Dear Ashley,
I hope that you’re coming along well and that the therapy is progressing. Everything’s fine here. I’m working hard and enjoying it. Enclosed is a photograph of our two-year-old, Jeffrey. At the rate he’s growing, in a few minutes, he’ll be getting married. There’s no real news to report. I just wanted you to know that I was thinking about you.
Sandra joins me in sending our warm regards,
David
Ashley studied the photograph. He’s a beautiful little boy, she thought. I hope he has a happy life.
She went to lunch, and when she returned, the photograph was on the floor of her room, torn to bits.
June 15, 1:30 P.M.
Patient: Ashley Patterson. Therapy session using Sodium Amytal. Alter, Alette Peters.
“Tell me about Rome, Alette.”
“It’s the most beautiful city in the world. It’s filled with great museums. I used to visit all of them.” What would you know about museums?
“And you wanted to be a painter?”
“Yes.” What did you think I wanted to be, a firefighter?
“Did you study painting?”
“No, I didn’t.” Can’t you go bother someone else?
“Why not? Because of what your mother told you?”
“Oh, no. I just decided that I wasn’t good enough.” Toni, get him away from me!
“Did you have any traumas during that period? Did any terrible things happen to you that you can recall?”
“No. I was very happy.” Toni!
August 15, 9:00 A.M.
Patient: Ashley Patterson. Hypnotherapy session with alter,
Toni Prescott.
“Do you want to talk about London, Toni?”
“Yes. I had a lovely time there. London is so civilized. There’s so much to do there.”
“Did you have any problems?”
“Problems? No. I was very happy in London.”
“Nothing bad happened there at all that you remember?”
“Of course not.” What are you going to make of that, you willy?
Each session brought back memories to Ashley. When she went to bed at night, she dreamed that she was at Global Computer Graphics. Shane Miller was there, and he was complimenting her on some work she had done. “We couldn’t get along without you, Ashley. We’re going to keep you here forever.” Then the scene shifted to a prison cell, and Shane Miller was saying, “Well, I hate to do this now, but under the circumstances, the company is terminating you. Naturally, we can’t afford to be connected with anything like this. You understand, don’t you? There’s nothing personal in this.”
In the morning, when Ashley awakened, her pillow was wet with tears.
Alette was saddened by the therapy sessions. They reminded her of how much she missed Rome and how happy she had been with Richard Melton. We could have had such a happy life together, but now it is too late. Too late.
Toni hated the therapy sessions because they brought back too many bad memories for her, too. Everything she had done had been to protect Ashley and Alette. But did anybody appreciate her? No. She was locked away as though she were some kind of criminal. But I’ll get out of here, Toni promised herself. I’ll get out of here.
The pages of the calendar were wiped away by time, and another year came and went. Dr. Keller was getting more and more frustrated.
“I’ve read your latest report,” Dr. Lewison told Gilbert Keller. “Do you think there’s a genuine lacuna, or are they playing games?”
“They’re playing games, Otto. It’s as though they know what I’m trying to do, and they won’t let me. I think Ashley genuinely wants to help, but they won’t allow her to. Usually under hypnosis you can get through to them, but Toni is very strong. She takes complete control, and she’s dangerous.”
“Dangerous?”
“Yes. Imagine how much hatred she must have in her to murder and castrate five men.”
The rest of the year went no better.
Dr. Keller was having success with his other patients, but Ashley, the one he was most concerned about, was making no progress. Dr. Keller had a feeling that Toni enjoyed playing games with him. She was determined that he was not going to succeed. And then, unexpectedly, there was a breakthrough.
It started with another letter from Dr. Patterson.