the Western Hemisphere. Wanna call Guinness?'
'What about something idiopathic a rare variant of a known disease?'
He looked at me, passed the hammer from hand to hand.
Anything's possible.'
'But you don't think so.'
'What I don't think is that there's anything wrong with her glands.
This is a healthy kid, presenting with hypoglycemia because of something else.'
'Something someone gave her?'
He tossed the hammer up in the air and snagged it with two fingers.
Repeated the exercise a couple more times, then said, 'What do you think?' He smiled. Always wanted to do that with one of you guys.
Seriously, though, yeah, that's what I think. It's logical, isn't it, considering the history? And that sib who died.'
Did you consult on his 'No, why would I? That was respiratory. And I'm not saying that was necessarily ominous-babies do die of SIDS. But in this case it makes you think, doesn't it?'
I nodded. 'When I heard about the hypoglycemia, one of the first things I thought about was insulin poisoning. But Stephanie said there were no fresh injection marks on Cassie's body.'
He shrugged. 'Could be. I didn't do a complete physical. But there are ways to stick someone and be subtle: Use a really small needle-a newborn spike. Pick a site that's easy to miss-the folds of the buttocks, knee folds, between the toes, right under the scalp. My doper patients get creative all the time, and insulin goes right into the skin. Little pinprick like that can heal really quickly.'
'Have you mentioned your suspicions to Stephanie?'
He nodded. 'Sure I did, but she's still hopped up on something esoteric. Between you and me, I didn't get the feeling she wanted to hear it. Not that it matters to me personally. I'm off the case-quits, vamoose. Out of here, as a matter of fact.'
'Leaving the hospital?'
'You bet. One more month, then off for quieter pastures. I need the time I have left to wrap up my own cases. It's gonna be a messlots of angry families. So the last thing I want to do is muck around in Chuck Jones's family affairs when there's nothing I can do about it anyway.'
'Because it's his family?'
He shook his head. 'It would be nice to say yup, that's it, the whole thing's politics. But actually, it's the case itself. She could be anyones' granddaughter and we'd still be spitting into the wind because
we have no facts. Just look at you and me, right here. You know what's going on; I know what's going on; Stephanie used to know what was going on until she got all horny about the hypoglycemia. But knowing doesn't mean a thing, legally, does it? Cause we can't do anything. That's what I hate about abuse cases-someone accuses parents; they deny it, walk away or just ask for another doc.
And even if you could prove something was going on, you'd get into a circus of lawyers, paperwork, years in court, dragging our reputations through the mud. Meantime the kid's a basket case and you couldn't even get a restraining order.'
'Sounds like you've had experience.'
'My wife's a county social worker. The system's so overloaded, even kids with broken bones aren't considered a priority anymore.
But it's the same all o'er-I had a case back in Texas, diabetic kid.
The mother was witholding insulin and we still had a hell of a time keeping the kid safe. And she was a nurse. Top O.R. gal.'
'Speaking of nurses,' I said, 'what do you think of Cassie's primary R.N.?'
