by Terri Reid
She turned to her daughter, huddled up at the top of her bed as if the big bad wolf was coming for her. She’d been crying, the tears still wet on her face. Something was certainly amiss.
She walked across the room, patted Bradley reassuringly on his shoulder and then moved past him to enfold Mary into her arms. “There now, little lamb,” she crooned. “Your ma is here to take care of you.”
“Oh, Ma,” Mary sighed. “I’m so confused.”
Maggie smiled up at Bradley. “Why don’t you go get the doctor and give us a moment alone,” she suggested.
Bradley nodded slowly, his eyes still on Mary wrapped in her mother’s arms. He hesitated.
“She’ll be fine,” Maggie assured him. “Now go get the doctor.”
Once the door closed behind Bradley, Maggie stepped back and sat alongside Mary on the bed. “Now, why don’t you tell me what’s been going on.”
She pulled a tissue from the box on the table alongside the bed and handed it to Mary.
Shaking her head, Mary wiped her eyes and her nose, and took a deep wobbly breath. “I don’t understand,” she said. “I know Bradley would never do anything to hurt me. I know he’s risked his life for me. But, when I woke up and he was holding me, I panicked. All I could think of was being down in that dark room and Gary touching me.”
Her body trembled.
Maggie leaned forward and took Mary’s hands in her own. “Now, you have to tell me,” she said. “Did that man…”
Mary shook her head. “No, ma, he didn’t rape me. But…it’s hard to explain.”
“I’m listening.”
Mary nodded. “How much has Sean already told you?”
Maggie smiled. “Your brother told me about Bradley’s wife and how you’ve been helping to solve her murder. He felt, perhaps, you put yourself more at risk than was wise.”
“No, I only did what was necessary,” Mary insisted.
“Spoken like a true O’Reilly,” Maggie replied ironically. “Now, what is it that was necessary?”
“The only way we could help Jeannine remember what happened to her was to hypnotize her,” Mary explained.
“I’ve never heard of a ghost being hypnotized before.”
“That was the difficulty,” Mary said, “she had to have a body in order to be hypnotized, so I let her use mine.”
“You let a spirit into your body?” Maggie exclaimed. “Blessed Mother, do you know the risks of such behavior?”
She nodded. “I do,” she said. “And we took precautions. But, ma, really, it was the only way.”
Maggie closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. “And then?” she asked, meeting Mary’s eyes once again.
“And then Ian hypnotized us,” she said, and then paused before adding. “And I lived through Jeannine’s memories.”
Maggie gasped softly. “So, that man did rape you.”
Tears slid down Mary’s cheeks again and she weakly shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know,” she cried quietly. “He didn’t touch me physically, but…”
“But you felt the emotions and… the pain?” she asked, her own eyes filling with tears.
Mary nodded. “Yes. Yes, I felt it.”
Maggie leaned forward and held her daughter in her arms. “My darling little girl, I’m so sorry.”
Inhaling deeply, Mary relaxed in her mother’s arms. “I don’t remember a lot of details. Jeannine was drugged for the most part. So my memory is foggy. But the fear and the complete feeling of helplessness are there, like something waiting just around the corner.”
“You need to talk to someone,” Maggie said. “You need counseling.”
Mary laughed humorlessly. “And just who could I talk to who wouldn’t want to lock me up in an institution?” she asked.
“Mary, you have to get help,” her mother insisted. “This is not something you can handle on your own.”
Mary sat up, wiped away her tears with her sleeve and smiled bravely. “Ian said something about hypnotizing me and removing Jeannine’s memories,” Mary replied. “I’ll try that first and then, if I can’t do it myself, I’ll get help.”
Maggie frowned and shook her head. “Damn stubborn thick-headed O’Reilly,” she muttered. “You’ll help everyone but yourselves.”
Mary smiled. “I love you, Ma.”
Maggie pursed her lips. “And don’t think you can use O’Reilly charm to get around me,” she said. “Now, I’ve my things in the car and I’m planning on staying a while to make sure you get some help.”
“Ma, I really appreciate the offer…”
“Are you throwing your own mother out into the cold streets?”
Mary chuckled. “No, I’m not. But, I just can’t let you do this,” she explained. “I need to be strong. I need to rely on myself.”
“Mary, since the time you could walk you relied on yourself. I’d never seen such a single-minded child. You had to be just as good as or better than your brothers,” her mother said with a sigh. “This time it’s okay to need someone else.”
Mary took her mother’s hands. “Ma, you’ve always let me be strong, let me be independent and I could because I always knew you were there, ready to pick me up if I fell down,” she explained. “This time, it would be too easy to run to you and let you fight my battles for me. This time I really don’t want to do it on my own. And that’s the reason why I have to. I have to face this monster by myself. If I don’t do it now, I think it could change me. I don’t want to be afraid.”
