“Yes, yes, it did.” Annie’s voice was beginning to sound desperate. “I’m klutzy and I fell off the porch.”
Gabe’s frustrated gaze locked on Larissa’s, and she knew exactly what he was thinking. She gave him a tiny nod, acknowledging their dilemma, and then turned toward Annie. “Okay, just relax for now. The radiology tech will be here shortly to take you over to get the X-rays. Dr. Allen, do you think she could have a dose of Percocet for the pain?”
“Of course.”
“Great, I’ll be right back.” Larissa walked over to the automated drug-dispensing machine and punched in her password along with Annie’s name and ID number. The Percocet drawer popped open, and she removed one dose before closing it up again. When she spun around, she nearly bumped into Gabe.
“We have to notify the sheriff’s department,” he said in a low voice.
“I know.” The Wisconsin state statutes were pretty clear regarding cases of suspected abuse. Still, she knew that doing the right thing could also backfire in a big way. “But you heard her. There’s no way she’s going to press charges against her husband. And I’m afraid that he’ll only get angrier once the deputy questions him. What if he takes that anger out on her?”
Gabe thrust his fingers through his dark brown hair. “You could be right, but what choice do we have?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted, hating the feeling of helplessness. The system was supposed to work for victims, but more often than not, it created a vicious cycle, one that couldn’t be broken unless the victim took a stance. But too many of those victims didn’t. “Let me talk to the social worker first, okay?”
“Okay, but giving her pamphlets on domestic violence isn’t going to help,” Gabe said with a dark frown. “We have to call the authorities.”
She nodded, knowing with a sinking heart that he was right. She could only hope that the police could get through to Annie better than she and Gabe had been able to.
She closed her eyes and prayed that Annie wouldn’t end up back in the ER with injuries that were far worse than a black eye or a broken wrist.
Please, Lord, keep Annie safe!
____________
Gabe stared at the deputy in disbelief. “You’re telling me there’s nothing you can do?”
Deputy Armbruster held up his palms in a helpless gesture. “What do you want me to say? I could haul Kurt Hinkle down to jail, but if she doesn’t press charges, he’ll be out by morning.”
That couldn’t be right. “Surely there’s enough evidence there to charge him with abuse even without her testimony?”
“Look, maybe he admits he grabbed her too hard, and she jerked away and oops? Look what happened?” The deputy sighed heavily. “Without Annie testifying against him, this could be made to look like some sort of accident rather than an intentional act of abuse. With no priors, he’ll walk.”
Gabe sensed Larissa beside him, and he was annoyed that he’d recognized her vanilla scent. Regardless, he kept his attention focused on the problem at hand. He just couldn’t believe there wasn’t something that could be done legally to prevent Kurt from hurting his wife. Again.
“What about the black eye from a few weeks ago?” she asked.
Gabe scowled. “I don’t remember that.”
“You weren’t working that shift,” Larissa pointed out. “I was on with Dr. Gardener.”
Deputy Armbruster pursed his lips. “We could maybe argue that it’s a pattern, but again, not likely. I got a black eye myself playing softball with my girls.” He smiled grimly. “My daughter Elise has a good arm.”
Gabe understood what the deputy was saying, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. “So what can we do?”
“Look, I can go chat with Kurt if you want me to. At least he’ll know that we’re on to him and—”
“No,” Larissa interrupted harshly. “Don’t.”
“What?” Gabe glared at her. “Why not?”
“Because he’ll be mad and take his anger out on her, that’s why.” Larissa turned toward Deputy Armbruster. “If you can’t arrest him, then just leave it alone.”
Gabe couldn’t believe what he was hearing. What was she doing? Why wasn’t Larissa standing up for their patient? “I think it would do Kurt good to know we’re on to him.”
“Why?” Larissa asked, her green eyes sparking fire. “So next time he can hurt her where the bruises won’t show?”
What? He took a step back. “No, of course not.”
“Leave it alone,” she pleaded. “I’ll talk to Annie, okay? Maybe I can help in ways the police can’t.”
Deputy Armbruster shrugged. “Okay, let me know if anything changes.”
“Gabe? We need your help over here,” Merry called. “This patient’s breathing is getting worse.”
“Go ahead, I’ll talk to Annie,” Larissa said.
Reluctantly, he nodded and hurried over to where Merry was standing beside another patient who was clearly in distress. The beeping oxygen-saturation monitor showed numbers that were steadily declining. “Get me an intubation tray now.”
All thoughts regarding his other patients vanished as he quickly focused on saving this gentleman’s life. He placed the breathing tube and then quickly connected the oxygen supply, giving him several slow, deep breaths.
“O2 sat up to 90 percent,” Merry announced with satisfaction.
The respiratory therapist came over to secure the tube. Gabe kept an eye on the guy’s vital signs, reassured that he was holding his own, at least for the moment. “All right, call up to the ICU and let them know we have a patient for them.”
“Will do,” Merry promised.
Gabe did a quick visual check on the other patients under his care before heading back over to where Larissa was sitting beside Annie Hinkle. Annie was staring down at the cast he’d ordered to be placed on her wrist after determining that indeed she’d suffered two minor fractures.
Which could have easily been far worse. The good news was that she wouldn’t need surgery.
The bad news was that he’d have to discharge her home. Back to her abusive husband.
He paused outside the doorway, listening as Larissa spoke softly to Annie. “Here’s my name and phone number,” Larissa said, pressing a small, folded piece of paper into Annie’s uninjured hand. “Call me if you feel afraid, or if you just want to talk. I’d be happy to help in any way I can.”
“Thank you,” Annie whispered. “But really, I’m fine. Just a bit klutzy.”
“Remember what I told you?” Larissa asked.
Annie slowly lifted her gaze to meet Larissa’s. Her softly spoken “yes” sounded almost like an admission.
“Call me anytime,” Larissa repeated.
“I will.”
Gabe stood there for a long moment, wishing he’d heard the entire conversation between the two women. He’d sensed right from the start that Larissa had identified with Annie on a level that he couldn’t possibly imagine.
Because of her previous ER experiences? Or from something more personal? He was surprised by the flash of anger at the thought of someone hurting Larissa.
