DERRICK’S OFFICE WAS THE picture of East Coast Ivy League prestige, if you discounted the set of skis and surfboard in the corner.
“Where do you even use that?” Lee asked, pointing to the over-decorated piece of fiberglass.
“Sometimes on the west coast. Don’t get to travel very much these days.”
“Boulder keeping you busy?” Lee asked.
“Something like that.”
Lee and Nathan settled into chairs across from the psychiatrist. Vanhise pulled his manila folder open.
Nathan thumbed for a clear page in his notebook. “Not like you to call me so late, on a Sunday even, for a psych consult.”
“I knew I wasn’t going to sleep unless we chatted. Are you familiar with how brainwashing works?”
Lee’s elbow slid off the arm of his chair. “Brainwashing?”
“They don’t let us use that anymore.” Nathan poised a pen.
“Always the one with the dry sense of humor.”
“Isn’t that fairly controversial? Whether or not you can truly brainwash someone?”
“You’re right, Lee. Theories abound as to whether or not you can forcibly impart a belief on an unwilling participant.”
“Why bring this up in relation to Gavin Donnely?” Nathan asked.
“Let me just say that, at first, Donnely’s treatment seemed to be on the up-and-up. Very standard cognitive-behavioral therapeutic approach to Raven’s complaints. Early in her treatment, she suffered from basically depressive-type symptoms related to her feelings of abandonment by her remaining family members.”
Lee squirmed in his seat. There was only one who was old enough to have cared for the orphaned child.
“Keelyn,” Nathan said.
Vanhise nodded and turned his attention to Lee. “Nathan has told me you have a relationship with this woman. As I’m talking, I want you to be aware these are mainly Raven’s feelings. We all know from our work that feelings can be significantly based on an individual’s distorted view of reality. They are just subjective impressions.”
“When did that standard treatment change?”
“In Gavin’s notes, there came a time when Raven began to question the larger picture, which is very therapeutic for the patient to see beyond themselves. Why did these terrible things happen to her? Was there some reason for it?”
“Why is this notable?” Nathan asked.
“It’s notable for two reasons. One, Raven was actually improving under Gavin’s therapy at this point.”
“And the other reason?” Lee pressed.
“Gavin doesn’t seem to like it.”
“How can you tell?” Lee followed.
“It’s more in the tone of his notes. Something to the effect that though Raven is seeing things in a healthy way, Gavin suggests he’s failing in his mission.”
Nathan flipped a page in his notebook. “But he doesn’t spell out what that might be.”
“Any psychiatrist wants his patients to be mentally healthy and self-sufficient. That’s our ultimate goal. Much like a parent wants to produce a healthy, functioning adult. We should always be trying to work ourselves out of a job.”
“But he doesn’t do that,” Nathan added.
“No, a far cry from ‘Do no harm.’ This is when he begins to use hypnosis. It’s his process that’s very suspect. It’s very important we don’t project our personal beliefs onto the patient as far as religion and values might be concerned. We should work within their framework to allow them to maintain autonomy.”
“When did this begin to happen?” Lee asked.
Vanhise leafed through a couple pages of penciled notes. “It seems a few months before Raven began to volunteer at the church.”
Lee thought through the tenets of his faith. Would he be able, under mental duress, to protect his belief in Christ as his Savior if someone in a position of trust tried to undo it? Was his faith strong enough? “He has something against religion?”
Vanhise tapped his tablet. “What I know is, he tried to remove these ideals from Raven. During hypnosis—there’s a thing called hypnoscript. It’s generally agreed upon by the patient and the therapist as to what will be said while the patient is under.”
“Then Raven must have been on board,” Nathan said.
Vanhise shook his head. “I don’t think there’s any patient who would have agreed to have something said to them like this. I’m actually shocked he wrote down what he was doing.”
“Sociopaths are like that,” Lee chimed in.
“What I see as I read through his notes on his hypnosis sessions with Raven is a process akin to brainwashing. When attempting to insert your own ideology, there are several points you hit upon. First, assault their identity. Make them feel guilty. You want to get them to a breaking point and then grant them leniency. Now, you’re the only one who can help them out of the horrible situation you actually created. At this point, you can attempt to instill what you want them to believe into their fractured minds.”
It amazed Lee how a person could allow a false savior as substitution for the real one. “Okay, let’s say I buy all this. Raven was brainwashed during hypnosis. I’m not sure I’m even on board with this theory. But what belief was he trying to instill in her?”
“Ever hear the name Lucent?”
Lee looked to Nathan. “You gave him the items from Lucy Freeman’s mother, right?”
Nathan nodded. “Of course.”
Vanhise shuffled notes. “I haven’t gotten to them yet.”
“Samuals claimed Lucent was the one who egged him on into killing his whole family,” Lee said.
