Saving Meghan(82)

Nash did not appear convinced. “Isn’t Meghan deathly afraid of needles because of all the tests and treatments she’s received? Tests and treatments, I might add, that were wholly unnecessary and driven entirely by the mother.”

“It’s your opinion they were unnecessary,” Zach said.

“And that of the court,” Singer added.

“It’s not an official opinion yet, Knox,” Zach countered. “There’s been no formal ruling. I’m merely postulating that while it’s rare for a father to have this particular mental health problem, it’s not unprecedented. For someone with Munchausen’s, the attention Meghan’s case is generating would be highly addictive, which could explain why he seems so keen on perpetuating the conflict, fighting against a test that could prove a mito diagnosis rather than being open to exploring all treatment possibilities.”

“It’s always a mito diagnosis with you, Zach.”

“Are we going there, Knox?” The dream had put Zach on edge, and he was not sure he could restrain himself if pushed. “I’m not going to question my findings or talk about my other patients. This isn’t the forum.”

CEO or not, Knox Singer was not someone to openly challenge. Zach had done more than tread on thin ice; he had stomped on it, begging for it to give way.

“Zach, let me be very clear about something,” Knox said, his hooded eyes deepening. “Becky Gerard is our problem, not her husband.”

“You’re not even going to consider the possibility?” Zach asked.

“I think your judgment here, if I may be so forward, is a bit suspect,” Nash said.

“In what way?” Zach asked.

“Becky Gerard has a certain sway with male doctors,” Nash said flatly.

Zach’s eyes narrowed into slits. “Are you implying that I’m … what, smitten with her?”

“Are you?” Singer’s tone was serious.

“No,” Zach said.

“As part of their investigation, DCF has spoken with nurses elsewhere who have had interactions with Becky. They’ve found a pattern with her. She gains favors by being, let’s just say, generous with her attention.”

Zach sent Amanda a look of pure disgust. “You really think that little of me?”

“You may not even be aware,” Nash offered.

Singer rolled back his broad shoulders. “What I think,” he said, “is that we’ve got a real shit storm on our hands, Zach, and it’s partly your fault. You’ve filled Becky’s head with this idea that Meghan has mito.”

“Excuse me, Knox,” Zach said, his voice a few ticks more than he had intended. “But I didn’t fill anybody’s head with anything. I’m using differential diagnosis to come to a conclusion, and I’ve yet to rule out mito as a possible cause of Meghan Gerard’s symptoms.”

“Either way,” Knox said dismissively, “we’ve got ourselves a major distraction, and you’re doing nothing to ameliorate the problem. Now, you can either make a concerted effort to get Becky Gerard to back off her crusade and let the courts do their job, or you can pull your résumé together, because you won’t be working here for long.”

Singer stood and left the room. With that, the meeting was adjourned.





CHAPTER 38





BECKY


It was just after ten in the morning when Becky entered the busy lobby of the Edward W. Brooke Courthouse in Downtown Boston. After passing through security, Becky took the elevator to the fourth floor, where she paced the gleaming granite-covered hallway outside the judge’s chambers, waiting for Kelly London to arrive. Becky grew more anxious as the minutes passed.

All of the courtrooms were booked for other cases, but Judge Trainer, aware of the urgency, had made special arrangements to hold this evidentiary hearing in her private chambers. Few judges conducted lobby conferences these days—the legal term for a type of sidebar conference typically done in open court with the involved parties only. The private nature of a lobby conference, Kelly had explained to Becky, is what made it possible to conduct the hearing outside a courtroom. That was all well and good, but Kelly was running late, and the door to the judge’s chambers would open at any moment. Becky was not prepared to make her case for the biopsy without Kelly’s help.

Andrea Leers had recused herself from these proceedings due to a conflict of interest. She represented the unit of Becky and Carl, not Becky’s interests alone. Becky had given some consideration to hiring an attorney but saw no reason. She had the ultimate weapon on her side: Kelly London, the person Judge Trainer herself had appointed to head up the court investigation.

The elevator chimed and out stepped Carl, dressed to impress in a tailored gray Armani suit. It was the first time in two days Becky had seen her husband, and the unsparingly harsh look he sent her way erased any lingering doubts about her decision to leave him.

Instead of withering under his stare, her resolve was strengthened by Carl’s overt hostility. Even so, it was difficult for Becky to reconcile the man she had once loved with the determined adversary he had become.

How have we come to this? Becky asked herself. She thought they’d weathered the harshest storm possible with Sammy. If they could survive that, she’d believed, nothing could tear them apart.