“Excuse me?” the Sergeant asked, confused. “Doctor Evans, this is a domestic assault case. The husband—”

“The husband has a laceration on his scalp consistent with a defensive blow,” Evans interrupted, cutting through the air like a scalpel. “But the child has grab marks on her humerus that are at least three days old. And the woman…” He pointed at me. “She has a defensive fracture healing on her ulnar bone—I can see the swelling from here—and a scar on her neck consistent with being thrown against a sharp edge, probably a table corner, maybe five years ago.”

Richard stood up, his face flushing red. “Who do you think you are? I am a partner at—”

“I don’t care who you are,” Evans snarled, stepping into Richard’s personal space. “I speak for the bodies that can’t speak for themselves. And right now, these two living bodies are screaming louder than any corpse I’ve ever examined.”

He turned to the Sergeant. “I am invoking my authority under the State Emergency Protection Act. I demand an immediate forensic medical examination for both the mother and the child. Right now. Before you file a single piece of paper.”