PJ replied, "We are attempting to locate the body of Jessica Parry, Amanda's daughter. The man convicted of killing her will be put to death in less than three weeks, so any chance to get additional information from him will soon be lost. Obviously, since he has continued to maintain his innocence, he has not provided any useful information. We're attempting to contact others who may have ideas that could provide us with information to persuade him to cooperate before his execution. We're looking for people who knew both Jessica and the man convicted of her death. We hoped that Amanda Bennett might be able to provide the names of some people who could help."
PJ was talking quickly in an effort to get her entire pitch out before the doctor began raising barriers. She continued, "We are very sensitive to not doing anything that would bring additional distress to Amanda or hamper her recovery. In fact, we're hoping that if we can find Jessica's body it might bring some closure for Amanda and contribute positively to her recovery."
Dr. Burns had listened intently as PJ spoke. He gave no signs of intending to interrupt her. When she finished he drew a deep breath while obviously contemplating her words. Finally, he asked, "You say you are looking for Jessica's body, but who do you work for? Are you investigators? Who is paying to look for her body at this point? What can you do that the police didn't do at the time of her murder?"
PJ handed him one of her business cards, "The owner of my agency takes on pro bono cases as a means to give back to society. This is one of those cases" I love how she tells the truth, just maybe not the whole truth. She continued, "There has been some speculation that the original investigation may not have been as comprehensive as it could have been. We're hoping to rectify that. But you are correct, it will be tough after so much time has passed. Still, we think it's worth the effort. Finding Jessica's body could help any number of people put this behind them and move on."
Again, Dr. Burns appeared to be intently reflecting on PJ's words. I was bracing for a fight when he surprised me with, "I agree with you Ms. Johnson, while finding Jessica's body will be another trauma in itself, it could well remove some of the obstacles that are inhibiting Amanda's recovery. Amanda is one of my patients and several times I felt that we were making notable progress only to have her slip back away. Your desire to find Jessica might present just the type of activity to cause Amanda to reengage. My only requirement is that I participate in any and all meetings you have with Amanda. The conversation will follow my lead and if I deem that the discussion is in any way becoming detrimental to Amanda I will terminate it at once. Understood?"
"Of course Doctor. We wouldn't want to do anything that could jeopardize Amanda's recovery. It is encouraging to hear you talk this positively about her potential for recovery. Her husband, . . . er ex-husband, gave us the impression that there was no hope of recovery."
Dr. Burns frowned, "There is always hope for recovery, but I don't have any idea how her ex could make any assessment of her condition. He hasn't visited more than three times in the three years she's been here."
I said, "Three years? Bennett gave us the impression that she had been here since shortly after the trial, more like nine years."
"That doesn't surprise me, Daniel Bennett has a habit of manipulating facts to better coincide with his personal perception of reality." He hesitated and added with a smirk, "Don't quote me, that's not a professional opinion, it's my personal opinion based on knowing that ne'er-do-well his entire life." I couldn't help it, I was starting to like this guy. I was also dying to know what he knew about Daniel Bennett, but I knew that asking question along that line would not be appropriate, at least not at this time.
PJ asked, "If Amanda has only been here three years is her condition really a result of Jessica's murder?"
Dr. Burns leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, "I can not talk to you about Amanda's condition. I'm sure you can understand that. What I can say is that in cases of post traumatic stress disorder the symptoms can be slow developing and, in fact, the environment the person is in following the traumatic event can have a dramatic impact on whether they ever develop the disorder."
I said, "So, in a hypothetical case, if following a traumatic event, someone was in a stressful environment. Say for example an environment where alcohol was being abused. That stressful environment could be the determining factor as to whether the person developed PTSD?"
Dr. Burns nodded and said, "You could make a general statement like that, yes. That's why so much is done to attempt to provide the proper supportive environment for people who have gone through traumatic events even though they may not recognize that they have been impacted. Life experiences prior to, and those following, a traumatic event have a direct impact on whether a particular individual develops a disorder, or not."
