Disclaimer: dittos….
Physicians rarely darkened the door to social services, so when Dr. Lurie breezed in all eyes turned to him. Marion Davies was next up for a consult; she sat at her desk finishing some reports. Few social workers had the experience she did. Ms. Davies had worked in several cities, in multiple capacities. She was not easily swayed by emotional tales, but stuck to facts she could verify, and was very detail oriented. Ironically, she was much like a CSI in that regard.
She eyed up Dr. Lurie suspiciously as he presented the clinical material to her. He described each old, healed fracture; then moved onto her new one. He even presented the details of her abduction, and her ordeal in the desert.
"I see." Ms. Davies regarded the information thoughtfully, "But, surely you don't doubt that the arm was broken during the course of her abduction"
"Truthfully, I have no idea; there were no other witnesses, just her word. I just know that however the acute fracture occurred, the old fractures are highly suggestive of physical abuse, and we don't know if it's been reported before."
"Well," she said, typing away, "The first thing to check is to see if she's in our system……Mmmm, No… she's not." After a pause, "You know, if she's not in our system with all those old fractures, these injuries probably occurred elsewhere, and she relocated here."
"I'm not so sure."
"Oh?"
"She and her current boyfriend are experienced crime scene investigators; if anyone can make something look like an accident that wasn't, they could. And let's face it, the only reason we picked up on it was because Dr. Rigby ordered so many x-rays. Typically, we'd just have the film of an injured site. With that we might never have known the extent of the old fractures."
"True," she nodded, but still unconvinced. "Do you know anything else about her current social situation?"
"She dates her boss at work, a Dr. Gil Grissom."
"Doctor?"
"I suppose some sort of Ph.D. He's not a medical doctor."
"But, he's her boss?"
"Yes, he's listed as a supervisor. And, I'm not sure how long they've been together, but, I can tell you it's been long enough that they live together and he has her medical power of attorney."
"What?" Ms. Davies' face frowned in thought.
"What does that mean?" Dr. Lurie inquired, hoping for a red flag.
"Just, well, it's highly unusual. I've learned not to try to read too much into things like that, but it's merely a sign that this is not a typical relationship. We just don't know if it's unusual because of the couple, a very dominant, controlling partner, her boss, say; or something unrelated, maybe because she has no one else that she can trust in her own family and she has a relatively dangerous job."
"So what happens now?"
"I'm going to go talk to her. I'm not going to worry about the acute fracture; it should be a lot easier to verify the story behind the old ones. My money is on an abuse that happened when she was a younger woman; she's relocated and cut ties. She'll probably give the information up readily, I can get the respective medical and social service files on it, and I can wrap this up this morning."
Deep down, Lurie was thoroughly disappointed. He wanted to see Grissom twist in the wind a while; the last thing he wanted to hear was how easy this might be to resolve. "I haven't had a chance to inform the patient of the consult to social services, so I really need to go with you to introduce you, especially in case there are clinical questions."
"Agreed. I don't like walking in unannounced, it feels like an ambush, and I definitely need to talk to her without Dr. Grissom present; that may be easier to do with someone else backing me up on it."
"You're right about that, I should warn you, he can definitely be difficult."
"Oh?"
"He grilled me over her care. To be honest, I had planned to transfer her to the ortho service, and was looking forward to that. Then I get a page from the radiologist reading her films, and now I have to deal with this first," he said smiling and shaking his head. "I couldn't transfer this problem! Honestly, I'm just really ready to be rid of this case, so the sooner we settle this, the better. That's why I'm here now, just trying to expedite things," he lied.
Ms. Davies considered his last statement a moment. His uncommon visit to social services had been puzzling, but this explained it, somewhat. They agreed that Dr. Lurie would page her after his next case and they would meet at the third floor nurses' station. In the meantime, Ms. Davies familiarized herself with the information contained in Sara's chart. She didn't like surprises, and wanted to make sure she was prepared when she interviewed Sara. What she did find was that Dr. Lurie had been remarkably accurate and detailed in his presentation, impressively so. She had to wonder; was he a most conscientious physician, or an obsessed one. Either way, she refused to be distracted by his behavior; she was to do just one job, make sure Sara Sidle was not being threatened with physical harm. In that, she would not be deterred.
In the operating room, Dr. Lurie was scrubbing his hands, preparing for surgery, as his mind wandered back to Grissom and how things might play out. While he pondered Ms. Davies' staunch objectivity which left her far from sold on Grissom's potential guilt; one thing was certain, Grissom would not be allowed to participate in the process. Ms. Davies was adamant about that. He simply couldn't wait to see the look on Grissom's face when informed that since he was potentially responsible, he would need to excuse himself. No matter how brief a time the suspicion was there; he knew it would be killing Grissom, and Vincent Lurie would revel in it.
TBC…..