Another Chapter, I hope you liked the last chapter. It took time but I managed it. Here is the next instalment. Hope it is good enough. It has been a long week. Tiring too.
Chapter 12
Purbright looked over his notes. They both seemed guilty, as far as he could see. He had countermanded orders from a higher authority, and she had failed to report it. They had both been guilty of what he saw as insubordination. They both had high positions in the hospital and both would have been seen as important enough to avoid a sentence. Others would have been struck before they were. Now he had the truth though. He had the evidence that they were guilty and that they could easily have the both court marshalled. He still had his doubts though. He still had a niggling feeling that there was something he had missed. Something that could prove what they had done, wasn't as bad as he thought. He didn't like the pair of them but that didn't mean that, he would be unfair towards them. Giving an unfair verdict because he didn't like them, would be against his own moral code. A moral code that he had to stick to.
Then a plan came to him. He could question the others. The other surgeons would know a little about the case and what the patient had been like. They could tell him what they would have done in that situation, and if they thought what had been done was justified. It would give him a balanced verdict and a truthful look on the situation before him. The situation that could lead to the death of two people, which he might not be fond of, but were damn good at their jobs. The army couldn't lose people like that. They were important to the war effort. Also, if he got this wrong, then it would be his head on the chopping block as well.
"Corporal," he spoke to one of the soldiers that was helping him to conduct the investigation "bring Captain Gillian to me please. I will need him to give some evidence."
The Corporal saluted his superior and then went off to follow the order, leaving Purbright with his thoughts. The silence in the shed was eerie. He recalled interviewing, Joan Livesey, when he had found out about her treachery. He knew that he intimidated her. He had made her confess though. He had done what high command had wanted. He had obeyed their orders and been successful. It still struck him as odd though. She had pleaded her innocence, yet still seemed loyal to her superiors. He shook his head, trying to clear it. It wasn't good to dwell on past cases. They would only give him nightmares or keep him up all night and that was the last thing that he needed.
The door opened, and Captain Gillian entered the shed, followed by the Corporal that had be sent to fetch him.
"You wanted to speak to me?" he asked, sitting in the chair opposite Purbright
"Yes, I need you to give evidence." Purbright stated
"It better be quick, I have patients." He sighed in annoyance
"I'm afraid it may take some time. I will require you're opinion on a few things."
"I don't have the time." He spoke quickly, and jumped from the chair
"Captain Gillian, sit back down, please." The Colonel demanded
"I have lives to save! Maybe you should turn your attention to that, instead of sitting behind a desk day after day." Tom scoffed
"I am trying to ascertain if Colonel Brett and Matron Carter are guilty of insubordination!" his voice rising to a shout
Tom stopped dead.
"What?"
"I need your evidence to conclude if they are guilty or not."
Tom's expression changed. This was serious.
"I advise that you sit back down." Purbright said
He walked back to the chair and sat, carefully, down.
"Thank you. Now I need your medical opinion."
"What about?" the Captain asked
"A patient that Colonel Brett treated, Lance Corporal Lawrence Prentiss, more commonly known as-"
"Laurie." Tom interrupted
"Yes, Laurie. Do you recall his condition when he first came to the hospital?"
"Yes, he was shaken. He had neurological damage I believe. Any loud sounds or sudden movement shocked him, and he would start fitting. The fits could become very serious."
"Colonel Brett told me as much. The thing I want to know, is would you agree with him?" Purbright questioned him
"Yes, I would. Laurie had all the signs of neurological damage. It was clear that something was seriously wrong."
"What would you have done, if he was your own patient?"
"I would have placed the lad on a convoy home. It was evident that neurological damage was something, that couldn't be treated here, at the field hospital. It needed a specialist. I'm surprised that Colonel Brett didn't place him on the convoy himself."
Purbright shifted uncomfortably.
"Yes, well, thank you Captain, that's all I need to know from you. You may get back to your patients."
Tom stood up and left the shed, without further comment. Purbright had been frantically scribbling notes, on the pad of paper. This was what he had expected, if he was honest. The surgeons here were talented and they knew, what they were doing. He would have to trust in them and their judgement. He could still gain a second opinion though. They always said that in medicine, you should gain a second opinion. He turned to the Corporal at his side.
"Fetch Captain Hesketh-Thorne. I will need his opinion as well."
The Corporal followed the same protocol, as he had before. He looked over his notes, from when he was interviewing Colonel Brett. The evidence of what he had said compared, alongside Gillian's was enough to prove the pair innocent. It proved that they were only doing what was right and what they had thought was best at the time.
The corporal returned with Miles.
"Colonel Purbright," the man paused and smiled "to what do I owe the pleasure today?"
Purbright didn't smile in response.
"Sit down Captain." He demanded, pointing to the chair
"Serious then, is it." the young surgeon sat and smiled again, trying to lighten the mood
"Potentially very serious, yes." Purbright explained
The atmosphere changed in the shed, as it hit Miles, that what Purbright was going to ask was very serious.
"Do you recall a patient, by the name of Lance Corporal Lawrence Prentiss?"
"Laurie? Yes, he was my patient before Colonel Brett took over the case."
"So you were the first to treat him?" Purbright asked in confirmation
"Yes. I was the surgeon that was first to treat him."
"How did he seem to you?"
"I diagnosed neurological damage. That's what I thought, and Colonel Brett agreed with me. The sudden movements made by others or sudden sounds that he heard would, cause fitting."
"How serious would the fits be?"
"They could escalate to a point where he would have to be restrained. To be held down on the bed, so he didn't cause himself any harm. Colonel Brett told me that he had found a way of treating Laurie. A way that he could avoid fitting."
"What was this treatment?" Purbright continued questioning
"Music. He told me that, he had found out if Laurie listened to recordings on the gramophone, then he was able to avoid the fits. He would weep instead."
"Would you have sent him home?"
"Yes, the damage was way beyond what we could heal."
"Thank you Captain. Your evidence has been helpful. You may get back to your patients."
"Of course, Sir." Miles headed for the door but turned before reaching it "I hope my evidence made a difference."
He smiled and left.
Oh, it made a difference alright, Purbright thought, more than you could know.
End of chapter. Thanks for reading and please review.
