Authors: Elle Lothlorien
“Yes.”
“And did she return?”
“Not immediately.”
“Did you wait for her?”
“No. There’s a nurse’s station down the hall from the sleep lab. I called down there and asked for a female nurse.”
“And did she assist you with drying Ms. Beau or undressing her?”
Brendan jerks his head back in shock. “No! I left the room while the nurses–there were two female nurses and the female sleep tech in there by this point. I asked them to get her dry and change her into a hospital gown.”
“So you were never present while Ms. Beau was in a state of undress?”
“Of course not.”
“At what point did you go back into the room?”
“I never went back in.”
“Never?”
“Never. I called Dr. Pickering and explained what happened. She came down and took over Claire’s care.”
“Did you tell Dr. Pickering everything that happened?”
“I did.”
“And what did she say?”
“She said that she would take over as Claire’s attending physician. I removed myself from her care immediately and formally, and I never treated her after that day.”
“Dr. Charmant, if the sleep technician hadn’t been busy buttering her bagel in the hospital cafeteria, would it have been just as likely that
she
would have been the object of Ms. Beau’s hypersexual display?”
“Yes, it would have been just as likely.”
“Did you know that the incident in the sleep lab was being recorded?”
“I did not.”
“You didn’t turn the camera on?”
“No.”
“So Dr. Pickering was never made aware of the footage either?”
“Not by me since I didn’t know it existed myself.”
“Dr. Charmant, is it your medical opinion that Ms. Beau’s hypersexual display the day of the sleep study were due to the effects of taking sodium oxybate?”
“No, in my medical opinion her hypersexual display was due to the KLS episode she was entering.”
“At any point after Ms. Beau entered her KLS episode did you advise that she discontinue taking the sodium oxybate?”
“No.”
“And why not?”
“I was no longer her physician. It wasn’t my place to make those types of recommendations.”
“Did Dr. Pickering ever recommend that she stop taking sodium oxybate?”
“Yes.”
“And did Ms. Beau discontinue it?”
“Her brother was aware of Dr. Pickering’s recommendation. As far as I could see she did stop taking it.”
“Did you ever give her sodium oxybate yourself?”
“Never.”
“Did you ever give her any of the other sedatives she was prescribed when she was being treated for narcolepsy and cataplexy?
“Never.”
“Do you know how many doses were left in the bottle of sodium oxybate when Dr. Pickering recommended that she discontinue taking it?”
“There were no doses left.”
“How would you know that if you never gave her the sodium oxybate yourself?”
“I picked up the bottle of sodium oxybate and shook it. It was empty.”
“Why did you check the amount of sodium oxybate she had left?”
“Well, we were getting ready to move, and I was helping her pack, which is why I found them in the bathroom in the first place. And then I was afraid of having all those bottles of sedatives sitting around.”
“Why were you concerned about having them sit around?”
“I knew it was likely that Claire could and would have other episodes in the future. I thought it would be best to dispose of any that she no longer needed.”
“And once you realized that the sodium oxybate bottle was empty, what did you do?”
“I picked up each of the prescription bottles. They were all empty.”
“What did you do with this information? Did you tell anyone about it?”
“No one was around at the time. I’d planned to ask Claire or her brother, but I forgot about it in the commotion of the move.”
“What day did you touch the empty bottles?”
“Just before we moved in together at Andy Gordon’s guest house on October seventh.”
“Did you transport the empty bottles to your new home?”
“No, I left them in her bathroom at her old apartment.”
“Thank you, Dr. Charmant. No further questions, Your Honor.” With one hand he releases the button of his suit coat and walks back to the defense table with a spring in his step. “Your witness,” he calls to Lucinda as he passes her.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Lucinda Gaelic rises and approaches the witness box. “Dr. Charmant, you stated in your testimony that you were not attracted to Ms. Beau when you saw her in the clinic, isn’t that right?”
“That’s right.”
“You also stated that you were not attracted to her before she arrived at the sleep lab, is that right?”
“Correct.”
“When you were asked if you were attracted to her after she arrived, you said”–here Lucinda reads from a legal pad–“‘I still wouldn’t have used the word ‘attraction’…is that correct?”
