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He frowned. “It has so much potential.”
Evan laughed much harder to the point he was coughing. “Do you care more about the house you lost than the woman who owns it?”
“No,” he said. “Let’s be honest, Evan. If I cared all that much I’d go build one just like it. It’s not that I don’t have the money or means to do it. I even know the layout of it and could make it completely the way I want.”
“You make a good point. One you should bring up to her when you talk again. If you talk again.”
“We will,” he said. “We have to. She isn’t the type to just walk away like that.”
“Actually, it sounds like she is. But in this case, you’re the one that left.”
18
Delicate Situation
“Liz, there is a possible broken wrist in four.”
She turned when she was told where to go next. She grabbed her laptop and moved the curtain aside, saw the woman sitting on the bed holding her hand, her head down.
“Hello,” she said. “I’m Liz. You think you might have broken your wrist? Can you tell me what happened?” She looked down at that chart on her computer. “Carolyn, right?”
“Yes,” Carolyn said, looking up. There was a bruise on the woman’s right cheek, some swelling under her eye with it. “I tripped and fell down the last few steps. I hit the wall and then landed on my wrist to catch myself.”
She let out a sigh. She’d seen and heard this way too much in her life. She’d experienced some of it herself.
Liz also knew that it was a delicate situation. Not everyone would admit what was going on, nor would they leave their husband.
She’d been one of those women, but the moment she was hit, she was out the door.
With help.
She had to remind herself of that too. She would have gone back home after work that night. After she lied about the mark on her face. The one she used a lot of foundation on to cover up so her father didn’t question her.
He didn’t seem to notice, but Abby had. There was no hiding the truth then.
“Hmm,” she said.
She was scrolling through Carolyn’s chart. There weren’t any other visits to the ER in years. The last had been stomach pains and she was diagnosed with kidney stones seven years ago.
Either this was new or it was escalating. She didn’t believe what Carolyn was saying. Not with the way the mark was on her face. The X-rays would show the break, if there was one, then they could tell if it made sense with the story.
“I thought I just sprained it,” Carolyn said. “You know, you land wrong and all. I put ice on it, but it’s not getting better. It’s actually worse.”
“When did this happen?” she asked while typing her notes.
“Yesterday morning.”
She looked at her watch. It was eleven at night. If it happened in the morning yesterday, why was Carolyn coming in over thirty-six hours later? Why in the middle of the night when she could have come hours earlier?
“Did you drive yourself here?” she asked, noting it was the right hand.
“Yes,” Carolyn said. “My husband is at work.”
Which explained some of it in her mind. “Was he home when you fell?”
“Yes,” Carolyn said. “But I didn’t think it was that big of a deal. He was going to bed and I didn’t want to worry him. He needed to sleep. I put ice on it and thought it was getting better. Last night I slept with ice on it too.”
“If you needed ice on it that much, then you should have come in then,” Liz said. “But I’m glad you’re here now. Why did you wait this late though?”
