by Jim Heskett
“Thank you,” Layne said. “I’m thrilled with the opportunity to learn how things work around here.”
“And we’re excited to have you. I’m sure Mariana is happy to have the help, since Thomas retired last month. Perhaps day treatment is something you might consider as a role here if we move forward with your application?”
Layne nodded. “I would be happy to discuss that with you, Mr. Jahandar.” Layne caught Mariana’s expression out of the corner of his eye. When Farhad had said her name, she’d winced. A quick reaction that had vanished and left no trace behind, but Layne hadn’t missed it.
“Excellent,” Farhad said. “Well, I’m late for a meeting, but I wanted to come by and say hello before things got rolling over here. It’s always exciting to have fresh blood on the premises.”
Farhad said his goodbyes to the room and shook Layne’s hand one more time. Still cold. Maybe he’d washed his hands recently before coming here.
When the door shut behind him, Mariana let out a frustrated breath. Layne gave her a quizzical look, but she waved him off.
“What’s that all about?” he asked.
Mariana leaned close to him, her lips an inch away from Layne’s ear. “I’m peeved at him at the moment.”
“Is that so?”
She stayed close to him. “Yep. He’s a jerk. Control freak. He gave me a super-nasty quarterly review a couple days ago. I’m still not over it.” She eyed him for a few seconds, tugging on her lower lip. “You want to get the job here? I’ll tell you what you need to know about Farhad Jahandar.”
“Really?”
“Sure. Buy me dinner, and I’ll give you all the dirty details.”
9
Farhad Jahandar left the day treatment building and paused to dab a few drops of hand sanitizer in his palm. He thrust his hands together and let one attack the other until the sanitizer had thoroughly absorbed into his hands. Something in that room felt dirty. And not only the floors and the walls. The people felt dirty.
Specifically, he experienced an unclean feeling about Louis Pastori. Something about that man wasn’t right. At the staff meeting regarding his interview, Kelly had described him as “competent and charming.” Farhad had no doubt about the man’s charm, as the best grifters in the world were often the most charming. That’s how they weaseled into your life. Charm to disassemble your defenses.
It had been a long time since Farhad had experienced such an intense feeling about a person with so little contact. History told him he needed to listen to these feelings.
Farhad marched across the campus toward the main building. A quick check of his watch told him he was three minutes late for his call with the board. With everything else going on in his world these last few weeks, trouble with the board was not something he needed right now.
Not like the old days, when a clinical director could make decisions with autonomy. Now, every single move was scrutinized and discussed to death. He would have to fight for what he wanted and would end up accepting half of what he needed, and still be expected to shine. Probably, though, that would be someone else’s problem soon.
Actually, it would certainly be someone else’s problem. Beyond this week, it would be. Even so, he still wanted to do right by Hillcrest.
Plus, he had a scheduled call with home tonight. That worried him even more since he had made little progress after the initial breakthroughs. Perhaps it was time to adjust Jonah's medication. Perhaps the man masquerading as Wade Nicholson needed an extra push. Their time was wearing thin, and he was running out of excuses to finish the job.
As soon as he stepped inside, he noted a young white woman sitting outside the door to the first-floor group therapy room. In shorts, her legs splayed out, bare skin touching the dirty floor. He didn’t remember her name, but he knew he’d seen her around many times over the last few weeks. She was in her late twenties, long brown hair, wearing jogging shorts and a t-shirt with a brown stain on the shoulder. Ragged, crying, as if she hadn’t been taking care of herself. And the oddest thing was the teddy bear she held in one hand. She cried softly, staring at the teddy.
Farhad knelt in front of her. “Hello.”
The white woman looked up at him. She sniffled and used her free hand to wipe under her nose. “Hi.”
“Tell me about the teddy bear.”
The woman winced as she looked down, causing chunks of hair to cascade in front of her face. “It was hers.”
All at once, Farhad understood. He still didn’t recall the name, but he had heard this woman’s story discussed in a staff meeting a couple weeks ago.
“You miss her, don’t you?”
“Yes, every minute of every day. How do you get over something like that?”
When she looked up at him, Farhad felt a rip in his heart. A hundred different responses to the question appeared in his mind. He could explain how he was uniquely qualified to talk about the loss of a child. Or, he could tell her what he had done in the first few weeks after. He could sit on the floor with her and cry, let her lean against his shoulder.
But, Farhad decided against all of those options. He didn’t think this woman would be able to relate to him, an older Iranian man. Not in her current state. She wouldn’t be able to see outside herself right now. Her pain kept her locked inside like a prisoner.
“You have to find people who will listen,” he said. “As much as it hurts, you need to talk about her. Celebrate the good things. Talk to people who knew her, talk to strangers. Talk in Group and in your individual sessions. Every time you talk about it, the grief has less power over you.”
“I don’t think I can do that. If I try to say her name, I can’t get the word out.”
He plopped a hand on her shoulder. Not an easy task for him, since her shirt was filthy. But, he put out considerable effort to make sure she couldn’t see the distaste he felt.
“You have to. A little bit at first, as much as you can stomach. Talking about her will get easier over time. It will become a way to turn on the valve and let it come out, at a pace you’re comfortable with.”
