Body of Proof

H... help me.

Liberty Mall. You know what they have there?

- What? - A shark.

Why in the world would you know that?

Northeast General is a couple blocks from here.

Whenever I used to operate, I'd come visit the shark.

Oh, communing with one of your own, huh?

- I'm kinder and gentler now. - Oh, yeah, right.

I am. Good morning, detective.

Good morning, dr. Hunt.

Peter.

What have we got, Sam?

Well, a couple of shoppers found the body, called it in.

There's no ID on him.

I'm thinking it's a mugging gone wrong.

A man was seen hurrying away

from the scene carrying a duffel bag.

- African-american, 30s, low-riding jeans, tats. - Security cameras?

That would be too easy.

So the guy gets hit on the head, and he comes over the rail.

I see multiple cuts and scratches from the bushes,

but I don't see anything bad enough to kill him.

- What are you looking for? - A pulse.

I think it's safe to say, by the time you get the call,

he's already dead.

You don't want to know some of the mistakes I've seen.

Detective! Found it on the street two blocks away.

No cash or credit cards. He left the driver's license.

Ted Harbison. Callowhill Street. Age 35.

Let me see that.

Is there a cheesesteak place around here?

Yeah, probably. Why?

That's cheesesteak cheese.

How many cheesesteak places can there be in one neighborhood?

Here's your order.

Thank you.

What can I get you, officers?

- Detective. - Sorry.

You seen an african-american guy around here...

30s, baggy jeans, tattoos on his arms?

Carl! Get out here!

Go!

What's her name?

Jessica Archer, age 33.

Died in her sleep in her hotel room.

What a waste.

Cause of death?

This.

Saddle embolism blocking the left and right main pulmonary arteries.

It's as thick as your finger.

She's young,

her valves are normal, and she looks healthy.

So how'd she get a blood clot the size of a hot dog?

Carl Anders,

Member of the Bronson Street gang.

Ex-member.

Mm. Current or ex,

causing a death in the commission of a robbery

is criminally negligent homicide.

Look, I didn't rob nobody, a'ight?

- I went on my break. That's it. - Mm.

And you expect me to believe a poor ex-gangbanger like you,

- hmm? - It's true.

Ted Harbison's credit cards. Explain that.

I saw a bag on the ground. I took it.

And you didn't see the guy you took it from?

I saw a guy. He was up ahead of me, kinda weaving.

- Weaving? - Know what I'm saying? Like he was drunk or something.

He ducked down some stairs. By the time I got there, he was gone.

The bag was on the ground, so I took it,

but I didn't see no body in the bushes.

I do not see any evidence of physical trauma.

What else did they find in that bag of his?

Toiletries,

two issues of "Certified Accountant" magazine,

private pilot logbooks and flight maps,

prescriptions for vicodin and promethazine.

What's promethazine?

It's prescribed post-op for nausea and vomiting.

Is there a doctor listed?

Dr. Mark Chandler. Northeast General Hospital.

Those are porthole incisions. This guy just had surgery.

Let's get his clothes off. Move that light, will you?

Sure.

So tell me something.

They let you just walk out of the hospital right after surgery?

Not right after.

He probably went in first thing this morning.

The whole idea is to shorten recovery time.

Four little holes... that one's for the scope,

these two are for the instruments,

and that one's for whatever they took out of him.

By the location, I would say... gallbladder.

But that's just routine, right?

Hey, you okay?

Your paresthesia acting up?

I am fine.

Let's see what's going on in him.

Why is his abdomen full of blood?

You can tell Sam that a mugger

did not kill Ted Harbison.

His surgeon did.

Body of Proof 1x05 - Dead Man Walking Original air date April 19, 2011

Ted passed a gallstone last year.

Anyone who's ever done it will tell you, one is enough.

When his simptoms started up again,

we found a surgeon right away.

It wasn't the surgery, was it?

We're looking into every possibility.

Can you tell me why he was alone?

Hospitals don't normally release post-op patients without an escort.

After surgery, Ted said he'd be fine in recovery,

and I should just come back after work.

I had no idea he was gonna sneak out by himself.

If only I'd stayed.

Your husband was an accountant?

Yes.

Because we found, uh,

pilot logbooks and flight maps in his duffel.

I don't know too many accountant pilots.

He wasn't a pilot really.

He had not flown since the day he got his license.

Then why did he get his license?

To overcome his fear of flying. That's Ted, you see.

Mr. Sensible. If he got caught in the rain

in a nice pair of shoes, he'd take his shoes off.

Easier to clean feet than shoes.

Mrs. Harbison, I promise you,

we're gonna find out what happened to your husband.

Well, according to Jessica's labs,

she didn't have cancer.

She wasn't a smoker, or pregnant, or dehydrated.

And she definitely wasn't obese.

Which reminds me, have you had your heart checked lately?

You had your face checked lately?

Wait. Look at this.

Jessica had elevated levels of progesterone.

She was on the pill.

Okay, she has one marginal risk factor for hypercoagulation,

but there are millions of women on the pill,

and they don't all die in their hotel beds.

Wait. That's it.

What's it?

She died in her hotel room, right?

You thinking she just got off an airplane?

How long since you've been here?

- Not since Gwen took over. - Gwen?

Gwen Baldwin.

Nurse turned equipment rep turned hospital administrator.

A real health care success story.

I'm getting the warm fuzzies.

Mm. We were friends once.

You'd be amazed how many Christmas cards stop coming

after you've killed a patient on the operating table.

Just a second, Megan.

I've never been accused of having a green thumb,

but these have become my obsession.

We're here about Ted Harbison.

Mark Chandler operated on him this morning.

A cholecystectomy, to be exact. He exsanguinated internally.

Might be an issue with his care.

Well, then there are procedures that have to be followed.

Can you give us a second?

Gwen.

I know all about your procedures.

I just want to talk to him, surgeon to surgeon.

I used to be one,

if you remember.

Of course. I'm sorry.

That must've been horrible for you.

The car accident and then losing a patient.

If I didn't reach out to you,

it was because I was dealing with a loss of my own.

My son Nick.

He OD'd his freshman year at a frat party.

The bonsai was his.

For four years, I have kept it alive,

through plant lice

and root rot.

Oh, God. I... Gwen, I'm...

No, that is awful.

Oh. Oh, God.

Let's go find dr. Chandler.

I'm late for rounds. What's this all about?

Dr. Hunt is with the medical examiner's office.

You might want to pay attention.

Ted Harbison. You operated on him this morning,

a cholecystectomy.

Eight o'clock. Discharged at noon, I believe.

And dead an hour later.

That's my last surgery of the morning.

Then I went to my country club after. Is he really dead?

- Exsanguinated internally. - Well, that's not possible.

Oh, it's possible. It happened.

Ted had two cystic ducts, not one.

You should've checked for anomalous vasculature,

but you didn't. You clipped one artery,

- missed the other. - Hey, hold on a second here.

And how a man with crashing blood pressure

managed to sneak out of your recovery room...