Free Star Chamber Brotherhood by Preston Fleming Page A

she answered dully.
    “Coffee?”
    “Not that either. And I’m not home for lunch, Frank. I lost my job.”
    “Why, that’s terrific!” he exclaimed, stopping in his tracks and turning to face her. “Now you’re free to do whatever you want! I think that calls for a celebration, don’t you?”
    “No, Frank, I’m serious. I lost my job this morning. They fired me.”
    “I heard you the first time,” he continued with a grin. “Now there’s nothing standing in the way of your doing something different with your life. You’re a board-certified oncologist, for heaven’s sake. You could work anywhere you want.”
    “It’s not the way you think it is, Frank. It’s not like they outsourced my position or eliminated my department. They fired me for cause. For violating regulations. I could lose my license over this.”
    That was startling news indeed. He took a seat on the sofa next to her and gave her a puzzled look.
    “Just like that? No warning? No probation? What sort of regulations are we talking about here?”  
    Carol returned his gaze and spoke without emotion.
    “The rules against treating patients off the grid. They’re also written into my contract. I went back and read the regulations. What I’ve been doing is clearly prohibited. It’s just that those rules were never intended to apply to my situation.”
    “And what sort of situation would that be? What exactly did you do?”
    “I treated patients outside the hospital,” Carol Dodge replied irritably. “At the free clinic. Just as I’ve done nearly every week for the past six years.”
    “So why hasn’t anyone complained about it before?” Werner questioned. “Since when is it a hanging offense to treat indigent patients pro bono? And what about the other doctors at the free clinic? Have they lost their day jobs, too?”  
    “It seems that I’m the only one who’s been caught, Frank. Look, the rule was obviously intended to block the creation of a black market system of private clinics for the rich. None of us ever expected it to be enforced in a way that would prohibit helping the poor.”
    “But it doesn’t make any sense, Carol. You’re a key member of the pediatric oncology team, one of the best they have. Could this be some kind of mistake?”
    Carol Dodge put aside her yellow pad, lowered both feet to the floor and leaned forward.
    “That’s what I thought at first,” she replied. “But if it were a mistake, it would never have gone this far. The more I think of it, the less it appears related to my performance or even breaking the rules. No, it seems more about power and control and conformity and the sheer volume of senseless government directives that we are ordered to follow all the time.” Rubbing her eyes, she continued. “You know, Frank, maybe I’m finally paying the price for having spoken out so often over the years. I’m just grateful that the offense I’m being accused of is so preposterous that no sane person would think worse of me for it.”
    She looked up at him, forcing a smile.
    “So now what are you going to do?” Werner asked.
    “I don’t have the faintest idea. That’s what the yellow pad is for. Any ideas?”
    “Is there a chance they’d take you back? For example, did they make any demands or set a probationary period or a hearing date?”
    “Nope. No hearing, no probation,” Carol replied. “Maybe you missed it while you were away, but due process went out of fashion a long time ago around here. So what else have you got for me?”
    “You could run away with me to Utah,” he offered.  
    “That one’s not on the table,” she snapped. “At least not yet. Okay, here’s your last chance. Any other big ideas, genius?”
    “No,” he answered. “Just a question.”
    “Go for it.”
    “Do you have any enemies at the hospital, Carol? Or, putting it another way, could you have offended someone at the top? You see, the reason for creating such a bewildering array of overlapping