Edge of Mercy (A Kate Reid Novel Book 11), Robin Mahle [freenovel24 .txt] 📗

The man eyed them. “I’m afraid I can’t give you that information without some sort of a warrant.”

“It just so happens that I have one.” She placed it on the counter.

“I see.” He looked over the document. “Let me get my supervisor for you.”

“Sure thing.” Kate watched as the man walked into the back and turned to Walsh. “Should we mention the pending litigation?”

“Let’s just wait and see what they’ll offer up. We have a warrant that has nothing to do with the Baltimore case. We’ll have to play this by ear.”

The man returned with his supervisor. “This is the Dean of Admissions, Dr. Reese. Dr. Reese, this is FBI Agent Reid and Agent Walsh. They have a warrant to pull the records of Theodore Bishop.”

The woman examined the warrant and looked at Kate. “Can I ask why the FBI needs Dr. Bishop’s records?”

“We’re conducting an investigation.” Kate was purposely vague in her response understanding that she didn’t want rumors to spread and end up reaching Bishop. If that happened, they’d squander all tactical advantage.

“Oh, I see. Please follow me back and I’ll get them for you.”

“Much appreciated,” Walsh added.

“This seems quite serious,” Reese began. “Dr. Bishop graduated only a few years ago. I’m sure there must be some sort of misunderstanding.” She keyed a locked door and pulled it open. “We keep the student records in here.” She continued inside to a room lined with file cabinets and two workstations. “I’ll just need to locate the files. It’ll take me a moment on the computer.”

“We’re in no rush, Dr. Reese.” Kate stood beside Walsh and waited for the woman to find the files. “From what I understand, this is one of the best medical schools in the country.”

“Yes, it is. We’re very proud of our success rate.” Reese jotted down something on a sticky note. “Here we are.”

Kate approached her. “Are the files in this room?”

“Oh yes. Only files older than ten years are sent to storage.” Reese stood. “Come. Right this way.” She walked along the south wall near the back and pulled open a cabinet. “His records are in here, according to the database.”

Kate watched as the doctor thumbed through the files until it appeared that she finally landed on the correct one.

“I believe this is what you’re looking for, Agent Reid.” Reese turned to her and handed over the files. “This is everything we have on Dr. Theodore Bishop.”

“This is great. Thank you. Do you mind if my colleague and I take a look in here?”

“I’m afraid I’ll have to ask that you go into one of our conference rooms. These files are all confidential.”

“That won’t be a problem, Dr. Reese,” Walsh began. “Thank you.”

She led them to a small conference room. “If there’s anything else you need, please don’t hesitate to ask the front desk. They’ll be more than happy to track me down.”

“We’ll need copies of these as well,” Kate added.

“When you’re ready, I’ll have them copied for you.” She closed the door.

“If your hunch is right, we’ll be in Providence for a while.” Walsh sat down.

“What makes you say that?” Kate took a seat next to him.

“Because if we find negligence in these files, then I’ll have no doubt we’ll find them throughout Bishop’s career. Including his time at the hospital here in the city. So let’s get started.”

They split up the duties, each reviewing the files in chronological order from the time Bishop finished his bachelor’s degree and headed into medical school to his graduation.

Walsh shook his head. “You know what I’m seeing here? Our guy is smart. His grades are impeccable. He graduated in the top 1% of his class. How do you do that and then throw it all down the drain?”

“I don’t know. With what I’m looking at, he was a problem at least to some of his professors.” She pulled out the papers. “These are disciplinary actions written up on multiple occasions. Three are from the same instructor; a Dr. Simmons.” She peered at him. “I bet he still works here. Should we talk to him?”

“Why not?” Walsh stood up.

Kate followed him to the front reception area again.

“Excuse me,” Walsh began. “We’d like to speak to one of your professors. Dr. Simmons. Is he available?”

The man appeared anxious but picked up the phone anyway. “Sorry for the interruption, Dr. Simmons. Two FBI agents would like to speak with you. Do you have a moment?” He listened and nodded. “Great. I’ll send them your way. Thank you.” He ended the call. “Dr. Simmons is in his office.” He pulled out a map of the grounds. “You’re here. Dr. Simmons is right over here within walking distance.”

“Thank you.” Walsh grabbed the map and walked through the door. He turned up the collar on his coat and buttoned it. “Bishop graduates with exceptional grades, gets accepted into a residency program at one of the top hospitals in the state, but somehow for some reason, got under the skin of at least two of his instructors. So much so that they wrote several disciplinary reports.”

“Which didn’t count against him,” Kate said. “What top-notch hospital would accept a resident with that kind of history?”

“Maybe the kind that didn’t know about the disciplinary actions,” Walsh added. “This is the place.” He opened the door for Kate as she walked inside.

“Dr. Simmons, I’m Agent Reid, this is my partner, Agent Walsh with the FBI.”

The man stood and appeared nervous. “Yes, hello.” He offered his hand. “I understand you’re here about Dr. Theo Bishop.”

“That’s right. Do you have a moment to answer a few questions about him?” Walsh asked.

“Of course. Anything I can do. Please, sit down.” Simmons returned to his chair. “Dr. Bishop was an excellent student.”

“That’s what we understand.” Kate removed her coat and placed it in her lap as she took a seat. “However, we noticed in his records that you filed disciplinary actions several times. Can I ask why that was?”

Dr. Simmons appeared reluctant. “Agent Reid, I have