Quincy M.E. (1976–1983): Season 5, Episode 22 - No Way to Treat a Patient - full transcript

So long, Fink.

No doctor worth his salt
would miss that second wound.

I'll tell ya something
else. If it had been treated,

he might have survived.

How do you explain the fact that that
same patient was dead on arrival here?

That's impossible.

Looks like a professional hit.

I mean, how can
they blame it on you?

If two geniuses both missed
it then it just wasn't there.

I think they're handing
you a bum rap, as they say.

- The one you
missed killed him!
- No possible way I missed it.



How do you explain
the other wound?

I'm not a forensic pathologist.
How do you explain it?

Gentlemen, you
are about to enter

the most fascinating
sphere of police work,

the world of forensic medicine.

Goodbye, Barney Hart.

Well, what'd you find out?

- The guy's dead.
- Very funny.

Listen, Quincy, this
is very important.

- Very important.
- Like how important?

Like, the victim was an undesirable
character by the name of Barney Hart.

Now he's into book-making
and assorted rackets.

A very big man for his line.

What did you find out?



That a person or persons unknown
really worked him over, then they shot him.

It was a contact wound
to the back of the head.

Looks like a professional hit.

- That's it?
- That's it.

That doesn't give me
very much to go on.

What's the matter?

Well, you're talking about a professional
hit. This could be gang related,

and if so the department
would like to know about it.

We only do post-mortems here.
We don't look into crystal balls.

Quincy, can you
do any kind of a test

that'll show me maybe
where he's been lately?

Yeah, we're gonna do that for
you. I'll see you tomorrow, Sam.

I mean now!

You mean now?

- Yeah!
- Now I'm through, now,

I got a heavy date now!

- With a new girl?
- No, with Danny.

I beat him in a bet.

He's taking me to dinner at a
fancy restaurant on the Strip.

I'm gonna eat him
out of house and home.

Good evening, sir.

Thank you.

Oh, what a terrific
looking place.

Hurry up, will ya,
Danny? I'm starved.

- Ouch!
- What's the matter?

The door! The stinkin' door!

Let me see it. You
really opened it up.

We have to take
care of it right away.

Excuse me, sir, but there's
a clinic just down the block.

Would they be open at this time?

Oh, yeah, they're always
open. It's an emergency clinic.

Keep pressure on it.

- Take care of the car,
would you?
- Sure, be glad to.

Now it's going to be okay. It
looks a lot worse than it really is.

We'll take care of
it. Nurse ...nurse?

My friend pinched his
finger in the car door.

I think he needs a
couple of stitches.

It's not so
terrible. It can wait.

The doctor's busy at the
moment but he'll be free shortly.

Fill out the forms please.

I can't with this finger.

I assume you can
write, can't you?

Yeah, I can write.

Then you can fill out
the forms for your friend.

Look, I'm a doctor.

Can I use that treatment
room? I'll take care of it,

save ourselves a lot of trouble.

Well, may I ask if you're
accredited to Sunset Memorial?

No. I'm a Deputy Medical
Examiner with the Coroner's office.

Then I'm afraid you won't
be able to use the rooms.

It's against policy. Sorry.

Well, can't you make
an exception in this case?

- Out of professional courtesy?
- No exceptions, Doctor...

but, as a simple professional
courtesy, if anyone dies while you're here,

you'll be more than welcome
to do your thing, as they say.

Well, there's no need to be

Please, please, please.
Keep it down to a roar, will you?

Help me fill out the form.

Be sure and write
legibly, Doctor.

Remember, you're not
filling out a prescription.

What was your
grandmother's maiden name?

0'Shanecy.

I can't hear anything.

I must be dead.

Well, that's funny.
You don't look dead.

You want to show him
how to do that, Nancy?

Sure. Why don't you
try it this way, okay?

How's that?

That's neat, Doc. Real neat.

You know, you
might discourage him

from trying to do so many curbs
until he gets his moves together.

