“It’s okay, Hillary. You’ve done a good job. You don’t have to say anything else,” Dr. Bentley said, patting her arm.
“No, no, there were others too, another girl, and—”
“Shhhhh, you need to relax now. Let’s take a break. If you feel like telling me more afterward, then we’ll continue.”
Hillary looked at him. Though he was acting sympathetic, he seemed disgusted. His eyes were practically bulging out of his head and he seemed tense and awkward. Hillary wished she had kept her mouth shut or made up a story about a scary ghost or something. She was glad she didn’t mention the part of the dream about the baby and the atrocious things she had done to him. That part of the dream had made her wake up screaming and the images still tormented her mind.
Monica had her hand over her mouth in shock. She couldn’t believe the horrors this girl had described. At the moment she didn’t care what happened to her. She just needed to get some fresh air and purge those thoughts from her mind.
~8~
Dr. Bentley lingered on after his session with Hillary, hoping to speak with Dr. Morrison. He made himself at home in the den, as he had in the past, pouring himself a drink and turning on the news. While he was pleased that Hillary had made progress, he was disturbed by what she had told him. He intended to discuss it with Dr. Morrison in great length.
Monica treated herself to a manicure and pedicure before returning home. She could have used the full body massage but didn’t want to be gone too long. The house seemed empty, yet Jake Bentley’s car was still parked in the driveway. She figured, correctly, that he was in the den and after unloading her pocketbook and keys, made her way down there to join him.
“Hi Monica,” he greeted her warmly, as she approached. “I hope you don’t mind me making myself at home.”
“Not at all,” she said and took a seat next to him.
The den was a large room with a state-of-the-art home theater system, set up with theater seating and a large screen television. There was a beautiful big fireplace against the wall, a magnificent book shelf and two soft leather recliners with a small, round wooden table in the center. On the far end there was a full bar, complete with six stools, a refrigerator and a dart board hanging on the wall to the right.
“So how’s Patty?” Monica asked, making friendly small talk before the serious discussion began.
“She’s great, she just finished her dissertation. She’s stressing out over a few interviews she has lined up next week.”
“She’ll be great, she has nothing to worry about,” Monica said truthfully. She thought Patty was one of the most intelligent women she had ever met. She would make an excellent professor.
“I know, that’s what I told her. You know how she is, always doubting herself.”
Monica nodded, smiling wanly.
“So, what’s eating you?”
“What do you mean?” she said facetiously.
“It’s me, Jake...remember?” he said with that million-dollar smile of his. Monica couldn’t help but smile along, even as the tears filled her eyes. Jake shut off the television.
“Come on, tell me all about it...no charge,” he said with a quick wink.
“It’s Hillary,” Monica whispered, as if she were afraid the girl would hear her.
“What about her?” Jake asked, although he had a good idea what was coming next.
“She says you’ve acted inappropriately with her.”
“Me?” he replied, clearly taken aback. He had been wrong—this was not what he had expected at all. His jaw dropped open and for a few seconds, he was at a loss for words.
Monica was silent, waiting for a reply, an explanation.
“That’s not entirely true,” he said, trying to be as honest as possible. “I had no idea she was undressed. She wanted see what she looked like. I pulled the sheet back and was shocked to see her naked under the sheet.”
“Hillary says you were more than just shocked,” she said frankly.
“Believe me, I was shocked...and yes, my eyes may have quickly scanned her, I admit...I’m a man, it’s a natural reaction…what can I say? But I quickly covered her back up and apologized. In fact, she was the one who acted inappropriately.”
“What do you mean?”
“She wanted me to touch her,” he said truthfully.
“What? Why? She’s just a child. She said you had...an erection,” Monica said uncomfortably.
“Monica, first of all, she’s not a child, really...okay, yes, technically she is. But she’s fully developed—what I mean is,” he added quickly, nervously, unsure that he was properly explaining. “She’s a child in a woman’s body. So yes, I reacted. It threw me completely off guard and I’m embarrassed to admit it, but yes...I found her attractive, but Monica, I would never, ever, ever do anything inappropriate.”
Monica appreciated his honesty and believed him. Unlike Patrick, he didn’t get defensive, he didn’t get offensive. He was rational and reasonable and his explanation seemed genuine.
“In fact, I can’t understand why she’s naked to begin with...why she’s been tied down to the bed, hooked up to an IV, has a urinary catheter—it’s inhumane.”
Monica nodded. She too, wondered the same thing. Uncontrollably, she began to sob.
“Jake...I think Patrick raped her....” she said in a low, shaky voice.
“What? Do you really believe that? I mean, I know what she alleged, but—”
“She seems so believable when she tells what happened—and I know that’s not worth much, all things considered, but...then she said that she bled when he forced himself in her, so I checked the sheet and, there was blood on it....”
Monica was so upset, she was trembling. Jake put his arm around her.
“I know it sounds incriminating, but let’s not jump to conclusions. Have you asked him about it?”
Monica nodded.
“He washed the sheets, Jake—he never does the laundry. He just got defensive and denied it. I don’t believe him. I don’t believe him at all.”