The woman bit her lip and blinked away tears, then she nodded. “Okay. I’ll try.”
He stood and put his hand behind his back so she wouldn’t see him wiping his palm on his pants. He’d decided against taking out the pack of napkins in his pocket to do so.
“Go back into Group when you can.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
He left her there and checked his watch as he hurried toward the elevators. But, even though he was late for the call, he wanted a few extra seconds to himself to decompress. To the stairs, instead.
As Farhad jogged up the steps, he thought about shaking Louie’s hands in day treatment five minutes ago, the way they had felt warm, a little too sweaty. This Louie person had secrets. And Farhad would find out what they were.
10
Layne spent the morning in day treatment with Mariana, observing and occasionally participating. Mariana asked him to facilitate a life skills segment where he lectured for thirty minutes on the topic of basic conflict resolution. It'd been a long time since Layne had conducted group therapy, but he found that old passion for it right away. If Daphne Kurek hadn't appeared in his life, he probably would work in a place like this. Helping patients, working with people, dealing with the bureaucracy.
Sometimes, he thought he still could come to work at a place like this. Get his LPC for real, and become a therapist. But, he didn't need to. He didn't need the money. He didn't need the headache of the bureaucracy.
Mariana sat in the back during his lecture, that trademark wry grin on her face. He’d noted during the arts and crafts segment of the morning, she had touched his arm or shoulder half a dozen times in an hour. Also, she played with her hair a lot, particularly when she laughed at his little tension-breaker jokes.
While they already had dinner plans, Mariana invited him to lunch. Layne declined, saying he wanted to walk around the building to get a feel for it. What h
e actually wanted was to find Jonah and get him out of the building. Find some way to isolate him. He'd already reserved a room at the Best Western with back parking lot access where they were unlikely to be spotted coming and going. Harry was inbound. Everything was set up, Layne only had to find a way to get Jonah alone.
Maybe it was a rash plan, but a burning desire inside Layne told him to act fast. A prolonged covert undercover operation to pose as an employee wasn’t enough. He needed to separate Jonah from this place while also observing it.
Kidnapping wasn't Layne’s specialty, but he would make an exception in this case. Something wasn't right with Jonah. Layne needed to find out more.
The day treatment people all shuffled off to the main building for lunch in the cafeteria. Mariana supervised the transfer. Layne had been making notes in the day treatment log about what they’d done this morning.
She now stood in the doorway, digging in her purse. Her slender fingers pulled out lip gloss and applied it, making her lips sparkly pink. “What do you think about all this?” she asked, tapping her lips together.
“I could see myself here.”
“We would make a great team, Louie.”
For the first time today, he felt a pang of guilt about the espionage. Partly, because she was right. They would make a great team if Layne were here for the right reasons and using his real name. But, it was a little late for that now.
“Maybe we would,” he said. “We’ll see.”
Mariana grinned. “I like it when you play coy. I hope you’ll double down on that at dinner tonight.”
With that, she left him there. He wasn’t sure if he would be able to keep the dinner date. If everything went right, maybe he wouldn’t have to.
Layne hustled toward the main building as a clock somewhere struck noon. As he opened the front door, a steady stream of Hillcrest employees meandered through the main halls, on their way to the parking lot. An oddly disproportionate number of women seemed to work here. Layne remembered seeing that at other facilities, too, from his time interning in grad school.
He saw Jonah among the crowd. The plan was to tell Jonah that Layne wanted to get the inside track on Farhad since he had seen them together at the fundraiser. He would claim he wanted to take Jonah out to lunch, to pick his brain. Once in the car, a quick syringe of GHB into Jonah's neck or thigh would knock him out so Layne could take him back to the hotel.
Layne raised a hand to get Jonah's attention. "Wade," he said, and his old partner ignored him at first. Conversations all around the hall drowned out his voice, but he didn’t want to shout. Layne positioned himself directly in Jonah's path to make him stop.
"Oh, hey. It’s Louie, right?"
Layne nodded. "Louie, yeah, man. You remembered this time.”
“Sorry about that. Got a little hitch in my get-along. I don’t think I’ve been sleeping well lately.”
“No problem. I don’t take it personally. How is your day?”
Layne continued to watch Jonah for any break in his exterior. But, as the man opposite him considered the question, he couldn’t see anything to indicate he didn’t believe his own story. So odd.
“Can’t complain,” Jonah said, speaking a bit slow and measured as people diverted around them like rocks in a stream. “And your first day observing?”
“I’ve been in day treatment with Mariana.”
“Oh, sure, she’s the bee’s knees. Been running ragged since her day treatment partner Thomas retired, but she somehow gets it all done.” Jonah leaned in closer. “Mariana can be a little inappropriate, but you’ve probably figured that part out already.”
“How do you mean?”
“If anyone is going to tell a dirty joke in the break room, it’ll be her. But, I’ll be honest, I don’t mind hearing them from her, if you know what I’m saying.” Jonah cleared his throat. “Did you need something from me?”
