Chapter 60: She Called Me a Pain in the Ass

November 10, 1989, McKinley, Ohio

On Friday morning, I received a notice requiring me to appear in Mr. Crowe's office on Monday morning to give my deposition. After giving it quite a bit of thought and after the question Leila Javadi had asked the previous evening, I called someone I felt could help.

"Schaeffer, Klein, & Mueller!" a perky young woman announced, answering the phone.

"May I speak with Melody Coates, please?"

"One moment!"

She put me through, and after speaking to another secretary, Melody came on the line.

"Melody Coates."

"Mike Loucks."

"Hi, Mike! How are you?"

"Good. And you?"

"Busy! Given you've re-married, I'm guessing this isn't a purely social call."

"It's not. I need someone in whom I can confide and someone who I think will understand my concerns."

"If you need confidentiality, I'll need a retainer. Our minimum is $250, which I could waive, but as an associate, I need approval, and it sounds as if this is urgent."

"It is."

"We'll accept VISA and MasterCard for the retainer, so if you give me the card details over the phone, you'll have an attorney with all the privilege that goes with it."

I pulled out my wallet and read her the information, which she confirmed.

"I'll mail you a retainer form and a receipt," she said. "But having the payment information is sufficient to get started. What's the concern?"

"I have to give a deposition on Monday about a medical student who was dismissed for making false claims of a demand to trade sexual favors for a passing grade."

"You? I mean, the accused?"

"Yes. That's not the problem, though. I was completely cleared based on a tape recording I made of the meeting where she claimed I had demanded sex. She is suing and accusing another doctor of demanding sex in exchange for a grade."

"What did Clarissa like to say about you? That she couldn't leave you alone for two minutes without you finding some way to get into trouble?"

"It's down to thirty seconds, most recently!" I chuckled.

"I hope for your wife's sake, that's not true!" Melody teased.

I laughed, "You would know, but that's ancient history!"

"It does seem like it, doesn't it? And I was remiss — congratulations on your MD."

"Thanks."

"So what's the concern?"

"In speaking with a pair of colleagues last night, one of them asked if I was 'squeaky clean', and I am, but after Elizaveta reposed and before I met Kris, I had several relationships which I do not want to reveal."

"I'm going to need more details. Given your deposition is on Monday, it's going to be tough to prep you."

"Mr. Crowe, the hospital legal counsel, did that yesterday. I'm not concerned about anything I'm going to say about the hospital; it's my personal relationships that concern me."

"I'm in the middle of something now; what's your schedule like between now and Monday? I know you doctors work crazier hours than new associates at law firms!"

"It's actually not as bad as it was, but I work until 5:00pm today, then have a shift tomorrow until 5:00pm, and my shift on Monday starts at 5:00am. You wouldn't happen to be free on Sunday afternoon, would you?"

"I would, and it sounds as if I should drive down and spend several hours with you on Sunday, then accompany you on Monday morning."

"We have a guest room, if you want to use it."

"That would allow me to not charge you for overnight accommodations."

"I'll clear it with Kris. How about 3:00pm on Sunday? You're obviously welcome for dinner."

"Thanks. Just out of curiosity, how much does your wife know?"

"Only that I 'missed the mark' between Elizaveta's repose and our engagement."

Melody laughed softly, "More like 'hit it', I would say."

"Yeah, yeah," I chuckled.

"Let me have your address, and I'll see you on Sunday afternoon."

I gave it to her, along with directions, she repeated them back, we said 'goodbye' and I hung up. I left the on-call room and returned to seeing patients. When I had a chance to take a break, Clarissa was also free, so we left the ED to get tea from the cafeteria.

"I have a potential problem," I said.

"Now what?" Clarissa asked.

"Not a new one; it's about the deposition. I had dinner with Leila and Shelly last night, and Leila asked a question that concerned me. She asked if I was 'squeaky clean', and I am, but if Braun asked about my own relationships, it could get very ugly, very fast."

"Shit," Clarissa swore.

