by Erin Wade
“Some people consider psychiatry a nebulous field. It’s not like a broken bone or high blood pressure. It’s still subject to the doctor’s interpretation, which isn’t always objective.
“In cases like this, it helps to have visual evidence to support our theory, and it will improve our chances of winning over the judge.”
“Can Shay stay with me?” Katie asked nervously. “I’m a little claustrophobic.”
“Of course.” Link patted her hand. “Whatever makes you relax and feel comfortable. The nurse will give you a gown to change into.”
##
Katie lay down on the MRI machine, closed her eyes, and reached for Shay’s hand. She tried to concentrate on what Link was telling her.
“Images are taken milliseconds apart,” Link explained, “allowing me to see how your brain responds to different stimuli. It enables me to observe both the functional and structural abnormalities in psychological disorders.
“I’ll the first scan to set the baseline for comparison. Then I’ll introduce various stimuli to observe your response. You must remain completely still once the scan starts.”
Link went into the next room to the scanning console. Shay took Bear to the same room and gave him the “stay” command. The dog curled up with a good view of the door leading into the MRI area.
“He’s such a good boy,” Shay said as she rejoined Katie, placing her hand in the brunette’s.
Katie tightened her grip on Shay’s hand as the bed began to slide into the MRI machine.
“Don’t be alarmed by the noise the machine will make when the scan starts,” Shay advised her. “It’s very loud.”
When the scan was complete, a nurse came in to help Katie from the bed. Katie changed into her clothes and joined Shay and Link at the imaging console.
##
“This is a scan of a normal brain,” Link said as he showed them an image on the screen. “I’m placing the scan of your brain next to it so we can compare them.”
Shay breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that Katie’s brain was perfectly normal. “She’s normal,” Shay chuckled.
“Did you think I wouldn’t be?” Katie sassed.
Shay laughed. “It’s good to have concrete evidence.”
“I must admit I’m relieved,” Katie said.
“As you can see,” Link continued, “your brain reacted to the stimuli just as a normal brain would react. There are differences in the brains of people with ADHD, PTSD, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, and other types of mental illness. You don’t exhibit any of the symptoms we normally see associated with these disorders.
“I think your Dr. Sandifer is going to have a difficult time explaining why he kept you locked away at Glencove Hospital for five years. Now we’ll move on to the psychological part of the exam.
“Shay, do you mind sitting in the waiting room?” Link asked.
“I’d rather have her with me,” Katie insisted.
“It’s best if it’s just you and me,” Link explained. “I don’t want anything to influence your answers.”
“But I—” Katie started.
“He’s right,” Shay said, touching Katie’s arm. “I’ll be right outside that door. Do you have any really good reading material, Link?”
“I have something I’d like you to read,” Katie said. “If legalese won’t put you to sleep. It’s David’s filing with the court.”
“I’d be glad to look it over,” Shay replied. “It’s pretty personal. Are you certain you want me to examine it?
“I have no secrets from you,” Katie said.
Shay made herself comfortable on the sofa in Link’s office and began perusing the documents. Just as Katie had told her, David was showing only his car and their home as his assets. An affidavit declared he had sold all of his stock in Brandt Technologies and Face2Face. His only income was from the hospital. He had no savings and no retirement plans in place. It appeared he lived from paycheck to paycheck. Shay wondered what David did with his money.
There were numerous depositions from employees of Glencove Hospital, relating stories of Katie’s behavior and dissociative identity disorder. Two male nurses reported that Katie made inappropriate advances to them while she appeared to be another personality.
Shock therapy! The words screamed at Shay. Jesus, they used shock therapy on her, she thought. She searched the reports to find the type and strength of shock therapy used on the brunette but could find no details. Shay knew that shock therapy was now considered a valid treatment for schizophrenia, but only under the most carefully controlled circumstances.
One motion caught Shay’s attention. It was a motion to suppress information about the attack on Katie that had brought Shay into her life. Why suppress that? Shay thought. There’s nothing there that would hurt David. Of course, it would vilify Katie’s paranoia about being stalked. It would also put into the record Katie’s declaration that David had tried to kill her. But that was her word against her husband’s, and he was doing an excellent job of presenting his wife as mentally impaired.
Shay’s mind jumped to the sexual message she had received from Katie. How do I explain that?
Many accounts of incidents from Glencove described Katie as a danger to herself and others.
They have truly done a hatchet job on her, Shay thought. But what if it’s the truth? The uncertainty niggled at the back of her mind.
Shay finished reading all the motions, pleadings, and depositions David had presented to the court. She wondered why Chandler hadn’t taken a deposition from her regarding Katie’s injuries when she stumbled into the emergency room.
Shay glanced at her watch when the door of Link’s office opened. The interview had taken three hours, a long time to talk to a patient.
“I’m going to visit the ladies’ room,” Katie informed her. “I’d like you to be with me when Link gives his report on my mental state.”
Shay nodded and entered Link’s office, as he spread printouts on his desk. She raised questioning eyebrows at her friend.
