Book 2: What Happens Here - Chicago (What Happens Here Series)

Chapter 68 - Roger Martin

Sitting back in his chair, Roger pulled off his headphones and closed his eyes. After he'd seen the ambulance that had pulled up in front of Ethan Daniels' home several days prior, his heart had leapt out of his chest. He'd stared across the street at the brownstone, and watched as two paramedics had rushed into the home, coming back out fifteen minutes later with the beautiful Jasmine Ellis strapped to a gurney. Ethan Daniels had been frantic, and very upset as he'd climbed in back once they'd loaded Miss Ellis inside. Grabbing his jacket, he'd glanced over at Thomas for a brief moment, before he'd raced to his car.

Once he'd gotten behind the wheel, he'd eased out of the garage and followed the ambulance to Northwestern Memorial hospital. Being very familiar with the hospital, as well as having the head of security there being forever indebted to him after he'd brought him proof that his wife had been having an affair with her boss, Roger was able to simply walk into the hospital with the access badge that he'd been given several years prior. The badge granted him access to all areas of the hospital that was normally off limits to non-medical personnel, but with his inside connections, Roger didn't have that issue. After slipping into a pair of blue scrubs, he'd clipped on his badge and made his way through the hospital.

Several hours later, and after he'd checked on the lab work for Miss Ellis and discovered that she'd been rushed to the hospital due to salmonella induced food poisoning, he'd texted Thomas and had him to hack into the hospital's database so that he could read all of the information that had been entered into the system regarding her condition. From what Thomas had gathered, she had eaten Indian food with Mr. Ellis, which Roger had known about and had developed food poisoning less than an hour later.

Once Mr. Daniels and Miss Ellis had ordered from the Indian restaurant that Roger had learned was one of Mr. Daniels's favorites, he had listened as the couple had enjoyed dinner. Several times, he'd found himself smiling as he'd listened to their conversation and joking banter. The two were clearly in love, and the more time that Roger spent looking into their lives from the outside, the more he found himself developing a fondness for the young couple. In an odd way, Roger had begun to see himself as somewhat of a guardian angel in a sense. Although he'd felt somewhat responsible for what had happened to Miss Ellis, because Roger had a deep-rooted belief that Valentina Moretti was somehow responsible for what had occurred, although he had no way to link her directly to the incident. And although Miss Moretti was currently close to 5,000 miles away, with an ocean between them, Roger still felt that she was somehow directly responsible for what had happened to Miss Ellis.

Much like she'd done with the young pediatrician that Mr. Daniels had dated several years prior, once he'd informed her of Mr. Daniels' developing relationship with her, Miss Moretti had somehow intervened and within days, things had ended between the two. Now, as he'd stared at the closed door of the private hospital room where Miss Ellis was currently sleeping, Roger wondered how Miss Moretti had pulled it off. She was a very clever woman for sure, and someone that was clearly determined to have Mr. Daniels, regardless of whom she had to hurt in the process. And that fact did not sit well with Roger.

Seeing the nurse that he'd taken to dinner several times over the past few years, and one that believed his false cover of being a medical professional that worked in a multisite group practice, which granted him privileges at multiple hospitals in the Chicago area, Roger plastered a smile on his face as he'd said, "Hello Deborah. How have you been?" Seeing him, and knowing that she would, Deborah's face broke out into a huge smile as she'd said, "Well...hello doctor. What brings you to my neck of the woods?" Stopping to stand in front of the desk where she was currently sitting as she entered information into the hospital's database, Roger leaned forward and placed his elbows on the desk as he said, "I'm heading out soon, but I wanted to check on a patient before I left. Her name is Jasmine Ellis. She was brought in for salmonella poisoning." Shaking her head, Deborah's tone was pitying as she said, "I know. It was horrible. That young woman had it bad when she was brought in. Doctor James had to order several bags of fluid and anti-nausea medication because she wasn't able to keep anything down. Not even the bags of fluids!"

Brows raised in genuine surprise, Roger said, "Do you have her chart? I want to take a look myself." Nodding, she said, "Oh yeah, sure thing. I believe I have it right here.... yeah...here it is." And after shifting things around on her desk, she pulled up the paperwork, and attached it to a clipboard as she said, "Here you go." Smiling, Roger leaned against the desk and read over Miss Ellis's paperwork.

A few moments later, he said, "Are these all the lab results?" Nodding, Deborah said, "Yes. I just finished adding them to the system" And nodding towards the room that Miss Ellis had been assigned, she said, "She's in room 418, if you're planning to check in on her." Nodding, Roger said, "Yes, I will, and I may just discharge her as well if she is felling up to it and is able to keep the meds down." Smiling, Deborah said, "Dr. James sent instructions for her to be discharged with a three-day dose of antibiotics, as well as an anti-nausea medication. But you can modify that order if you deem it necessary." Shaking his head, Roger said, "No, I think I'll just leave Dr. James's orders in place. I'll go in and take a quick peek now, but she can be discharged after she's had some time to rest. Just follow what Dr. James has in her chart." Nodding her head, Deborah said, "Okay doctor."

Turning with the clipboard in hand, Roger approached the closed door, and after a few soft knocks, he walked inside. Stopping inside the door, Roger paused as he glanced around the room, and noticed that Mr. Daniels' siblings, Carmen and Caden Daniels had joined him. When all eyes turned to him, Roger cleared his throat as he said, "Hello. I'm Dr. Alexander."