Wounded Souls

by R J Nolan

  If Dale was going to have any chance of calming the parents, she needed to get Connie out of the line of fire. She put a gentle hand on her arm. “Connie, why don’t you go into the lounge? I’ll take it from here.”

  Connie nodded and walked away without a word.

  Dale stepped closer to the door, but was blocked from entering the small treatment room by Mr. Granger. Mrs. Granger was huddled next to the head of the gurney with her arms wrapped around Nathan.

  “How could she even suggest we’re abusing our son?” Mr. Granger huffed.

  “No one said anything about abuse.” At least she hoped Connie hadn’t. She was new on the job, and Dale didn’t know her. “As I told you, Nathan needs to be admitted,” she said, making her voice as soothing as possible. Although from the look on Mr. Granger’s face, nothing she said would make any difference. “His injury is serious.” While Dale knew the boy’s injuries didn’t require hospitalization, she hoped the parents would not. She was following standard procedure in suspected child abuse cases by admitting Nathan until the family situation could be evaluated. The ER was not the place to evaluate or manage these cases.

  “You’re not doing anything with my son. I’m taking him out of here. I know how you people work! I’ve seen the news reports.” Mr. Granger stomped back into the treatment room.

  “Need some help?” Logan asked.

  Dale started; she hadn’t heard her walk up. She hesitated to accept the offer. Did Logan think she was incapable of handling the confrontation? Giving herself a mental shake, she thrust down the insecurity. She doesn’t know about you. None of Dale’s coworkers did; she had gone out of her way to make sure of that. She glanced at Logan. If there was one thing the military had taught her, it was that it was always a good idea to have someone watch your back.

  “Just stand by for now.” If at all possible, Dale wanted to avoid calling in security. In these cases, their arrival often caused the situation to escalate. She glanced into the room, where Mr. Granger had taken up a protective stance next to his wife. She lowered her voice and leaned close to Logan. “But if need be, call security.” Dale pointed toward the house phone on the opposite wall. “I’m not letting them leave with the boy.”

  “Got it,” Logan said. “I’ll get security if things go south.”

  After taking a deep breath, Dale stepped just inside the doorway of the treatment room.

  Mr. Granger puffed out his chest and moved closer to his wife. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Dale as if daring her to come closer.

  She held out her hands in a placating gesture. “I’m sure we can all agree that the most important thing here is to get Nathan the care he needs.” She shifted position so she could meet Mrs. Granger’s gaze over her husband’s shoulder.

  Mrs. Granger, with tears in her eyes, nodded. She placed her hand on her husband’s shoulder. “She’s right, Harold.”

  He shrugged her hand away. “Fine, you treated him.” He motioned toward the protective splint on Nathan’s lower leg. “Now we’re leaving. We’ll take him to see his pediatrician tomorrow. He’ll take over his care and see that he gets whatever he needs.”

  While not having much hope that Mr. Granger would be reasonable at this point, Dale tried again. “His injures need to be observed overnight. Sometimes in children, there are complications with a break as severe as Nathan’s. He needs to be admitted.”

  “No! I know what you’re trying to do.” Mr. Granger turned his back on Dale. “We’re leaving.”

  Logan quickly stepped into the room and stood close to Dale so that their shoulders brushed, effectively blocking the only exit. “Security is on the way.”

  Dale threw her a grateful look. If they could keep them in the room, it would help contain the situation.

  Mr. Granger swept his son from the gurney. As he spun around with Nathan in his arms, the little boy’s injured leg banged against the upright rail of the gurney.

  Nathan cried out and began to sob. “Daddy, it hurts. It hurts.” He buried his face in his father’s shirt.

  The color drained from Mr. Granger’s face. “Oh God.” He clutched his son to his chest. Mrs. Granger clung to his arm, tears streaking down her face. “Harold. Please.”

  The sound of pounding feet announced the arrival of security. “What’s the problem here?” the black-clad guard demanded.

  Mr. Granger tightened his arms around Nathan and took a step back.