“She’s the sanest person I’ve ever interviewed,” Link declared. “I read the filings from the Glencove crowd. Pure . . . pardon my language . . . bullshit.”
“So, you’ll be able to debunk their testimony in court?” Shay said.
“Yes, and leave them looking like the fools they are,” Link grumbled. “The state needs to close that hellhole. I can’t prove it, but I’m willing to bet David Brandt paid that charlatan Sandifer to imprison Katie under the guise of treating her for DID.”
“Wouldn’t some insurance fraud be involved?” Shay asked. “I’m fairly certain Sandifer filed on Katie’s medical insurance. I wonder if they have any idea about the can of worms they’re opening.”
Link chuckled. “I hope not. I’d love to blindside that bastard. He’s a disgrace to our profession.”
Shay made a mental note to contact Detective Wyatt and find out the proper channels to go through to file an insurance fraud complaint.
Katie rejoined them and listened attentively as Link gave her the same information he’d given Shay.
“I’ll add your name to our witness list,” Katie informed Link. “I thank you so much for accepting me as a patient.”
“I’m happy I could help,” Link said, smiling at her. “Any friend of Shay’s is a friend of mine. Just have your attorney let me know when to appear in court.”
##
Katie was quiet on the way to her apartment. “Are you okay?” Shay asked.
“No!” Katie hissed. “I’m furious. I’m furious with David and all this . . . mess he’s putting me through. I’m furious that he stole five years of my life by keeping me locked up in that pit they call a hospital. He almost convinced me that I have DID. I hate him, Shay. I swear, if I thought I’d get away with it, I’d kill him. I don’t care if you are considering marrying him. I hate him.”
“Marriage is off the table,” Shay mumbled. “I don’t think—”
“
Let’s talk about something else,” Katie pleaded. “Something pleasant. What do you have planned for tomorrow?”
“I’m going to visit all my patients,” Shay explained. “I’ve taken a week’s vacation so I can be in the hearing this week, so I want to check on everyone before I take my leave. What about you?”
“I’m just going to rest,” Katie said. “I want to be prepared for court Monday. I have no idea what David and his shyster attorney will come up with.”
“Do you need me to walk through your apartment before I leave?” Shay asked as she pulled into the parking space.
“No, I feel safe with Bear. I’ll see you at the courthouse Monday morning.”
“Do you want to ride with me?” Shay offered.
“No, it’s best we arrive separately.” Katie opened the car door and stepped from the vehicle. “I don’t want them to associate you too closely to me. David would come after you too.”
“I think you’re being a little . . .” Shay stopped herself before she finished the sentence.
“Paranoid?” Katie snarled. “Really, Shay?” Disgust filled the brilliant scientist’s voice. “Et tu Brute.”
Before Shay could respond, Katie and Bear were running toward their apartment.
Chapter 24
Et tu Brute. The words haunted Shay.
She kicked herself all the way home. “How could I be so stupid?” she grumbled. “Telling a woman who is fighting for her sanity that she’s paranoid? Nice move, Shay.”
Shay turned on her computer and headed to the kitchen for something to eat. She pulled a Weight Watcher’s Orange Chicken dinner from the freezer and popped it in the microwave.
Her phone dinged, and Katie’s beautiful face filled the screen. “I just wanted to say thank you for being there for me,” Katie texted. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“I’m happy to help in any way I can,” Shay texted back.
When her dinner was ready, Shay grabbed a fork and carried the gourmet delight to her desk. “Shay Copeland, you really need to get a life,” she told herself as she chewed the tasteless chicken.
She was happy that Katie had texted her. That meant her friend was over being angry with her.
Shay was reading a chat from one of her patients when a note popped up in Messenger. “I’m so frustrated over all that is happening. I want to get on with my life. I want to be rid of David. I want to be with you,” Katie typed
“Do you want me to come over, or would you like to come to my place?” Shay asked, careful not to set her off.
“No, I just can’t stop thinking about how it would feel to be with you. The things I’d do with you.”
Shay didn’t respond. She wasn’t certain what was going on. This conversation wasn’t like the woman she’d spent the day with. She read what Katie was typing:
Think of me slowly straddling you as you sit in your desk chair, kissing you deeply, our full bottom lips moving against each other. Tongues searching, seeking, exploring. I catch your lip between my teeth and pull gently, releasing it reluctantly.
‘Please, baby, just a little,’ you whisper in my ear. I cup the softest, silkiest part of you in the palm of my hand and become silent as I feel you throbbing. My palm is so wet, filled with you.
I slip one finger into you, and you moan loudly into my mouth. I curl my finger and move the heel of my hand against you. You moan louder. I’m kissing you, want to devour you. I pull out of you, but you beg me not to.
I take your face between my hands and stand up. I want you on the bed. I want to cover you. I want our bodies touching in every place possible. I want to feel you moving beneath me. I lay you on the bed and kiss you. Lips almost painful, but a good pain. I spread your legs and ease between them on my knees. I want you so badly, but I must make myself go slow. Make myself not consume you in the fire raging through me.
