Seconds after the women are ushered into an exam room, a red-faced man forcibly enters the room and draws a chair up beside Lucy. He clamps a tight grip on her forearm and rudely dismisses Lucy’s sister, who slinks out without saying a word. Nurse Holmes’s antenna goes up. Could this visit be related to domestic violence?

This is the information Nurse Holmes gathers: Lucy is 26 years old, is five months pregnant, and has received no prenatal care. She moved to the area with her four year old son, following what she calls "a rough separation" from her husband. She lives in the basement of her sister’s house, waiting for her divorce and alimony to be finalized. The father of her unborn child, Frank, is the man with her in the ER. When Nurse Holmes asks Lucy why she is seeking medical care, Lucy and Frank exchange heated looks and then Lucy states she feels she may have a urinary tract infection. The urine specimen Lucy produces is bloody. The pelvic exam uncovers perineal abrasions, swelling of the labia, and vaginal tears. There are bruises along a pelvic ridge and across the pubis.

To be continued...