“Yes, that’s what I said.”
Lucinda Gaelic glances back at her paper. “Dr. Charmant, what was Ms. Beau wearing when you met her in the hospital clinic the first time you saw her?”
I suck in a lungful of air.
No!
I think. At the same time I grab Rev’s knee in a panic.
“I believe she was wearing a white t-shirt and shorts and pink flip-flops,” says Brendan.
I slump down on the bench.
“I know,” whispers Rev as he removes my kung-fu grip from his leg. “He definitely shouldn’t have answered that.”
“I see,” says Lucinda. “And was she wearing makeup the first time you saw her?”
“No, I don’t believe so.”
“And can you tell me what Ms. Beau was wearing the day you saw her in the sleep lab?”
“Objection, Your Honor,” says Ben (too little, too late in my opinion). “What’s the relevance of this?”
Lucinda Gaelic bats her too-dark eyelashes. “I’m simply trying to demonstrate that Ms. Beau’s appearance was dramatically different the second time Dr. Charmant saw her in the sleep lab.”
“Dr. Charmant has already testified to that fact,” says Ben.
“If you’ll permit me a little bit of latitude, Your Honor,” says Lucinda with a fake smile, “I can clarify the relevance in a few simple questions.”
“A very little latitude, Ms. Gaelic,” says the judge with a frown. “You have five questions to make your point.”
“Dr. Charmant? You testified earlier that when you saw Ms. Beau in the sleep lab, you thought that she was dressed in ‘very flattering clothes.’ Can you tell me what Ms. Beau was wearing the day you saw her in the sleep lab?”
Brendan looks reluctant to answer, like he’s beginning to see where this is headed. “She had on shorts and some sort of halter top.”
“What type of footwear was she wearing, do you remember?”
“I believe she was wearing sandals.”
“Sandals? Like you’d wear to the beach?”
“No, they–I don’t know what the word is for it–they were sort of like high heels but not the regular kind of heels.”
“I believe women would call those cork-heeled platform shoes,” says Lucinda. “Does that description sound apt?”
“Yes.”
“Was Ms. Beau wearing makeup when you saw her in the sleep lab?”
“Yes she was, but–”
“Your Honor,” says Ben, “Ms. Gaelic has used her five questions, and I still fail to see the relevance of this line of questioning.”
“Your Honor,” says Lucinda with a frown, “it took three questions just to get Dr. Charmant to describe the footwear Ms. Beau was wearing.”
“Overruled, Mr. McCarthy. Ms. Gaelic, you have three more questions to make your point.”
Lucinda looks at the paper in her hand. “Dr. Charmant, you testified that, to your knowledge, Ms. Beau was not aware of your opinion of her appearance, correct?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“And yet just a few minutes before that, Mr. McCarthy asked you: ‘Did you tell her that you thought she looked different?’ and you replied: ‘No, it took me a few seconds to realize who she was. She noticed my expression, and I explained to her that I didn’t recognize her at first, that was all.’”
Lucinda looks up from her pad. “On the video footage from the sleep lab that we all watched yesterday, you’re heard to say to Ms. Beau after she walks in, quote: “Sorry, you look different. I almost didn’t recognize you when you came in.” She smiles that toothy, disingenuous smile of hers. “So which is it, Dr. Charmant? Did you make Ms. Beau aware of your opinion of her appearance, or didn’t you?”
Brendan doesn’t answer. He looks cornered. Finally he says, “I guess I did in a general way, but–”
Lucinda turns to shoot a look at the jury that says
Are you believing this guy?
before barreling full-steam ahead. “Dr. Charmant, by your own admission, you admired Ms. Beau for standing up to you in the hospital clinic,
and
your mind registered that she was a beautiful woman. In fact, you were so aware of her physical appearance–”
“Objection!” says Ben. “Is there a question in here somewhere?”
“Sustained.”
“I’ll rephrase. Dr. Charmant, are you trying to convince the court that Ms. Beau showed up at the sleep clinic dressed in a halter top, shorts and platform heels that were so memorable that you can tell me about the details of her outfit even today…
and you weren’t attracted to her
?”
“Objection!” yells Ben.
