Troy steepled his hands on the table. "And?”
“I live a very privileged life. My parents are poster children for indulgence. My sister’s biggest concern is if the tablecloths coordinate with her chaise lounge cushions. My family was aghast when I went to medical school. My destiny was to run my dad’s company and play golf. And I further horrified them when I worked in Cook County in Chicago. Did a stint with the White Helmets in Syria, Doctors without Borders, and joined the Navy after the stories of bad care started to surface. I did a trauma fellowship at Pendleton. In the emergency rooms, the care is better, but there were always sporadic issues, until I got to Twentynine Palms.” Brody took the hot coffee from Trask, while Kim reached for her tea.
Troy noticed a white ring in the middle of a tan on Kim’s left ring finger. “All care? A particular provider?” he asked.
“Particular patients. Particular providers. I got there in February. My first patient was a twenty-seven-year-old female lieutenant. The ambulance reported it was a training injury. I’m not usually squeamish…” He stared at his hands. “Strips of her uniform were carved off along with skin. Her face was abraded and bruised. She fought. Her nipples were amputated, and so was her clitoris. She’d also been sodomized.”
The doctor swallowed hard. “I did my job. I stopped the bleeding, decreased her pain and performed a rape kit.All she would tell me was her name, and she answered medical history and level of pain questions. I admitted her, made appropriate referrals, and notified the authorities. NCIS and the military police were there faster than I’ve ever seen a response. Then, this moron from psychiatry, Mitch Ackers, came down, and after ten minutes diagnosed her with antisocial personality disorder. I should have known; I vaguely knew him from TBS. He couldn’t hit a barn. I’ve seen shitty care in my time, interns dumb as boxes of rocks, but this?” He sipped the coffee.
“Do you know her status? Did she leave the Navy?” Troy asked.
“She stayed and was transferred to Marine Transport Squadron, Belle Chasse, Louisiana.”
“You followed up on her. That your usual behavior for every patient?” Troy scrawled a note.
“No. She broke down my walls. No one seemed to care she was sexually assaulted. Thankfully she had some girlfriends come to see her, and I called the head of psychiatry, and they changed the loser out. But psychiatry at Twentynine Palms, overall, is a whole other story.
“A week later, a male corporal was brought in. Another training accident. He had a skull fracture. When we undressed him to check for further injuries, he had a rectal bleed and tearing. He was comatose for three days. I called the military police to report the crime. I would have gotten further talking to this desk.” Brody shook his head. “They classified it as rough consensual sex.”
“This happened in February. Why come in now?” Trask asked.
“Because, as of two weeks ago, I’ve seen seven men and three women. All with similar injuries, and all received less than decent attention from psychiatry, military police, and NCIS.”
Troy pinched his brow. “What are you not telling me?”
Kim placed her hand on Brody’s and nodded. “It’s okay.”
The doctor looked over Troy’s head.
“When, Brody?” Troy asked. “Trask, can you see if Russ is still here, and if he can see someone for me?”
“Yeah, Boss.” Trask’s face showed understanding as he stepped out.
“A couple of days?” Troy asked.
“Sunday, on my way to my car. How’d you know?” Brody answered.
“You asked for an urgent appointment. Your right foot is bouncing. Your palm left a damp print on the table. Your skin is flushed, and I recognize the look in your eyes. You help people. You fix trauma. You're embarrassed, disgusted, scared, worried about advancement, and worried about sharing this with close friends or family.”Troy sighed. “August thirteenth, I was almost killed during a sexual assault and beating. I’m still a work in progress.”
Troy heard Kim inhale deeply. “Oh, Troy.” She grabbed a tissue.
“I’m sorry,” Brody said.
“I am too.” Troy closed the file. “We have two recent victims in our health center. One male and one female. Same pattern. Did you report this?” Brody shook his head. “More importantly, did you get treated?”
“I stopped the bleeding. I took the disease prophylaxis. And slept off whatever they injected me with,” he sighed.
“I’d like our medical staff to take a good look at you, and we will go from there. I’m glad you came in.”Now I have to figure out why his attack and possibly Gwen’s are related but at places other than Twentynine Palms.
“You’re going to take the case?” Brody asked.
“How long have you two been engaged or married?” Troy wriggled his ring finger.
“Married two years. When I came home, Kim begged me to report it. When I didn’t, she begged me to see you. She told me what you did for her when you were at Annapolis.” Brody sighed. “Now I know why she sent me to you.”
“I wasn’t anything special when Kim was attacked,” Troy downplayed his skills.
“He was amazing. He never let me give up, and even after he graduated, he called me once a week.” Kim swiped at her eyes.