Yes, I know. I keep telling
him, but he won't listen to me.

You can always take
the skateboard away.

Good luck.

No possible way, right?

Well, I suggest you buy him a football
uniform so he doesn't kill himself.

I think with some knee
pads and some elbow pads

and a helmet, this
guy might survive.

It was good to see you, Billy,

but I don't want to
see you again, okay?

I'll work on it, Doc.

That's what I'm afraid of.

Take care, Diane.

Now, Billy, you be sure and do
what the doctor told you, okay?

- Okay.
- Bye-bye.

Well, I guess this
gentleman's next.

He is if he's finished
filling out the forms.

I'll finish it while the doctor's
working on him, is that okay?

Patients only, I'm afraid.

How can I finish it if I don't
ask him any more questions?

All right, all right!

All right, I'm Doctor Carbo.

This is Nurse Berger.

You're Doctor Quincy.

That's right.

Don't you remember
me? Tony Carbo.

From the University.

Oh, nice to see
you. How are you?

- I'm fine. How are you?
- Oh, you finally made it.

Listen, I want to tell you something. I
stop and think about you all the time.

You know, if you hadn't bailed
me out of that mess in college,

- I wouldn't have made it.
- Oh, are you kidding? You did it.

Hold it! Remember me?

The finger, the blood, remember?

Oh, I'm sorry. What's
the problem here?

Well, he pinched the soft tissue of his
finger in the car door and split it open.

I can talk for myself.

I pinched the soft tissue of this finger
on the car door and it split itself open.

Great. Can you move it here?

Yeah... Ow!

It doesn't look bad.

That's easy for you to say.

I think it's a
simple stitching job.

How many stitches?

I don't know. That little kid
who just left here, he took ten.

Ten?

Without a whimper. Think
you can handle a couple?

- You want to
clean him up, Nance?
- Right away.

Listen, I want to know about

Quincy, where are you going?

Will you stop being a baby?
She's just going to clean it up.

I want to talk to the doctor.

Are you registered?

Now that you're a full-fledged
doctor, how do you like it?

I like it fine.

This place isn't exactly the
Mayo Clinic, but it's a good start.

What exactly is this place?

It's part of Sunset
Memorial Hospital.

Officially, we're known
as the West Annex,

but the people downtown call
us the outpost among the flakes.

We're kind of like a family doctor
to a big chunk of the Sunset Strip.

We do general medicine,
emergencies, paramedic runs.

We even do house calls.

Nobody else does
them these days.

Hey, that sounds exciting.

It is. It really is.

I dig it out here, you know,

because I got nobody
looking over my

shoulder all the time
telling me what to do.

It makes it possible to get
one-on-one with the patients.

Of course, it's not supposed
to be like that, right?

It's supposed to be punishment.

When the head honcho downtown
gets on your case about something,

he sends you to this place.

I take it the head honcho
doesn't like you too much.

Not very much.

We do not see eye to eye on the
theory and practice of medicine.

The way Doctor
Warren looks at life,

there's two sides to every
question: his side and the wrong side.

All ready, Doctor.

All right.

Okay, I'm going to give you a local
anesthetic and you won't feel a thing.

- Just a local?
- What do you want, gas?

- Did the kid take any?
- Nope.

I won't.

How old are you?

So how does it feel?

- It feels wonderful.
- You did a terrific job, Tony.

Well, it's not open heart
surgery, but I think he'll live.

How much does he owe you?

Hey, forget it,
that's on the house.

Hey, what about these
forms? I didn't fill them out.

I'll take care of it.

Nobody reads the
damn things anyway.

Now promise me, as soon as you get
some free time, you'll come and see me.

- You can count on it.
- Okay.

- Thank you very much.
- You're welcome.

- Yeah, thanks to both of you.
- Good luck.

- Listen,
you still owe me dinner.
- Dinner?

Did you fill out those forms?

Of course I filled out the
forms. They're in there.