  Her eyes wide with fear, Mrs. Granger looked back and forth between Dale and the security guard. She sent Dale a pleading gaze. “Please, don’t let him take our son.”

  “Okay, everyone, calm down.” Dale turned and faced the guard. “I’ve got this under control. Please wait at the nurses’ station.”

  He eyed the Grangers. “You sure?”

  “Positive.” As soon as the guard walked away, Dale approached Mr. Granger. “Please, let Dr. Logan recheck Nathan’s injury.” She motioned for Logan.

  All his anger gone, he met her gaze. “I swear to you, I would never intentionally hurt my son. Let us take him home.”

  While Dale knew some abusers were consummate liars, the anguish in his eyes seemed all too real. But at this point, she had no choice; by law she was required to inform child protective services and admit the boy. If she couldn’t convince the parents to agree to the admission, then her only other option was to get the police involved.

  “Excuse me,” Logan spoke up. She focused on Mr. Granger. “I know that you don’t know me, but I can assure you, if Dr. Parker says Nathan needs to be admitted, then he really needs to be admitted. She’s one of our best doctors.”

  His wife clutched his arm. “Please listen to her.”

  Mr. Granger’s gaze bounced back and forth between Dale and Logan. “Okay.” He nodded, kissed his son’s forehead, and then slowly relinquished him to Logan.

  “Mrs. Granger, why don’t you accompany Dr. Logan? I’ll go with your husband to see the clerk and take care of the admission paperwork.” Dale mentally breathed a sigh of relief when Logan left the room with Mrs. Granger in tow. She smiled to herself at the thought of what a good team they made.

  Dale pushed open the door of the lounge. Logan was once again sitting on the couch with a coffee cup in her hand. Smiling to herself, she headed right for the couch and sat down on the opposite end from Logan without asking her this time.

  For a moment, it looked as if Logan was going to leave, but then she sighed and sank back into the cushions.

  “Thanks for the help with the Grangers,” Dale said. “You did a good job.”

  “Didn’t do anything but stand there.”

  Dale shook her head. “That’s not true. You’re the one who spoke up and told them, ‘Dr. Parker is one of our best doctors.’ That was just the reassurance they needed.”

  Logan shrugged. “It’s the truth.”

  “Thank you.” Dale beamed. For some reason, the praise meant a lot coming from Logan. “I’ve been impressed with your work as well.”

  Flushing, Logan looked away. She wrapped both hands around her coffee mug. “Any more problems with Mr. Granger once you got to pediatrics?”

  “No.” She sighed. “While I’m sure he knows the real reason for the admission, he seemed pretty resigned to it.” A yawn caught Dale unaware. She dropped her head back against the couch.

  “Well, I better get back out there.” Logan started to rise, then frowned. She leaned closer to Dale. Reaching up, she touched her own jawline. “You’ve got a big bruise here.”

  Shit. Dale ducked her head to hide the bruise.

  Logan’s frown deepened. “And on your arm.”

  She quickly tugged down the sleeve of her T-shirt. “It’s nothing.”

  The lounge door swung open. Molly, one of the first-year residents, leaned into the room. “I’ve got a dislocated shoulder I can’t get
back in. Marco is tied up with another patient. I need some help.”

  Perfect timing. “I’ll give you a hand.” Dale pushed off the couch and made a quick retreat.

  Logan went in search of Dr. Parker. You need to do this. She jammed her hands into the pockets of her lab coat. Despite her determination to keep her distance from any coworker, she felt strangely drawn to Parker. And no matter how many times she told herself it was none of her business, after seeing Parker limping earlier, then spotting the bruises on her face and arm, she couldn’t let it go. And there was the fact that Parker always wore a long-sleeved T-shirt under her clothes, no matter what she was wearing. Long sleeves were a classic tactic to hide repeated bruises. While it was possible the cause of those injures was something innocent, Logan wouldn’t ignore them. She had done that once before, and she wasn’t going to make that mistake again.

