Charlene clutched the frog in both hands. Tears trembled at the edge of her lashes.
The reaction was not lost on Kim. She sat back down on the girl's bed and took a much smaller hand in one of hers. "Hey now, none of that." Kim gently stroked the girl's hair. "It's okay. I'll be right outside the door with Dr. McKenna for a few minutes. I won't leave until your dad gets back. Okay?"
Charlene gave her a watery smile and nodded.
"Good girl."
* * *
"How's she doing?" Jess asked as soon as they were out of earshot. Her gaze darted around the area, checking to make sure they would not be over heard.
Kim positioned herself where she could keep an eye on Charlene through the open doorway. "She's scared and confused. But she's going to be okay. I contacted a colleague, Dr. Kate Dean.
She's part of a private practice group. Her specialty is working with children in crisis. Kate agreed to see Charlene tomorrow."
Jess's eyebrows shot up. "How did you get the parents to agree to that?" Having dealt with the parents, the mother specifically, Jess knew what a hard sell that must have been. Especially since the mother claimed it was an accidental poisoning.
Kim let out a heavy sigh. "It wasn't easy. Mrs. Kessler kept insisting it was all much ado about nothing. It was just an accident." Kim nodded at Jess's disbelieving grunt. "I couldn't make a dent with Mrs. Kessler and Charlene wouldn't talk with her mother there. I finally managed to convince Mr. Kessler to talk to me alone." Kim met Jess's gaze. "You called it right. He was really scared. I told him this was a cry for help from his daughter. Once I started talking about what might happen next time if he wasn't lucky enough to be there... he crumbled and told me what really happened. I got the rest of the story from Charlene."
"I knew it wasn't an accident," Jess said. "Why the hell did they make up that story?"
"Mrs. Kessler convinced her husband that family services would take Charlene away if they found out she took the pills on purpose."
Jess scowled. "Damn. So she is actively suicidal?" It was so hard to believe with such a young girl. What the hell is going on with this family? She shifted position so she could look into Charlene's room. The little girl was lying quietly in the bed, playing with the frog.
"No. It wasn't an accident," Kim said with a shake of her head. "But it wasn't a true suicide attempt either. Charlene took the pills knowing that her father would come looking for her in a few minutes when she didn't come down for dinner."
"But why? Why would she do that?" Jess blew out a breath. "It's not something I would expect a nine-year-old to even think of."
Kim's scowl matched Jess's earlier one. "That's because she didn't. Charlene's best friend's older sister gave her the idea. Told her it was a way to make her parents pay attention to her."
Jess scrubbed her hands over her face. "Maybe you better start from the beginning. What the hell is going on with this family?"
"Okay. It's complicated. Parents are getting a divorce. They didn't think Charlene knew — she does. Mom has a boyfriend, and so does Dad. They —"
"Whoa... wait, back up. Mother has a boyfriend and Dad has a girlfriend..."
Blond curls bounced when Kim shook her head. "Nope. I told you it was complicated. Mom has a boyfriend and Dad has a boyfriend. Though not the same man," Kim added with a slight grin.
Jess rolled her eyes. Cripes. Complicated indeed. "Okay, I'm with you so far."
"Long story short..." Kim snorted. "Or as short as I can make it. Mrs. Kessler wants a divorce, money, no responsibility, and plans on sending Charlene to boarding school. Mr. Kessler wants Charlene but is petrified that if his wife finds out about his boyfriend, he'll never get to see her again. Charlene is caught in the middle. She wants to be with her dad. She's terrified of being sent to boarding school. She is totally dominated and controlled by her mother. Mrs. Kessler is using Charlene as a pawn to manipulate her husband."
Wow. She got all that in less than two hours? "What a mess!" Although appalled by the situation, Jess was very impressed by Kim's expert handling of a bad situation. Despite the parents' problems, Kim had convinced them to get Charlene the treatment she needed. She's good. Though, obviously not the person to try and keep secrets around. A shaft of apprehension struck. Jess shook the troubling feeling away.
"Tell me about it," Kim said. "Cases like this are why I know I would never make a good child psychiatrist. I'd be too focused on strangling the parents."
Jess gave Kim's shoulder a quick squeeze. "You're a great psychiatrist — period. I didn't get a chance to say anything earlier. I don't know how you ended up covering the ER this afternoon instead of Roberts, but thank you. I really appreciate your help."
Kim smiled brightly. "Thanks, Jess. But I have to admit in this particular situation, it was easier than usual. Mr. Kessler was desperate for someone to talk to. Usually it would take weeks to pry out this kind of information."
Jess nodded and offered a warm smile. "Well, I better let you get back to Charlene. Where are the parents anyway?"
"Mrs. Kessler went home. Mr. Kessler is getting something to eat. He's going to stay the night with Charlene. I promised I'd stick around until he got back." Kim glanced at her watch. It was well past shift change. "Are you working a double again?"
"No. Thankfully, all the patients we got from the crash were minor injuries. I just wanted to follow up with you before I headed out."
Kim hesitated just a moment before asking, "Thor at daycare today?"
"Yeah. I need to get him before they close." Jess grinned. "I'll tell him you asked about him. He's looking forward to our jog on Saturday." And so am I.
A delighted smile lit Kim's face. "Me too."
Jess spotted Mr. Kessler heading for them. "I better go. Thanks again." With a quick wave, Jess turned and walked away. I wonder if I could convince her to cover the ER full-time?
CHAPTER 15
STEPPING BACK INTO the ER proper, Jess let the sights and sounds ease her lingering tension. A brief smile played across her face when she spotted what had become a familiar sight in the ER over the last week. Kim. She was sitting at the computer workstation. Just the thought of her was enough to wash away Jess's remaining stress.
Jess stopped and leaned against the counter of the nurses' station. "Dr. Donovan," she said by way of greeting.
Kim looked up from the chart she was working on and smiled. "I was beginning to think you weren't working today."
"Believe me, I'd have much rather been here than where I was."
Eyebrow quirked in question, Kim asked, "And where was that?"
"Quarterly budget meeting... chaired by Dr. Rodman."
Kim's face scrunched up as if she had bitten into a lemon. "You have my sympathy."
Jess knew that Kim's initial encounter with Rodman had left her with a less than stellar impression of the man. A small laugh escaped. Jess quickly squelched it when she noticed Penny watching from farther down the counter.
Jess glanced up at the patient status board. "Have things been pretty quiet?"
"So far." Kim mock scowled at Jess. "Nothing compared to last Friday."
"That did get a little out of hand," Jess said with a grimace. Kim had never explained why she covered the ER in Roberts's place last Friday, but Jess had been grateful for her presence.
Kim's hands went to her hips. Her eyebrows shot up. "A little!"
Jess held up her hands in surrender. "Okay, it was total pandemonium." After a fraternity initiation gone bad, the ER had been swamped with inebriated college students, their parents, and the police. It was not something that psych would have normally been called to the ER for, but Kim had pitched right in. Her help in keeping the chaos under control and counseling parents and students alike had been invaluable. Get her off this subject, or you'll never convince her to cover the ER full-time. "Are you busy right now?"