Maggie picked up one of her hands and pressed it against her lips for a moment. “You are a brave girl and you have more courage than should be allowed in a body your size. I understand what you’re saying and I’ll honor your wishes, under one condition.”
Mary nodded.
“You call me, anytime, night or day, if you need your mother,” she said firmly. “You promise.”
“Yes, I promise,” she agreed. “And just knowing you’re there, just a phone call away, will be a comfort.”
Maggie leaned forward and kissed Mary on her forehead. “There are others, even closer, who you can rely on too. Try to trust Bradley again. He’s a good man and he loves you.”
Mary kissed her mother’s cheek. “Thank you, Ma.”
The door opened behind them and Bradley entered. “Dr. Thorne is on rounds,” he explained. “She’ll be coming in as soon as she can.”
Maggie gave Mary’s hand a soft squeeze and then stood up. She walked over to Bradley and, tiptoeing, placed a kiss on his cheek. “You take care of my baby girl,” she said.
“There’s nothing else more important to me,” he replied.
She looked up into his eyes and saw the truth in his words. “I know that,” she said. “Help her to trust again.”
Bradley nodded. “I will.”
Chapter Two
When the door closed behind Maggie, Bradley cautiously approached the bed. “I have to admit I’m a little unsure of things,” he said. “I don’t want to frighten you.”
Mary nodded, took a deep breath and patted her bed. “Why don’t we try having you sit down here next to me and then I’ll try to explain things. But first, I have some questions.”
Bradley sat tentatively on the bed, trying to give her all the space she needed. “Okay, what questions?”
“I remember the brunch, what happened next?”
“Gary drugged everyone and once they had all passed out, kidnapped you,” he explained. “I was looking at the webcam and saw everyone passed out. I called the local police chief and had him check things out. When Jeannine realized that it was Gary and he had you, she immediately went to help.”
Mary nodded slowly. “I remember Jeannine talking to me and I can remember glimpses of fighting Gary, but it wasn’t me.”
He shook his head. “No, you were drugged, but Jeannine was able to somehow enter your body and together you both kicked his ass.”
She studied Bradley for a moment. “Okay, that’s not exactly what h
appened, was it?” she asked. “What are the things you are leaving out?”
Sighing, he ran his hand through his hair. “When I found out Gary had you I immediately went to his home,” he began reluctantly. “I searched the house and finally found a room in the basement.”
“Was I in there?”
He shook his head. “No, there was a desk, a chair and an upright freezer, the room was pretty empty. I opened the freezer and found the remains of a woman wrapped in plastic.”
Mary gasped, covering her mouth with her hands, “Who?”
“I thought it was Jeannine,” Bradley said. “And then I found a box with the remains of an embryo.”
Reaching out, she placed her hand on his arm. “You thought it was your daughter, didn’t you?”
He nodded. “When I saw what he had done to Jeannine and my daughter, and then I realized he had you…”
Taking a deep breath, he turned away for a moment. “I realized that if he wasn’t home, he had to be at his office,” he said. “When I got there, he had you cornered. Your face was bruised; he had a broom handle in his hand…”
Turning back to her, he met her eyes. “I went a little crazy,” he said. “I tackled him and started to hit him. I just couldn’t stop. Thank God Sean arrived, or I might have killed him.”
There was a brief moment of silence and Bradley wondered how Mary would react to his confession. He had been unprofessional. He had nearly killed a suspect.
Mary cocked her head to the side and bit her lower lip. “I’m afraid I’m going to shock you,” she said. “But after living through what he did to Jeannine and knowing what he was going to do to me, I can’t regret anything you did to him. You didn’t hit him because you were angry; you hit him because you were avenging Jeannine. I know it’s not the right way to view it, but, thank you for making him be a victim, for at least a little while.”
Tension, he didn’t realize he had been feeling, was released. “I never want to be that out of control again,” he said.
“I don’t think that’s something you have to worry about.”
“How did you know the baby wasn’t mine?” he asked. “You said something about hearing her cry before you passed out.”
Mary took a deep breath and sat back in her pillows. “I was there, sort of, when Jeannine gave birth.”
He shook his head. “I don’t understand.”
“You remember when I told you that Jeannine had to use my body in order to be hypnotized, right?”
He nodded.
“Well, it was more than just using my body,” Mary explained. “I actually lived through all of her memories.”
“Wait… So you experienced what Gary did to her?” he asked, the realization of her words staggering him. “You felt her fears? You felt… Did he rape you?”
Mary closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath and then faced Bradley. “Yes,” she said, releasing the word with a shuddering exhale. “He raped her…me. Yes, I experienced everything he did to her.”