He opened a desk drawer and withdrew a note pad. Gazing intently at us he asked, "Now what is it you would like to ask Amanda?"
PJ seemed to hesitate. I guessed that she had expected more resistance from Dr. Burns and had been more focused on her arguments for why we should talk to Amanda than what we wanted to ask. Attempting to buy her a few seconds I said, "Dr. Burns, before we get to that, can I ask one more question?"
He placed the pen he was holding on the pad and replied, "Certainly, hypothetically, of course."
I attempted to project my most empathetic smile, "If a person had been in an environment that was stressful, and that person had found refuge in another environment that provided caring support, is it possible that these circumstances could inhibit the person's recovery? The fear of returning to the stressful environment being detrimental to recovery?"
I could see him running his tongue around the inside of his mouth as he chose his words. Finally he said simply, "Absolutely."
PJ gave me a faint smile and said to the doctor, "Dr. Burns, at this point we are hoping Amanda can provide the names of some of Jessica's friends. Especially, any friends who might have also been friends with Freeman Robinson."
"Ah, good. That should be a low impact approach to prompting Amanda to talk about that time. Now remember, this is a casual conversation between the four of us, and I will take the lead. Are we clear?"
PJ and I simultaneously, "We are clear, doctor."
He picked up the phone on his desk and dialed a three digit number. Someone answered and he said, "Yes, Becky, where is Amanda Bennett at the moment?" He listened and then said, "Excellent, I am bringing a couple of people to meet with her, so I would appreciate it if you would insure that we have privacy. Thank you."
He hung up the phone and said, "Amanda is in one of our day rooms at the moment. She is working on a jigsaw puzzle. She loves jigsaw puzzles. This probably means she is having a good day. Some days are better than others. Just remember, let me take the lead. She will be suspect enough of you two as it is. Amanda may be having problems with reality, but that does not mean her intellect has been impaired. It is important that we are honest and direct, but considerate of her feelings. Just the way we would have been at the time of this tragic event." Dr. Burns rose and picked up the pad and pen from his desk. As we rose, he came around the desk and said, "Follow me please."
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Following Dr. Burns, we entered a small room that accommodated five round tables, each with five chairs. The room had windows on two walls and a warm afternoon sun was streaming in. Amanda Bennett, seated at the table farthest from the door, was the only person in the room. She was seated with an erect posture that reminded me of a fashion model. Gray hair with a few hold out streaks of its original ginger brown cascaded from her head to just above her shoulders. It looked as if it had been brushed, but without real commitment. She was dressed in a simple white blouse and black slacks with black velour ballet slippers on her feet. She wore no makeup and I would have guessed her to be twenty years older than the forty-nine I had calculated from the police reports.
Amanda was focused on the jigsaw puzzle on the table in front of her and didn't seem to notice us ent
er the room. As Dr. Burns approached her he said gently, "Hello Amanda. How's the puzzle going today?"
She looked up at him and replied in a tone so soft I could barely hear. "Oh, hi Doctor Burns. I wasn't expecting to see you today." Gesturing toward the puzzle, "This is a real bugger. I've been working on it for three days and this is as far as I've gotten." Then she noticed us and her already dull brown eyes seemed to lose what little light they had. She swiveled her head back toward her puzzle and fell silent.
Dr. Burns stood a couple of feet from the table and said, "Amanda I would like for you to meet Patty Johnson and Jack Nolan. I've been chatting with them and I was hoping you could help us. May we join you?"
Amanda looked first toward Dr. Burns and then directly at PJ and me standing just inside the door. Her face showed no emotion, no interest, that I could detect. She nodded once, very quickly, and said, "Okay. Sure Doctor, I will try to help you if I can."
Dr. Burns pulled out the chair closest to Amanda and sat down. PJ and I took that as a sign to join them and we took the two chairs across from Amanda leaving the fifth chair, nearest her, vacant. We were barely settled when Dr. Burns said, "Patty, Jack and I were talking about people who were friends with Jessica back in high school. We were hoping you could help us remember some of their names. Could you do that?"