“I know what you mean. He’s been very defensive lately. I noticed that too. He’s a doctor, he shouldn’t act so carelessly…the way he has Hillary all tied up without proper oversight when you’re not around…it’s not wise. I guess it’s certainly a possibility...I just hope we’re wrong.
“And the day he inserted the catheter, I could have sworn that he....” Monica couldn’t bring herself to continue. What if she was wrong? What if Hillary was actually lying? Then she’d be incriminating her husband wrongfully.
“That he what?” Jake asked.
Monica sighed. There were blood stains on the sheet, just like Hillary said there’d be, she thought, doubt in her husband quickly resurfacing.
“I thought he touched her when he was placing the catheter, you know…I thought he inserted his finger...oh God, it’s so gross,” she said, wincing in disgust.
“She can’t stay like this,” Patrick said, “naked, covered with just a thin sheet, her arms and legs tied. There’s no reason for it.”
“Do you think she can be trusted to cooperate?”
“Unless she wants to be treated like an animal, she doesn’t have much of a choice.”
“But what if she goes nuts again, tries to escape?”
“Then I guess we’ll be back to square one. I don’t know. I’m not proud to be a part of this, to be honest with you. I wish I’d never agreed to it.”
“I wish Patrick never thought of experimenting on her. I tried to talk him out of it. I had no idea something like this would happen. Our marriage is over now.”
“It’s too soon to make such a statement. You need to be sure.”
“I need to trust my instincts, and they’re telling me he did it.”
Jake nodded.
“You know him better than I do,” he said.
They could hear someone walking upstairs. Monica froze in terror. Even though she knew Hillary was secured to the bed, the very thought of her roa
ming freely around the house horrified her.
“I guess Patrick’s home,” Jake said, and Monica relaxed. Of course that was all it was...not that she was happy to have to face him. The thought made her cringe nearly as much as the thought of Hillary trying to escape unnerved her.
“Should we go up and greet him?” Jake asked.
“I’d like to greet him with a frying pan,” Monica said, holding back what she had truly preferred to do. “You go, I’m not in the mood to confront him yet.”
“Okay, but you know it’s not healthy to keep that anger bottled up....”
“Yes, doctor, I know that and I don’t intend to,” she smiled and switched on the television. Jake walked upstairs and peeked in on Hillary. She was in bed, staring blankly at the wall across the room.
What an absolutely miserable existence, he thought and walked on before Hillary noticed him. She caught a whiff of his cologne and turned her head to face the door, but he was gone by then.
“Hello, Patrick,” Jake said as he entered Dr. Morrison’s office. Patrick was seated in front of a large mahogany desk in front of a mahogany bookshelf jammed full of medical books. Jake helped himself to the seat across from where Patrick was sitting.
“How’d it go today?” he asked, without any greeting. Jake could feel the tension emanating from him like a cancerous radiation. He hoped he could get to the point and get out of there with as little aggravation as possible.
“Depends...Hillary opened up about the nightmare she didn’t tell you about. Apparently she dreamt that she was torturing and eating people.”
Patrick shook his head. He seemed upset by the news.
“But she said she slept better.”
“I know, and so did I, thank God. I was starting to feel like a new parent, always waking up in the middle of the night.”
“You know, I think it’s time for Hillary to be untied,” Jake said, rightfully anticipating an argument.
“What?” Jake exclaimed angrily. “You’ve got to be joking. She’s nowhere near ready.”
“You can’t leave her tied to a bed like that, fed intravenously and hooked to a catheter. I’m surprised she doesn’t have an infection.”
“I’m on top of things, and we don’t have much of a choice anyway. You know the minute we untie her, she’ll just try to run. You know her track record, or have you forgotten?”
“I think she’s desperate enough to stay put now. Besides, she’s had her short-term memory for a while now, it’s not like the times when she woke up completely unaware of what was happening.”
“She still has no idea what’s going on. You think she trusts us?”
“Some of us more than others.”
“And just what exactly are you saying, Jake?” Patrick asked defensively.
“Hillary is more comfortable around Monica and I...She seems to be afraid of you.”
“Yeah, I get it, just like Monica, she has you convinced that I raped her.”
“What I believe is irrelevant. She has to be untied. Mentally, she’ll deteriorate living like that—anyone would. I’m surprised I haven’t seen signs of depression and withdrawal, but it’s only a matter of time if you keep her like that.”
“No,” Patrick said bluntly, “it’s too soon. I’m not taking any chances.”
“She’s changed, Jake, only you’re too bitter to see it. I think your objectivity has been too compromised by what she did to you.”
“Try to remember that I’m in charge here...I brought you in on the project. I saved that girl and no one gives a rat’s ass what happens to her.”
“You yourself have said that she’s shown significant improvement. Why won’t you give her a chance?”
“I have a lot at stake here, Jake, you get to leave, go home, I’m stuck here. She’s my responsibility. She gets untied if and when I say so.”
“Why is she naked?” Jake asked accusingly, glaring at Patrick.
“Again, you’ve seem to have forgotten how she blinded me and nearly strangled Monica with her hospital gown. I’m taking zero chances with her, Jake, zero chances,” he mouthed the last part slowly for emphasis.
