“Stay here. I’m going to look around outside.” He pulled his weapon from the holster.
Keelyn shook her head in defiance. “Let me call in backup for you.”
He pressed his fingers into the middle of her chest and eased her back. “It’s probably nothing. I’m just going to check. I’ll be fine.”
Keelyn clasped his arm, his muscles tense under her fingers. “Someone’s following us. They watched us go through the entire store.”
Lee nodded and eased from her grip as he stepped outside. Through the last crack, he ordered, “Lock this door.”
It was everlasting minutes before he gently knocked. She peered through the side glass to confirm it was him. He shook the sleet from his hair. “There are footprints in the mud to the right side of the picture window. Looks like someone’s been standing there for a while. On the edge of the porch are clumps of mud . . . like they scraped their shoes there.”
“What should we do?”
“I’ll call Nathan. See if he wants to get casts of the prints.”
“It’s Raven. It has to be. Who else would know?”
“Keelyn, if she’s so concerned about the child, why doesn’t she just come and get her?”
Chapter 10
Wednesday
DR. FREEMAN’S HOME was reminiscent of an old-style colonial plantation. It sat on the outskirts of the general metropolis in a gated community where high-end architects showcased unusual structures on multi-acre plots. Heavy white columns, three on each side of the entry, supported a large shaded porch. Tiled steps led up to the double doors. Lee imagined the doorbell sounded like one that would have summoned Scarlett O’Hara, or her butler at least, to the front of the house.
The weather had turned warmer—a late fall tease before cold weather moved in to stay. Nathan rocked on his heels as they waited for Dr. Freeman’s mother to open the door.
Lee tugged at his suit and loosened the tie a few millimeters. He’d never complain about SWAT fatigues again. “Peculiar choice for a house in Colorado.”
The massive wood door squeaked on its hinges as a short, frail woman pulled to open it. Nathan stepped forward to push it gently and stepped through the threshold.
“Mrs. Freeman?” he asked, extending a hand. Lee smirked at his intentional exaggeration of his southern accent. Cops, at times, needed to be good actors to garner trust. What could be more genteel than a strong man with a good South Carolina lilt to his voice?
“Detective Long?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Nathan motioned for Lee to step into the house. “This is Lee Watson. He’s working with me on your daughter’s case.”
“Nice to meet you. Come, follow me. We’ll sit in the sunroom and talk. I’m sure we’ll be fast friends. I always think it’s better not to let strangers wander freely through your home.”
Lee was the last in the line. The woman’s humped frame shortened her already small stature. He stretched his neck at the thought of walking hunched over and having to peer up to see where you were going.
Lee waited for the old woman to sit before he seated himself. Nathan walked to the large bay of windows. A well-sized horse stable sat at the back end of the property, nestled in the shade of a cluster of tall pines. The woodsy scent filled the home through open windows, the sheer curtains flapped in the coolness.
Lee leaned forward and placed his hand on the old woman’s forearm. “We’re very sorry about your daughter, Mrs. Freeman.”
She patted his hand. “Thank you for your condolences.” Tears flowed down her cheeks. “Do you have an idea who killed Lucy?”
Lee withdrew his hand and grabbed a nearby box of tissue. “It’s very early in the case. Isn’t there anyone here with you?”
“I’m expecting my much younger brother here later this afternoon.” She pulled a tissue from the box and dabbed at each eye. “He’s some high-falutin’ attorney from New York who thinks he knows everything. But, it will be good to have his help you know . . . for the funeral arrangements. I don’t have any idea how to settle an estate.”
“Mrs. Freeman, I know this is a very difficult time but are you able to answer some questions about Lucy and her work?”
“I want to do what I can to help find my daughter’s killer. Ask away.”
“Did Lucy ever talk with you about any of her patients?”
The woman inhaled deeply and nestled herself back into the chair. “She didn’t really make it a habit with all those crazy privacy laws. Only one case ever troubled her enough to speak about.”