Without hesitation, Amanda blurted out the first and last names of four people. I was caught off guard and struggling to open the small notebook I had been using to take notes since our meeting with Daniel Bennett. Dr. Burns smiled and said, "Amanda, as usual, you are way ahead of me." He tapped his pen on his note pad and said, "Can you please repeat those, a little slower this time."
Amanda repeated the names, this time with exaggerated pauses between each. Dr. Burns seemed to be adding a flourish to his recording the names on his pad. Amanda was intently focused on him and didn't seem to notice that I was taking notes also. I recognized all four of the names from the police reports. I couldn't recall exactly what each had told the police, but I knew all four had been interviewed.
PJ turned toward Dr. Burns and said, "Dr. Burns, who do you think, of those people was Jessica's closest friend?"
Amanda pointed toward the doctor's note pad, "Her best friend's not there." Then she abruptly turned and started to work on her puzzle again.
Dr. Burns drew a circle around the four names with his exaggerated flourish and said, "You know Amanda, I don't think Jessica's best friend is on this list, but I bet you know who it is, don't you?"
Her head snapped toward the doctor and she said, "Of course I know. I am her mother!"
Dr. Burns nodded several times. He said soothingly, "Of course you do. A good mother knows her children's friends and you are a good mother. I know that for a fact." He paused expectantly.
Amanda looked back at her puzzle and muttered, "If I was such a good mother Jessica wouldn't have died."
Dr. Burns said, "Amanda, we have talked about this many times. You are not responsible for Jessica's disappearance. You would have done anything within your power to prevent it. You weren't given the opportunity. Do not blame yourself for something you couldn't have done anything about."
Now Amanda's eyes locked the doctor in their dull gaze. "You don't know, you weren't there. A mother should always be able to do something. You can't know that, you're not a mother."
PJ started to say something, but the doctor shot her a glance and she fell silent. Dr. Burns said, "You're right Amanda, I'm not a mother and I wasn't there. Yet, over the past three years I have come to know you quite well and I know, without a doubt, that if there was anything you could have done to prevent Jessica's disappearance you would have done it. That's why I know you will do everything you can to help Patty, Jack, and I as we build a list of Jessica's friends."
"Debbie, Debbie Chapman, she is Jessica's best friend. Ask Debbie."
As I wrote the name I searched my recollections of the reports and the transcripts, but couldn't recall a name anywhere close to Debbie Chapman. Dr. Burns must have read the quizzical look on my face because he said, "Amanda, I don't remember you mentioning Debbie when you and I have talked about Jessica. Did they go to school together?"
The faintest of light came into her dull brown eyes as she said, "They met in first grade and were inseparable all of the way through high school graduation. You seldom saw one without the other, at least until they discovered boys." Amanda actually emitted a faint laugh, "Boys change everything for young girls, don't they?" With that she looked directly at PJ for the first time. PJ smiled and nodded in agreement.
Dr. Burns asked, "But they remained close even after boys entered the picture?"
"Oh, yeah. They often double-dated. They always said that they were going to be maid-of-honor in each other's wedding." With that Amanda seemed to again lose her focus on our conversation. She returned to studying the pieces of her puzzle.
Dr. Burns looked toward the two of us. PJ said quietly, "I don't remember Debbie, Dr. Burns, was she a blond?"
Amanda remained focused on her puzzle, but said, "Debbie's a brunette, just like Jessica. Sometimes people thought they were sisters. Of course I haven't seen her in years, so for all I know she could be a blond today. You know how young women are about their hair color."
PJ and I looked at each other. I could read her mind. Amanda is much more in touch with reality than she acts. At least at the moment she seems to be. PJ forged ahead, "Dr. Burns, when do you think was the last time Amanda saw Debbie?"
