Deadly Delusions

by Barbara Ebel

  Annabel’s hand fumbled around on the bedspread until she found her cell.

  “Hello,” she said as she sat up.

  “Annabel, this is Dustin Lowe. I’m sorry to hear what happened to you tonight.”

  “Oh,” she said, surprised. “I guess Edgar told you about it.”

  “Yes, he did. We are working on the case together. I found and arrested the two men that robbed you.”

  “Oh,” she said again, unable to think of what to say. How much did Dustin know? Probably too much.

  “I thought you’d be happy,” he said. “We retrieved your money.”

  “Yes, thank you. I am.”

  “Tomorrow or at your convenience, please pick it up at the station.”

  “I’ll come by on Sunday before our brunch. I can’t do it on Monday when I launch into another week of psychiatry.”

  “About Sunday …”

  Annabel held her breath. His tone sounded peculiar.

  “I think it’s best if Dr. Keeton and Officer Banks go out without us. I won’t be seeing you on Sunday. I apologize for starting a friendship I can’t follow through with.”

  Annabel felt like the inside of a clam and someone just slammed her shell tight. She took a brief moment to momentarily fake the collection of her pride.

  “That’s fine. A robbery was enough for one weekend. I have better things to do … like producing the best darn paper on the psychosis of schizophrenic patients that’s ever been written by a student.”

  “I agree with you and lots of luck,” he said. “I hope I don’t see you again in my line of work. Good night.”

  When they terminated the call, Annabel wanted to throw her iPhone across the room. Too bad she had called her mother earlier because she would rather listen to her soothing voice right now.

  -----

  Annabel woke with her head throbbing like a hangover. Damn, she thought, rubbing her temples. Meeting Tristan through Findar had been a regrettable mistake. She should have been getting up today with a sexual afterglow but instead she was living in the aftermath of being robbed and with the possibility her psychiatrist attending would hear about what happened. Plus, she was dumped before a date by a pretty decent guy.

  She looked out the window to glance at her favorite tree. The leaves varied with subdued brown and red tones; many fluttered to the ground and scattered about on the street.

  As she dressed accordingly for the weather, she dreaded what she must do. Before she got immersed in her studying and paper, she wanted to visit the police station and get it over with. In a half hour, she sat at a table in the neighborhood coffee shop holding a stiff brew. Anything to give her the courage to show up where she was going. Then she walked to her car and followed GPS directions to the station.

  A female officer at the front desk balanced a phone at her ear but greeted Annabel at the same time.

  “I’m Annabel Tilson. I was robbed last night but the officers recovered my money. About a hundred and twenty dollars. They told me to pick it up.”

  “Who called you?” she asked.

  Annabel grimaced. She hoped the woman would not ask because now she may be sent to him.

  “It was Dustin Lowe,” she said.

  “Officer Lowe will be on duty later so he’s not here. I’ll check with the sarge about retrieving your money.” She must have been on hold because she hung up the phone and walked away.

  Annabel sighed with relief. There was something to be said about being an early bird.

  The woman came back in a few minutes and passed Annabel’s change purse across the counter. “Is this it?” the woman asked.

  Annabel nodded.

  “Check the contents.”

  She unzipped it and counted. “It appears to be all here.’

  “Sign here to confirm you received it,” the officer said. “And they’ll call you if they have any other questions. Consider yourself lucky on all counts. You weren’t hurt and the astute police officers tracked down your money. Not to mention the crooks.”

  Annabel slid the clipboard and pen back to her. “I agree,” she said. “I’m indebted. Thank you.”

  As she walked back out into the sunshine, she made a mental note to take a vacation from Findar for the end of the fall.

  -----

  After Edgar told the maître d’ no one else would be joining them, a waiter directed Selina and Edgar to their table. The few empty tables in the crowded restaurant were being turned over for the next customers. Most people had arrived after Sunday church services; the women decked out in fancy apparel and many men wearing sports’ jackets over their shirts. Selina wore a rust cotton top with a string of pearls and her complexion and silky hair made middle-aged men turn their heads.

