They loved their house, although they spent very little time in it. Harvey loved the comfort and security of owning his piece of L.A; for Amber, it was the art they had collected from around the world, proudly on display throughout. Every art piece was a reminder of their well-travelled life. From the African masks, to the Fijian headwear, to the European paintings, she was proud of their adventures together.
Originally, they tried to avoid discussing work at their Friday dinners, but found the conversations to hard to avoid.
“Kevin Wu is the most cunning person I’ve ever met. He’s completely detached from his emotions. Anger isn’t what’s driving him—everything he does is well-thought-out without the involvement of emotion or feelings. Helping manage his anger isn’t going to stop him from dealing drugs, running brothels, or hurting people in the future. He’s completely detached from his actions.”
“And that means that you can’t help him at all?” She placed the wooden spatula down and picked up her glass of red wine.
“I want to help him. I feel I can get through to his emotions, but they’re not why he does what he does. Getting through to his emotions won’t help him.”
“So why does he do what he does, if not because of his emotions?” As a practicing psychologist, Amber Harvey knew the value of asking questions and listening closely to the answers.
“Success. Money. Honor. Notoriety. They’re the things that drive him.”
“I think you did the right thing.” She moved around the island bench in the middle of their kitchen, stepped up on her tiptoes, and gave her husband a small peck on the cheek. “I think when his wife came to you and asked for help to stop his criminal behavior, you did the right thing. Eva Wu seemed like a desperate woman, one who wasn’t dealing with the pain of losing her step-daughter, and all you wanted to do was help their heartbroken family. That’s honorable.”
“I wish it was that simple.” Harvey leaned on the island, dropping his head. “I understand their pain. They’re now at the point where they’re starting to presume that Amy is dead. It’s been weeks since she was kidnapped, and I could see that Eva wanted to get out of that world. She wanted something different, and I wanted to help her. But it feels like I’ve just opened up a bigger problem.”
“How so?”
“Kevin talked about killing a little girl.” Harvey shook his head. “Another daughter of Monty Lee’s.”
“Really? Oh no.” Amber’s hand went to her chest. “Hasn’t that man suffered enough already? He’s already lost his youngest daughter. He doesn’t need to suffer anymore.”
“He talked about not being involved in her death, but someone else is going to take the blame for whatever he does. I felt like he was even referring to me, although I don’t know how I could be to blame.” Harvey moved to the Bolognese, picked up the spatula and stirred the sauce. “I reported it to the LAPD, but they can’t do anything about what I told them. It wasn’t a threat, and it wasn’t a call to action. In fact, Detective Pitt laughed in my face. He said the information was completely useless to him. Hypnotherapy doesn’t rate too highly in his eyes.”
“But you think that he’s going to do something?”
“I’m sure of it. He’s going to hurt one of Monty Lee’s surviving daughters.”
“I don’t like it when you have to deal with such dangerous people. I really don’t like it. I think you should stop the sessions and not have any further association with that man.”
“I already have. I told Eva that I had done all I could. She looked sad, but I did all I could. It’s too dangerous, he’s too dangerous, and I don’t want any further part of it. I’ve reported what I know to the police, and that’s all I can do.”
Amber took the spatula from Harvey’s hand, and stirred the pot in the other direction, shaking her head.
“And how was your day?” He threw his hands up in surrender as his wife took over the cooking.
“It was fine—lots of client work and not much fun.” She shrugged. “But I’m still feeling really tired all the time.”
“Maybe you’re pregnant?” he joked, half-wishing it was true.
“No.” She sat down on the kitchen stool, suddenly short of breath. “I checked that, like I do every month. I’m not pregnant yet.”
“I’m worried about you, honey. It’s so unusual for you to be this tired. I usually have to run to keep up with you, but this tiredness has been going on for months now. Are you sure you’re not sick?”
“What’s this?” She tried to laugh. “More emotion from Bill Harvey? That’s very unlike you.”
“I’m trying.” He grinned. “One day, I’ll be an open book, a really emotional type of guy. I’ll cry all the time, even when I’m happy. I’ll cry during movies, while reading books… I’ll even cry while talking to your mother. Actually, that’s sure to make me want to cry.”
“Stop it.” She smiled, playfully slapping his hand. “But you’re getting better. You’re really starting to open up. I never thought I’d see it, but I really love this vulnerable side of you. It’s so beautiful and open.”
Feeling lightheaded, she moved her left arm to the table, trying to steady herself.
“Whoa.” He grabbed her. “You have to see a doctor about this. Ask him to do a check-up. Just to make sure there’s nothing wrong.”
“And say what? ‘I’m tired.’” She shook her head. “No, that’s not a good enough reason to go to the doctor. I’ll be fine. I’ll just get some sleep over the weekend, and I’ll be fine by Monday. I’m just tired, that’s all. I just need sleep.”
Amber looked up at the man she loved, a vulnerable look in her eyes, the sentiment touching the heart of her husband. She married a stoic man, a hard man, and had spent the last five years trying to open him up. During the last twelve months, she had finally started to see the benefits of all that work.