Of course I did.

Hey, Phil, this is great corned
beef, man. Truly sensational.

Well, it oughta be. It's the only
thing the chef knows how to make.

I heard that.

So how's it going
at the clinic, Doc?

Not bad. You win a
few, lose a few, like that.

In your line of work
losing a few can be messy.

I ain't talking about patients,

I'm talking about
arguments, you know?

I lose a lot of arguments with the big
brass downtown who run everything.

Speaking about the big brass, how are you
making out with the Dragon Lady these days?

Now there's a case for
which there's no known cure.

You ever thought
of poisoning her?

All the time, man, all the time.

Hi, Tony.

- Hi, Sherry, how you doing?
- Fine.

How did you like my new routine?

Oh, it was really good, yeah.

Bull. You weren't even watching.

Yeah, I know. But it's just that I
don't like to get over-stimulated

before I gotta do
an eight-hour shift.

Oh, well, why don't you
drop by after work then

and we can swap a few
laughs and who knows.

I'd like that.

So how's your mama?

Oh, she's just fine. Those pills that
you put her on really did it for her.

Good, good...
but like I told you.

They're just a stop-gap, right?

I mean, she really needs that operation
and it's not going to help to put it off.

I know, Tony.

I know. I've been
working on her.

She'd buy it in a minute if
it was you doing the surgery

because you're the only
doctor she really trusts.

I'm flattered but I'm just not
qualified for that procedure.

Not yet, anyway.

Hey, Phil, I gotta get to work.

It's on the house, Doc.

Hey, man, how many times
do we gotta go through this?

Okay, okay.

Just thought I'd
give it another try.

When the day comes
that I go on the take,

it won't be for no corned beef
sandwich. You know what I mean?

I'll catch you later.

Now, another thing, Miss Berger,

the proper procedure must be followed
when making out these registration forms.

The computer people downtown
are getting very testy about it.

I'm sorry to interrupt, but
we do have patients waiting.

Oh, nothing critical, Doctor.

Nothing that can't wait until we get a few
administrative matters straightened out.

It's gonna be a long night.

We can lecture Miss
Berger later, huh?

It's not Miss Berger,
Doctor. It's you.

Compared to you, she's
perfection personified.

- Why thank you, Miss Russell.
- It wasn't meant
as a compliment.

Are we gonna get a
replacement for Doctor Roberts

or am I gonna have to do
the whole shift alone again?

No. They definitely promised
they'd send someone up tonight.

They definitely promised.

Well, that means there's about
a fifty-fifty chance they'll do it.

Hey, not to worry folks.

They call me Speedy Carbo,
the fastest hands in town.

I'll have you out of
here in about an hour.

He goes last.

Let's go to work, Nancy.

You, first.

Listen, uh, why I called...

There's just too much heat going
on about this Barney Hart contract.

I mean between you
people and the cops,

I don't exactly feel too cool.

Yeah, that's right. So...
So look, here's the deal:

you leave me out of
it and for ten big ones,

I'll give you the who and
the why behind the killer.

Hey, hey, believe me,
you really want to know.

Okay, okay, you got it. Eight
o'clock tonight at the Purple Peacock.

You come alone, and,
uh, bring the bread.

Right.

Where's everybody, you know?

Yeah. They're right in there.

Oh, thanks. Keep the hand up.

One thousand two,

one thousand three, one
thousand... Beat it, buster, we're busy.

I'm Doctor Sloan.

I'm supposed to be working here.

You're late, Doctor.
Maybe, but I'm here now.

Move it.

It's good to see you, man.
We can use your hands.

Hi, I'm Mike Sloan.

Tony Carbo.

What do we got here, anyway?

Well, looks like an overdose.
He's got pinpoint pupils.

He was dumped outside
in respiratory arrest.

By the time we got him on
the gurney he was in v-fib.

- You already tried Naloxone?
- Yeah.