"Yeah. I had to decide who I could talk to in detail, so I called Melody Coates earlier, and I have her on retainer. She's coming to talk to me on Sunday and she'll be with me in the deposition on Monday. Lissa, I have to tell her about Tami, Kylie, Maryam, and you."

"If that were to come out in the deposition..."

"Yeah. I know," I sighed. "And that's part of the dilemma. I'm inclined to refuse to give names, but if I understand how depositions work, they can force me to answer. My options then are a possible contempt citation, answering, or lying."

"Whoa! You're considering lying?"

"No, I simply listed it as an option. I'll discuss it with Melody on Sunday. My dilemma is that I don't know for sure if Braun will ask, or if I'll be forced to answer. If that is going to happen, I want to tell Kris beforehand, not after. But I don't want to tell her and then have it not come up."

"Maybe I should find Kristin Cicilioni and put a hit on Krista!" Clarissa suggested.

"Being Sicilian doesn't automatically mean you're in the Mafia, Lissa!"

"What are you going to do?"

"Speak with Melody and see what advice she has for me."

November 12, 1989, Circleville, Ohio

"Melody Coates, my wife Kris Korolyov; Kris, my friend Melody, from Taft, future Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court!"

"Nice to meet you, Kris," Melody said.

"And you," Kris replied.

I'd explained to Kris that I needed to discuss my deposition with Melody in private, so Melody and I went to my study and I shut the door behind us. Melody sat down in one of the chairs, opened her satchel, and took out a yellow legal pad and pen.

"Who are you trying to protect?" she asked with a smile.

"I assumed you'd figure it out. This is privileged, correct, Counselor?"

Melody nodded, "It is. You called me that the day we had Dean Parker canned!"

"That seems like so long ago! I've run into that detective a few times in the ED. He's a good guy. In fact, all the cops and deputies are, including the ones trying to get into my scrubs!"

Melody laughed again, "Days of our Lives?"

"Sadly. I was involved with five women at the hospital after Elizaveta reposed and before I proposed to Kris, three of whom you don't know personally, and two you do. One of those, a nursing student, isn't really a concern, and neither is the Taft student I dated seriously for a few months and who is in my band but not a member of the group of four I mentioned."

"I have to hear you guys play! When's the next gig?"

"Taft, in December."

"I'll check into it and see if I can make it. Who are those two who you think are OK to mention?"

"Kari Hendricks and Tami McCarty; Tami is the nursing student."

"You were obviously a medical student at that time, given you graduated in May but had married in January."

"Yes. Tami was, in effect, a brief fling. As I said, Kari was more serious, but she wasn't interested in being an instant mom and wasn't particularly interested in the Orthodox Church."

"Why mention her?"

"She was a patient in the ED. She asked me out while I was treating her after I'd cut off her sweater."

Melody laughed again, "You'd seen the goods, so why not ask?"

"From her perspective, yes, but she was wearing a bra. The thing is, we're trained not to notice. Anyway, I told her I wasn't allowed to date a patient, so as soon as she was discharged and no longer a patient, she asked me out again. That was just after the start of Third Year, and we dated all the way until I proposed to Kris."

"Why do I have a feeling it was very much like the situation with Elizaveta?"

"Not quite. Kris didn't demand to marry me, though we did effectively get engaged on our first date."

"Clarissa's assessment of you being a nut is spot on! Do you foresee any trouble with either of those?"

"No. The only real concern is that it would become public knowledge, and Kris isn't aware. That might make things uncomfortable for Kari, as she's part of Code Blue, but nothing for the hospital to be concerned about. As for Tami, there's no rule against medical students and nursing students dating, and I wasn't supervisory in any way. In a sense, it was no different from you and me, who were both Taft students."

"Did you make her work for it the way you did me?" Melody asked with a smirk.

"No comment."

"I'll take that as a 'no'," Melody replied. "So, the three that you think might be a problem?"

"I'll take the easiest one first. It was a fellow Fourth Year medical student named Maryam Khouri. My concern there is that revealing that would embarrass her and might cause trouble with her parish and mine because there would be inferences that I'd cheated on Elizaveta, which I never did."

