He shook his head, not wanting to think about how much that must have hurt. “Uncle Brian!” Jason spotted Brian and ran across the room toward the attorney, his arms extended wide. “Airplane ride.”
Smiling at his son’s display of normal childhood enthusiasm, Trey dismissed thoughts of Kelly Jenkins’s possibly troubled past. He had enough problems to worry about and didn’t need to add hers to his pile.
Making whooshing sounds as if he were a flying airplane, Brian swept a giggling Jason high into the air, and then placed him back on the floor.
“Ready for some lunch?” Brian asked.
Jason nodded and they moved into the dining room where Greta had laid out a buffet of sandwiches, a tureen of soup, cut melon and fresh cookies. Dr. Donna Carico sat at the huge thick glass table speaking on her cell phone with an untouched sandwich before her. She looked up when Jason ran into the room and terminated her call.
Trey nodded at the doctor, knowing she’d had to reschedule appointments. “Thanks for coming, Donna.”
She nodded back, and a troubled smile crossed her face as Jason sat down beside her. “Hey, Jason,” she said.
“Hi, Dr. Donna.”
Trey thought Jason sounded shy. Their eyes met briefly, but then Jason turned back to the doctor.
“Are you here to talk to me?” Jason asked.
“Yes, sir. If you want to talk to me.”
Jason shrugged and focused on his sandwich. He took a bite. Then another. “Okay,” he mumbled around the bread in his mouth and held out his hand to the doctor.
Trey relaxed. Jason was willing to talk to his therapist, so maybe Donna could make some progress. Trey was beginning to doubt the wisdom of carrying on the charade that Kelly was his son’s mother. Perhaps the longer that went on, the harder it would be for Jason to face reality.
Maybe the break should be a clean one. Like ripping off a Band-Aid.
Donna accepted Jason’s offered hand, and the two left the room to go to Jason’s play room where they usually spoke. Dr. Carico would know the best way to proceed. He’d filled her in on the tumultuous morning during their phone call.
Trey nodded at Greta who hovered by the door in case she was needed. “Please take their lunch to them in the play room.”
As Greta gathered the plates, a fully dressed Kelly Jenkins entered the dining room looking as if she were on her way to play nine holes on the Collins Island course. Stunned by the transformation, Trey came to his feet and had to jerk his gaze away from her long, tanned legs. Her blond hair hung loosely around her shoulders, framing a pretty but serious face. She cleaned up nice, an old saying of his mother’s, filtered through his brain. The only thing that spoiled the image was her filthy running shoes.
He noticed Brian was also on his feet and openly checking her out.
“Brian, please meet my son’s savior, Officer Kelly Jenkins. Kelly, this is my attorney, Brian Howell.”
She stepped forward and pumped Brian’s hand. “Pleased to meet you.”
“Charmed,” Brian said. “I understand you’re quite the heroine.”
“Just doing my job,” she said.
“Do you feel better?” Trey asked. “At least warmer?”
“Much better,” she said, her focus on the buffet. “I heard something about lunch?”
“Please help yourself,” Trey said.
“Thanks.”
She piled two sandwiches, a huge mound of melon and three oatmeal cookies onto a plate. Next she scooped a ladle of steaming minestrone from the tureen and sniffed it. Apparently deciding the mix was satisfactory, she poured the thick liquid into a small bowl, sat at the table and took a giant bite from a turkey sandwich. She kept her eyes down, chewed quickly and didn’t speak.
As Trey watched her, he thought she seemed protective of her food, worried someone might take it away.
He glanced at Brian and found his friend also staring at Kelly’s strange behavior. Their gazes met, and Brian shook his head.
As if sensing the scrutiny, Kelly looked up. She swallowed the food in her mouth and asked, “What?”
“Nothing,” Trey said.
“Are you from the south Florida area?” Brian asked.
“Born and raised.”
“Where did you go to high school?”
“Why?”
