He turned back to the screen as if it might help to keep his eyes on something clinical.
“In infants this small, the tissues and organs are extremely vulnerable. Pressure that would not seriously injure an older child can do real damage to a baby.”
My mind went blank.
Then it filled all at once with terrible, useless things.
A hand.
A body.
Someone losing control.
Someone angry.
Someone not angry but careless in the wrong way.
“Are you saying someone hurt him?”
Dr. Patel didn’t answer directly.
He did not need to.
“We’re going to treat him right away,” he said. “And because of the injury pattern, we’re required to notify child protective services.”
That phrase sent a second wave of dizziness through me.
“Child protection?”