"That would be one thing I'd never expect from you," Melody said. "I'd cheat before you would, and I'd never cheat!"

"Are you seeing anyone?"

"I'm dating a guy who works in the front office for the Indians. How embarrassing?"

"It would seriously harm Maryam's reputation, though she's in Illinois now. I do not want to involve her in this at all."

"That may not be avoidable. Let's get all the information first, and then we'll figure out a strategy. Tell me about the other two.

"The one that is actually the biggest potential problem is a fellow Resident in the ED. She and I met while on a Pedes rotation..."

"Pedes?" Melody interrupted. "Pediatrics?"

"Yes, sorry. I'll try to avoid the lingo and shorthand. Anyway, she approached me about trading shift assignments so she was better able to help her mom, who was recovering from chemo and radiation therapy. That suited me because the Resident who created the schedule had purposefully scheduled me so that I couldn't attend church."

"Did you complain?"

"No. My strategy was that I would take the shifts without complaint and be cheerful and coöperative, which would annoy the living shit out of him."

"That is exactly the way I'd expect you to respond! Go on."

"Kylie Baxter, that's the student, approached me because she preferred my shift assignment to hers. She offered to cover any shift for me, basically in perpetuity, if I'd agree to the swap. Her schedule worked better for me, so we went to the Chief and had him confirm the swap."

"Which also allowed you to put your thumb in the other doctor's eye."

"Yes. As time went on, Kylie and I discovered we liked each other and became involved. It was a totally casual thing, just about having some fun, not anything serious. It was only an occasional thing, but it lasted until just before Kris and I became engaged. My concern there is I work with her regularly, and it would create problems for both of us in the ED, though more from gossip and innuendo than any trouble with our supervisors or the hospital administration."

"Was there a quid pro quo?"

"No. It was absolutely clear to me that she was willing to include that as a 'sweetener', but I didn't take her up on it, nor even mention it. It happened because we were both attracted to each other, both had limited time, and both enjoyed sex with each other. One important note is that it never happened in the hospital."

"OK. I don't see how you could refuse to reveal that relationship if asked about it. The same is probably true for..." she consulted her pad, "Maryam. You could try, but I suspect a judge would order you to answer."

"That's what I was afraid of."

"Who's the last one?"

"I trust you implicitly, but I need your agreement that you will never reveal this to anyone and that in your notes, you'll use a code that can't be traced to the person."

"You have my word. I'll just call her 'Jane Doe', which is a standard pseudonym in legal proceedings. Who?"

"Clarissa Saunders."

Melody had a look of complete surprise and shook her head, "I knew you guys were close, but I would never have expected that! She had a girlfriend pretty much the entire time from when she came out."

"It was the closeness that led us there, and it happened when we were undergrads, after Glenda and before Abby. We felt we had to try to see if there was any way to make it work. In the end, the only viable option was for us to marry but for her to have her partner be her main lover. I couldn't sign up for that."

"Most guys would jump at the threesome possibilities!" Melody declared. "But not you."

"And it wouldn't have been equal," I replied. "Once we determined that it couldn't work, I made use of the sperm bank so that, eventually, Clarissa and I could have a kid. Then the bishop decided to ordain me, and that became an impossibility. I did, though, give Clarissa custody of the sperm to use in case something happened to me.

"Fast forward to after Elizaveta reposed, and Clarissa and I spent time together again, but it was mostly bubble baths, cuddling, and sleeping in the same bed. We did try again, but we both knew the end result before we started — I asked her to marry me, and she turned me down. That was expected, mind you, but I had to ask.

"Kris knows about Clarissa's desire to conceive via artificial insemination and is OK with the idea in principle, though she has a veto if she chooses to exercise it. I don't think she will, but she could. Clarissa revealed to Kris that we'd been together because she was afraid it might come out. I'm sure you realize how bad the fallout might be if it became public knowledge."

"Are any of those young women party to the suit?"

"No. Neither am I — it's Doctor Mark King, the hospital, and the medical school, and the claims against the institutions are basically condoning Mark King's behavior and a pattern of sexual harassment."

"I'm curious, but if the young woman was dismissed for making a false statement against you, why would her attorney want to depose you?"