  She pushed open the door to the lounge and let her gaze sweep the room. Parker was the only one inside. With determined steps, she approached the couch. “Mind if I sit down?”

  Parker’s eyebrows arched. “Sure.”

  Logan sat down. She fiddled with the edges of her jacket, straightened her ID badge, and then clasped her hands together in her lap.

  “Everything okay?”

  She jumped at the sound of Parker’s voice. It had been so long since she had allowed herself to be concerned about anyone, it was harder than she expected. “Umm… Actually, I wanted to make sure that you were okay.”

  Brow furrowed, Parker tilted her head. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  Logan cleared her throat. “Earlier I happened to notice you limping.”

  Parker stiffened, a sudden tension emanating from her.

  “Then I saw the big bruises on your jaw and arm earlier. You got called away before I could make sure you were really…okay.”

  Parker rubbed the bruise on her face as if she could make it disappear. “I’m fine. I was playing basketball before work, and the game got a little rough.” Her gaze veered away from Logan’s. “You know how it goes.”

  While the explanation was perfectly reasonable, Logan couldn’t help feeling that she was leaving something out. Stifling the urge to question her further, she rose from the couch. “Yeah. Okay…” She struggled with what else to say and at that point only wanted to escape. A touch on her sleeve made her start.

  “Thank you for your concern.”

  The warmth in Parker’s eyes brought a flush to Logan’s face. “You’re welcome.” She spun on her heel and bolted from the room.

  Logan peered into the lounge. Parker was sitting on the couch with her face buried in her hands. Damn! So much for hoping she had already left. The strength of her earlier reaction to Parker’s brief touch and the warmth in her eyes had spooked her. She’d managed to avoid Parker for the rest of the night. There was no becoming interested in a coworker—ever. Concern for Parker nagged at her, but she forcefully pushed it aside. Ignore her. Get your stuff and get out of here.

  She pushed the door open, then flinched when it squeaked. Keeping her gaze firmly on her feet, she walked over to the locker and opened it. She pulled her backpack out and slung it over her shoulder, grabbed the plastic bag with her soiled lab coat, quietly shut the locker, then turned, ready to make her escape. Despite her best intentions, her gaze was drawn to Parker, who chose that moment to lift her head.

  “Well, I screwed that one up.” Blowing out a breath, Parker rubbed her hands over her face. “I shouldn’t have missed it.”

  Don’t get involved. Walk away. The command was useless. Logan’s feet were already taking her toward Parker. She stopped next to the couch and looked down into Parker’s stress-lined face. “Missed what?”

  Parker motioned to the empty spot on the couch.

  Logan hesitated, then shucked her backpack off and sat as far away from Parker as the couch permitted.

  “Remember the Grangers’ boy last night?”

  “Yeah. The abuse case.”

  “That’s just it.” Parker grimaced. “It wasn’t abuse. Something just bugged me about the case, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. When things quieted down, I went to peds and ran into Doug Pulley.” At Logan’s puzzled look, she added, “He’s a staff pediatrician. Anyway, I discussed the case with him. We went to see the boy, and he examined him.” Her shoulders slumped. “I missed the fact that the sclera of Nathan’s eyes were tinted blue and that he had a very triangular face. Add to that the bruises, the old fractures we found, and the severity of the injury with the history the parents gave and…” She looked questioningly at Logan.

  Logan quickly ran through the differential diagnosis, thinking over several different possibilities. “Osteogenesis imperfecta.”

  Parker sighed. “You got it. Doug ordered the genetic testing, but he’s confident that’s what we’re dealing with. And I missed it.” Parker raked her fingers through her hair. “Because of my screwup, social services got involved, and the parents were made to feel like criminals who were abusing their son.”

  Not sure when she moved, Logan found herself right next to Parker on the couch. “I only got it because you laid it all out for me. Remember, I examined the boy too. And I didn’t notice his eyes either.” Usually reluctant to touch, Logan nevertheless laid her hand on Parker’s arm. “You did what you had to do.” She held Parker’s gaze, wanting her to be sure of her sincerity. “I would’ve done the same.”

