig, the problem is how you’re writing the orders.’ She was way under-prescribing for this particular patient, who was just moaning, really hurting. The nurses were afraid to cross her. I wanted to say, ‘You’re killing people with these PCAs,’ but I didn’t. Great. These will be more reasons for the cops to suspect me.”
He chuckled. “If arguing with Christine Lustig was a crime, I’d be under the jail. I knew her for fifteen years, and I can’t think of one day when she wasn’t after somebody. The truth is, she was brisk…well, beyond brisk, because usually she was right. I saw her stand toe-to-toe with the big guys many times, and that wasn’t easy for a female doc of her generation. On top of all that, she was gorgeous and knew it. My God, those cheekbones…”
He stared wistfully. “She felt entitled and she was incredibly competitive. She and Gary were both that way. It’s amazing they didn’t kill each other. Guess I shouldn’t say that. I thought she was a gifted surgeon, especially on gall bladders and GI stuff. But she was kind of a technician, if you know what I mean. Her people skills with patients sometimes left a lot to be desired. Let’s just say she didn’t have your emotional IQ. Not to speak ill of the dead.”
“Is that why she was put on the computer project?”
“You mean to get away from patients for awhile? Maybe. She actually asked for the assignment, and she became a real advocate. I called her Tech Head, she became such a geek. She traveled to other hospitals and studied their systems. SoftChartZ is pioneering electronic patient records. Digital medicine. Christine was a believer. Don’t kid yourself. This is what’s got Stephanie’s panties twisted, that the project might be delayed now. Not that she gives a damn about how much paperwork you do. But the docs in the neurosurgery practice are screaming for computerized records, and they’re the ones who still bring real money into this benighted place.”
