Page 59 of Mirror Image

“To show what was billed and paid.”

“Good. And whose name is listed as provider?”

He hesitated.

“Right,” Ruth said, consulting her copy. “Provider: Dr. David M. Kellogg. Charge: $7,000—of which $1,692 was yours personally. So if you never saw Cami Miller, why bill her parents?”

His color drained. “How did you get this? HIPAA violation, Flores?”

I smiled. “HIPAA doesn’t apply. The Millers gave it to me.”

It hit him then—full force.

“You billed them,” I said quietly. “You sent that girl home after I warned you she was suicidal, and then you billed her parents for treatment.”

“There must be a coding error,” Dr. Kumar, the head of the ER offered weakly.

“Shut up, Nila,” he growled.

Her eyes widened. “Excuse me?”

“I said shut the fuck up!”

Ruth’s eyebrows rose. “Well, that clears that up.”

The room went still. It was over, and everyone knew it but him.

“Good luck getting another residency after this,” he sneered.

Ruth stood, smoothing her jacket. “Dr. Kellogg, are you familiar with the False Claims Act?”

He glared, silent.

“I’ll take that as a no. Once Dr. Flores reports this, she’ll have whistleblower protection—and maybe a tidy percentage of whatever the state recovers. Were I you, I’d stop talking before you end up on the sticky end of a lawsuit. The kind insurance won’t cover.”

She leaned forward, palms flat, voice low and deadly. “You have a lot to lose, Doctor. I suggest you stop lying. Right now.”

His face turned thunderous.

We saw his pride. Then we saw his fall.

And it was glorious.

Friday afternoon

Julian and I are sitting at the small table in Dr. Kellogg’s office when he arrives, and we’re already disagreeing.

“Jenn, I think you need to slow down—” Julian is saying.

Again.

Frustrated, I cut him off.

“Yes, I heard you the first two times you said it. But I don’t agree . . .”

“Now, now, Doctors,” Kellogg chides as he sits down to join us. “No need to get so excited.”

“David,” Julian says, turning to him, “can you please back me up here? I’m not trying to stonewall. I’m saying we should be careful—for Mary’s sake and for the hospital’s. If we rush in half cocked, we risk making a painful situation worse.”