“You do not have to touch someone to be sued for assault. The plaintiff only has to believe you are about to injure him in some way. Were you in his office yelling at him?”

“I suppose,” Jack admitted.

“Did you threaten to have him arrested for killing his patient?”

“I suppose,” Jack said sheepishly.

“You suppose!” Bingham echoed with heightened scorn, momentarily throwing up his arms toward the ceiling in exasperation. Then, raising his voice, he yelled, “I’ll tell you what I think it is: It’s an egregious misuse of official authority. I have the mind to kick your ass outta here and put you on unpaid administrative leave until this mess is sorted out.”

A chill went down Jack’s spine. If he was put on leave, his lifeline to emotional sanity would be cut. He’d have to stay home, and Laurie would have to come to work instead. He’d have to assume responsibility for taking care of JJ. Oh my God! Jack voiced inwardly. He suddenly felt desperate, even more than he’d been feeling up until then. The last time he’d been in a similar circumstance facing Bingham’s wrath, he didn’t care about himself. But now he couldn’t afford to be self-destructive. His family needed him. He couldn’t get depressed. Bingham was right; it was a mess.

Bingham noisily took in a deep breath and blew it out through pursed lips. He looked up at Calvin, who still glared down at Jack. “What do you think, Calvin?” Bingham asked. His voice had calmed to near normal.

“What do I think about what?” Calvin demanded. “Whether we put this asshole on administrative leave or beat him to a bloody pulp?”

“You met with the general counsel, not I,” Bingham said. “What was her opinion about the indemnity issue? Is she confident our insurance will cover this episode whether the suit settles or goes to trial?”

“She thought it should. After all, it’s not a criminal suit.”

“What about the possibility of Stapleton’s actions being considered purposefully malicious?”

“She was less sure about that possibility.”

Jack looked from Bingham to Calvin and back. For the moment they were ignoring him, as if he wasn’t even there. After several more exchanges between the two men, Bingham switched his attention to Jack. “What we’re talking about here is whether you’re going to be covered by insurance. According to your contract, the OCME indemnifies you for malpractice, except if the malpractice involves criminality or is considered malicious, meaning you were doing it on purpose instead of by accident.”

“I didn’t go to the chiropractor’s office to injure anybody, if that’s what you mean,” Jack said contritely. He had the sense that the situation was spiraling out of control.