Saving Meghan(54)

Zach felt a heavy tightness in his chest, not only because he was Becky and Carl’s best hope for getting their daughter back but also because he was facing off against the hospital CEO. Zach and Knox Singer had already exchanged a few tense words in the hallway before the hearing got underway. Zach replayed that exchange in his mind, trying to decide if his employee badge would still get him access to the pediatric floor tomorrow. It was fifty-fifty at best. The memory faded as the judge entered the courtroom.

“All rise for Judge Trainer!” the court clerk announced as a thin-boned woman draped in a black robe climbed a short flight of stairs to her sacred perch. She had an angular face that enhanced a severe look. Her wavy hair, brindled with a variety of dyes, was graying at the temples. Wire-rimmed glasses dangled from a lanyard draped around her wiry neck.

“Please be seated,” Judge Trainer said as she got settled. “All right, good morning, everyone. I’ve read the DCF affidavit, and I have reviewed some of the exhibits including the DCF 51A and 51B reports and all of the medical records. Is there anything to add before we get underway?”

Ms. Leers stood first. “No, Your Honor,” she said before retaking her seat.

The opposing attorney stood as well. “No, Your Honor,” she said.

And with that, the hearing was underway.

First to go to the witness stand was the DCF investigator, Annabel Hope. She recounted her conversations with various witnesses for the court, as well as her consult with White’s in-house medical experts. From that alone, she had made her decision to file an affidavit in support of the request for temporary custody. In her cross-examination, Leers made the point that Annabel Hope had never spoken to the parents or Dr. Fisher, so her decision did not take into account other critical viewpoints.

“I was obligated under law to act expeditiously based on the information I could obtain. With Dr. Fisher being out of town at a conference, it was not feasible for me to conduct that interview. In regards to the parents, we were concerned the mother might try to”—Ms. Hope cleared her throat—“act in a way that would not be in the child’s best interest.”

And with those final words, Ms. Hope was excused from the witness stand.

The lawyer representing DCF, a young woman who spoke with more confidence than her years or experience should have allowed, called Dr. Nash to the witness stand. Zach noticed Becky tense up as Nash took her seat, but Carl showed no outward signs of hostility toward the woman who for all intents and purposes had kidnapped their daughter. In fact, he showed no real emotion at all. His eyes weren’t red from crying. His jaw was not tense from clenching. He looked strangely relaxed and equally detached from his wife—not even an arm placed in comfort around Becky’s back, no hand holding hers. As far as Zach could tell, there might as well have been an aisle separating the two spouses.

Nash sat primly in the witness box, looking reserved, as if somehow that conveyed her impartiality. She began with the case history, starting with Meghan’s referral from Dr. Fisher’s office.

“She presented with new and unusual symptoms—nausea and blurred vision—that did not fit with Dr. Fisher’s initial diagnosis of mitochondrial disease.”

Nash described those symptoms in more detail for the record. The opposing attorney’s next questions covered Dr. Nash’s growing suspicion.

“In a typical situation, a mother would be relieved to hear that her child might not have a life-threatening disease. It would be akin to a parent thinking a child had cancer, only to find out later the tumor was benign. But Mrs. Gerard was not relieved. In fact, she was extremely agitated and pushed hard for more tests.”

Nash then recounted her contentious meeting with Zach, which had led to her decision to bring Dr. Levine in for his consult. Her testimony took most of forty minutes.

Andrea Leers delivered her cross-examination to a tension-filled room. Across the aisle, Zach spied Dr. Levine gnawing on his fingernails like a beaver takes to a piece of wood.

“Did you know Dr. Fisher was going to be out of town for a mitochondrial conference when you phoned Becky with this request for an emergency exam?”

“Yes, I did.”

“And why didn’t you wait until Dr. Fisher returned before making that call?”

The opposing attorney was on her feet in a flash. “Objection, immaterial,” she said.

“Your Honor, the question shows forethought on the parts of Drs. Nash and Levine in that they knew without Dr. Fisher, it would be easier to lure Becky Gerard to the hospital for that emergency exam. That sort of planning suggests the possibility of bias prior to Dr. Levine’s exam.”

Touché, thought Zach, who was mightily impressed with Leers’s thinking.

“Overruled,” the judge said, directing her attention to Nash. “You may answer the question.”

“I was concerned for Meghan’s well-being,” Nash replied, calm as could be. “And I did not want to wait for the consult.”

“But you waited two days until Dr. Fisher went out of town to make that phone call to Becky.”

The call record had been officially submitted to the court as evidence.

“Dr. Levine’s schedule did not allow for an earlier consult.”

“Even though it was an emergency in your mind, even though you believed Meghan was in immediate danger, did you intentionally wait until Dr. Fisher was away at the mitochondrial conference to call Becky Gerard and request that she bring Meghan to White Memorial for an emergency consult.