Eight milligrams. Now we're
trying to get his heart back.

Are you getting anything, Nancy?

No, still in v-fib.

Well, we're going to have to defibrillate
him again. You ready, Russell?

All ready, Doctor.

Let's do it.

Okay, clear.

He's converted, Doctor.

Check for a pulse.

I've got a strong pulse.

We've got
spontaneous respiration.

The light at the
end of the tunnel.

Here's your E.A.P. slip and a
copy of the treatment record.

I'll phone it into
Sunset Base now.

Sunset Base?

This is Sunset West
with a C.C.T. report.

- You get many like that?
- More than I'd like.

Well, at least that's one save
we can chalk up to the good guys.

Yeah.

Unless he ends up in here
again next week or next month.

Hypes, man. They make me
feel so damn useless, you know?

We keep trying to save 'em,

and they keep trying
to kill themselves.

It's like a war without an end.

I don't know...

You look at it that way,
the next thing you know,

you start thinking
"why bother at all?"

And that you can't do.

That's true.

So tell me, man, what is you
did to get sentenced to this zoo?

It's a long story

which I'm confident future
medical historians will consider

a gross miscarriage of justice.

Gross miscarriage, yeah. Let me
take a wild guess, Doctor Sloan.

Five to two they found you
in a linen closet with a nurse.

A consenting adult
nurse, I hasten to add.

Which made no impression
whatsoever on Doctor Warren.

You got that right.

In fact, he went to great
lengths to point out to me

that sex has no place in
the medical profession at all.

Must make him very
popular with obstetricians.

Let me show you around. C'mon.

Sure, why not.

Hey, what do you think
you guys are doing?

Dammit!

He went in here.

I got him!

Hey, man, I just panicked.

I don't know why I ran.

- Yeah,
we know why you panicked.
- Nice try, Fink.

Trying to burn us to get yourself
off the hook for the Barney Hart job.

And for big bread, too, huh?

You made one big mistake, Eddie.

The guy you called was the
guy who hired us in the first place.

Oh God, Pete.

Don't. Please...

So long, Fink.

I hit him, I know I hit him.

- We better get
outta here while we can.
- Yeah.

Let's get the ambulance
and come back.

So you see, Doctor, you
handle the medical side,

I handle the
administrative procedures.

And that means you don't treat
patients until I've processed them.

Unless it's a true
emergency, naturally.

Naturally.

This clinic cannot function
effectively unless we follow

the precise guidelines
established by the main hospital.

Michael?

Yeah?

You got a minute? I
could use some help.

Oh sure.

Excuse me, Miss Russell.

What you got?

Take a look in his right ear.

Inflamed and swollen canal.

White drainage. It's
typical swimmer's ear.

You a swimmer?

Just what I thought.

Go ahead and
clean him up, Nancy.

You'll be all right
in a couple days.

You needed a
consultation on that?

No. I just thought you might
want an excuse to get away

from the Dragon Lady out there.

Just trying to be helpful.

Thanks. I owe you one.

What is her story anyway?

Well, if you think of this
place as the slammer,

she makes a great warden.

But I'll tell you what, man,
she's a hell of a nurse.

How long have you been
a nurse, Miss Berger?

Long enough, Doctor.

What is that supposed to mean?

It means I've been exposed to
most of the techniques in current use.

You talking surgical or medical?

More like social or
sexual, you might say.

Miss Berger, you don't think I
was trying to come on with you?

Personally, I hope not.

Percentage wise, your reputation
downtown makes it highly likely.

My reputation?

You mean you
didn't know, Doctor?

Didn't know what?

That among nurses who know doctors
best, you're almost a living legend.

Only 'almost, ' huh?

Sounds kinda
second-rate, doesn't it?

Tacky might be a
better description.

Yes, I think tacky
definitely covers it.

Why is it I get the distinct feeling
that I have just been turned down?

Let's just say I'm
putting you on hold.

Oh no. No.