Brian shrugged. “Just curious. We’re about the same age, and I’m also from Miami.”
“We didn’t go to the same school,” Kelly stated.
“How long have you been a police officer?” Brian asked.
Kelly narrowed her eyes at Brian. “Is this an interrogation or something, Mr. Lawyer?”
Brian sighed. “I was hoping you could tell me what happened in the park with Jason and the kidnappers.”
“You can read the police report,” Kelly said. “I’ve told the story at least ten times, and I’m not going over it again with you now.”
Brian held up his hands in surrender.
“Where’s Jason?” Kelly asked.
“Talking to his therapist,” Trey said.
“Excellent,” Kelly said, and resumed eating. To his surprise, she finished both sandwiches, all the fruit and started on the soup, loudly slurping the still-hot liquid from her spoon.
Trey nibbled at his own sandwich, wondering where she learned her table manners and why she was so prickly about her background. He understood why she didn’t want to go over her confrontation with the kidnappers again, and had to laugh at the expression on Brian’s face when she shut him down. Not many people had the nerve to speak to Brian Howell that way.
“Well, I’m definitely full,” Kelly said after a few minutes, gazing regretfully at her untouched cookies. “Thanks for lunch, but I really need to get going.”
“You can take the cookies with you,” Trey said, relieved the complication of Kelly Jenkins was soon to be over and she’d be out of his life. And his son’s life.
She bit her lip, and he could tell she considered grabbing the cookies, but shook her head and rose. “That’s okay. You’ll make sure I get home, right?”
“Of course,” Trey said. He nodded at Greta who had returned to her post. “Please summon Hans.”
Trey turned to Kelly again. “Officer Jenkins, thank you. I can’t express how grateful I am for your assistance with my son.”
“No problem.”
Trey smiled. Why did people politely say “No problem,” when there actually was a problem? Rescuing his son had created chaos for this woman. He could tell she was uncomfortable even now.
“How will I get these clothes back to you?” she asked.
“There’s no need for that. Please accept them as a very small token of appreciation.”
She hesitated, but said, “Okay.”
Maria appeared at the door holding a small bag. “Officer Jenkins, this is your clothing. I laundered it for you, but it might still be a little damp.”
“Thanks, Maria,” Trey said, relieved there’d be no excuse for Kelly Jenkins to reappear in his world. Although, frankly, she seemed to be in as big a hurry to escape as he was to see her go.
“Should I say goodbye to Jason?” Kelly asked, looking from Trey to Brian.
“Don’t you think it would be better if you left without him knowing?” Trey said. “He might get upset.”
“But what will he do when he learns I’m gone?”
“He’s with his therapist. Dr. Carico will handle any problems.”
“Better to make a clean break,” she said with a nod, echoing his earlier thoughts.
“I’m glad you agree.”
Trey accompanied her to the foyer, and they stepped outside where Hans waited beside the limo.
“Thanks again,” Trey said.
“Sure.” K
elly hurried down the steps with a backward wave. She bent over to enter the limo when a blur dashed past him.
“Mommy,” Jason shrieked.
Trey reached for his son but missed.
Out of breath, Dr. Carico appeared beside Trey. “He wanted me to meet her. He really believes this woman is his mother.”
Trey watched in horror as Jason threw his arms around Kelly’s legs, surprising her, knocking her off balance again.
But she recovered without falling, and knelt to speak with him.
Trey and Dr. Carico hurried down the steps.
“I’m so sorry,” Dr. Carico told Kelly.
“Come on, buddy,” Trey said. “Mommy has got to go.”
Sobbing, Jason buried his face in Kelly’s shoulder and clasped his hands around her neck. “Take me with you, Mommy,” he pleaded. “Please.”
CHAPTER FOUR
MURMURING SOOTHING SOUNDS, Kelly placed the still-sobbing Jason back in his airplane bed. She knelt, not letting go of his warm sticky fingers. Dr. Carico moved beside them and quickly administered an injection into his upper arm. The child didn’t react to the prick of the needle.
