High Anxiety (18 page)

“I’m staying on the straight and narrow, Dr. Holly,” he said. “I’m working as many hours as I can so I can save up for my own store one day.”

Eddie worked in an exclusive menswear store and had quickly been promoted from salesman to manager. “I have no doubt in my mind that you’ll accomplish your goals,” I said.

“I appreciate that you believe in me. You know, in the beginning I only came here because it was a condition of my parole, but you probably already figured that out.”

“I can be clever when I put my mind to it,” I said.

“But I don’t ever want to go back to being the person I used to be.”

I was glad that Eddie felt remorse for what he’d done because, in the beginning, he had seemed more concerned about how much
he
had suffered instead of what he’d put his victims through.

“You’ve made restitution, and you’ve served time for your crime,” I said. “You seem to have learned your lesson.”

He nodded.

“So how are things with you and my aunt?”

“I’m going really slow,” he said. “I’m not out to hurt her, Dr. Holly.”

“That’s good, because I know somebody who would shoot you in the kneecaps for fifty bucks.”

He grinned. “I don’t doubt it for a moment.”

Once we’d finished our session, he leaned closer to me. “What’s the deal with your receptionist?” he asked. “I almost mistook her for you.”

“She is going through a difficult time,” I said. I led Eddie out and said good-bye. Abigail must’ve been in the bathroom, because she wasn’t at her desk. The phone rang, and I picked it up. Thad was on the other end.

“Why the hell haven’t you called me back?” he demanded.

“I didn’t know you phoned me.”

“I’ve left about ten messages. I told that bitch receptionist of yours that it was a matter of life and death, but she refused to put me through to you.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Alice Smithers took an overdose this morning. I’m at the hospital now.”

I felt as if I’d been punched in the chest. “Is she—?” I couldn’t say the word.

“She’s still alive. They pumped her stomach.”

“I’m on my way.”

I raced into
my office, grabbed my purse and keys, and locked my office door. Abigail came out of the bathroom. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me Thad Glazer called?” I shouted.

She blinked several times. “The guy who sent the flowers?” she asked.

“Also the psychiatrist with whom I share patients,” I said, gritting my teeth.

“You were with Mr. Franks,” she said. “This is the first chance I’ve had.”

“Dr. Glazer told you his call was urgent. You should have alerted me immediately!”

“I thought he was just using that as an excuse. I didn’t think you’d want to be disturbed with personal calls.”

“It was not a personal call and, besides, that’s not for you to decide. I almost lost a patient this morning, dammit! I still don’t know if she’s going to make it.”

Abigail covered her mouth with one hand. “I’m so sorry,” she said as I crossed the reception room to the door.

“Sorry doesn’t cut it, Abigail. Cancel my morning appointments. I have to go to the hospital. You and I will talk later.”

“Please don’t be angry with me,” she said.

I ignored her as I threw open the door and hurried out.

I made it to the hospital in record time. I arrived at the ER and was buzzed through the metal doors leading to the treatment rooms. Thad was standing in the hall talking with one of the physicians. He introduced me to Dr. Meyers.

“We evacuated the contents of Miss Smithers’s stomach,” the doctor said. “I expect that she’ll pull through.”

“May we see her?” I asked.

“She’s a little groggy, but you’re welcome to go in.” He paused and looked from me to Thad. “You’re probably going to want to make some kind of arrangement once she’s stable. There’s no guarantee she won’t try it again.”

Thad and I nodded. We both knew that Alice would have to go to the psych ward for treatment and observation. Dr. Meyers was paged. He excused himself.

“This is my fault,” I said. “I came down on Liz Jones too hard. I’m willing to bet my license that she is responsible for the overdose.”

Thad checked his wristwatch. “I’ll start the commitment process, but I have to be at the airport at two p.m.”

I felt a sinking sensation. The look on my face must’ve shown it.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“You’re going to West Palm Beach, aren’t you?” It sounded like an accusation.

“That’s the plan. I’m sorry to leave you at a time like this, but I’ve already rearranged my schedule. I’ll only be gone a few days. A week at the most,” he added. “In the meantime, I suggest you find another psychiatrist to take my place.”

“How can you just walk out on me?”

He gave me a funny look. “She’s not my patient anymore,” he said. “The only reason I’m here is because nobody could reach you, and Alice’s alter personality, Sue, managed to tell someone I was the attending psychiatrist. By the way, she was the one who called the ambulance.”

“Have a great trip, Thad,” I snapped and walked away. I slipped quietly into the exam room and found Alice sleeping. An IV pumped fluid into her veins as a nurse checked her vital signs. I sat in the chair beside the bed. It hadn’t been so long ago that I’d sat in another exam room in this very hospital when Jay was injured. It felt like I’d spent a lot of time in the ER. I was beginning to think I deserved my own parking space.

I’m not sure how long I sat there before Alice finally stirred. I stood and leaned over her. “Alice, can you speak to me?” I asked.

She opened her eyes and blinked several times, as though trying to focus. “Where am I?”

“You’re in the emergency room,” I said. “You took an overdose.”

She frowned. “I wouldn’t do something that stupid,” she said.

“Do you remember anything?”

She lay there quietly for a moment, and I could see her thoughts churning. “I was getting ready for work. I don’t know what happened after that.” Her voice was hoarse from having suction tubes shoved down her throat.

“I need to speak with Sue,” I said.

