by Adam Zorzi
Bella turned to Opal. “Closing the hospital will insure that nothing like this will ever happen again in a state forensic hospital.”
This was what Bella cared about. She could have accessed that amount of money and transferred it to the Cooper's bank account without going to trial. Unlike Opal, she had no qualms about stealing money. Bella wasn't a hacker, but she'd taught herself enough about accessing off-shore bank accounts of people she'd put in jail during her life as a securities lawyer to move money around. She knew white collar criminals who wouldn't notice that ten or twenty million dollars was missing.
“What about the patients? What happens to them?” Opal asked, brimming with interest.
Bella told her Mark had commissioned a private consulting firm to draft a plan to transfer patients from Commonwealth Psychiatric to appropriate facilities throughout the state.
“It's straightforward. Juvenile and geriatric patients can be moved to age-appropriate facilities. Drug detox patients go to rehab. Competency patients are either released for trial or moved to a treatment facility. A few patients will go to jail. One or two patients will need to be assessed for specific plans.” Mark nodded. “That's a strong case to close the hospital. Patients can be transferred to more appropriate facilities and the state saves money in annual operating costs. The state also looks strong for righting such a grievous wrong.”
“You're right,” Opal announced. “We are the good guys.”
“Good job, Opal. You've been great. Don't slack off now,” Mark said. “The end is in sight.”
CHAPTER
TWENTY-SEVEN
“I'm off to Henrico County for a deposition,” Mark said.
Bella knew it was Daniel's. She’d been checking Mark's calendar daily. Because of Daniel's psychiatric history and unease in courtrooms, he'd be deposed in a hotel conference room near his home. He wouldn't even go to a law office. He wouldn't have to go far. His tiger attorney Nina Lombardi would accompany him. Good. Daniel had someone who was more than competent looking out for his interests.
Bella had arranged her schedule to be open during Daniel's deposition. She planned to be a ghost in the corner. She needed intense concentration to prevent Daniel from sensing her presence. She arrived early and quieted herself.
Daniel, wearing a navy blue suit, white oxford shirt, and no tie, looked thin but not gaunt when he entered the conference room with Nina. His face and hands showed he spent regular time in the sun. Good. He was keeping his routine of walking Ivan and running.
Mark was professional and reassuring. He shook Daniel's hand, offered him water or other drinks, and sat so Daniel would be able to look outside over a manmade lake.
“We'll stipulate to the prelims,” Nina said. “Name, address, no alcohol or mind-altering substance this morning, regular meds, here voluntarily, dates of hospitalization. My client has limited endurance, so cut to the chase.”
Mark acknowledged Nina, but still took time to relax Daniel.
“Mr. Ramsay, the topic today is exclusively your experience being a patient at Commonwealth Psychiatric Hospital. I'm not asking anything about your medical condition or criminal charges. I want your truthful answers about what your hospital stay was like. Understood?”
“Yes,” Daniel said. No doubt Nina had coached him to answer in monosyllables unless asked to elaborate.
Bella's heart was breaking. Daniel looked so frail. So old. So witless. She couldn't find much of the spark of her Daniel except the rich sound of his voice and his unfailing good manners.
“Mr. Ramsay, did you feel safe at Commonwealth Psychiatric during your first inpatient admission?”
“I didn't feel anything for almost two years. I was in a catatonic state. I was sometimes aware people were in my hospital room.”
“When you became aware of your surroundings, did you feel safe?”
“Yes.”
“Were you afraid of other patients?”
“No.”
“Afraid of the staff?”
“No.”
“Do you recall the name of your doctor?”
“Dr. Harvey Chernoff.”
“Was he on staff at Commonwealth Psychiatric?”
“No. He was a private physician who specialized in my condition. My brother hired him. Dr. Chernoff came to the hospital.”
“Do you recall what he did differently from the doctors at Commonwealth Psych?”
Nina rested her hand on Daniel's arm. “Don't answer that,” Nina said. “Rephrase or move on.”
“What did Dr. Chernoff do when he visited you at the hospital?” Mark was as specific as Nina would allow.
“He put me in a lot of machines for tests. He gave me medication.”
“Did he personally give you medication?” Bella was interested in the answer to this. Chernoff probably knew the likelihood of Daniel getting the prescribed medication from the hospital staff was low.
“Yes. He came every day with pills. He told me not to take anything else but his pills.”
“After you'd been treated by Dr. Chernoff and felt better, did you interact with other people?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“Other patients. I went to the day room every day.”
“Do you recall anything unusual that happened with other patients?”
“Objection. Define unusual,” Nina barked.
“Do you have a vivid memory from that time?”
“No.”
“Do you remember being discharged from Commonwealth Psychiatric?”
“No.”
“Do you remember being in Richmond Memorial Hospital after your stay at Commonwealth?”
“Yes.”
“What happened there?”
“I saw Dr. Chernoff, got better, and went home. I mean, I went to my mother's house.”
“Mr. Ramsay, would you like to take a break?”
Bella's heart broke off a little more when Daniel looked to Nina like a child would search a teacher's face for the correct answer.