“He’ll be out soon,” the doctor said softly.
Kelly nodded, her attention focused on the child, stroking damp hair away from his flushed face. Unbearably sad blue eyes stared into hers. Poor little dude.
“Don’t go,” he whispered.
“I’m right here,” Kelly said.
He heaved a sigh, closed his eyes and within a minute or two his breathing grew steady. He didn’t rouse when she released his hand.
Feeling older than her sergeant, she came to her feet and faced Carico who stared at her now sleeping patient with a worried frown.
“Maybe I should have sedated him earlier, but he seemed fine.”
“He’s fine until I leave his sight,” Kelly said. “Now what?”
“He’ll sleep the rest of the night.”
“Will his head be straight when he wakes up in the morning?”
Carico met Kelly’s gaze. “I don’t know.”
“At least you admit it.” Kelly looked away from the question in Carico’s probing gaze. What did these people expect her to do? Sure, she felt bad for the little dude—the kid was in a very bad place—but she wasn’t anybody’s mother. And she had a career to get back to.
“Let’s go downstairs and talk to Trey,” Carico suggested.
Kelly followed the doctor down the elegant stairs, across the marbled living room into the dining room where Wentworth and his lawyer pal sat at the massive glass banquet table deep in conversation. Lunch had been cleared, but they each held a graceful crystal glass full of red wine. An array of cheese and crackers worthy of being on a magazine cover sat between them, along with the open wine bottle.
Well, it’s five o’clock somewhere.
With a start, she realized it was after 6:00 p.m. Where had the time gone? The sun would soon set on the most surreal day of her life. Not the most frightening, but definitely the strangest.
Wentworth glared at her with an expression so full of resentment she squared her shoulders. Did the jerk blame her for this fiasco? Geez. Like it was her fault Jason preferred a stranger’s comfort to his father’s.
“How is Jason?” Wentworth asked.
“Asleep,” Carico said. “And he’ll stay that way the rest of the night.”
“Good.” Wentworth nodded. “Would you like some wine?”
“No,” Carico replied as she seated herself. “Thanks, but I have a meeting later that I can’t miss.” Glancing at her watch, she added, “In fact, I’ll have to go soon. The ferry is crowded this time of day.”
“Kelly?” Wentworth asked.
“Wine sounds great,” Kelly said, taking a seat across from Wentworth at the table.
A plump blonde woman who’d been lurking at the door rushed in and placed a clean wineglass on the table.
“Thank you, Greta,” Wentworth said. He dribbled wine into the new glass, then pushed it across the table toward Kelly.
“Thanks.” She took a swallow, surprised to find the taste wasn’t sweet like the crap she usually drank. She swirled the liquid in the glass like she’d seen on television and took another sip. Not bad actually. This must be what the wino experts called dry, and no doubt more expensive than anything she’d ever swilled in her life.
She lowered the glass and found Wentworth staring at her, along with his lawyer and his son’s shrink.
The lawyer cleared his throat. “We seem to have a situation here.”
“No shit,” Kelly blurted, and immediately regretted her choice of words. At least the kid was upstairs snoozing.
During an awkward silence, Carico helped herself to several slices of cheese and crackers and placed the food on an elegant white plate. When she resumed her seat, Kelly met her gaze. The shrink narrowed her eyes and nodded, as if she’d arrived at some sort of conclusion.
“What do you think, Donna?” Wentworth asked.
“The kidnapping made Jason regress,” Carico said. “That was to be expected.”
Wentworth nodded. “Is there a possibility he’ll continue to think Officer Jenkins is his mother when he wakes up?”
“I can’t answer that question. We’ll have to wait and see.”
“Is there any chance he’s making this up, that he knows this woman isn’t his mother?” Wentworth asked.
