Sleeping Beauty (45 page)

“Would a person experiencing decreased inhibitions, an increased sensitivity to touch, and feelings of intimacy towards others also have a strong desire to touch another person?”

“They could, yes.”

“I see. Dr. Charmant, isn’t it true that sodium oxybate is also called sodium gamma hydroxyl butyrate?”

“Yes, that’s true.”

“And can you tell us what sodium gamma hydroxyl butyrate is more commonly known as?”

Brendan clenches his jaw. “GHB.”

“Dr. Charmant, were you aware that GHB is more commonly known as ‘the date-rape drug?’”

I watch him exhale through his nose, his nostrils flaring. “I was aware.”

“So,” says Lucinda, ticking them off on her thick fingers, “you were aware that sodium oxybate lowers a person’s inhibitions, gives them a heightened feeling of intimacy, and causes them to want to touch other people,
and
that it was also classified as a date-rape drug?”

Brendan looks defeated. “Yes.”

“I see. Can you tell us how sodium oxybate is administered? Is it a pill?”

“No, like I’ve said before, it’s a liquid.”

“A dark liquid…like cherry cough syrup, for example?”

“No, it’s a clear liquid.”

“Does it have an odor?”

“No.”

“Does it have any particular flavor?”

“As I’ve said before,” says Brendan with an edge to his voice, “it has a flavor similar to table salt dissolved in water.”

“If you dilute the sodium oxybate with enough water, would you be able to taste it?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never tried to dilute it with water.”

“Never?”

“No.”

“As you’re aware, Dr. Charmant,” says Lucinda, “we did have an expert witness testify two days ago that the unpleasant flavor of an incapacitating dose of sodium oxybate can easily be disguised in a full, eight-ounce glass of water. Do you recall this testimony?”

“Yes.”

“Approximately how large would you say the glass of water was that you gave to Ms. Beau on the day you were alone with her in the sleep lab?”

Brendan turns red.

Don’t lose it, don’t lose it
, I think.

“Dr. Charmant?”

“I believe I already said that my best guess is that it was an eight-ounce plastic cup.”

“I see, thank you. Dr. Charmant, had Ms. Beau eaten before she arrived at the sleep lab that morning?”

“No, not according to her intake paperwork.”

“On an empty stomach, how long does it take before sodium oxybate begins to have an effect?”

“Anywhere from a couple of minutes to ten minutes.”

“I see. On the video from the sleep lab, how long do you estimate it took from the time Ms. Beau entered a state of fearful agitation to the moment she touched your arm?”

“I don’t know.”

Lucinda sneers at him. “Would it surprise you to know that it was exactly two minutes?”

“Objection, Your Honor,” says Ben. “Dr. Charmant’s surprise or lack of surprise at the time elapsed on the video is irrelevant.”

“Sustained. Move on, Ms. Gaelic,” says the judge.

“Certainly, Your Honor,” Lucinda purrs. “Dr. Charmant, were you aware that there was a camera in the sleep lab on the day of Ms. Beau’s sleep study?”

“Yes, they’re in every room.”

“You mentioned earlier that this camera has the ability to see anything in the sleep lab, isn’t that right?”

“Yes, if it’s on and there’s someone operating it to turn it.”

“Dr. Charmant, why are you misleading me?”

“Objection!” yells Ben.

The judge nods at Ben, appearing to understand what his problem is without him elaborating. She peers at Lucinda Gaelic over her reading glasses. “Ms. Gaelic, can the defendant at least finish testifying before you charge him with perjury?”

“My apologies, Your Honor,” says Lucinda, baring her circle of teeth to the judge. “I would be happy to rephrase.” She turns back to Brendan. “Dr. Charmant, isn’t it true that there is one area in the sleep lab that the camera can’t record?”

Brendan looks puzzled for a second, but then the wrinkles on his forehead smooth out and he nods. “Yes, that’s true, I stand corrected.”

“And what area of the sleep lab is the camera unable to record?”

“The bathroom.”

“And why is that?”

“In order to give patients a place for absolute privacy while they change or shower or use the bathroom.”

“So you were aware that the cameras in the sleep lab are not set up to record a patient’s movements in the bathroom?”

“Of course I knew.”