But it was her turn to act tough.
She didn’t want her husband to know how much this sickness had her worried.
Or just how bad it really was.
Chapter 9
Present day.
Tonight was the night.
Her chance.
Her moment to break free; to see what was beyond the concrete walls that surrounded her existence.
He came earlier that night and hugged her. He was doing that more and more now. Tonight, it was a tight hug, almost tight enough to squeeze the air out of her lungs. When he walked in, there were no words, no greeting, just a long, deep emotional embrace. She thought that she even heard him cry a little.
She knew that he loved her. She could feel that. She knew that he cared for her, but that didn’t stop her need to be free, her need to escape from what was going to happen. She couldn’t let another man come to her. She couldn’t dream of the pain that he was going to cause. She couldn’t let it happen. Not again. Not after what happened last time.
She had thought about tonight so much—how much she would be giving up. What she feared the most was that this was the best life had to give, that this was heaven on earth. Here, she had luxuries, she had gifts, she had love, and she had time. Maybe that was all there was. Maybe, beyond the walls, they didn’t have what she had. Maybe they didn’t have fresh bread or crispy red apples.
In a life full of deprivation, her sense of luxury was redefined. Fresh, soft bread was pure gold to her. In a world of very little, such a thing lights up her world.
Scarcity was the birth of her sense of appreciation.
For all the time she had to think, for the time she had to daydream, she couldn’t imagine anything more special than the feeling of a soft, fresh piece of bread melting in her mouth.
She didn’t want to risk losing access to the bread, she didn’t want to risk losing her luxuries, but she had to. She had to know what was out there.
Freedom or luxury—those were her choices.
Bathed in darkness, she crept to the door, her steps barely making a sound. She knew he didn’t lock the door. She liste
ned to the thud every time, the bolt across the door, but this time, again, there was none. It was almost like he was baiting her to leave.
She scanned upwards, through the gap in the door, to make sure there were no movements above her.
None.
She was safe to keep moving.
She rested her hand on the heavy door that kept her locked up. With movements slow enough to deaden any noise, she pushed upward.
Her heart skipped a beat as the door moved.
Freedom awaited.
With the door half open, her breathing became faster and faster. Peering out, she exposed herself to the outside world.
“I can do this,” she whispered, and turned back to gaze at her current world, blowing a kiss into the nothingness. Her grandmother would be so proud of her right now. “I can do this.”
With the nimble ease of a young teen, she climbed out of the basement, out into the unknown. A different world awaited. A new world.
The yard around her was silent, and it was hard to see anything without the shine of the moonlight. Her muscles clenched as she stayed crouched down, looking for any movement in the shadows.
She looked to the house behind her—no lights shining through the windows. The night had been dark for many hours, and it was likely he had fallen asleep.
She tiptoed out into the yard.
With a pounding heart, she moved forward, leaving all that she knew behind.
Crack.
A noise. In front of her. Not far away.
No.
Her heart rate shot up.
Muscles clenched.
She turned.
Ran.
Back to her basement.
Back down the steps.
Without concern for the sound, she slammed the door behind her, leaping back into bed. Back to the safety of what she knew.
And just like any scared young girl, she hid under the covers, gripping her blanket tight, hoping for the best.
Under the safety of her blanket, she listened.
Waiting.
The noise hadn’t followed her.
Here, in the basement, she was safe…
For now.
Chapter 10
The frail woman that walked into Bill Harvey’s office was a shadow of her former self.
A former model, Eva Wu hadn’t worn makeup in years. She wasn’t even sure if she owned makeup anymore. This was the first time she’d been out of the house in months.
She tried to brush her hair. It was a frazzled mess, and she pulled hard to get the knots out of the tangled chaos.
“May I help you?” Kate Spencer asked, almost forcing Eva to jump out of her skin.
The woman sitting before Eva was beautiful, calm, and relaxed, and she hadn’t seen that sort of beauty in years, not unless it was on a midday soap opera.
“I’m here…” Eva’s arms crossed over her chest as she tried to continue the sentence. “I’m here to see Bill Harvey.”
“Do you have an appointment?”
She shook her head, eyes darting everywhere.
A caring soul, Kate stood up from behind her desk and walked into Harvey’s office, quietly notifying him that he had a visitor. Feeling a little cautious, given recent events, Harvey walked out to see the woman with her arms still folded across her chest, hair covering half her face, and eyes looking down.
“Eva?”
She looked up and attempted to smile, but her mouth cracked in the corners. It had been years since she last tried that expression.
“Kate, can you please make two cups of coffee?”
“Got it.”
Harvey placed a caring arm around the back of Eva Wu, leading her into his separate office. He offered her a chair at his desk, the most comfortable one, and she sat without unfolding her arms.
“How can I help you, Eva?” He walked around his large oak desk and nodded his thanks to Kate as she placed two coffees down in front of him.
