Free The Light Who Shines by Lilo Abernathy Page A

back of the boy’s skull. “The occipital
bone was also fractured, causing brain contusions and additional hemorrhage. Abrasions
on this site of injury show fragments of asphalt embedded in the wound area.”
    Nathan pulls the sheet down further and points to the boy’s
hip. “His left pelvis is crushed, and his right pelvis has multiple fractures.
This pattern of contusions here appears to be a car’s grill pattern.” He points
to a crosshatch pattern of bloody stripes on the boy’s skin extending from his
left hip down over his left thigh.
    Nathan pulls the sheet down further still and points to the lower
left leg where the bone protrudes. “His left tibia and his left fibula both
have complete fractures and several incomplete fractures. The tibia on his
right leg has one incomplete fracture. Green paint chips were found embedded in
his thigh.”
    Nathan pauses and looks at me. “All of these injuries and
evidence so far indicate that his death was caused by impact with a passenger
vehicle driving at moderate speeds. It appears the car hit him at a slight
angle from the left. His leg was immediately broken by the bumper, and his hip
and thigh hit the grill at an angle. His forehead hit the windshield, causing instantaneous
death. At that time, I believe the driver put on his breaks, and the boy’s body
was thrown back onto the asphalt where the road impacted his skull again and
left the asphalt in the back of his head. His back side is also covered in
contusions and is embedded with asphalt.”
    I feel nausea and tension building in my stomach. It is not
that what Nathan has told me and shown me so far is too much. I’ve been doing
this for a while. It’s that I know there is still much more to come and it’s a
lot to handle at once. I ask, “Can you give me just a minute?”
    Nathan nods. “Sure. Take as much time as you need.” He
gently covers the boy’s body again with the sheet.
    I turn my back on the table and walk away. Keeping my back
to the table, I start to pace briskly, but the sound of my heels clicking on
the cold cement floor reverberates through the room and agitates me more. I halt,
turn toward the opposite corner of the room, and close my eyes. I feel the
tension built up in my body, and horror reels in the back of my mind, threatening
to overcome me. I roll my neck and do some slow, deep breathing to contain it.
When I finally restore some calm to my body, I return.
    “Okay, Doc. I’m ready. What else do you have?”
    Nathan mercifully keeps the sheet over the body for a bit
longer and says, “During my internal examination, I found that the body is well
hydrated, but the gall bladder is distended, and the stomach and intestines are
empty. The total body weight is 112 pounds, and with a height of five eleven,
that gives the deceased a BMI of 15.6. This information combined with his labs tells
me that this boy was dangerously undernourished.”
    “Can you tell how long he was without food?” I ask.
    Nathan replies, “I can tell you that he did not have food
recently, but it’s unclear if his malnourishment came from having no food at
all for a shorter period or if he had inadequate food for a longer period. The
amount of time a person can survive on little or no sustenance really depends
on their starting weight and their basic metabolic rate. I can say that the
extent of his other injuries prior to the collision would have increased his
energy requirements significantly.”
    “Okay,” I say, taking that in. I cross my arms over my chest
as if I can shield myself from the information. “What else do you have?”
    Nathan draws the sheet aside to reveal one hand and points
at the boy’s wrist. “Both wrists are completely encircled in calluses about two
inches wide. Bruising and contusions encircle the base of his hands.”
    He points to the upper arm and shoulder. “Behind the
shoulder, the teres major muscle is torn on both sides, and the ligament tissue
connecting the long head