Hidden by Derick Parsons, John Amy Read Free Book Online

‘With her behaviour patterns that was the first thing we looked at, obviously, but so far we haven’t found anything to suggest it.  Not up to the age of ten anyway, which is as far as Sarah got with her memories.  She doesn’t have much time for her father but she’s better with him than any other man.  Not that that’s saying much.’
    ‘Well, it’s something else I’ll look at,’ said Kate, ‘ But even if we never get to the bottom of her personality problems we might at least find out the cause of her actual breakdown.  I have to say I’m dying to meet her but I’d better study her file first.  I’ll take it home with me tonight, if that’s okay.  What medication is she on?’
    ‘Well, she was on twenty milligrams of Diazepam a day but after today’s incident I think we’ll up it to thirty.’  He smiled a little too widely, ‘Good old-fashioned Valium.  She’s isolated from the male patients, of course, and attended solely by women, so that should be sufficient for the moment.’
    Kate looked at him almost admiringly , ‘It’s also a small enough dosage to allow me to begin therapy sessions immediately.  That’s the real reason you cut her medication again, isn’t it?  You were that confident I’d say yes, you arrogant brute!’
    ‘No, n o, her aunt really did complain,’ he protested instantly. Then he grinned disarmingly, ‘But I have to admit I was killing two birds with one stone.  But I was hopeful you’d say yes, not confident.  You don’t let your friends down, Kate.  Besides, how could you resist my good looks and charming personality?’
    She laughed, ‘More easily than you want to know , trust me!  But I’ve missed it.  The job, I mean, not your less than devastating charm.  I think it’s time I came back.’
    He nodded in understanding and had the grace to look sheepish as he replied, ‘I was counting on that too.  I know what being a therapist meant t o you, and I figured it was only a matter of time before you came back to it.’
    ‘You are good,’ said Kate resignedly, ‘And if you’re a creep at least you’re an honest one.  But I’ll let myself be manipulated this time, since it suits me too.  But there is a condition.’  She looked him in the eyes and said firmly, ‘You don’t interfere in any way.’
    He hel d up his hands in a backing off gesture and said, ‘You’ll have a totally free hand with her, provided you give me regular reports.’
    Kate grinned, sudden happiness flooding her as she felt the thrill of being back in harness again after being so long away.  God, she had missed this!  Why she had missed it so much was another matter, and one she didn’t intend to pursue too deeply; those were dangerous waters, and for a therapist she was surprisingly loath to analyze herself.  She laughed suddenly, ‘We’re a screwed up bunch, aren’t we?’
    ‘Worse than most of our patients,’ he agreed, amused, ‘Whom we use to work out our own problems.  Or do you want to try telling me, with a straight face, that your own personal life is healthy?  Or ever has been?’
    Kate made a wry moue and agreed , ‘Never.  But then, I first became interested in psychology because of my own problems.  And if my own life is a disaster at least it’s only hurting me, and maybe I can use the mess to help others.’
    ‘I don’t doubt it,’ he said, suddenly turning gentle in one of those lightning changes of mood she had never been able to accustom herself to, ‘Do I take it that means you aren’t currently, er, involved?’
    It was her turn to wince, ‘Don’t ask.  That’s a painful subject at the moment.’
    ‘I understand.  Peter’s an old friend of mine too, remember, and I know some of the details of your break-up.  Which I won’t go into now for fear of your running out on me.  But it’s been what, four or five months since you split up?  I just thought you might have met someone new by now.’  You always did lurch from