“John Samuals’s case?” Nathan asked from behind.
“Why, yes, how did you know? Might all this trouble be related to him?”
Lee continued. “We’re not sure. The other body found in her vehicle was an officer who responded to the house when John Samuals took his family hostage. Clay Timmons. Ever heard of him?”
“She never spoke to me about any such individual. Lucy, much to my chagrin, was perpetually single, so it would have perked my ears to hear of any man in her life.”
“What did she tell you about the Samuals case?”
The woman tugged at her floral silk skirt. “She was never the same after John Samuals killed his wife and children. Can you believe what an awful mess that was? I still can’t believe Lucy was involved in an incident that received so much national attention.”
Lee dipped his head in sympathetic response. How many lives had changed course because of the actions of one man?
“She moved her practice out of Colorado Springs, just uprooted everything, then built this home here and started all over at a new location.”
“What was it specifically that bothered her so?” Lee asked. “I’m sure, as a doctor dealing with the mentally ill, it’s not the first time she saw tragedy befall one of her patients.”
“No, certainly not. In her twenty years of practice, a rare few have committed suicide. But no one had killed other members of their family. It was those children he murdered that ate her up the most. She went back and analyzed his case for months. I believe she keeps those private files here at the house.” The woman eyed Lee conspiratorially. “I’m just an old woman and don’t have any need for useless things. Would you like to have them?”
Nathan turned on his heels. “Absolutely, Mrs. Freeman. We’d love to take those useless old files off your hands.”
“I thought you’d be so kind.”
Lee eased back into the chair. “It was my understanding that your daughter was still providing care to some of John’s family members. A girl named Raven.”
“John Samuals and his family created a complicated situation that involved more than just her. At first, Lucy’s practice took a hit because of the incident. But then, when it became public knowledge John wasn’t taking his meds because of financial difficulty and that’s what lit the fuel for the incident, the pressure on her eased a bit.” The woman clicked at her dentures as she gathered her thoughts. “Then people began to gravitate to her out of sympathy because she had treated John for free. Within a few years, more people were asking for her help than she could handle, and she looked to expand her practice. It took her almost six months to bring someone on board.”
“Why so long? Not enough qualified psychiatrists out there?” Nathan asked.
“It wasn’t so much that. Of course, she wanted a competent physician with good business sense. Those were easy enough to find. It was more a matter of personality. Lucy wanted to have a partner she liked and respected on a personal level who she felt safe entrusting patients with.”
Nathan grabbed his notepad from his coat and thumbed up several pages. “Gavin Donnely was her pick?”
“I don’t know if I would say that. More like, he found her, pursued her.”
“In a romantic sense?” Lee clarified.
“No, just aggressive. He was young and only a couple of years out of his psychiatric residency. Initially, she didn’t seem too keen on bringing him on board. But his credentials were impressiv
e, and he wore her down. Have you met him?”
“We’re meeting with him later today.”
“He’s charming but . . .” Mrs. Freeman glanced out the window as if trying to find the words floating among the trees.
“There’s something underneath that’s a little unnerving?” Lee offered.
“Exactly.” She nodded, turning her gaze back to Lee.
“How did things go between them?”
“At first, fine. Then things began to make her uneasy.”
“Such as?”
“John Samuals was no longer a patient of hers. He was in prison or some mental health facility—I can’t remember which. My old mind can get fuzzy with specifics. Anyway, their psychiatry staff began to take over his care. She didn’t talk about his treatment, but John called her from prison and mentioned to her that Dr. Donnely had been visiting. He wondered if she knew anything about it.”
“What did she make of that?” Nathan asked.
“She point-blank asked Dr. Donnely about it. He simply said he felt sorry for John and his circumstances. That he thought he could be a friend. Not in a doctor-patient capacity. Just provide some guidance. Help socialize him.”