Kelly took a sip of her wine to cover a snort. Wentworth was clueless. He’d seen Jason’s reactions. How could anyone possibly think the little dude was playacting?
“Not from what I’ve observed,” the doctor said, shaking her head.
“Have you ever seen anything like this before?” the lawyer asked.
“I’ve never treated a patient with this kind of transference, but I’ve read about it. It’s rare.”
“Transference?” Kelly asked.
“In therapy, transference usually happens when a patient projects their feelings or thoughts about one person onto their analyst. The analyst comes to represent some person from the patient’s past, and it can provide a useful window of information about what a patient desires or wishes to avoid.”
“Jason desires his mother to be back,” Wentworth said.
Carico nodded. “The abduction traumatized him, made him long desperately for his mom to protect him. When he spotted Officer Jenkins, who physically resembles his absent mother, he latched on to the idea she’d returned to save him. A mental defense mechanism created by a terrified child.”
“Jason knows his mother is dead,” Wentworth said.
“But can a four-year-old truly understand the finality of death?” Carico asked gently.
Kelly stared into her wineglass. She’d seen her mother everywhere for years after her murder. And she’d been thirteen, a teenager who definitely understood the meaning of death.
“Plus, in our sessions, Jason mentioned his mom used to take him with her jogging.”
“The healthiest thing she ever did,” Wentworth said, in a tone full of sarcasm.
Kelly glanced at Wentworth. Definitely not too fond of his late wife.
“Jason’s symptoms also vaguely remind me of conversion hysteria,” Carico continued, frowning. “But usually in such cases there is a physical ailment, such as blindness or paralysis, that develops. I intend to do a lot of research.”
Wentworth leaned forward. “Whatever it takes.”
Carico flashed Wentworth such a brilliant smile that Kelly almost choked. What was up with that? Did the good doctor have the hots for her patient’s father?
“But the gorilla in the room is what do we do about Officer Jenkins,” Carico said.
Kelly met the shrink’s direct gaze and didn’t like what she saw. Uh-o
h. No question she was going to hate what came next.
“After careful consideration,” Carico said, “it is my opinion that Kelly should be available when Jason wakes up. Just in case.”
* * *
TREY CLOSED HIS eyes to block out the outraged expression on Kelly’s face. She obviously didn’t like the idea of hanging around. Hell, he didn’t want her here, either. He’d hoped to be rid of her, but what choice did he have when Donna recommended she remain?
Jason needed her.
“Just in case what?” Brian asked. “I think we need to be clear here.”
“In case Jason becomes agitated that his mother is gone again,” Donna said. “You’ve seen how he reacts when Kelly attempts to leave. His personality is extremely fragile because of everything he’s been through. We don’t want to push him into a full-blown episode of hysteria. From what I saw earlier, he was very close, and that could be quite damaging, perhaps take years to recover from.”
“I have to agree,” Brian said. “I’ve never seen any child react the way he did when we tried to separate him from Officer Jenkins.”
“What concerns me most is how he stiffened his limbs,” Donna said. “That’s a symptom of catatonia. We want to avoid pushing him into such a dangerous state.”
Remembering the sight of Jason’s rigid body when he tried to separate him from Officer Jenkins, Trey stared into his wine. What was happening to his son? Even with all his resources, he was helpless to prevent Jason’s downward spiral.
“Come on, guys. You can’t expect me to stay here,” Kelly said, her gaze shifting around the table.
“I know it would be a tremendous imposition, but couldn’t you remain just one night?” Donna said. “I’ve done it several times, and this villa is quite comfortable.”
“You can stay in the guest room you used earlier,” Trey said. “I’ll place my staff at your disposal.”
“No way,” Kelly said. “I have to work tomorrow.”
“I’ll have Hans drive you to your station in the morning.”
“Roll call is at ten a.m. What if Jason isn’t awake by then?”
Donna smiled. “You obviously aren’t familiar with little boys. I’m certain he will be up long before that.”
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