  The couple sat down at a place setting for four and the waiter scooped up the extra two napkins and utensils and handed them menus.

  “Can I start you off with something to drink?” he asked. “Maybe Bloody Mary’s?”

  “I’m on call,” Selina said to Edgar, “so no drinking for me.” She placed the menu down. “Just a sweet iced tea,” she said.

  “Black coffee,” Edgar said.

  “I thought your partner and Annabel were joining us,” Selina said. “I was expecting them. You must know something I’m not aware of.”

  That’s an understatement, Edgar mused. “Dustin told me he canceled their date,” he said. “He had second thoughts.”

  Selina tilted her head but refrained from looking surprised, a skilled knack she acquired in her specialty because of the bizarre statements and stories she would hear from patients. While talking with them, her countenance always remained calm and composed.

  “How odd,” she said, wondering if he would offer more.

  He shrugged his shoulders as their drinks arrived. “Yes, too bad. I enjoy my partner’s company and Annabel seemed like a nice young woman. However, no such thing happened with us,” he said leaning over, “so let’s enjoy our lunch.”

  At least the robbery was police business, he thought, so nothing more need be divulged.

  Chapter 21

  On Sunday morning, Annabel hit the pavement for a walk and a run along the river. Her mind was cluttered and she needed to clear the cobwebs from her brain and then focus on studying and writing. As lunch time arrived, a nervousness took hold because she knew Dr. Keeton and Officer Banks must be eating together. She could only hope that Selina would not be told any details about her Tristan encounter and why Dustin canceled their date. Otherwise, she’d want to bury her head in the sand.

  She hated when events took place that she wished she could undo; earlier she’d possessed a gut feeling about meeting Tristan and didn’t heed it. Now it was easy for her to be knowledgeable about the event after it happened. As her grandfather used to say, “Hindsight is 20/20.” Even better was his own made-up version; “It’s too late to put the toothpaste back in the tube.” That man had so much wisdom, she wished she could still tap into his thoughts now.

  As the afternoon wore on and Annabel immersed herself in her studies, she began to shed her uneasiness, especially since her paper wrapped up her concentration. Her phone stood ready because she was technically ‘on-call’ with Dr. Keeton.

  She had made a vow to do nothing new with Findar, but her profile still existed and a few more men had contacted her based on her information. Annabel peeked at her phone. Two fellows came across as interesting. Maybe her recent debacle didn’t mean she had to quit dating; it only meant she had to be more careful. Really careful. And go with her instinct not to take chances with a fishy situation.

  It wasn’t the time, however, to start another fling. Finishing up psychiatry is the priority, she thought. There’s been enough excitement for one rotation.

  As she pondered her Findar plan, the daylight coming through her primary bedroom window faded and she knew the chance of a hospital psychiatric emergency increased in the evenings. Annabel put her work aside and went to the refrigerator. She made a green sa
lad and then mixed canned chicken with mayonnaise, honey, cranberries and pecans. The combination satisfied her but she imagined food much tastier if she’d gone to the brunch with the officers and Selina.

  She placed her dishes in the sink and spun around to the ringing of her iPhone. When she answered, the secretary in the emergency facility gave her a quick message.

  “Dr. Keeton requests your presence. There’s an admission for you.”

  “I’ll be there,” she said.

  -----

  Another suicidal patient.

  Annabel nodded at the receptionist who relayed the information to her as she passed the desk. Bob’s patient had pulled off the unspeakable so she understood the ramifications of a patient with that diagnosis ending up in the emergency room.

  When she went through the door to the back area, she found Dr. Keeton pacing behind the desk wearing a frown and talking on her cell phone. When she slipped her phone back in her pocket, she glanced at Annabel.

  “That was Edgar Banks. He’s such a sweetheart. They are working the evening shift and he’s coming by to take some information.”

  “He seems very helpful. I hope you two enjoyed lunch today.”

  “We did,” she said, letting it rest there.