“Dan, do you want to use the men's room?” Nina said.
“Yes.”
“We'll take a break,” Nina said decisively and stood.
***
Bella had to remain impassive. If she emoted even a bit, Daniel would sense her. She watched the two men who were in her life now. Mark, who was handsome and smart enough and sexy, and Daniel, who had once been three times more handsome, smart, and sexy but was now a shell of himself. Her greatest desire at that moment was not to take Daniel away with her, but to give him a double chocolate milkshake. If only he could gain weight and muscle tone, he'd be more like the Daniel she remembered. He had to be well enough to pass with her to eternity.
Daniel and Nina returned. Mark continued his easy questioning without being condescending.
“Mr. Ramsay, you were hospitalized a second time at Commonwealth Psychiatric. Did you feel safe then?”
“At first, all I felt was loneliness. I wanted to be with my daughter.”
“After you began treatment, did you become aware of people other than your daughter?”
“Yes.”
“You attended group therapy sessions?”
“Yes.”
“You went to the day room?”
“Yes.”
“Did you feel safe? In your group sessions and the day room?”
“Not consciously.”
Nina again. “Get to the point, counselor.”
“Mr. Ramsay, did you feel unsafe at any time during your second stay at Commonwealth Psychiatric Hospital?”
“No,” Daniel responded.
“Did you wear something to identify you as a patient serving a NGRI sentence?”
“Rephrase,” Nina said.
“Was your hospital wristband a different color from anyone else's?”
“No.”
“Did you live on a ward with men and women or just men?
“Both.”
“Do you remember patients who were
on high on drugs when they came in?”
“Yes, they were always loud.” Daniel shook his head as if he could still hear them shouting and laughing and fighting.
“Were they moved so they wouldn't be so loud around other patients?”
“No. They kept me awake at night.”
“Did you tell any of the staff about the noise?”
“One time in group, I said I hadn't slept because of too much noise. It sounded like two men who were on drugs were fighting on my ward.”
“Did things change after you mentioned that?”
“No. Loud guys came until I left.”
“Did you spend time with any other patients outside of treatment?”
“No. When I went to the day room, I liked to look outside. There was a chair by the window I liked. The members of my group went back to their rooms after our sessions.”
“Why was that?”
Nina's hand shot out to signal Daniel to remain silent. “Nice try, rephrase.”
“Mr. Ramsay, am I correct in saying you interacted with the patients in your group during sessions and you didn't talk to anyone in the day room?”
“Yes. I always said hello to Big in the day room, but we didn't have conversations.”
“Do you know Big's real name?”
“No. I remember he was there during my first stay and then the second. He was always in the day room. He was always polite to me.”
“Where did you eat?”
“In my room.”
“Do you recall seeing this man during either stay?” Mark showed him a photograph of Evan Cooper.
“No.”
“What about this man?” Mark showed him a photograph of Larry Yarbrough.
“No.”
“Mr. Ramsay, were you ever sick during either of your stays?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
Bella leaned in. She dreaded hearing about his near-fatal heart attack.
“I cut my finger on a metal folding chair. An aide gave me a band-aid.”
“Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. This concludes the deposition.” Mark added all the required information for the record.
Silent tears streamed down Bella's face
CHAPTER
TWENTY-EIGHT
Two straight days of rain. Drop after drop after drop of rain matched Bella's mood. She'd underestimated her endeavor. Mark relied on her. She felt drained. She'd planned to use him as her mouthpiece to get justice for Daniel, LouLou, and any other soul who'd endured the hell that was Commonwealth Psychiatric Hospital. He was that, but not much else. She'd been the one to find Opal. Without Opal, they'd never be racing to the finish line.
She’d devoted more time to Mark than she'd planned. At first, she needed to lure him into taking the case and staying the course. She liked him. He was a good lover. Bottom line, he was lazy.
Without her prodding, he'd still be living in an unfurnished house, believing he was part of the old boys club, and getting by on charm and his family name. He enjoyed playing the non-conformist in the small, suffocating circle of Richmond society. He actually thought he was an outsider until she showed him what that really felt like. He'd been hurt before he became angry. Anger she could use. Bella didn't want to tend his hurt.
She wondered what kind of future he envisioned for himself. He knew the dating circle in Richmond was downright incestuous, yet he hadn't made a move to find someone somewhere else. Granted, girls who hung out at marina bars on the Chesapeake Bay weren't likely to be ideal, but surely there were women sailors. Women who were successful enough to own boats, captain boats, race boats. Invigorating women who were adventurous enough to sail solo. Fun women.
Mark was thirty-five and lived as though he was seventy-five without children and grandchildren to enjoy. Maybe he should go on that TV show where eligible bachelors choose a fiancée from twenty-five beauty contestants. She smiled at the thought of that being her best advice for him. She couldn't fix him. She didn't want to.
After seeing Daniel at the deposition, she chided herself for even considering Mark to having anything close to Daniel's character and capacity to love. Even broken, Daniel forced himself to be dressed, shaved, and well-mannered. He was thoughtful and eager to contribute what he could to the case. He was dependent on his lawyer, but who else could he trust given what the medical system had done to him? Bella was thrilled he had a smart cookie like Nina to protect him.
