P is for Psychiatry part 3
It was the day of the hearing, and the committee investigating Christine's story was convening. In the conference room there were two groups at the table: for the defence there was John, his assigned fire department lawyer and Roy as the main witness. On the prosecution side there was Miss Christine Douglas and her lawyer. A mediator appointed by the department as an impartial judge was sitting at the head of the table, with a stenographer at his side. He would decide if the complaint was justified or not, and what the next step would be –reprimand, dismissal, recommendation for criminal charges, or clearing of all accusations. In addition, there was a representative from the paramedic oversight committee and a senior member of the Los Angeles County Fire Department review council.*
After a preliminary statement outlining the points of Christine's accusation, her lawyer started in on the attack. "You're quite the ladies man, aren't you, Mr Gage? I'm sure you consider yourself to be quite the catch. Due to the seriousness of the situation, we've done a bit of investigating, and we know you have a reputation for being, shall we say, quick off the mark to take things to a new level with your girlfriends. In fact, it was common knowledge when Miss Douglas was a patient at the hospital – one of the nurses even voluntarily warned her about you and your roving hands. That was one of the things which convinced her that she needed to place a formal complaint."
John felt like he had been punched in the gut, and blurted out before his lawyer could reply, "She was a patient! I wasn't dating her!"
"And yet, despite your professional role in this case, you have dated former patients before, haven't you Mr Gage? In fact, you were engaged to one of them for a short time."
His lawyer looked at John with concern. "Is this true?"
"That was different!"
Christine's lawyer continued, "I don't see how, Mr Gage, and I'm sure this committee doesn't either. Did you know that the woman, Mrs Valerie Peterson, your former fiancée, informed our investigator that you had threatened her child with physical violence? Isn't it possible that your abusive traits scared her away from marriage with you? Just as they scared Miss Douglas when you had her at your mercy in the ambulance."
"This is crazy! This is nuts!" In John's worst nightmares he could never have imagined the twisting of his actions this woman and her lawyer were doing. He had to force himself to remain seated, because everything in him wanted to launch toward the other side of the table and somehow force them to see the truth….if only he knew how to do it!
"John, calm down. Be very careful what you say," the FD lawyer counselled him quietly. "I'd like to ask for a recess, Mr Chairman." It was granted.
His lawyer asked John if he had been engaged to a former patient. "Well, yeah, maybe, but if I was it was only for a few days…" he said with agitation.
"And did you try to hurt her child in any way?"
"No! I mean, I told him that he'd better stop biting or someone might break his arm….but I never said that I'd do it! And it didn't frighten him, because he bit me almost right after I said that! Hard! On my leg!"
Roy jumped in and said, "I can vouch for all of this 'cause I was there and saw the whole thing."
The lawyer sighed. "The problem with your testimony, Roy, is that it will probably be considered to be biased in favour of John, as he's your partner and you two are obviously friends." He opened his notebook and his file folder and said to the men, "I need to look at some things here. Why don't you go get some air or a coffee or something for a bit?" He frowned at his notes.
Roy and Johnny nodded and rose from the table. John started talking in an under-voice to Roy just inside the conference room. "Roy, I don't get it. Am I crazy? I'm seriously starting to doubt my own sanity here. Do I really remember what I think I remember? Did I lead all these women on and abuse them like they're making it sound? Did I do something to this woman and I just don't remember it? I thought I was a pretty good guy…I really did. Now I'm wondering about everything I've ever believed about myself, about what I do, about my relationships…I feel like I'm losing my mind!" He looked around the room, and saw Christine looking at him - with a Mona Lisa smile. "Look at her over there, Roy! She keeps trying to hide it, but she can't stop smiling! Y'know I never really believed in evil before, but I think I'm seeing it now."
Roy put his hand on his partner's arm. "You are a good guy, Johnny. You do great work. I don't believe for a minute you were anything less than professional and appropriate with Miss Douglas all the time you were in contact with her. Somehow the truth will come out. It has to."
*(please correct me if I am out of line with the creation of this committee and its members – this is fiction, and I've just used logic and my experience on disciplinary councils and formal inquiries (whether to press criminal charges against someone) for this – no inside knowledge whatsoever!)