Don Fugate. Hed forgotten about this guy completely, mainly because there wasnt a diagnosis to be made. Morgan had pegged him as a drug seeker within about two minutes. The request for OxyContin by name, the aggressive behavior when questioned about the pain from his supposed back injury, the fact that this was Fugates third trip to the ER requesting OxyContin in eight weeks. It also hadnt escaped Morgan that while Fugate got confrontational and belligerent with him, hed been polite and appropriate with the female nurse who had taken his vitals. He checked to see who that was and pushed back from the computer for a second when he saw that the nurse was Brianna Olson. There was the connection.

Morgan had passed Fugate onto Lexa, assuming Fugate would keep up his more docile ways and wanting Lexa to get some experience with drug-seekers. Shed have to deal with them eventually. They were a reality of any Emergency Department in the country.

That sharp pang hit him again. Lexa wouldnt have to deal with anything, now. If Fugate was the one who killed Lexa because Morgan had passed a difficult patient onto his resident as a learning experience, he wasnt sure what hed do.

Morgan flipped through the chart. Michelles name wasnt in the chart, but that meant nothing. She still could have been the tech to process Fugates lab work. The techs didnt always put their names on test results. Fugate had seen both Brianna and Lexa. Maybe Michelle had come up to collect samples. That wasnt out of the question. He could have seen all three young women and then followed them when they left the hospital. He wouldnt even have to know their names.

Morgan closed the file and pushed his chair back from the desk, leaning back to stare at the ceiling while he thought. Lexa had talked about this patient afterwards. Shed been surprised at the mans vehemence about needing a specific drug and how angry hed become when she wouldnt prescribe it. Shed wanted Morgans advice on how she might have better dealt with him. It had saddened him then that there really wasnt an answer to that question. There wasnt a good choice.

In the end, Security had to remove Fugate from the ER, ranting and raving paranoid fantasies about the entire medical establishment being against him and no one caring about whether or not he was in pain because he was an ex-con.

Morgan sat bolt upright. An ex-con. Could the man have been violent before? If there was a history of violence coupled with drug addiction, who knows what could happen? It was a recipe for heartache, that was for sure.

He pulled out his phone and called Danielle. She answered on the third ring, sounding weary. What is it, Morgan?

He ignored her lack of enthusiasm. I have someone I think we should check out, someone with connections to Brianna and Lexa and maybe to Michelle.