"It'll be about her claim that she was treated unfairly during her trauma rotation."

"Was she?"

"I certainly believed so before the false accusation. Well, until about fifteen minutes before that, when I was informed by a nurse that Krista Sandberg had lied to me about her relationships. That nurse was subpoenaed as well, as were Doctors Leila Javadi and Shelly Lindsay. I suspect others were as well."

"But neither Miss Baxter nor Clarissa?"

"Correct."

"As I'm sure you know, in a deposition, any relevant question is permitted, and relevance is interpreted broadly. If you refuse to answer, or I object to the questions, the opposing counsel is likely to ask the judge to require you to answer under threat of a contempt citation."

"Which means?"

"For the first citation, a $250 fine and up to thirty days in jail; it escalates from there. That said, it is also within the power of the court to order you imprisoned until you answer, and you'd have no right to bail."

"You're joking!" I protested.

"No, I'm not. They can literally lock you up indefinitely until you comply with the Court's order."

"Well, that puts a very different spin on it."

"It does. You could also be brought before the State Medical Board for discipline if you were fined or jailed for contempt."

"And the hits just keep on coming," I sighed. "So I have no choice?"

"Actually, you might. It's a bank shot, but it might just work."

"I'm all ears."

"In Ohio, a physician may give testimony by written deposition rather than appearing in court. While this isn't exactly that, if this were a testimonial deposition, then the areas which could be explored would be more limited, and I'd have more room to object."

"Will that work?"

"It's worth a shot," Melody replied. "Otherwise, your choice is answering or contempt. I can make objections, but you would still have to answer."

"That makes zero sense to me."

"The objections would be useful to keep the information out of any trial, but they would appear in the depositions, which are public."

"What about sealing them?"

"A longshot, unless the other side stipulated in advance, but asking that question tells them there's something to find, which they might not know."

"Wonderful. My choices are to reveal confidences I swore never to reveal, contempt, or lie."

"Promise me you are not going to lie. I could be disbarred for suborning perjury."

"I won't. How do we approach this tomorrow?"

"If you're asked to identify the women, refuse, I'll object, and we'll take it from there. We might end up in front of the judge, and you'll have a chance to explain yourself, or you can have me speak for you, which I'd advise. Nothing I say can be held against you, so I can make any valid, non-frivolous arguments I want without any significant risk to you. You, saying the same things, could be held accountable for them."

"That sounds like the 'Lawyers Full Employment Act'!" I chuckled.

"It's what permits your attorney to zealously argue your case."

"I want you to use every tool in your tool bag, please. I do not want this information to come out."

"I understand. I make no promises, but I'll do everything in my power to help you protect those women."

"Thanks."

"Now, let's see your daughter!"

"Who knew you were such a girl?" I chuckled.

"YOU! You verified that numerous times!"

"I did. Let's go find Rachel and Kris."

November 13, 1989, McKinley, Ohio

On Monday morning, at 10:00am, I walked into the small conference room in the Administration Wing for my deposition. Having tangled with Arthur Braun in the past, I was positive he would find some way to put me in a delicate situation where a deft answer might not be sufficient to avoid giving an answer I did not want to give.

"Good morning, Doctor Loucks," Arthur Braun said. "It's good to see you."

"Good morning, Mr. Braun. I go by 'Doctor Mike' professionally. Hi, Leland."

"Hi, Mike," Leland Crowe replied. "Who's with you?"

"My personal counsel, Melody Coates," I replied. "She's an associate with Schaeffer, Klein, & Mueller in Cleveland."

"Now, why would you need counsel, Doctor?" Arthur Braun asked.

"That, Counselor," Melody quickly said, "is an inappropriate question, and you know it. Are we ready to begin?"

"We're waiting on my client, who should be here momentarily," Mr. Braun replied.

Melody and I sat down at the table next to Mr. Crowe and across from Mr. Braun and a young man I assumed was an associate with his firm. At the end of the table was a stenographer who'd create the record of the deposition. About a minute later, Krista walked in and sat down next to Mr. Braun.