Nancy's a real cutie, isn't she?

Don't get any ideas, man.

You know if she's got anything
heavy going on at the moment?

Listen, you start messing around,
and Russell's going to kill you dead.

Besides, we got no
linen closet in this place.

I was just asking a question.

Dammit, you must
have missed him.

I looked all for Fink.

I got him all right. He's hurt.

Yeah, well, hurt is
not good enough.

We better find him
before someone else does.

C'mon, let's go.

What ya got, Ben?

415 fight in a bar, Doc.

We picked these two up beating
on each other with beer bottles.

Lemme go. I'll kill him
if it's the last thing I do.

You let me at him. It'll be
the last move he makes.

Why don't you take the cuffs
off. We'll patch them up for you.

Don't think so, Doc.
They're still pretty hostile.

Hostile, huh?

Let's hope not.

You know, if there's any cranial
damage, it could be serious.

Doctor, you want to
check that gentleman.

- Hm?
- See if he has
any cranial damage.

Oh yes, certainly, Doctor.
Cranial damage, of course.

Turn around.

Open up.

I can't, man. He put
his thumb in my eye.

Well then, open the other one.

Turn around.

Not good. Hold still.

Thus guy has
acute cranial trauma.

This one too.

In fact, it looks like
there is a possibility

of severe transverse
hematoma present.

Hey, what's that mean?

Any sudden moves and either
one of you could go - just like that.

So, I think we can take
the cuffs off now, huh?

Ben, you want to
take him into one.

Roger, go into two.

Acute cranial trauma?

Severe transverse hematoma?

Not bad, huh?

Hold it!

You're forgetting
the paperwork, boys.

I'll take care of it, Russell.

Doesn't she ever
get a night off?

No way. She's like Dracula.

She ever goes out that
door, she'll turn into a bat.

Yeah? Who'd know the difference?

You see anything?

No, but in Eddie's
condition, he can't go far.

Well, I hate to
interrupt you, Doctors,

but I'm afraid we've
got a house call request.

Don't tell me. Lily LaVerne?

The movie star?

The ex-movie star and Doctor
Carbo's favorite hypochondriac.

She's not a hypochondriac. She's
an honest-to-goodness invalid.

Then why isn't she in a
hospital like she should be?

Because she's sick, not stupid.

Chest pains again?

- M-hm.
- I think I'll let
Doctor Sloan handle this one.

Wait, how'd did I get elected?

I got seniority.

You do? How come?

Because a healthy, red-blooded,
over-sexed Anglo-American boy

like yourself doesn't want
to antagonize a colleague

who happens to be on a first name
basis with half the eligible young ladies

on the Sunset Strip,
if you catch my drift.

Right, Doctor.

Disgusting. Both of you.

You ready for this?

Grab that bag. It's got
everything you need.

On my way.

Say hi to Lily.

I smell a six and a six.

No doubles.

Doubles.

Whoopie, I'm dead.

Doctor Carbo!

Doctor Carbo! No radial pulse.

He's got a gunshot. Get a
stretcher, we'll take him inside.

Alright, his gag reflex is okay.

I'm going to start him on 02.

Carotid pulse 132.

Weak and thready.
No radial pulse.

B.P. 92 over 64.

Respiration 24.

Let's get him started on an IV.

Ringers.

Yeah. Wide open, please.

Okay, as soon as we
get the IV established,

I want to get him on his side
and take a look at that wound.

- What do you think?
- We better check it out.

Yeah.

B.P. 102 over 70.

Respiration 24 with good volume.

Pulse one hundred and ten.

Okay, let's call
for an ambulance.

If he remains stable,
we'll ship him downtown

and let them take
care of the wound.

Yes, doctor.

You want to check
his vitals again, please?

Well don't just stand there. If
you've got a patient, bring him on in.

Well, we're kinda between
calls right at the moment

and we thought we'd stop by

and see if we could
grab some business.

Well, I must say your
timing's pretty good.