“You can’t compare how she is now with how she was then. She’s made great strides, you can’t deny it. She cries now, whimpers like a puppy, instead of acting out violently. When those things happened here, she was in a heightened stage of anxiety and fear since she had no memory of anything—anything at all. You need to empathize, Patrick—anyone would have reacted similarly.”
“Wow, she really got to you, huh? A grown man—a noted psychiatrist—fooled by a young psychopath. What is it? Why are you so adamant to have her untied? Are you that attracted to her that your professional objectivity has been tainted?”
“How dare you question my integrity? You’re the one she’s accused of raping her!” Jake shouted, growing hot in the face with anger. He was usually very level-tempered. It took quite a lot to get a rise out of him and here, in a manner of minutes, Patrick had gotten him to the point of no return.
“You have no trouble doubting mine, do you?”
“This isn’t even about that anyway, you’re the one changing the issue. I don’t like being at odds with you, but Hillary needs to be treated better, and she needs to be untied. If you don’t, I’ll be forced to go above you.”
“Good luck with that,” Patrick said haughtily, “she’s expendable, Jake, try to remember that. If you try to pull the plug on this project, you might as well go in there and hold the pillow down on her head because you know damn well that’s pretty much what will end up happening to her.”
“Then I’ll contact the medical board and let them know that you’ve been conducting unlawful and unethical human research.”
Patrick let out a facetious burst of laughter.
“Then in addition to murder, you’ll be committing suicide,” he said, equally amused by Jake’s concerns as he was annoyed by them.
“I guess you seem to think that you can do whatever the hell you want to that girl and no one will stop you,” Jake said angrily.
“I’m not mistreating her, Jake, she’s tied up because it’s necessary, not because she’s my sex slave. Try to stay focused—don’t let her deceive you. I have no interest in that girl other than professionally—I swear it.”
“Even if that’s so—and I’d be willing to believe it is—it still does not excuse the way she’s living. I’m talking about the quality of life here, Patrick. If she’s kept like that much longer, you might as well just kill her, and all the work you’ve done with the Neuronentin will be for nothing.”
“I can’t watch her twenty-four seven, Jake, what do you really expect me to do? Give her free range of the house? What you propose just isn’t feasible. This house isn’t set up to be a prison.”
“Perhaps you should have thought about that before you embarked on this research project of yours.”
“I don’t know what to tell you. It’s been started, there’s been progress and I’m not about to blow it.”
“But you are, can’t you understand? Under these circumstances, she’s bound to regress.”
“Jake, you have to believe that I’m not trying to torture Hillary...I’m not being cruel and I’m certainly not abusing her in any way. I want nothing more than for her to be cooperative enough to eat on her own, go to the bathroom on her own and roam around the room on her own accord. She’s just not at that stage yet, not even close.”
“And what if you never think she’s reached that stage?”
“I just don’t trust her...I don’t trust her at all. And that last nightmare she had just makes me even more uneasy about taking such a big step.”
Jake sighed. Patrick was adamant about keeping Hillary bound to the bed, fed intravenously and connected to the urinary catheter. He was in no position to convince him otherwise. Worse, there was nothing he could do about it and Patrick knew it. He would make a point of visiting Hillary more often—daily, if need be, to ensure that she had enough
mental stimulation and hope to keep from becoming anxious or depressed. He hoped that he could rely on Monica to help keep her calm and rational...and safe. He hoped, for Hillary’s sake, that her allegation of rape was merely fabricated. He smiled thinly as Patrick stared at him.
“I think I have an idea,” he said excitedly.
“Do tell,” Patrick said, as he folded his arms and waited to hear Jake’s brilliant idea.
“I can hypnotize her...find out whether she remembers anything, find out about...confirm that she’s lying about the rape.”
Patrick was shaking his head.
“You know I don’t believe hypnotism is a reliable method.”
“Well I completely disagree, and with all due respect, I’m the expert in the field,” Jake said, smiling smugly.
“First of all, I’m the head of this operation, which you seem to keep forgetting. Secondly, I don’t know what your hypnotic escapades would yield—she might fake it—more deceit and manipulation for you to swallow and thirdly, I don’t think you’re impartial anymore. You want Hillary released, how would I know you’re not botching the findings to achieve that end?”
The smile left Jake’s face.
“I’ve had just about enough of you undermining my profession and my professionalism. I don’t ‘botch my findings’ as you say, and if you’re so concerned about that, you can always be present. In fact, I would prefer it.”
Patrick tried to think of a reasonable excuse to deny Jake’s proposition, but aside from him skepticism about hypnosis in general it was not a bad idea.
“...unless, of course, you’re concerned that hypnosis would confirm Hillary’s accusation rather than dispel it....”
Jake’s comment struck a nerve in Patrick.
“For the last time, I did NOT touch Hillary inappropriately,” he said angrily, then exhaled heavily in an over-exaggerated way.
“Fine,” he said reluctantly, “hypnotize her, but two weeks from now. Then, and not before then, we’ll talk about untying her.”
Jake flashed his straight, white teeth in a winning smile.
“Agreed,” he said, and extended his hand out for Patrick to shake.
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