Lee leaned on his elbows. “Seems strange for a psychiatrist to do. John is locked up. What’s really the importance of socializing him and providing friendship when he’s going to spend the rest of his life in jail?”
Nathan took a seat next to Lee. “It’s egotistical for a younger man to assume mentorship of an older man. What do they have in common? Donnely’s not married, doesn’t have children, correct?”
“Right. I think that’s what bothered Lucy. Then, over time, John Samuals told her he wanted Dr. Donnely to treat Raven. That she was beginning to have some difficulties he thought Dr. Donnely could help her with. Lucy made it very clear to him she felt that wasn’t a wise choice.”
“She and Donnely argued over it?” Lee asked.
“Yes. I can’t tell you how unusual that was for Lucy. She’s a pacifist really. But she was concerned for Raven’s safety. Nothing she could put her finger on, mind you, just an instinct. She believed it was crossing a professional line, to befriend a man and use it to garner business. She wondered if Dr. Donnely had been visiting John specifically to get at Raven.”
“Did Lucy tell Donnely outright that he was crossing a line?”
“Yes, but she couldn’t change his mind. She even considered filing a grievance against him.”
“Why didn’t she?” Lee asked.
“Well, I don’t know if she felt it was so clear-cut. And Dr. Donnely said to her he was simply following in her footsteps by helping this family—that because of Raven’s age and due to the fact she was being bounced from foster home to foster home, he wanted to provide his care for free.”
“What happened after that?”
“Lucy did make an attempt to keep Raven out of the practice. Nevertheless, she felt she’d said what she needed to say and the decision was going to be his. Things settled down for several years. Then Raven’s condition worsened under Dr. Donnely’s care. Lucy began snooping behind his back. Reading Raven’s chart and making her own observations in a journal she kept here. Just in the last couple of weeks, she said it became crystal clear Dr. Donnely was harming Raven and she was going to report him to the medical board. They had it out one night after work. He refused to leave. Then, I got the call yesterday she . . . was gone. Murdered. Such an—” Her voice broke as tears rolled down her cheeks. “—awful day.”
Lee leaned over and grabbed another tissue from the large, gray marbled table and handed it to her. The woman’s grief over her daughter’s death was a knife to Lee’s gut—a visual reminder of the sorrow Keelyn still carried over her own mother’s murder. Could his love eventually ease her suffering? “I’m so sorry. About everything.”
“Lucy never wanted to be involved with John or his family after that horrid day when he killed his wife and those children.” She blew into the tissue. “Somehow, Dr. Donnely snaked his way in and got her involved with it all over again. She didn’t have much fight to resist him. When he first came on board, John’s trial was coming up, and she was at her wit’s end. I think because she felt she’d already taken so much time to decide and she really did need the help, she just gave in.”
“Did Lucy ever say why Donnely wanted to keep the partnership together?” Lee asked.
“She guessed it was because of the notoriety. That he was looking to make a name for himself. Every year on the anniversary, the news runs a story about it. I think Dr. Donnely was getting ready to write a book or something. Using Raven to get background information.”
“When did Lucy start to become suspicious of Donnely doing something improper?”
“Even though John asked Dr. Donnely to take her on, Raven herself first came to Lucy because she was a familiar face and a woman. She felt like she’d be able to open up more about what was going on. Lucy, however, didn’t feel comfortable with the situation. She tried to get Raven placed with a different practice, but Dr. Donnely expressed concern that the state would not provide Raven with adequate care. Raven was sixteen at the time.”
Lee nodded. “Did Lucy ever talk about the care Raven was getting? What exactly were her concerns?”
“When Raven first started seeing Dr. Donnely, Lucy rationalized that at least she could keep tabs on the situation.” The woman’s gaze dropped down.
“What else?” Nathan prompted.
“Raven asked repeatedly to meet with Lucy. Begged would actually be a better term. Lucy said she sounded very distressed, complaining about Dr. Donnely. Lucy worried it could mean a lawsuit and decided it was in her best interest to meet with the girl.”