I was just going to
call for an ambulance.

We've got a gunshot victim to
go down to the main hospital.

Well, that's what
they pay us for.

Then don't just stand there.

Go and get your gurney and
I'll see if he's ready to be moved.

Okay.

Here's your E.A.P. slip
and the treatment record.

He's to go to the main E.R.
at Sunset Memorial. Got it?

Yes, ma'am.

You boys get a move
on, I'll phone it in.

Yes, ma'am.

Man, talk about lucking out.

Yeah, but now what happens?

What happens? Well, we're gonna take him
to the hospital just like they told us to.

I can't think of a better
place for him to die, can you?

Now that you mention it, no.

That's right, Sunset Base.
We're shipping you a John Doe,

Caucasian, about
forty years old.

Single gunshot wound
in the lower back.

Patient is now stable.

Mrs. Barney, please
come to nursing station D6.

You're late. You were supposed
to be here fifteen minutes ago.

You know what
time I got off duty?

I got one hour's sleep
before you woke me up

and told me to drag
myself on down here. Okay?

Doctor Carbo is here.

He'll see you now, Doctor.

That's great.

You wanted to see me, Doctor?

Sit down.

You know, as Director
of this department,

I'm responsible for
almost one hundred doctors

and nurses, to say nothing of the patient
flow through here day in and day out.

It must be a very demanding job.

It is.

And your attitude and actions
don't make it any easier.

In fact, it would not be
an exaggeration to say

that you are easily the
biggest single problem I have.

Miss Russell's been
complaining again, is that it?

Look, I admit.

Sometimes I don't pay
as much attention to

the administrative
side, all that paperwork,

as maybe I should,

but mainly that's because I'm very
much into caring for my patients.

I'm a good doctor
and you know it.

I don't shortchange my patients.

You don't?

Well, I'll admit that in
spite of your general attitude

I had always considered
you a good doctor.

Until last night, that is.

What did I do last night?

According to the file here, you treated
a gunshot victim at about one a.m.

Then shipped him down
here for surgery. Is that right?

Yeah, that's right.

And you do know that
it's contrary to both policy

and accepted medical procedure

to transport a patient
unless he is stable?

Of course I know that.
The patient was stable.

He was stable?

Then how do you explain the fact

that the same patient
was dead on arrival here?

That's impossible.

I wouldn't have shipped
him if he'd been critical.

You wouldn't? Well, it
seems to me, Doctor,

that being dead on arrival is just
about as critical as you can get.

Look, Doctor Warren,

I know you don't like me.

I even understand why.

It's not something I'm
proud of or happy about.

But we're not talking
about personalities now,

we're talking about the
life of a human being.

A human being who
was under my care.

And I would never have shipped that
man down here had he not been stable.

Now I don't understand
what happened.

But I'm telling you, he was
not critical when he left the clinic

and the fact...

The fact that he is dead
makes absolutely no sense.

And yet the fact that
he's dead is a fact.

And a very serious one, too.

Accordingly, Doctor, I have
no option but to suspend you

pending further investigation.

I'm sorry I'm late, Sam.

I overslept.

It's no wonder since we worked
until eleven o'clock last night.

Yeah.

Good morning, good
morning, good morning.

Aren't we busy this morning?

I don't know. We
busy this morning?

We've got six cases.

Six, you want to take
some off our hands?

Well, actually I was hoping you'd
take a few of these off my hands.

- What?!
- Well, Carstairs is
stuck in court all week

and I have to spread
his case load around.

What are you trying to pull? Get us in
the Guinness Book of Records, here?

Oh boy, this is what I
need this morning too.

I thought you
were gonna call me.

I told you it was
very important.

-What's he raving about?

- The Barney Hart case.
- Yeah.

Oh, the Barney Hart case.

Of course, I know all
about the Barney Hart case.

Why shouldn't I? I've already
done twenty cases since then.

Anything new on Barney Hart?