  “Thank you.” Parker laid her hand over Logan’s where it rested on her arm. “It means a lot that you would say that.”

  As it had earlier, the warmth in Parker’s eyes made Logan’s heart pound. You have to get away from this woman. She pulled her hand out from under Parker’s and bolted from the couch. “Well, I’ve got to get going.” She fled the room without a backward glance.

  As she made her way to her car, her thoughts whirled. Over the last two years, she’d had no trouble keeping her distance from coworkers. She didn’t know what was different about Parker. But she had no intention of hanging around to find out. Although she had only been here three weeks, it was time to contact Barron’s and find a new job.

  CHAPTER 6

  Logan scanned the area as she approached the nurses’ station and breathed out a sigh when there was no sign of Dr. Parker. She had worked hard to avoid her whenever possible over the past week. On the occasions they did work together, she kept their interactions strictly professional and quickly made herself scarce afterwards.

  “Hi, Dr. Logan,” the desk clerk, greeted.

  She nodded in acknowledgement, then headed to the staff lounge to put away her backpack. Peeking through the doorway to make sure the coast was clear, she caught sight of a tall black man that she had not met before sitting at the round table in the center of the room.

  He looked up and smiled as the door swung fully open. “You must be Logan. Dale had good things to say about you.”

  An unexpected surge of pride filled Logan. She pushed the unwelcome feeling away.

  He rose from his chair. “I’m Harris Franklin. I’m covering for Dale tonight.”

  Why isn’t Parker working? Logan immediately squelched her concern. Be glad she’s not here. It made things that much easier for Logan. She had other things to worry about tonight—most notably Drake. But also the fact that Barron’s Staffing had not found her another locums position. Which in itself was surprising; there were always physicians who needed someone to cover for them while they were on vacation or medical leave.

  Forcing her attention back to Franklin, she walked to the table and shook his hand. “Nice to meet you. Well, I better get to it.” She pulled off her backpack and turned toward her locker before he could offer any further conversation.

  A glance at her watch made Logan frown. She had wanted to check on Drake earlier but had gotten held up waiting for the CT results on a suspected ruptured appendix. She stopped at the c
ounter of the nurses’ station and checked the intake board. Good. Nice and quiet. Most nights, she preferred being busy, but not tonight. Logan motioned the desk clerk over. “I’m taking my dinner break. I’ll be back in half an hour. Call me if anything big comes in.”

  “Sure thing, Dr. Logan.”

  The cafeteria was closed at this time of night, but coworkers had gotten used to her leaving the department for her meal break. With an acknowledging wave in the clerk’s direction, Logan headed for the main waiting room of the ER. She checked to make sure no one who knew her was around, then slipped out the main doors and headed for the parking lot.

  Logan made her way across the ER parking lot to the far corner where she had parked her motor home. While living in the small recreational vehicle had its disadvantages, being able to park it in a regular parking lot was a plus in this situation. She eased open the door and stepped inside.

  When no welcoming woof greeted her, she flipped a switch, illuminating the interior of the coach. Drake was stretched out on what was usually the dinette table that folded down and converted into an extra bed when needed. Two steps brought her to his side. Fear spiked when he didn’t immediately open his eyes. She sat down next to him.

  Drake’s eyes blinked open, and he yawned. As he pushed his head into her belly, his tail thumped against the bedding.

  Logan’s breath whooshed out. “Hey, buddy. How’re you doing?” She stroked his big head.

  The day care where he stayed while she was sleeping had expressed concern that he had been very lethargic and had refused food and water. Normally, Drake spent the night in the motor home alone, and Bernice let him out for a bathroom break before she went to bed and then again in the morning. But tonight, she hadn’t felt comfortable leaving Drake even with Bernice to check on him. If something were to happen to Drake, Logan didn’t know what she would do. A huge lump formed in her throat at the very thought, and she blinked back tears. He was her last link to Emily, and she had grown to love the big dog. She shoved away the painful memories.