Lucinda has a wedge in the crack, and a simple objection isn’t going to stop her. “That your mind not only registered that she was a beautiful woman, but that she looked so remarkably different that you found the need to comment to her on it before ogling her ten seconds…
and yet you still claim that you weren’t attracted to her?
”
“The prosecution is badgering the witness!” say Ben.
“Ms. Gaelic!” thunders the judge.
Semi-circles of sweat stain the underarms of Lucinda Gaelic’s pink silk blouse. She’s wheezing with the effort of her rant, and looks frankly relieved by the interruption.
“The objection is sustained,” says the judge. “The jury will disregard the last two questions.”
Tears spring to my eyes. “The jury won’t forget that,” I murmur to Rev. “No matter what the judge says.”
“Give him a chance to fix it on the redirect,” says Rev, who is furiously scribbling something on the legal pad on his lap.
Lucinda meanders back to the prosecution table to take a drink of water and catch her breath. “Dr. Charmant,” she says, once she’s stopped huffing and puffing like a linebacker, “wasn’t it your responsibility as Ms. Beau’s physician to get a complete medical history from her when she came to see you on May sixteenth?”
“Yes. Dr. Pickering and I did take a complete medical history from her on May sixteenth.”
“I see. Now, you testified earlier that you felt it was important to determine as soon as possible if a KLS patient had a history of hypersexual displays, correct?”
“That’s correct.”
“And you stated that the reason for this was because it was of paramount importance that the caretakers of the patient be educated and trained on how to deal with hypersexual displays, should they arise, in order to prevent injury to the patient or to the caretakers, correct?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
And you testified that you didn’t ask her because you thought she might be embarrassed to disclose this information, and that you felt it would be best to have Dr. Pickering, who is a woman, discuss this with her, isn’t that right?”
“That’s correct.”
“How many days elapsed between the time you saw Ms. Beau for the first time in the clinic and her stay in the sleep lab?”
“Two days.”
“And during those forty-eight hours, was Ms. Beau being cared for at home by, say, a registered nurse, or some other medical professional familiar with Klein-Levin Syndrome?”
My heart sinks. Beside me, I hear Rev curse under his breath.
“No.”
“And do you know who was caring for her during this time?”
Brendan clenches his jaw, no doubt understanding the trap he’s walking into. “I believe her brother, West, and his boyfriend, Davin, were keeping an eye on her.”
“Because they knew that the cataplexy attacks that she was experiencing were signs that she would soon enter another KLS episode?”
“That’s my guess, yes.”
“So you thought that it was critically important that family members be informed about hypersexuality displays, and trained on how to deal with them, and yet you failed to ask her this very important question, correct?”
“Yes, but–”
“You allowed her brother and her brother’s boyfriend to care for her, knowing there was a risk that Ms. Beau could injure them, or she could in turn be injured by them during a hypersexuality display, correct?”
“That’s not what–”
“Yes, or no, Dr. Charmant.”
“If I had known–”
Lucinda bares her teeth to the judge. “Your Honor, would you please instruct the witness to answer with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no?’”
The judge nods. “Dr. Charmant, please answer only with the information requested and nothing more unless asked.”
“Yes, Your Honor,” says Brendan.
“Again,” says Lucinda, flush from her temporary victory. “You allowed them to care for her, knowing there was a risk that someone could get hurt, correct?”
Brendan sighs. “Yes.”
“Thank you. Now, you said that sodium oxybate can have effects on individuals similar to alcohol intoxication, correct?”
“That’s correct.”
“You mentioned loss of inhibitions, extreme sleepiness, correct?”
“Yes, those are the two main ones.”
“And were you aware that sodium oxybate is known on the street as ‘Liquid Ecstasy,” or ‘Liquid X?’”
“I was aware, yes,” says Brendan.
“Can you tell us why it is often called ‘Liquid Ecstasy?’”
“Because it can have some similar effects as the street drug called Ecstasy.”
“Such as?”
Brendan sighs. “Such as euphoria and increased sensitivity to touch.”
“‘Increased sensitivity to touch?’” Lucinda repeats. “What about feelings of intimacy for others?”
“Yes, possibly.”