Page 80 of Maxwell

She loved how he referred to the kids as “our” or “my,” showing how deeply he cared about them.

Jasmine nodded. “Keisha told me the Thompsons bought an old house in Inman Park and have been trying to fix it up, but it’s been a nightmare. Every time they fix one thing, they discover another⁠—”

Maxwell sat up. “When did they move in to the house?”

His sudden interest surprised Jasmine. “Uh, I’m not sure. About six months ago, I think.”

He raked his fingers through his curls in an agitated way.

“What’s wrong?”

“That’s it. Dammit. Why didn’t I see it before?” He was talking to himself.

“See what?”

Maxwell jumped up and rushed from the room.

“See what?” Jasmine called after him.

He disappeared down the hall. When he returned, he was flipping through one of his medical texts.

“What are you doing? What’s going on?” Jasmine asked.

Maxwell sank onto the cushion beside her, determination on his face. “What you said got me thinking about the symptoms we’ve been seeing in Trevor. He complains about stomach pain and hasn’t been eating, so his mother thinks he’s being picky about his food. He’s irritable, and everyone thinks it typical toddler behavior. Your dad also noticed his developmental decline. He’s not advancing like other kids his age. Those symptoms together point to one thing. It’s the house.”

“How can the house be the issue?” Jasmine asked, confused.

“Lead-based paint.”

She gasped. “Are you saying lead-based paint is causing those problems?”

Maxwell nodded vigorously and began to read from his text. “In children, the effects of lead-based paint poisoning include behavior issues, learning disabilities, lower IQ, and hearing loss.” He kept reading quietly to himself, rushing over the words. Then he looked up at her. “Has Mrs. Thompson mentioned she has joint pain, headaches, issues like that?”

“Not that I know of. Her main concern has been for Trevor when they come in.”

“Adults can see major problems too. Fertility issues, kidney damage.”

“Oh my goodness. Is any of this reversible?”

“Depends on how long they’ve been exposed and how much is in their system. For the parents, most likely they can recover, but Trevor is another matter. Could be a mixed bag. The stomach aches will probably go away, and he’ll regain his appetite, but the learning delays could be permanent.”

“No,” Jasmine whispered. “What do we do?”

Maxwell slammed the text shut. “First thing tomorrow, we call the family and have Trevor come in for testing. I can do a basic in-house test and have the results within minutes. If the numbers come back elevated, I’ll need to draw a bigger blood sample and send it to an outside lab for confirmation. We should have the answer by the end of the week.”

“I don’t know if I should wish for him to have lead poisoning so we’ll know what’s wrong or hope he doesn’t have it so there isn’t permanent damage. Of course, then we have to keep looking for the source of the problem.”

“I’m kicking myself for not thinking of this sooner,” Maxwell said. He leaned back and stared up at the ceiling.

“Babe, he was ill before you came on board, and my dad has been a doctor for decades and didn’t figure out what the problem was. Lead poisoning isn’t something that comes up every day. You can’t beat yourself up because you didn’t know.”

“I know, but...”

“No buts.” Jasmine kissed his bare shoulder. “Those kids are lucky to have you as their doctor, and we’ll do what we can for Trevor tomorrow.”

“First thing.”

“First thing,” she promised.