Free Arsenic for the Soul by Nathan Wilson Page A

introduction, and each encounter left a more
dour impression than the last.
    If she didn’t know any better, she’d
say he suffered from an acute inferiority complex. He simply wasn’t
content unless he was cutting through someone’s soul with his
scalpel of words. It was a skill he excelled at with exceptional
cruelty that must have taken decades to perfect. He was a
combination of arrogance and scorn with nothing to show for
it.
    As far as Crenshaw was concerned,
nurses didn’t exist. The only people worthy of his attention were
like-minded male surgeons. Rumor had it that the enormous workload
or exams didn’t make students drop out of the program in
droves.
    It was Crenshaw.
    “ Bryan, I need to talk to
you about something,” Vivian piped up. She took mild pleasure in
Crenshaw’s irritation.
    “ Yes, Vivian, what is
it?”
    “ I’ve noticed a pattern of
lesions on patients during my time here, starting with a woman who
died in our care a few months ago. Normally I would have written it
off, but I can’t ignore the possibility. I think we’re looking an
outbreak of cutaneous tuberculosis.”
    Crenshaw’s nasally voice cut
in.
    “ And how many cases of
tuberculosis have you diagnosed, young lady?”
    “ Oh, a dozen or so,” she
scoffed. “In all seriousness, I think there’s a connection between
the two cases I saw. I first noticed these lesions on a woman in
the ER. What if it spread somehow?”
    “ Was the first patient
diagnosed with tuberculosis?”
    “ No, I think her death was
passed off as a drug overdose because she was homeless.”
    “ You’re still hung up over
that incident?” Crenshaw said. “When you tried to humiliate me in
front of my team and question my judgment? Just because you’re
wearing scrubs doesn’t mean you suddenly have a knack for
diagnosing a disease on sight.”
    Vivian could see she was fighting an
uphill battle to convince Bryan while Crenshaw shot down her
theories. She was already off to a rocky start trying to outline
the possibility of tuberculosis.
    To her relief, Bryan said, “Let’s
assume you’re right about this outbreak. How do you suppose it
spread from the initial patient? Contamination?”
    “ I don’t know. It’s a
possibility.” That thought seemed to provoke Crenshaw as violently
as a punch in his ribs.
    “ How do you know you didn’t
spread a contaminant? Did you clean the ER after that woman was
removed?”
    A lump stuck in Vivian’s
throat.
    “ I’m not suggesting that I
spread it—”
    “ But you clearly think
someone is to blame here. Tuberculosis doesn’t sporadically appear
overnight. It must spread because of someone’s laziness and
negligence.”
    “ No, I—”
    “ Did you clean the room?
Were you not given
the simple task of discarding the linens and scrubbing down the
equipment?”
    “ No one told me
to—”
    “ I did tell you but you were obviously
too arrogant to listen to your superiors. You need to be told
matters of common sense? Do I need to stress how stupidity on the
part of students can contribute to spreading an
infection?”
    Vivian matched his glare with every
bit of intensity, and the sight made Crenshaw take an involuntary
step back. He muttered under his breath just loud enough for her to
hear.
    “ If this patient has
tuberculosis, it’s likely an isolated case. Tuberculosis has
steadily been on the decline. We hardly see new cases
anymore.”
    “ But—”
    Crenshaw aggressively launched forward
as if to back her into a corner.
    “ Are you trying to create a public
relations nightmare?”
    “ And are you trying to
ignore the possibility?” she snapped. She could tell from the fires
in his eyes that he despised her, probably down to her gender and
race. How dare a lowly nursing student show insubordination to a
surgeon. She should be groveling at his feet and kneeling before
his every divine judgment.
    Bryan raised his hands in a placating
gesture before the blood could fly.
    “ Vivian, there’s