“I wanted to come here and say something.” Eva brushed her frazzled hair behind her ear. “To tell you something.”
He waited for her to continue, but she looked at the ground out of the corner of her eye, her chest heaving up and down in short breaths.
Anxiety was not a friend that she enjoyed welcoming back.
“And what is it that you would like to say?”
Her response was quick and sudden. “Sorry.”
“What for?”
She gulped. “Sorry for getting you involved in all this mess. Kevin told me what is happening, what he’s doing to you. I should have known he was planning this. I’m so stupid. I shouldn’t have brought him to the hypnotherapy sessions. I thought that you could help him. I thought that the sessions could calm him down.” She is working herself up into a frenzy. “Amy and I never liked each other. I was the step-mother that she hated. She always hated me, and I hated her. We just never bonded. I didn’t like her. She took my Kevin away from me. My life away from me. I—”
“It’s ok.” Harvey held up one hand like a stop sign, trying to stop her spinning into further disarray.
“After Amy disappeared, Kevin was out of control. I really thought he wanted to get better. I’m so stupid. I should have known that he was going to set you up. I should have—”
“Take a deep breath, Eva.”
She drew a long, slow breath, filling her chest up, and then eased the air back out. “I’m sorry.”
“Thank you.” Harvey lowered his tone of voice and leaned forward on the desk. “You just said that you knew he was going to set me up for this?”
“Did I?” She looked away again, desperate to avoid eye contact with another human.
“You did, and I’m going to need you to tell a courtroom that fact.”
“I can’t do that.” Her words were quick and panicked again. “I didn’t mean to say that. I just… I came to say I’m sorry. You shouldn’t be involved in this. It’s my fault that you’re involved.”
“And you can sort it out if you’re willing to testify that I’m being set up.”
“Can’t do that.” She shook her head vigorously. “Can’t do that. He’ll kill me if I say that. Do you know how dangerous he is? He’s dangerous. He’ll kill me.”
“We can give you protection.”
Like an actress in a horror movie, she turned her sharp attention to Harvey, the whites of her eyes were yellow as they glared at him. “I hate him and I want him out of my life, but I’m not going to do it publicly. He’ll have me killed if he even knew I was here.”
“He’s about to go to prison anyway. Now is the time to do the right thing—testify that he’s setting me up.”
Her head tilted to the right. “No.”
Eva went to continue talking but stopped. Without talking any further, she stood up, back straighter than when she walked in. “I’m sorry that you’re involved in this setup. That’s all I came to say.”
She marched out of the office, leaving a nervous feeling in her wake.
Harvey leaned back in his chair, stunned by the admission of Eva Wu. She was only a shell of the person that he used to know, but she gave him all that he needed for the civil case—knowledge that Kevin Wu set him up from the start.
Chapter 11
With files spread out on the dining table in front of them, the two men stared at the papers, hoping that an answer would leap out at them. The entire oak table was covered with different pieces of evidence provided by the plaintiff’s legal team. The weight of evidence was impressive alone.
“Brain scans?”
“That’s what the whole case is built around. That’s the core piece of evidence that Wu’s basing his claims on, and if I can throw doubt over their legitimacy, then I have a chance of winning. He’s claiming that the change between these scans—” Harvey moved the evidence across the desk. “And these scans are the result of the hypnotherapy sessions.”
Bill Harvey looked to the former medical specialist Dr. Jeffery D. Lawrence, whose face was scru
nched as he tried to work through the problem.
“Yes, yes. I’ve seen something like this before. Meditation and hypnotherapy have been shown to have the same effect on the brain in these areas.” Dressed in clothes that made him look like Colonel Sanders, Lawrence talked with a Southern drawl, running his thumb up and down the inside of his suspenders. “These scans are very convincing.”
Retired for the last four years, Lawrence jumped at any chance to become involved in the profession that kept him entertained for four decades. Pruning roses, calling out numbers in Bingo, and hitting a small ball over perfectly manicured grass just wasn’t providing enough excitement in his twilight years.
When Bill Harvey called for advice, Lawrence leapt at the chance. He handed his wife his wallet, told her to go shopping for the rest of the day, and refilled the coffee machine.
Nothing made him feel more alive than using the skills he took a lifetime to develop.
“Kevin Wu had annual MRI and CT scans to monitor for any tumors and changes in brain activity. He has a family history of tumors and had a small tumor removed when he was twelve. He was required to have scans every year to check for any further growths or changes in behavior.”
“There sure is a difference between the brain scan before your sessions and all the scans afterward. That sure is convincing; however, it’s highly unusual to request these tests when checking for tumors.” Lawrence looked over the scans, tapping his finger on one of the pictures. “I would be interested why the specialist would have conducted these tests in a routine tumor investigation.”
“They’ve stated that they were monitoring for changes in activity as a precursor to the changes in the brain. They were trialing a new technique at the time, and have done it to other clients as well. It all checks out.” Harvey rolled up his shirt sleeve. “Tell me, what physically happens to the brain when it enters a hypnotic state?”
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