- No, nothing really.
- That's your answer, let's go.

Wait a minute, wait a minute.
There is one other thing.

Now you've got a
John Doe in here.

A gunshot victim
from Sunset Memorial.

I need a report
on him right away.

- Have we got him?
- Yeah, he's number
three on the list.

Number three! Look, can
you make him number one?

Now Monahan, please!

Don't pressure my men. They
have six cases to do this morning.

Six!

Plus two more when they finish.

Here. You're the best!

Who did you say he was, Sam?

Monahan's John Doe.

We have two bullet
entry wounds in the back.

One in the paravertebral
tissue of the right lumbar region.

See the Betadine stain, Sam?

He obviously received
medical treatment.

That's consistent
with the report, Quince.

He was treated in
an emergency clinic

before being transferred
to Sunset Memorial.

I don't understand this.

What?

Only the area around the
lower wound has been painted.

There's no sign of it around
the upper wound at all.

Well, let's see what kind
of damage those bullets did.

Help me turn him over, will you?

Right.

This is the bullet
from the lower wound.

It grazed the lower pole of the kidney
causing a small retroperitoneal hematoma.

Now, let's see what we can
find out about the upper wound.

Wow. I need a sponge, Sam.

Well, that's what
did it. A hemothorax.

There's got to be at least
1800 ml of blood in his left chest.

The upper bullet entered the
area left of the thoracic spine,

transected the left lower
lobe of the lung at the hilus,

lacerating the pulmonary vein

to the lower lobe.

It's really hard to believe.

Why?

It's not that unusual.

It's not the wound itself, Sam.

Remember, he was treated
in an emergency room.

Now no doctor worth his salt
would miss that second wound.

I'll tell you something else.

If it had been treated,
he might have survived.

Where did you say
he got treatment?

The Sunset
Memorial's West Annex.

You're kidding? Who was
the attending physician?

A doctor Antonio Carbo.

- Hello, Tony.
- Hi.

I understand you did the autopsy
on the John Doe I treated last night?

That's right.

Well, what did you find?

Gross negligence
or total incompetence.

Uh, forgive me, I don't understand
what you're talking about.

And I don't understand how
any doctor could ship out a patient

who was suffering
from a hemothorax.

A hemothorax?

That's right.

How does a bullet wound in the
lower back add up to a hemothorax?

It didn't even penetrate
the thoracic cavity.

That bullet, no. What
about the upper wound?

What upper wound?
There was one wound.

It was down here.

Are you telling
me you missed it?

No, I'm not telling you I missed
it. I'm telling you it wasn't there.

And I'm telling you the
body I just autopsied,

your John Doe, had two
separate and distinct wounds.

The upper wound, the
one you missed, killed him.

No possible way I missed it.

Look, were you drawn away?
Did an emergency come in,

something took you away
from the examination?

No, nothing whatsoever.

Then how can you explain it?

I can't.

Can anybody verify your story?

Sure, uh, Nurse
Russell was there.

Nancy Berger was there.

I'm not sure that they
actually saw the wound.

Why's that?

I had him on his side. I
was working on his back.

They were standing in front
of him monitoring his vitals.

Sure.

Okay, all right. His vitals!

Russell was recording his vital signs
so we could be sure he was stabilized

before we shipped him out.

Now there's no way the data we got
would be consistent with a hemothorax.

Unless...

Unless we faked the reports?

Yeah.

You met Russell, right?

The woman is a walking
definition of doing it by the book.

She wouldn't lie about her age.

The truth of the matter
is our data is accurate.

That man did not have a
hemothorax when he left the clinic.

And his vitals, if anyone's
interested, will prove it!

Assuming you're right, how
do you explain the other wound?

I can't explain it, all right?

I cannot.

But I'm not a
forensic pathologist.

Assuming I'm right,
how do you explain it?

We all heard what
happened, Tony.

It's terrible. I mean, how
could they blame it on you?