Shay tried to stop reading, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the screen.
I kiss my way up your stomach to your breasts. I circle your nipple with my tongue, careful not to touch it. It is hard and erect. I suck it into my mouth. You gasp and tangle your hands in my hair, guiding my mouth to your other breast.
My hand is back between your legs. I slide into you easily. You beg for more, and I slip a second finger into you, moving in and out, all the time kissing you and sucking you. I feel you throbbing, growing against my fingers.
‘I need more,’ you whisper. I hesitate, always careful with you. When you ask again, I kiss you deeply and slowly ease another finger into you. You arch your back as I begin to move, going deeper with each thrust. I put my body into the motion, pushing, touching the most sacred part of you.
You throw your head back and scream my name. You dig your nails into my back, demanding that I keep going. I watch your face. Closed eyes suddenly open wide. The look, the beauty of it. The woman I love.
Shay gasped for air, wondering how long she’d been holding her breath.
“Katie,” Shay typed, “we need to talk. This doesn’t feel right.”
She watched as the green light disappeared, indicating Katie was no longer online.
Shay sat silently for a long time, trying to gain control over the feelings Katie had awakened in her. A cold shower, she thought. I need a cold shower.
##
Shay pulled a soft T-shirt over her head as she sat down at her computer. She tried to squelch the little voice that was hoping Katie would be online. A blank Messenger screen greeted her, and she sighed in relief. She was thankful for that too. Sooner or later we must address this, Shay thought.
It was late. She’d talk to Katie tomorrow. Tonight she just wanted to sleep.
Chapter 25
The sound of her doorbell pulled Shay from a troublesome sleep. Katie Brandt had set up camp in Shay’s head and danced through her dreams and nightmares all night.
The doorbell rang again, and she scrambled from the bed. She pulled on a pair of jeans and stumbled to the door. She looked through the one-way glass to find David standing there.
“David, what are you doing here so early on a Sunday morning?”
“I hoped we could have breakfast together,” David blurted. “I need to talk to you before we go to court tomorrow. I tried to call you, but your phone goes straight to voicemail.”
“Yes, I was trying to get some sleep,” Shay grumbled. “I don’t have anything in the fridge to cook. Can we just talk, or are you hungry?”
“I’d kill for a good cup of coffee,” David said.
“Give me a minute to make myself presentable. We’ll have to go out.”
Shay ran a brush through her hair, and pulled it up in a ponytail. She didn’t bother with makeup.
##
Shay waited until the server had placed steaming cups of coffee in front of them before asking David what was so urgent.
“The most important thing is that I wanted to see you.” He flashed his little-boy grin and placed his hand over hers. “I don’t know what’s going to happen in the hearing next week or if I’ll see you much. I just want to tell you that I love you, Shay, and when all of this is over, I want to make a new start with you.”
Shay nodded. “We can talk about that at a later date,” she said. “Right now, everything is in limbo.”
“Shay, I know you have questions, and I’ve tried my best to answer them. Please believe me. My wife is not the woman she pretends to be.
“Living with Katie is like living with two different women. One is kind and considerate and brilliant beyond belief. The other is thoughtless and manipulative. She will stop at nothing to get what she wants.
“I know you’ve befriended her, but please be careful. Sooner or later her other side will come out, and she is dangerous.”
It crossed Shay’s mind that she might already be encountering the other Katie Brandt. The woman making love to her on Messenger was certainly an entirely different personality from the computer genius Shay had grown accustomed to.
“I have already encountered Katie’s alter ego,” Shay admitted. “She hasn’t seemed dangerous, only unusual.”
“Then you do believe me.” David sighed in relief. “I can’t tell you how important that is to me.”
“I do believe you, David.”
“I have a favor to ask,” he continued, pulling a thick manila envelope from his briefcase. “Please keep this for me. Don’t let anyone know you have it, and put it someplace where no one can find it. Please don’t ask me what it is. I’ll tell you everything when this divorce nightmare is over.”
“Why don’t you put it in a safe deposit box?” she asked. “It would be protected there.”
“Katie’s lawyers could get a court order to open any safe deposit box in my name. I’d rather not go through that.”
He exhaled slowly. “I’ll be honest with you. It’s a few personal things I own. I’ve put them into someone else’s name. Things like a small farm my grandparents left me and a couple of oil leases on the property. I may lose everything, Shay, but I’ll be damned if I’ll let her have my birthright.”
“I’ll protect it for you,” she assured him.
“I have another favor to ask,” David said. “I’d like you to be a character witness for me.”
Shay frowned. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. I won’t lie under oath.”
“I wouldn’t ask you to lie,” David snarled.
“How do I answer if Katie’s attorney asks me about dating you?”
“I . . . I—” David sputtered.
“I’d have to tell the truth if they asked me if you’d hidden your marriage to Katie from me.”
“I don’t think that will come up,” David insisted. “I want you to do this for me.”
“If I truly have a choice,” Shay replied. “the answer is no. I don’t think I’d be a good character witness for you.”