Breath of Scandal(19)

"Do you think you can identify the men?" "Oh, yes. I can identify them."

"Well, that's good, at least. They'll pay for it. That is, if you don't lose your nerve and drop the charges before the case comes to trial."

"I won't lose my nerve," she vowed, her jaw clenched and set.

"There, I'm finished. Except for the pubic hair. Not all of it is yours. I'll just collect some here. It'll go to the lab, too. I I



Jade cringed and kept her eyes tightly shut until she felt the nurse lowering her feet from the stirrups, helping her to sit up. The doctor cleaned beneath her fingernails with an orangewood stick, then peeled off his gloves and dropped them into a trash bin.

"Just stand there in front of the curtain," he said to Jade as he reached for a Polaroid camera. He instructed the nurse to help her adjust the gown.

For the next several minutes, she was photographed front and back. She was never completely naked, but she might as well have been. He took pictures of her face, her shoulders, breasts, belly, thighs, buttocks, any place where there was a scratch or a bruise. There weren't many. Neal had been careful about that.

"What about those scratches on your arms and knees?" She shook her head. "I got those later, crawling along the highway."

"Okay. I'll fill out my report and get this stuff to the lab. There won't be anybody there at this time of night, but they can get on it first thing in the morning. The nurse will take you to a shower. We'll give you a set of OR scrubs to put on. Your clothes will go to the lab, too."

Jade nodded. "Thank you."

He bustled out, taking the laboratory evidence with him. "Come with me, honey." The nurse pulled back the curtain and moved toward the door.



54



Sandra Broww



Jade hesitated, self-consciously tugging on the brief gown. "Like this? It barely covers my bottom."

"This is a hospital. Nobody notices."

Jade thought the janitor would notice. There didn't seem to be any choice, however. She followed the nurse out into the corridor and took tiny steps to keep the hem of the gown from flapping.

"You're lucky Doc Harvey came from a big city hospital He knows what to do," the nurse remarked.

They went through a pair of swinging doors marked HOSPITAL PERSONNEL ONLY and entered a lounge area where several nurses were drinking coffee and eating snacks from the vending machines. They glanced up curiously as she crossed the room behind the nurse.

"Right in there," she said, holding open the door to a women's locker room. "Towels and everything else you'll need are in the closet next to the shower stall. There's a disposable douche in there, too."

Jade wished she would lower her voice. Everyone in the room was staring at her. "I've never douched," she whispered. 11

"Nothing to it. The instructions are printed on the box. Jade slipped through the door. As the woman had said, she found everything she needed in the closet. She removed the hospital gown and stepped into the shower stall. Thankfully, the water was hot. Jade turned it on until it was scalding. She kept it as hot as she could stand it and welcomed its pounding sting. It was cleansing, purifying. She wanted to wash them and their hideous residue off her body. It amazed her that she had stood having it on her skin this long without losing her sanity.

After soaping three times, she propped one foot on the soap dish and washed the area between her thighs. It hurt so badly that it brought tears to her eyes, but she scrubbed and scrubbed until her skin was raw. Inexpertly, she used the douche and was glad that she did. Finally, she shampooed the mud out of her hair and rinsed her mouth out several times with hot water.

Afterward she felt better, although she knew she would



Breath of Scandal



55



never feet completely clean again. She had been sulliedmentally, physically, and emotionally. She could never again be what she had been. That thought left her feeling disconsolate and furious.

She dried off and then wrapped her wet hair in a coarse towel. There were several pairs of green scrubs folded on the top shelf of the closet. The second pair she held against her fit moderately well. The paper booties were meant to go over shoes, but she tied them onto her bare feet.

Timidly she opened the door and checked the lounge. The nurse was alone, sitting on a sofa watching a TV talk show. When she saw Jade, she stood up. "Would you like something? A Coke? Coffee?"

"No, thanks. "

"They called from the desk. The sheriff's deputy is here to talk to you."

"I'm ready."

The booties whispered along the floor. The deputy was chewing the fat with the janitor and Dr. Harvey when she and the nurse approached the emergency-room desk. The law officer pushed his hat back on his head, assumed an authoritative stance, and regarded her suspiciously.

"Miss Sperry?" "That's right."

"Please, sit down over here.

Gingerly, Jade sat on the edge of a lavender vinyl divan. He dropped into a chair facing her. Dr. Harvey remained standing at the end of the couch. The deputy, who wasn't any older than the doctor, took a small spiral notebook from the breast pocket of his uniform jacket.

"Dr. Harvey here says you claim you were raped tonight. "