That man went
out of here stable.

You certainly can't
blame yourself.

Well, I'm not, but
everybody else seems to be.

I don't know. I don't know.

It goes with the
territory, I guess.

A doctor is responsible
for his patients, right?

That's the way it should be.

That's the way it has to be.

Very commendable
attitude, Doctor.

You sound like the class
valedictorian for a change

instead of an outtake
from West Side Story.

Look, Russell, don't
start getting on my case.

I just came in here to get my
stuff and then I'll be gone, all right?

Don't get hostile, Doctor.

I'm quite sincere.

I think they're handling
you a bum rap, as they say.

Thank you.

Oh, don't let it go
to your head, Doctor.

Besides, even if you were dumb
enough to miss a hemothorax,

I'd have caught it.

I've probably forgotten more about
emergency medicine than you'll ever know.

Either of you.

There's only one
logical conclusion, folks.

If you two geniuses both
missed it, then it just wasn't there.

But it was there at the
hospital and at the morgue.

All right. So it just means
it had to have happened

between here and the hospital,

which to me can only
mean the ambulance

attendants either did
it or were a party to it.

That's insane!

Is it? You're just not
thinking clear today, Tony.

I mean, look. If you eliminate all the
impossible conclusions, what's left?

He didn't have it when
he left here. Right?

I would swear he didn't.

And so would I.

But he did have it when
he arrived downtown, right?

Right.

Well, so what was in between?

Only the ambulance attendants.

But why would the ambulance
attendants want to kill him?

Now that I don't know.

But I bet when they find
them, they'll find the answer.

I've got it.

Got what?

The answer.

A large number of neutrophils migrated
down to the area of the lower wound.

Now that had to take at
least a couple of hours.

You see, see the absence
of the same cells in this area?

I'm telling you, Sam, those wounds
didn't happen at the same time.

They were at least
two hours apart.

He still could have been shot
twice before he ever got to the clinic.

No way!

Not with that hemothorax.

He wouldn't have lasted twenty or
thirty minutes after the fatal wound.

. He was in the clinic
a lot longer than that.

The hospital's number on here?

Yeah, right there.

Sunset West. Miss Russell.

This is Doctor Quincy.
Is Doctor Carbo there?

He left about twenty
minutes ago, Doctor.

Oh, perhaps you can help me.

What's the approximate
ambulance run time

from your clinic to
the main hospital,

with and without
red lights and siren?

Fifteen minutes and
twenty minutes, respectively,

That's perfect.

That's perfect. Listen,
when you see Doctor Carbo

you tell him that the ambulance attendants
must have murdered that John Doe.

That's the only
possible explanation.

Yes, I know.

We figured that out an hour ago.

But thank you anyway, Doctor.

What's the matter?

They figured it out an hour ago.

Anyway, thanks to you guys and
Miss Russell, we got a positive I.D.

on Barney Hart's number two
man who had an acute ambition

and put a contract
out on his own boss.

Then Eddie Harris tried to sell them
out to the same guy who hired them.

We got 'em on two
counts of murder one.

Right on.

You know, I don't care if those
guys want to knock each other off,

but they start
messing with a patient,

that is way gross.

- And definitely
against AMA policy.
- True.

Spoken like true doctors. Listen,
I'm sorry I doubted you, Tony.

Forget it, Doc. You know,
it's completely understandable.

To tell you the truth, I was
starting to doubt myself.

Doubt? Did I hear
you say doubt yourself?

Don't! Do you know that three days
ago I couldn't even move this finger?

Now look at it. In my
book, you're a great doctor.

Sure. Wait until something
bad happens to you.

Bad? Speaking of bad,

you know, sometimes when I bend
over that bar, the lower part of my back.

Hey, what are you doing?

What are you asking him for?

Whenever anything is wrong,
you ask me, consult with me.

Quincy, no offense,
you're a coroner.

I mean, you can only
help me after I'm dead.