Peggy Holloway - Judith McCain 02 - Portrait on Wicker by Peggy Holloway Read Free Book Online

hesitant about telling me, Judith. You have the PhD in Psychology. But remember, I worked for awhile as a profiler and I know how charming serial killers can be. I also know not all sociopaths are serial killers.”
    “That’s right. A lot of them end up in politics or head major corporations. They make great salesmen and women. Could they also be attracted to the FBI? Why not? But I don’t think sociopaths are ever pedophiles, at least I’ve never heard of it happening.”
    “I’m going to have to think about all of this…,” Tracy said as Mimi stepped out on the porch.
    “ Anna just called and wants us for a meeting, Judith. I insisted that you come too, Tracy. After all you are part of the family, now.”
    When we were seated in Dr. Anna’s office , with cups of coffee, she told us something I was dreading.
    “Okay , here’s the thing. Although Julia has been functioning and has even been successful over the past years, she is still very ill. Her actions over the past few months have shown that. She has decompensated to the extreme. Do you agree with me, Judith?”
    As bad as I didn’t want to admit it, I had to agree . I nodded.
    Dr. Anna looked at Mimi. “What do y’all want to do? She’s no longer a minor so, if she’s not willing to admit herself, we would need a court order. You might want to take her nearer home, Mimi. I think we should approach her together and do a sort of intervention like they do with alcoholics.”
    The intervention wasn’t necessary. When we got to her room Julia asked Mimi if she could come home with her.
    “I need to get away, Mimi. Is there a place out there I can check myself into, to get some help? I intend to take it seriously this time. I’ve been fooling myself. I’m not well at all.”
    Dr. Anna looked pleased. “Well it’s settled then. I would like to continue working with you, but I think you need to be in Houston with family and away from this area.”
    The next day Julia was pronounced physically healthy enough to travel. The four of us said goodbye to Dr. Anna and caught a flight home.
     
     
     
    CHAPTER 13
     
    When we got home Tracy went out back to check on Mark and Brad. I put Julia and Mimi to bed. Julia was still on a lot of drugs and needed to sleep. Mimi looked worn out. I went out back to the old servant’s quarters to talk to Tracy and Mark. Tracy was going through her mail. Mark and Brad were wrestling in the couch. Tracy motioned for me to follow her into the kitchen.
    A fter we were seated with coffee she said to me, “My boss called. He wants to see me ASAP. He said it was very important. I reminded him I was still on vacation but he said he still needed to see me. We compromised and I will see him at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. I think I’m going to try to feel him out.”
    “Be careful,” I said. “He might have more information than you think and he might try to catch you off guard. I have a few patients to see tomorrow and then I’ll be home. Mimi is going to call around and find a place for Julia. I have a few ideas myself, so we should have her settled in by tomorrow night. Why don’t you and Mark plan to have dinner with us tomorrow night and we can catch each other up.”
    The next day we were able to get Julia into a psychiatri c hospital I worked out of, Westpark Psychiatric Center. It wasn’t very far from us. It wasn’t as plush as where she was in Florida but it had a lot more programs for her to interact with others, which was what she needed.
    We left her there after she promised to work hard on her issues and be honest about what she talked about. I knew she had some rough times ahead, but it would pay off eventually.
    We stopped off at Rice grocery and bought a pot roast. Mimi made the best and it was Mark’s favorite. By the time we got home it was around 3:00 p.m. Mimi said she would nap for awhile. I decided to go see Tracy. I couldn’t wait any longer.
    When I got there Mark told me she was upstairs packing.