âOn Halloween night.â
âThatâs whatâs on her admission records,â the psychiatrist said. ââSuffered a fall on Halloween night due to slippery rocks.ââ She looked at the others. âIt was raining pretty hard on Halloween.â
âThe bruises arenât consistent with a fall,â Emily said. âThey seem more like a beating.â
âYou think she was beaten?â Zee asked.
âThis is routine procedure,â Emily said. âEspecially when the woman doesnât give an explanation consistent with her injuries.â
âLilly is scheduled to be released in two days,â the psychiatrist said. âSheâs stable, her medications are properly dosed, and sheâs showing no signs of depression.â
âI would respectfully disagree on that last point,â Zee said. âI think she seems depressed. Sheâs normally much more communicative.â
The psychiatrist paused to consider. âThere is one point that makes me agree with you, Dr. Finch.â
âOnly one?â Zee was getting annoyed. âWhatâs that?â
âLilly does not want to go home.â
âWhich plays into our suspicions of spousal abuse,â the social worker said.
âItâs not William,â Zee said.
âBut if sheâs afraid to go homeâ¦â the social worker said.
âShe doesnât feel safe at home.â Zee turned to Mattei. âIf she was abused in any way, itâs Adam.â
âWhoâs Adam?â Emily asked.
âLilly was having an affair with him several months ago. He was here the other day.â
âMaybe the husband found out about the affair,â Emily suggested. âMaybe thatâs what made him violent.â
âItâs not William,â Zee said again. âHeâs not the type.â
Emily looked to Mattei for verification.
âI think Zeeâs right,â Mattei said. âBut I canât say for certain that it wasnât William.â
Zee shot her a look.
âI would have agreed with you until the other day,â Mattei said.
âWhat happened the other day?â
âThere was an incident. We had to escort him from the office.â
âI think we have to cover all bases,â the psychiatrist said.
âWhat we really need is a formal complaint,â Emily said. âNo matter which one it is.â
âYou can try,â Zee said. âBut I can tell you right now, sheâll never give it to you. She doesnât want William to know about her affair. And sheâs afraid of Adam.â
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N OT ONLY DID L ILLY REFUSE to file a complaint, but when she was released from the hospital, she decided she wanted to see another therapist. âOne closer to home,â William told Zee.
The internist who had initially prescribed the Klonopin set her up with an old-school Freudian analyst who worked out of Salem Hospital. She had agreed to meet with him five days a week and to start analysis.
âYouâre kidding me,â Mattei said.
But Zee was clearly upset. âWe have to stop them,â Zee said. âShe shouldnât be starting over again. Thatâs not the right kind of therapy for her. And she wonât tell the new therapist the truth until itâs too lateâ¦. We have to do something,â Zee said to Mattei.
âThereâs nothing you can do,â Mattei said. âSheâs not your patient anymore.â
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I T HAD BEEN A TOUGH winter for Zee. Sheâd begun to dream about Lilly, and in her dreams the images of Lilly and Zeeâs mother, Maureen, had become confused. They were still separate people, but in the dream she was unable to tell them apart and kept having to ask which one she was talking to.
âThis is good,â Mattei said when Zee detailed the dream in her next session.
âReally? How so?â Zee asked.
âLetâs talk about the real
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