Page 3 of Heal
"Lisa."
"Lisa, I'm Beau or Doctor Maddington. You can call me whichever you're more comfortable with. And this is Bobby."
Lisa glanced at Bobby and nodded.
It was telling that the tall, thick, black man with tattoos up and down his arms was less intimidating to Lisa than the sixty-year-old, gray-haired Fran.
"Are you hurt anywhere? Any injuries or pain?" Beau asked.
The girl closed her eyes.
"None of this is your fault, Lisa. We're here to help you and collect any evidence that can help us make those who hurt you go to prison where they can't hurt anyone again. I know enough already that you don't have to tell me much, but I do want to make sure if you're hurt, we take care of it." Beau didn't rush Lisa. Any sudden movement, any forcefulness would probably trigger her and cause her to withdraw even more.
"My legs. She bit my legs." Lisa turned her head away, sobbing softly.
"Thank you for telling me. I'm going to remove the blanket and look at your legs, okay?" Beau didn't move until Lisa gave him a slight nod.
Gently, he eased the blanket from the bottom up, keeping the top half of her covered. He wasn't shocked to find her naked. Sadly, most of the children he treated for sexual assault came in naked. He kept her privates covered for the time being as he gently pushed her legs apart to look at her inner thighs.
His temper flared as he took in the teeth marks and broken skin from the bites. They lined her thighs and even higher. He would swab them in time, but first, he needed to be sure there weren't other injuries. "We'll take care of those. Are there any other injuries?"
Lisa shook her head. "I don't think so."
Beau nodded. "So we have all the evidence we can get, I'm going to do a full exam on you. That means that I will be doing a vaginal and rectal swab. Are you okay with that?" He was always upfront about everything he would do, even if the child was young. He needed them to have as much control as he could let them.
"Do you have to?" Lisa looked embarrassed.
"We do. If you're not comfortable with me doing—"
"No, not a female." Lisa's eyes went wide as she stared up at him.
"Okay." He rested his hand over hers. "I know this is uncomfortable, but I'll make it as quick as I can." He glanced at Bobby, glad the nurse was staying silent near Lisa's head.
He would perform the exam as if she'd been raped by both a female and a male, though he wasn't sure. It was unlikely that the male hadn't touched her. Then again, he didn't know if there even was a male attacker. He just assumed so from hearing about the boy's injuries. It easily could have been just one female attacker. It wasn't his place to ask Lisa about the attack. He was here to make sure she wasn't hurt.
He rushed through the exam, carefully collecting any evidence he could, making sure to swab the bite marks and other injuries he saw for possible DNA. He could tell she had been raped, but other than making sure there was no serious damage and getting what he needed for the rape kit, he left her alone. A gynecologist would handle the rest.
"Okay, Lisa, I'm finished. You don't have any pain anywhere else? Your head, stomach?"
"No. I just want to make sure my brother is okay." She went to sit up.
"I promise you we are going to take care of your brother, but he's going to need to be examined first. We'll let you see him the moment you can." Beau stood by her side. "I know how hard this is all going to be, but people will have questions, and I know you don't want to talk about what happened, but the more information you give the police and social workers you're going to be talking to, the more likely whoever hurt you and your brother will never get out of prison."
Lisa nodded, but didn't look at him.
"Would you be more comfortable with Bobby being your nurse for the next hour or so while we check on your brother?" He wasn't about to tell her that she would probably be admitted to the hospital for the night.
"Please." Lisa closed her eyes. "No women."
What the hell had been done to her to make her so scared of women? Beau smiled. "Bobby will take good care of you, and I'll let everyone know that you only wish to talk to men, okay?"
"Thanks." Lisa swallowed hard. "Can I have water?"
Bobby glanced at Beau and when he gave a nod, the nurse stepped closer. "Why don't we get you to a comfortable place first, then I'll get you some water or juice. We might even be able to find some ice cream unless Dr. Maddington stole it all."
Beau laughed. "I only had one cup. There were plenty more in the freezer. Bobby will look and see what is available. Try not to worry about your brother and the others. I'm going to go check on them now and I'll be in to talk to you as soon as I know anything."
Lisa nodded.