  “Come on in and meet your next admission. She is only seventeen years old. Her mother found her in the backyard attaching a rope to the beam of her childhood swing set, ready to put her neck in it.”

  Annabel shuddered as she struggled to keep up with Dr. Keeton entering the patient’s room.

  “I have called a police officer,” Selina said to two females inside, “and he is going to question you both about the cyberbullying. There are laws which thwart that kind of behavior and they may be able to put a stop to it.”

  Annabel slinked into the chair nearest the door. On the table sat a fidgety, thin high-school teen with black hair and black-rimmed glasses. She wore a wrist full of bracelets and her eyes were as despondent as a puppy in an abandoned kennel.

  “This is one of my medical students,” Selina said, pointing to Annabel. “Dr. Tilson will be helping me to take care of you and will be asking you questions as well.”

  “This is Ms. Haley Morris,” Selina added, “and her mom, Dorothy. Please ask Haley any initial questions before I dig deeper.”

  Annabel squinted her eyes. Based on the little she knew, she needed to ask the most succinct important questions that a caretaker would need to know.

  “All I know is that you tried to end your life today, Haley. Is that true?”

  The young woman nodded, giving Annabel no eye contact.

  “Have you ever been suicidal before?”

  She glanced at her mother and shook her head ‘no.’

  “Do you still want to carry out that plan?”

  “If my mother hadn’t stopped me, I wouldn’t be here. I’ll still do it if I can.”

  Annabel gasped. She leaned closer for better eye contact. “Why, Haley? What is causing you to feel this way?”

  The girl peered at Annabel and twisted her hands. “You must understand what it’s like. Two months ago I sexted an upper body picture of myself to my boyfriend. We broke up last month which was bad enough, but then he passed the photo around to other kids at school.”

  “Haley started getting depressed last month,” her mother said, “right after this so-called boyfriend stopped calling her. She wouldn’t eat much and sulked around the house and skipped school a few days saying her stomach ached.” She bit the outside of her lip and patted her daughter’s knee to continue.

  “You must have felt terrible,” Annabel said to Haley.

  “Yeah,” she mumbled. “Kids started harassing me, especially girls. All over Facebook and even texting and emailing me. Calling me a whore and a slut.”

  Mrs. Morris wiped a tear off her own cheek. “She failed a few tests since then because she hasn’t even been studying,” she said. “You both need to make this right. I want my daughter back.”

  Annabel sat tall. How cruel the other kids were. She looked at Dr. Keeton.

  “Haley needs help. You’re both in the right place,” Selina said.

  -----

  When Dr. Keeton finished with Haley, she stepped outside with Annabel. “You can go back in to finish your mental status exam with her,” Selina said. “She is an interesting case with no risk factors for suicide. No history of drug or alcohol dependence, she’s not an older age, she’s not a male, and there is no family history of suicide attempts or prior suicide attempt. Haley is a patient who has absolutely none of those red flags. Nowadays, I think we should put cyberbullying on our assessment list.” She contracted her brow, shook her head, and grabbed the girl’s paperwork.

  The main doors to the area swung open. Annabel’s face grimaced with surprise and disapproval for there stood Banks and Lowe.

  “Hello, again,” Edgar said to Selina. “Annabel, nice to see you so soon, too,” he added.

  Dustin nodded at Dr. Keeton. “I bet you and Edgar hit it off today.” He couldn’t let any kind of personal situation interfere with his job, so he continued. “Annabel, I heard you picked up the cash we retrieved. I’m glad your money was recovered.”

  “I am the one who owes you both a thank you,” she said softly, hoping that would be the end of it. Selina was giving her a questioning look.

  “It worked out for the best,” Edgar said. “No one has posted bail yet for Tristan or his buddy so Dustin and I are free of them for a while.”

  Selina’s head went back and forth between Annabel and the officers. “I’m in the dark here,” she said. “Which is a rarity for me.”

  Annabel spoke up quickly. “Some cash was stolen from my car and Edgar and Dustin recovered it.”

