Two Certificates Brought Bram To The Audit Table Without His Smile

The second registration did not name Oksana.

It named Crosswind Mobility Supply as a dealer holding the same new knee for resale. The date was September 22, eleven days before Bram's clinic said it had fitted that unit to her.

"Could that entry be a mistake?" I asked the records manager.

"It could," she said. "We're checking the source document."

Her name was Elise. She sounded as tired of easy answers as I was.

Dana asked the clinic for a voluntary billing review under its agreement with the plan. Bram agreed. He still seemed to think he could settle the matter in a room with good lighting.

The meeting took place at a rented conference room near the airport. June came as my lawyer. Oksana came with a folder and a lunch cooler.

"Long meetings make people stupid," she told me. "I brought cheese."

Bram arrived in a blue sweater with the clinic name over his heart. Beside him was his lawyer, a man who put his phone facedown before sitting.

"Lucien," Bram said. "You look well."

"I am well."

He reached across the table, then drew his hand back when I lifted my folder. I had not meant to refuse him. I was checking that my pages were in order.

Once, that awkward moment would have made me rush to please him. This time, I let it pass. I checked the page numbers again and set my pen straight.

Dana set a recorder on the table and asked everyone to agree to the recording. We did.

"We're examining three paid claims," she said. "This meeting doesn't decide any criminal question. We want the records and your explanations."

Bram nodded at Oksana.

"I'm sorry this has upset you."

"It cost me $920," she said. "Upset was free."

He turned toward Dana.

"Lucien kept informal notes. Unfortunately, age has made some of them less reliable."

June leaned forward.

"Please identify the inaccurate entry."

"That's what we're trying to determine."

I unclipped the wooden bird so the buckle would stay quiet. I set it beside my closed folder.

"You thought I only kept route slips," I said to Bram. "I hold the original certificates and the bound transfer copies. You signed the agreement that put them in my care."

He looked at June.

She placed the agreement on the table. Then I opened my folder.

I had brought copies. The originals were locked away, and Dana had arranged to inspect them afterward with a written receipt for anything she took.

The first transfer showed K7-1186 received as stock. Bram's signature cut through the carbon in one long stroke.

Next came the certificate with the same serial, the maker's seal number, and the date it left Prairie Arc.

Then came the clinic's claim record, which Dana had obtained directly from the plan. It named Oksana as the recipient of K7-1186.

Last came the second registration and its source: a scan of Crosswind's purchase intake, sent to Prairie Arc for warranty tracking.

It listed Bram's clinic as seller.

"A dealer might enter an item before a canceled sale," Bram said.

"Did that happen here?" Dana asked.

"I'd need my office files."

"We requested those files two weeks ago."

His lawyer touched his sleeve. The room went quiet enough for me to hear a plane climb outside.

Oksana opened her folder.

"Here is my old number," she said. "Here is the exam from my new prosthetist. Same knee body. Same serial. No sign that a different knee had been installed and removed during that visit."

"You wouldn't necessarily know," Bram said gently.

"Then listen to someone who does. Her report is page four."

Dana took the copy and marked when she received it.

"Were you fitted with the new knee shown on the claim?" she asked.

"No."

"Are you willing to say that in person if this goes further?"

"I came in person today."

Bram's pleasant face slipped. It was quick, but I had seen that look whenever I asked why a check was late.

"People sign things without reading them," he said.

"They do," Oksana answered. "That doesn't let you fill in whatever you want afterward."

His lawyer ended their side of the meeting. Dana let them leave. She asked us to stay so she could make clear which questions still lacked answers.

"This is enough for a wider review," she said. "It isn't the end."

In the parking lot, I clipped the bird back onto my bag. My hands had begun shaking, now that I no longer needed them steady.

Oksana gave me the cheese.

"Eat before you drive."

My phone rang as I unwrapped it.

It was a man from Crosswind.

"Mr. Pierre," he said, "Ellery told us those were canceled patient orders. I have the invoice, and there's something else you need to see."