“Interesting. Keep in mind, anything resembling brainwashing is completely unethical, and at the very least, your Dr. Donnely should be investigated by the Board of Healing Arts. I’ll be placing a call myself on Monday.”
Lee leaned forward. “Derrick, you’re driving me a little nuts here.”
“Okay. He begins to tear down her belief in Christianity.” He flipped back a few sections. “According to his notes, this was around the time of her church involvement. It was something she was finding comfort in.”
“What’s next?” Lee prompted.
“Well, it’s the hypnoscript that’s problematic. Basically, it’s a mantra: The God she believes in is dead. The pain she feels is a result of all the people who have abandoned her. The police failed her when they didn’t stop her father. Keelyn failed her when she didn’t provide a home. Then he begins to, for ease of terms, plant the idea this persona, Lucent, can aid her in seeking revenge. And that revenge is the best way to get past her trouble.”
Lee absorbed the implications of Vanhise’s assessment. “Seriously? It’s that blatant?”
“Of course not. That would open him up to even greater liability. Gavin’s first issue of liability is, without substantial medical basis, changing Raven from a course of treatment that was working to one where she worsened. Unfortunately, it’s the language of the hypnoscript he will hide under. It talks a lot about empowerment. Righting the wrongs in her life. Having this empowerment, where she has corrected all the wrongdoings, will ease her depression.”
“That doesn’t sound all bad,” Lee said.
“The language is subtle. I’ll grant you that. It’s certainly possible he chose to exclude more overt prompts from his notes. But he does slip a few times. For instance, saying the responsible parties must be eliminated.”
“But murdered?” Nathan asked.
“My guess is, were he ever to be questioned about this, he would say he meant from her mind. Really, he’s set up the perfect crime. He could simply say he was attempting to empower her. Get her to move forward from a stagnant position. Raven, actually murdering someone, would be her misunderstanding of what he’d said. In which case, it would be the word of a respected psychiatrist versus a mentally ill patient.”
“So you think it’s possible she could murder someone?”
“She and Lucent have been set up as a team. Lucent is someone she could rely on for strength.”
“But really they are a killing team,” Nathan posed.
“Yes, you could say that.”
Lee nearly doubled over in pain. How could his brother have gotten so mixed up in this?
“Were you aware my brother, Conner, is likely this person she terms Lucent?”
“Yes.” He bowed his head toward Nathan. “We talked about that.”
“Any idea how Conner and Raven could have met?” Lee asked.
Vanhise closed the folder and interlaced his fingers on top. “I think they likely met innocently enough through her work with the church. He was a homeless drug addict. Gavin speaks of an attraction between them. Raven convinces Conner to get into treatment.”
“That’s a good thing,” Lee said.
“Not under Gavin’s care. My guess is Gavin thought he’d be the perfect scapegoat. It would be better to have a real person as the fall guy, someone who could assume the identity. Then Donnely could just say these two mentally ill individuals teamed up on a murderous spree, and he was only trying to help them.”
Lee’s mind spun with the motivation for Conner to do such things. Did Gavin supply him with drugs as incentive?
“Do you know who the father of Raven’s child is?” Vanhise asked.
Lee and Nathan glanced at one another. Lee’s throat was too tight to speak.
Nathan took the lead. “You think Conner is the father?”
Vanhise leaned back into his chair. “Doubtful.”
“Then who?”
Vanhise tapped at his folder. “What I see here is a doctor running amok. For some reason, he is bent on destroying this girl’s life. To do that, he instills this character, Lucent, into her mind as the way to solve her problems—if the two of them can get rid of every person in her life that’s let her down.”
“But what does this have to do with Conner?” Lee asked.
“Once Gavin sees a budding romance between the two of them, he knows he needs to annihilate Conner as well because he is becoming a glimmer of light in Raven’s life. What would be better than to set him up for murder?”
Lee straightened in his chair. “You can prove that?”
“That’s not my job; it’s yours.”
Nathan continued. “If the father isn’t Conner, then who?”
“When you read through Gavin’s notes there are moments of infatuation with Raven. I think you need to consider the possibility that Gavin Donnely is the father of her child.”
“She would have been . . . what? Under the age of seventeen at the time she conceived?”
“Exactly.”
“He could go to jail,” Nathan followed.
“That’s something I don’t think he’s considered as a possibility. He believes himself to be above the law.”
Lee’s phone vibrated against his hip. His checked the number. “It’s the hospital. Excuse me,” he said, as he took the call.
He listened and shook his head, closing his eyes against what he was hearing. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.” He ended the call.
“What’s going on?” Nathan asked.
“Keelyn and Sophia are in the hospital.”
Nathan stood up. “What’s wrong?”
“They said Keelyn is in critical condition. Sophia’s sick as well. Something about an attack.”
Lee fisted his hand tight around his cell.
His secret really could kill Keelyn.