Bella was weary. Her heart had been shattered into so many pieces during her life, she was certain parts of it were dust. She'd healed as much as she could. She had to stay whole for Daniel. For the two of them. For eternity.
She replayed their lovemaking in her mind. They'd once tried to count all the places where they'd had sex and ended up losing count in a fit of laughter. They'd made such joyous love. They'd been happy.
At UVA, Daniel read the bad, but increasingly better, poems he wrote for her before bed. He had such a good ear for music that he could listen outside her practice room and identify infinitesimal nuances she’d tried and either added and discarded. The most endearing thing he did was to document their lives in scrapbooks. He kept everything: concert ticket stubs, reviews of her piano recitals, and odd memorable pieces from paper napkins to beer logo coasters.
Their favorite place to be together was the beach, especially at her parents’ house in St. John, where they swam and snorkeled in crystalline turquoise waters. They ate tree-fresh coconut, papaya, and mango, made sun tea and ginger beer, and slept in a hammock under the stars. They'd been young, naive enough, and deliriously happy.
Even when Mørk first appeared, it didn't seem so bad. They learned together how to combat it. At the first hint of Mørk, Daniel made sure to run every day, eat healthy foods on a strict timetable, and abstain from alcohol. He slept eight hours every night. Just by imposing a schedule, Mørk could be diminished. She never left Daniel during those episodes. She'd miss class and go to his with him. She learned far more about macroeconomics than she ever wanted, but she was there. With Daniel. Beating back what would become debilitating depression.
Bella skipped work during those two rainy days. On the second afternoon, she got an unexpected phone call. LouLou wanted to see her.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-NINE
LouLou was waiting by the open industrial door to her loft when Bella got off the elevator. “Thank you for inviting me, LouLou.”
LouLou said nothing. She closed and bolted the door. Bella walked in and surveyed the enormous undivided loft with minimal furniture. An ebony concert grand piano, a platform bed with built-in nightstands and lights, and a designer sectional sofa in ombré stripes of green velvet were the only pieces.
“You have a wonderful home. Lots of natural light. It's perfect.” Especially for a schizophrenic who needed to keep her mood stable and in the worst case, avoid hurting herself by minimizing the amount of sharp edges and breakable objets d'art.
LouLou headed toward the galley kitchen and refilled her water glass. Bella noticed LouLou's skinny jeans hung loosely on her. Her baby blue cashmere cardigan could have wrapped around her twice. She wore no makeup. Diamond stud earrings. She was barefoot. She looked worse than when Bella had taken her deposition.
LouLou took the water with big ice chunks in a crystal glass and skittered to the sofa, tucked her feet underneath her, and pulled her sweater tighter.
Bella sat on the section of the sofa facing LouLou.
“Are you unwell? Are you cold?” Bella asked.
LouLou silently shook her head. This was going to be tedious if LouLou didn't speak up about what she wanted. Bella knew she hadn't been summoned for a friendly chat.
She tried again. “Have you eaten?”
“Yes,” she said. Bella doubted it meant more than a few bites of something. Wasn't someone overseeing her food intake? LouLou's regimen wasn't her concern so she accepted LouLou's answer.
“I didn't know what to get you, so I brought a notebook. A
lovely blue suede cover with blank pages. We can never have too many places to write.” She smiled and placed the book tied with a white satin ribbon on the cushion next to LouLou.
“I never wanted you here,” LouLou announced. “I thought you and Dan would contaminate my space, but I have no choice. Only five people in the world know where I live. Please don't tell anyone, especially Dan.”
“No, I won't,” Bella said. Who would she tell? Dan was forbidden to contact LouLou; she had a permanent restraining order against him. Bella had already accessed the apartment when LouLou wasn't around to get a sense of the floorplan and do some necessary tasks.
“I don't like what you did,” LouLou blurted. “I'd never have known I was adopted if you hadn't given me a blind trust to be opened when I was thirty. I didn't need to know. I love my parents, not you and Dan. I'm glad I gave away the money.”
Bella easily pretended she didn't know LouLou had given away the money, but she wasn't going to let LouLou create a fantasy about how she learned of her adoption.
“LouLou, that's not true. My understanding is that the lieutenant governor investigated irregularities at Petersburg when an aide accessed confidential DNA databases and told you Daniel was your father. As to the money, it was yours to do with whatever you please. It was a gift. You're not accountable to me.”
LouLou paused, but resumed her almost childish outrage.
“You broke your promise. You and my parents had an agreement not to tell me I was adopted. Setting up that trust broke that promise. In your note, you said you set it up when I was born. You lied to them before I was born. You never intended to keep your promise.”
Anger rose within Bella, but she had to tamp it down. No one dared question her integrity when she lived as a human. She'd have ruined anyone who had. Her ghostly life was much less laudable. She'd lied, stolen, and murdered when she had to. No laws constrained her now. LouLou questioning her integrity when she was alive was unacceptable. Bella was firm and direct with LouLou.