“When was this meeting?” Lee asked.
“About two months ago.”
“What happened?” Nathan leaned forward, blocking Lee’s view of Mrs. Freeman.
“Raven wasn’t getting better. She’d been under Dr. Donnely’s care for two or so years, but mentally, she was getting worse. Tormented by violent hallucinations. Depression. She was cutting herself with razors leaving these railroad tracks up and down her arms. Raven claimed she was seeing the same things her father had when he was ill, and this frightened Lucy terribly. That an apparition—Raven called him Lucent—was hunting her.”
Lee’s mouth dried. “You mean haunting?”
“No, hunting. She talked about this presence stalking her.”
“Did Lucy believe her?”
“My daughter could see she was a physical wreck.” The old woman crossed her arms over her chest. “Were you aware that Lucy was caring for Raven’s daughter, Sophia?”
“That’s not a good boundary for a psychiatrist to have,” Nathan said pointedly.
Lee couldn’t stop the words as they left his lips. “The child’s name is actually Sophia?”
“You didn’t know?”
His body felt heavy. “We were unsure. Haven’t been able to locate birth records yet. Keelyn, Raven’s older sister, just started calling her that. It was their mother’s name.”
“You’re right, Detective Long. It wasn’t proper.” She turned to Lee. “Keelyn must have intuition about these things. When they met, Sophia was with Raven. Both of them hadn’t bathed in days. The child acted as if she hadn’t been fed in weeks. Lucy paid for their meal.”
“What did Lucy do?” Lee asked.
“She pleaded with Raven to go for inpatient treatment. She refused. Lucy threatened to have her involuntarily committed. Raven said she’d run away. Lucy should have called the police right then. That meeting was the impetus of her thought that it was time to send Dr. Donnely on his way.”
Lee locked eyes with Nathan and mouthed the word motive.
“Lucy thought that by getting Raven out from under Dr. Donnely’s treatment, she’d be able to get a handle on what was really going on, and to see if she needed to be concerned about his other patients.”
Nathan looked up from his notes. “Wa
s Donnely aware she was looking into his other patients as well?”
“I don’t think she said anything to him, but she began keeping notes about things she thought strange.”
“Did she happen to keep those here at the house as well? Another useless file you’d like to dispose of?” Lee asked.
“Oh, I’d imagine she’d have kept that at the office. You’ll have to look there.”
Nathan made a few notes. “That will be sticky. Getting anything from her office will take a warrant. Hopefully, Donnely doesn’t know it exists.”
Lee continued. “What happened after Raven refused treatment and threatened to run?”
“My sweet Lucy could never let anything go. I always told her she needed to stop and smell the roses. I wanted her to do something different than be around mentally unstable people. Honestly, she had enough money to do whatever she wanted. Relax . . . travel . . . find a man she could settle down with. But, she saw those marks on Raven’s arms, her poor physical condition, and the fact both Raven and her daughter seemed starved. She didn’t feel the child was safe. She told Raven she was going to report her to social services.”
“That usually doesn’t go over very well,” Lee said.
“It definitely caused more arguing. To calm the situation, Lucy volunteered to look after the child.”
“From the hostage incident, Lucy had to know Raven had an older sister. Why didn’t she reach out to her for help?”
“I’m not sure she felt it was a viable option. Raven was open about the fact she and Keelyn were not getting along. Keelyn had never met her niece. Lucy looked at it as a short-term solution until she could get the situation stabilized.”
“Do you know if she and Clay Timmons ever met?” Lee asked.
She shook her head. “I have no earthly idea how the two of them ended up together dead.”
“Did Lucy ever think Lucent could be a real person?”
“The whole incident was so odd. Lucy never believed this person was real. Only a hallucination. But then when she met with Raven, her belief began to falter. She wondered if it could be a person. Something she had missed.”
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