  “I see,” she said. Why was this so secretive between them? Over lunch, Edgar did not mention a word. There was more to it. “I’m glad to know you all worked out a problem and no one was hurt.”

  All three of them stared at her and nodded.

  Dr. Keeton furrowed her eyebrows. “I won’t say or ask another thing,” she said and walked around the desk. “There’s another matter to take care of. A suicidal teen who is the target of cyberbullying. In there …” She pointed to the closed door. “Why don’t you gentlemen go in there now while her mother is with her? Annabel will follow later to complete her student assessment.”

  “We’re on it,” Edgar said and took a step.

  Dustin paused while his eyes locked onto Annabel. “Sorry, Annabel,” he said in a low voice, “that I canceled. I hope you understand why.”

  “Don’t apologize. I shouldn’t have accepted your kind date to begin with.”

  Their eyes held for a second like a truce had been drawn in the sand and Edgar and Dustin disappeared into the room.

  Selina started writing orders for Haley’s hospital admission and reached over the counter to hand Annabel a sheet for her H&P. “Whatever that whole thing was about with the officers is none of my business but I am suspecting, other than you being robbed, you did something which did not meet with their approval.”

  Annabel took the paper and dreaded hearing every word Selina spoke.

  “The personal life of a physician should complement their duty to behave morally, with trustworthiness, and with high standards … in my opinion. And I believe it to be the opinion of a medical school admissions committee to admit candidates with high moral compass.”

  Annabel swallowed hard. “Yes, Dr. Keeton. I understand.” She sat on the other side of the counter to begin writing. Selina had a point, one which she didn’t dispute. However, in a way, she thought a clinician’s sex life had little to do with that doctor’s or student’s practice of medicine.

  When Edgar and Dustin left the Morris’s room, they spoke with Selina about the department’s plan to go after Haley’s cyberbullies; there was an actual protocol in place. They gave Selina a hearty good-bye, nodded at Annabel, and left. Annabel went back in and finished examining Haley from a psychiatri
c and medical standpoint. Back outside, Selina stood taking off her white jacket. An orderly stood beside a stretcher.

  “You’re free to leave after you’ve finished your paperwork,” Selina said. “They’re transporting Haley over to the hospital and all my orders are in place. She will be under strict suicide precautions.”

  “I’ll finish my work over on the ward,” Annabel said. “If no one minds, I’m going to tag along and follow my patient over there.”

  Selina put on a jacket and looked twice at her. “That’s a fine plan. See you in the morning.”

  Annabel helped escort Haley and her mother to the waiting stretcher and the man began giving the youngster a slow ride. The long narrow corridor of the hospital’s ground floor seemed like an endless journey.

  “I did a stupid thing posting that picture of myself,” Haley said to Annabel. Her voice was soft as she held the white sheet over her chest … as if covering what had been exposed in the picture. “But I haven’t deserved the consequences for one lousy mistake. Other students have been so cruel.”

  “I agree with you,” Annabel said. “The punishment didn’t fit the crime. So to speak.”

  In her hospital room, Annabel gave Haley the TV remote after she settled in bed, her mother sitting beside her. “Your mom will be leaving soon, so find yourself a funny show or comedy to lighten up your spirit. Promise me. Call the desk if you are dreaming up more ways to hurt yourself. You can even call me if you’d like.”

  “Thank you,” Mrs. Morris said.

  “I promise,” Haley said.

  Annabel had more than enough to think about on her drive home. Now she had sixteen-and seventeen-year-old female patients with catastrophic mental problems. They were too young to be messing up their lives. Her male medical student patient was in a dire situation, too.

  With the stress of handling these patients, Annabel was glad she had Bob to pal around with … the only other young person in her daily life who was normal. It’s unfortunate he was spending less time in the psychiatry rooms and was hanging out more with Karla from the medicine rotation. In a way, she felt lonely. Dr. Keeton was probably more skeptical about her now and the officers weren't too friendly towards her either. The best way to not feel sorry for herself was to continue immersing herself with her patients’ care and her studies and try to be the best damn student possible.