“I should have killed him,” Bradley said softly, his eyes hard with anger.
He stood up and walked away from her bed, facing the wall instead of looking into her eyes. Guilt and self-loathing filled him. He had asked for her help to solve Jeannine’s murder. He had allowed her to be hypnotized. He was the reason she was lying in a hospital bed. He was the reason she was raped.
“Bradley?” Mary’s shy, uncertain voice brought another wave of remorse.
“I am so sorry for what I’ve caused you,” he rasped, “So damn sorry.”
He heard her sigh deeply. “Bradley, you aren’t going to be able to help me if you keep blaming yourself. And I really need your help.”
“What?” he asked, spinning around to face her.
She was still sitting up at the top of the bed; the covers clasped in her hands and pulled up to her neck. Her face was pale and he could see that she was trying her hardest to be brave.
“I need your help,” she said, her voice caught slightly, but she cleared her throat and continued. “I don’t want him to win. I don’t want to be afraid.”
“What can I possibly do to help you, Mary?” he asked, lifting his hands in bewilderment. “I’ve let you down more than I’ve helped you lately. How do you know I won’t make it worse?”
Taking a deep breath, she leaned forward and met his eyes. “Because you are the only man I’ve loved, Bradley Alden. And if you can’t help me trust men again, then no one can.”
He exhaled slowly and nodded. Keeping his eyes on hers, he walked back to the bed and sat down next to her. Leaning forward, he lifted his hand and lightly placed it against the side of her face, tenderly stroking her cheek with his thumb.
“He won’t win, Mary,” he said softly. “I’ll help you.”
He felt her stiffen under his hand, but he continued to rhythmically caress her.
“Besides, it would really be a shame,” he said.
She took a deep breath; inhaling the familiar scent of him and trying to force herself to relax. “What would be a shame?”
“I bought one of those black spandex shirts you liked so much,” he teased. “I’d hate to have to return it.”
A giggle erupted from deep inside of her and her tension started to slip away.
“It took me hours to find the right one,” he continued, moving his thumb so he gently grazed her lips. “I even called Ian and asked him where to shop.”
“The right one?” she asked, her lips turning up in a smile.
“Aye,” he said, trying to imitate Ian’s accent, “One that will show off me man boobies.”
Chuckling, she recalled their late night conversations over the internet. She remembered his concern for her and his confidence in her. She studied his face for a moment and felt love replace her fear. She nestled her head into his hand, placing a soft kiss on his thumb. “I can’t wait to see it,” she said.
“I can’t wait to show it to you,” he said softly, gently sliding his thumb over her lips.
She stifled a yawn and smiled. “I guess I must be feeling more relaxed because suddenly I’m exhausted.”
“Why don’t you rest up for a bit? I’ll stay here and watch over you.”
“Thank you,” she said, her eyelids slowly shutting. “I just need a nap, that’s all.”
“Sweet dreams, sweetheart,” he whispered, slipping his hand out from under her head as her rhythmic breathing indicated she was already asleep. “We’ll win. I promise.”
Chapter Three
A soft knock on the hospital room door an hour later immediately brought Bradley to full attention. He pushed himself out of the armchair he’d been resting in and positioned himself between Mary and the door.
Dr. Louise Thorne slipped into the room, her white lab coat over her blue jeans and flannel shirt. “How is she doing?” she asked in a low voice.
“Good. I guess,” he replied.
“So what do you mean by that?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “Well, she was alert and didn’t seem to have any memory loss or have any trouble speaking,” he said. “But…”
He hesitated, trying to decide how much he could share with Dr. Thorne about Mary’s experience. “She went through a fairly traumatic ordeal,” he finally said. “It’s hard to explain.”
“Just tell me and I’ll ask any questions,” Dr. Thorne suggested.
“She was put under hypnosis to help solve a case and she actually lived through someone else’s memories. She felt as though she was experiencing them - felt the pain and the emotion,” he said. “This person, this victim, had been kidnapped, held for quite a few months and raped repeatedly.”
Dr. Thorne took a deep breath and glanced over at Mary. “And she remembers it all?”
He nodded. “When she woke up… I was so relieved, so I hugged her,” he said. “And she was afraid of me.”
She put her hand on his arm. “Not you, Bradley,” she said. “She is trying to deal with the psychological t
rauma. Fear is one of the most common and most understandable reactions when a woman is raped.”
“Does she need counseling?”
Smiling, she looked over at Mary again. “Yes, that would be a good idea, but I have a feeling that Mary is the type who will try and tough it out on her own,” she said. “Until she finally decides she needs help. You can’t force her to get help, she has to decide it’s a good idea.”
“So, what do I do in the meantime?”