Before Dr. Burns could even acknowledge the question, Amanda muttered, "A few days before Jessica disappeared." The three of us looked at each other with obvious concern reflecting on our faces. Dr. Burns asked, "You didn't talk with Debbie anytime after Jessica's disappearance? Wasn't she concerned about Jessica?"
Amanda cocked her head as if in deep contemplation, "Wasn't she concerned about Jessica? That's a good question. There's no way I could know the answer to that question, because Debbie left town a couple of days before Jessica disappeared and for all I know she didn't even know she was missing."
That explained why Debbie wasn't interviewed. With the superficial investigation that was done it was no wonder someone who'd left town wasn't tracked down. Best friend or not.
Dr. Burns seemed very intrigued, "But didn't Debbie ever try to get in touch with Jessica after she left town? They were best friends."
The blank look on Amanda's face seemed to recede somewhat as she replied, "Oh, they had a big falling out over Debbie leaving. Jessica wanted to leave Pineywoods too, but she didn't have enough money saved to leave yet. She wanted Debbie to wait a few more months to leave, but Debbie wouldn't. They had a big fight over it and vowed to never speak to each other again. Obviously, Jessica didn't have the opportunity to reach out to makeup with Debbie and I guess Debbie never tried to reach out to Jessica. She probably doesn't even know Jessica is missing, even after all of these years. You know how it is, you go off and start a new life and those left behind fade in your memory."
We were mulling over this new information when Amanda suddenly stood and announced, "It's time for dinner. I don't want to be late. I hope we can talk again, Dr. Burns." With that she walked slowly out of the room.
PJ asked Dr. Burns, "You've talked with her about Jessica and her disappearance and she never mentioned this Debbie Chapman?"
Dr. Burns took off his wire rim glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Not that I recall. I can check my notes. She had mentioned a few names in passing, but I'm certain she never characterized anyone as Jessica's best friend."
PJ followed up with, "Amanda seemed pretty lucid today. She didn't miss any comments made at the table, whether directed at her or not."
Dr. Burns replied, "She did seem engaged today. I must say more engaged than I can remember."
I asked, "Did you find it interesting that she never asked who we were? I mean you gave her our names, but you didn't give her any reason for our presence. Is that unusual, not to ask abou
t strangers?"
He replied, "I did find that interesting. My ego wants me to believe that it was because you were with me, but I really don't think that's an adequate explanation. I'm not certain what I think about it at this point. You noticed that she didn't address any of her answers to either of you. It was as if you were not here, with the glaring exception that she answered every question you raised, often before I could even ask her myself."
PJ said, "Doctor, I'm no psychologist or psychiatrist, but I felt like Amanda was on the verge of really engaging with us. I thought that may have been the reason she left so abruptly. She felt herself engaging and wanted to pull back for some reason."
Dr. Burns nodded repeatedly, "The behavior that brought Amanda to us in the first place is her defense mechanism protecting her from the pain of the traumatic events she experienced in the past. She is a very intelligent woman and I believe that one part of her sensed that you were here to help undo some of the pain of the past and that motivated her to move forward. The other side of her is saying that she needs to protect herself from returning to that same pain."
"This was a positive step in her treatment, wasn't it Doctor?" asked PJ.
He nodded and said, "I do believe it was, but the real proof will come in the next day or two. If Amanda mentions this conversation to me it will mean that she has a desire to pursue this course of action. I would interpret that as a very positive sign."
PJ asked, "Could we return and talk with her . . . and you, of course, again?"
Dr. Burns rubbed the back of his neck as he considered PJ's request. I couldn't read his expression. Finally he said, "Yes, I believe that could be very helpful to Amanda. Even if she doesn't mention our conversation to me, I believe it would be useful to initiate a second attempt ourselves. Of course, I can broach the topic with Amanda myself, but I believe your presence adds an element of importance to the conversation, motivating her to stretch." He looked directly at us as he continued, "I do have one request though. I request that you keep these conversations absolutely confidential. I don't mean the elements of information you learn, such as the name of Debbie Chapman, I mean the nature of the conversation. Amanda's behavior and things like that."
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