“I was wondering if I could pick your brain a little at lunch today. Just trying to get any advantage in the next round of job interviews, you know? Anything you can tell me would be a great help.“
Jonah tilted his head and furrowed his brow, appearing to consider the offer. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get any words out, the tall and dark visage of Farhad appeared from the right to turn their discussion into a trio.
"Hello, gentlemen," Farhad said.
"Hey, boss,” Jonah said.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Jahandar,” Layne said. "I was just talking to Wade here.”
“Excellent. I like your initiative, Mr. Pastori.”
Layne gave a courteous smile. “I was planning to take him out to lunch."
Farhad looked back and forth between them for a few seconds. Layne could feel the unease coming off Farhad like waves, growing a little more intense each second. His lips pursed and the older man put his hands on his hips. “Like I said, I admire your initiative, but I'm afraid that's not possible today." Farhad looked at Jonah. "We have lunch plans already."
"We do?" Jonah said.
"Yes," Farhad said. "We were going to talk about the diversion plan, remember? "
As Layne had seen on his face many times already, Jonah appeared confused. Then, it evaporated as he nodded. "Of course. I remember now."
Farhad put a hand on Jonah's back and gave him a gentle push toward the door. "Some other time, Mr. Pastori.”
With that, Farhad escorted Jonah out the front door. Layne shoved his hands in his pockets to prevent himself from punching the nearby wall.
11
Layne smiled at Mariana across the dinner table. She had a permanent smirk on her face, but not in a smug way, or a condescending way. More like confidence she wasn’t afraid to flaunt. Layne liked it. He would have never claimed that bossy and assertive women were his type, but, looking at his history, it had to be true.
They were at Edgar’s Steakhouse on Larkspur Lane. A fancy, button-up type of establishment. In front of them were two cleaned plates and two glasses of adult beverages. Layne hadn’t intended to eat his whole steak, but once he’d started, it had been too good. Pink and warm throughout, just the way a steak was supposed to be.
“You look happy, Louie,” she said.
He patted his stomach. “That was amazing.”
“It’s not a stretch to imagine you as a meat and potatoes sort of person.”
Layne pointed at his plate. “I got the vegetable medley, thank you very much. Not just potatoes. There were carrots and other crap in there too.”
“How presumptive of me,” she said, giggling.
“All is forgiven.”
“What do you think of Hillcrest so far?”
“Well, it’s a pretty limited sample size, but I liked working with you in day treatment today. I’m all for direct contact with people, and not so much sitting in staff meetings and writing out page after page of treatment plans and session notes.”
“There’s a lot of writing, no matter how you slice it.” Her head tilted a little to the other side. “So, why Redding?
“Hard to say,” he said, shrugging. “I’ve always liked Northern California. The mountains, the trees, the beaches. It’s got everything.”
They hadn’t yet discussed Farhad, but Layne knew he needed to take his time. A woman like Mariana enjoyed steering the conversation herself, and Layne could appreciate that. Push her, and she would shut off. Also, Layne found he was genuinely enjoying her company.
“I saw you chatting up Wade at lunchtime. Do you know him from somewhere?”
Layne turned up his palms. Of course, during his failed attempt to get Jonah alone at lunch, lots of people had seen them talking. That could be a problem once he finished his plan for his old partner, but, it wouldn’t matter at that point. If everything went according to plan, the people at Hillcrest might not ever see Louie Pastori again after that.
“No, we met at the fundraiser the other day.”
“I’m convinced his little Arkansas country boy accent is fake. It’s a li
ttle too thick, and he’s too cute to talk like that. I think he does it to impress the ladies.”
Layne shook his head. “I couldn’t say.”
“You working him like you’re working me?”
“Probably not working him in the same way.”
Mariana barked a laugh. “You are a sassy one. I like it because I would have guessed you were the strong silent type.”
“You think I can't be more than one thing?”
“I’m sure there’s no limit to how far you can stretch your imagination.”
Layne raised his eyebrows at her. He was used to the opposite sex flirting with him; that was nothing new. But this Mariana woman seemed to have almost no filter at the front of her brain before she fired off these comments. Despite his reasons for being here, he found her company to be a nice respite from repeated days of his ex-wife’s passive-aggressive barbs.
“Maybe, Mariana, you’ll find out. But, only if you play your cards right.”
“Aren’t you a tease?”
“I can be.”
She sipped the dregs of her drink and sighed as she set it back on the table. “If you’ll excuse me a moment, I need to use the little girl’s room.”
“Of course,” he said, and he stood up.
She looked him up and down. “I don’t think it’s that sort of bathroom.”
“Fair enough. I’ll use the one across the hall from it. If it’s all right with you for me to walk across the restaurant at the same time as you.”
“I suppose I’ll allow it,” she said. “You can chaperone me.”
He offered his arm, and she took it as a guide across the room. They ducked between tables and around waiters carrying plates of artistic desserts, toward a hall in the back. The low lights in there made finding anything a challenge.
When they were near the restrooms, she pulled back for a moment and faced him. “I know you want the inside scoop on Hillcrest and Farhad Jahandar, but, the thing is...” She hesitated a moment, her lips twitching.