“And when Ms. Beau made unintentional sexual advances on you in the sleep lab, you say that you decided to, ah, remove Ms. Beau from your person. Can you tell us where you carried her in order to accomplish this?”

Beside me, Rev sucks air between his teeth and makes clicking sounds in his throat. This is not a good sign.

“I carried her to the bathroom,” says Brendan.

“You said that you were concerned that Ms. Beau would hurt herself by falling on the tiles, isn’t that correct?”

“Yes.”

“You said that you were concerned that Ms. Beau would hurt her head by banging it against the tile wall, isn’t that right?”

“Yes.”

“Dr. Charmant, Ms. Beau’s brother, West Beau, testified yesterday that Ms. Beau made unintentional sexual advances on his boyfriend, Davin Wibbens, during her last episode. Do you recall his testimony?”

“Yes, I remember,” says Brendan.

How could any of us forget?
I think. Ben had to fight like hell to get the judge to allow West to testify on what Davin had told him about the “night on the couch” (as West calls it). Normally, such testimony would be considered hearsay, especially since Davin couldn’t be called to testify to the account personally; however, given Davin’s slow rate of recovery, and the fact that so much of Brendan’s defense hung on this one encounter, the judge had permitted a very narrow line of questioning.

“Do you recall where she and Mr. Wibbens were when this unfortunate encounter occurred?”

“I believe they were on the couch watching a movie.”

“Do you recall how Mr. Wibbens told West Beau that he successfully deflected Claire Beau’s advances and removed her from him?”

“Yes, Davin pushed Claire off of him onto the couch.”

“Wouldn’t it have been easier and safer to carry Ms. Beau to the couch in order to defend yourself against her advances and remove her from you?”

“No. The couch didn’t come with running water.”

Ignoring his own advice, Rev drops his face into his hand as the courtroom erupts in laughter. The judge smacks her gavel a few times and everyone quickly shuts up. No one wants to miss what’s coming next.

“Isn’t it true that you elected to take Ms. Beau to the bathroom because you
knew
that this was the place you were least likely to be seen by the camera?”

“No, that’s not true. Because if that were true, I would’ve–”

“Dr. Charmant, you have testified previously that you suspected from the first day in the clinic that Ms. Beau did, in fact, experience symptoms of hypersexuality preceding her episodes, correct?”

“That’s correct.”

“So you suspected, but you never asked when you were taking her medical history that day?”

“I did not ask, no.”

“And why was that?”

“Like I said, I was concerned that Claire was embarrassed to speak about it in front of a male physician.”

“I see. Dr. Charmant, how many times did you ask Ms. Beau in the sleep lab if she suffered from hypersexual behaviors prior to or during one of her KLS episodes?”

I feel angry tears burning in my eyes. I lean towards Rev. “Is this a good time to have an emotional outburst?”

Rev doesn’t look at me or respond. He’s too busy watching the calamity unfold.

Brendan’s stares at Lucinda, his expression frosty and furious as he realizes how he’s about to be trapped. “I believe I asked her twice.”

“And how many female physicians were present at that time?”

“There was no one present except me and Claire,” he says, his eyes flashing in anger.

“After you claimed that you didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable by forcing her to divulge this to a male physician, you asked her in an even more vulnerable situation in a bedroom with no one present but yourself?” Before he can answer her, she continues. “Isn’t it true that you asked her this very sensitive question at this very vulnerable time so you could confirm whether or not she was sufficiently incapacitated for the sexual battery that followed?”

“That’s ridiculous! I asked her because–”

“Dr. Charmant, when did you start dating Ms. Beau?”

“Objection! Relevence,” says Ben.

“Overruled.”

“I ran into her at the beach on June eighth. We went to a movie that night.”

“So would you say that this is the date you began dating Ms. Beau?”

“Yes.”

“Did you ever visit Claire Beau at her home?”

“Yes.”

She gives him a sharp look. “How many times? Once? Twice? Ten times?”

“I don’t know,” he says. “We were dating, so it was a lot. Dozens of times.”

“Did you and Ms. Beau have sexual intercourse after you met on the beach but before she was recovered from her episode?”

Brendan looks like a chameleon thrown onto a snow bank. After many seconds of silence he finally replies. “Yes.”

Lucinda shrugs. “How many times? Once? Twice? Ten times? Or should we just use your convenient catch-all phrase: ‘A lot?’”

“Objection!” Ben doesn’t have a chance to state the particular reason for his ire; the judge is apparently reading his mind on this one.

“Ms. Gaelic,” she says evenly, “if you continue to badger this witness, you will risk having a mistrial declared.”

“My apologies, Your Honor,” says Lucinda. “Dr. Charmant, were you aware that Ms. Beau was still in the middle of a KLS episode when you saw her at the beach?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“She seemed perfectly normal. She didn’t exhibit any of the symptoms KLS patients normally do: lethargy, automatic behavior, that type of thing.”

“Did you comment on this fact to her that day you saw her at the beach and went to a movie–that she appeared fully recovered, that is?

“No.”

“When did you become aware that she had not recovered from her KLS episode?”

“Davin and West made me aware shortly after that.”

“And what reason did they give for her acting so normally?”

“We all thought it was because of the new medications Dr. Pickering had prescribed her.”

“That Dr. Pickering prescribed her?”

“Yes.”

“Because you were no longer her doctor at that time?”

“That’s correct.”

“I see.” She pretends to study her acrylic nails. “Dr. Charmant, would you please tell the court who suggested to Dr. Pickering that Ms. Beau be put on carbamazepine and lithium?”

“I did, but–”

“And was this when you formally stepped down as her doctor after her stay in the sleep lab and you–your words –“never treated her again after that date?”

“Yes, but–”

“Is it common for patient’s boyfriends to make medical recommendations for their girlfriends?”

“Your Honor…” says Ben wearily. He appears defeated and doesn’t even bother standing up. “Relevance?”

The judge’s brow is knotted up. “Overruled,” she says, leaning forward in her chair like she’s starting to see where Lucinda Gaelic is going with her questions. “The witness may answer.”

“Oh, this is
not
good,” Rev murmurs.

“No,” says Brendan. “I suppose it’s not common, but it’s not against the law either.”

“What do you mean, it isn’t against the law?”

“It’s discouraged, but not illegal for medical doctors to provide care or prescribe medications to their family members or significant others as long as they’ve also examined them in the same way they would every other patient before doing so. Once I saw Claire’s results from the twenty-four hour polysomnography that Dr. Pickering performed in the sleep lab, I didn’t have any doubt that she was suffering from Klein-Levin Syndrome, and I made the appropriate medication recommendations at that time to Dr. Pickering.”

“So you
were
acting in the role of her doctor at the time that you made this recommendation, isn’t that correct?”

Brendan looks troubled, like he’s just walked into a room, only to have the door slammed behind him and the lights turned off. “No, I wasn’t her doctor, but I was–”

“Dr. Charmant, do you recognize these words?” says Lucinda, handing him a piece of paper.

Brendan glances at the paper before placing it on the ledge of the witness box. “It’s the Hippocratic Oath.”

“And are you familiar with the Hippocratic Oath that all doctors take upon entering the medical profession?”

“Of course.”

“Can you read the highlighted passage as it pertains to the topic of romantic relationships?”

He frowns, giving Lucinda a withering stare. He hands the paper back to her without looking at it and recites from memory: “‘Whatever houses I may visit, I will come for the benefit of the sick, remaining free of all intentional injustice, of all mischief and in particular of sexual relations with both female and male persons, be they free or slaves.’”

Gaelic hides her surprise only with difficulty. She sifts through the notes in her hand, as if the script has gone off-track and she’s not sure who dropped their lines. She quickly recovers. “Very good,” she says in a condescending voice, like Brendan just spelled the winning word in a spelling bee. “Dr. Charmant, you just stated that you were made aware by both West Beau and Davin Webbins that Ms. Beau was still in the middle of an episode at the time you met her on the beach, correct?”

“Yes.”

“By this time you’d already determined that Ms. Beau suffered from Klein-Levin Syndrome, a disease that had, in the past, left her with days and even weeks of total memory loss?”

“Yes.”

“And yet you continued to pursue a relationship with her, even going so far as to have sexual relations with her during her episode, isn’t that right?”

Brendan looks like he’s gritting his teeth. “Yes.”