“But—”

“It’s important.” Sue was the take-charge person who often stepped in when life became too difficult for Alice.

Alice nodded, and I witnessed the subtle changes take place in her demeanor.

“Hello, Dr. Holly,” Sue said. “That was a close one.”

“Can you tell me what happened this morning?” I asked.

“Liz swallowed a bottle of sleeping pills,” she said. “I called for help.”

“Where did Liz get the sleeping pills?”

“From the back of the medicine cabinet. Alice’s family doctor prescribed them a long time ago because she was having trouble with insomnia.”

“I need to talk to Liz.”

I waited, but Liz refused to appear.

“I guess she doesn’t want to talk to you,” Sue said. “Maybe she’s embarrassed.”

“I’m sorry to have to tell you, but Dr. Glazer is in the process of getting commitment papers drawn up.”

“Alice is going to be upset,” she said.

“I have no choice when a patient tries to commit suicide. We can’t risk another attempt, because the next one might be successful.” I gave a heartfelt sigh. “I suppose I should talk to Alice.”

 

 

I arrived back
at the office after lunch and found Abigail sitting at the desk thumbing through a magazine.

“It’s not working out, Abigail,” I said.

“I am so very sorry about what happened this morning. I’m sorry for everything.” She looked on the verge of tears. “I really thought Dr. Glazer was calling for personal reasons, especially since he took you to a romantic restaurant for dinner, then sent you roses.”

Something didn’t feel right. I frowned. “How do you know he took me to a romantic restaurant?” I said. “I never told you where we had dinner.”

“Oh.” She glanced away quickly. “I guess I just assumed—”

“My personal life is none of your business, Abigail. Grab your purse and get out. And while you’re at it, hand over the key.”

“You don’t understand,” she said, tears filling her eyes. “I was trying to protect you. I know how much you must miss your husband, and I know how some guys might try to take advantage of that.”

I held out my hand. “The key, Abigail.”

She opened the bottom drawer and pulled out her purse. “I thought you were my friend. Friends stick together.”

I waited.

She reached inside her purse. Finally, she handed the key to me. “You should give me another chance to prove myself. If you knew how much I cared about you and respected you, you wouldn’t do this.”

I could see that she was on the verge of losing it. “Don’t make me call security, Abigail.”

She stood and walked to the door. She gave me one last look before she opened it and walked out. I was relieved to be done with her.

 

 

I saw two
patients back-to-back before I called to check on Alice. She had been moved to a private room. “How are you feeling?” I asked.

“I’m worried about my job.” Her voice was shaky.

“You’re going to have to call your boss and tell him you’re ill.”

She gasped. “You mean, tell him about the suicide attempt?”

“No,” I said. “You’ll have to come up with something that will prevent you from going to work for a week to ten days.”

“I’m supposed to
lie
?”

I gave an inaudible sigh. I knew Alice would never lie, and even if she tried, she’d never pull it off. “Sue can call for you.”

She burst into tears. “Maybe I
would
be better off dead,” she said and slammed the phone in my ear. The next thing I heard was a dial tone.

I hung up and sat at my desk quietly. There were times I wondered if I could help Alice. Each time I felt we were making progress, Liz stepped in and screwed up everything.

 

 

I was glad
to see the workday come to an end. I planned to grab something sinfully fattening on the way home, change into my comfortable jeans, and crash on the sofa with the remote control. Maybe I’d find a decent movie on TV, something lighthearted to take my mind off the crap that was my life.

My mood brightened when Mike greeted me with her happy dance. I changed clothes and shared my junk food with her—fried chicken strips with thick honey mustard and French fries. It was then that I noticed the wall clock was a couple of hours slow. How had that happened? I had recently put in a new battery, and it had been working fine.

I went into the laundry room and grabbed a new battery from the shelf over the washer and dryer, then reached for the clock. I opened the plastic cover to exchange batteries and froze at what I saw. Or what I didn’t see. There was no battery. The hair prickled on the back of my neck. As hard as I tried, I could not come up with an explanation. I checked the rest of my house but saw nothing out of place.

I sat on a kitchen chair feeling confused and disoriented. The only people who had keys to my house were Jay and Mona. Of course, there was my spare key, outside beneath a brick in my flowerbed, but nobody would know where to look unless I told them. Then I remembered the spare house key in Mona’s desk drawer. It was unmarked, and because it had been made by a locksmith, it would have been difficult to reproduce. Difficult, but not impossible.

I grabbed my purse and headed out the front door once again. I drove straight to my office, took the elevator to the fourth floor, unlocked the door to my reception room, and felt for the light switch. I hurried toward Mona’s desk and opened the middle drawer. The keys were where they were supposed to be, including my house key. I took them out and put them in my purse. It was then that I noticed my Rolodex was gone, as were the roses Thad had sent. I felt a chill race up my spine.

 

 

Back at home,
I was in the process of putting a new battery in my wall clock when my cell phone rang. Mona spoke from the other end. “Are you okay?” she asked, her voice trembling.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I just got a call from some woman who said you were in a bad car accident.”

I sank onto a kitchen chair. “Did she identify herself?” I asked.

“She hung up on me before I could ask. I thought it was strange, so I decided to call your house before I started checking hospitals. What the hell is going on, Kate?”

“I fired Abigail today,” I said. “She didn’t take it well. It wouldn’t surprise me if she made the call.” I paused. “I think she has been in my house, Mona.” I told her about the clock. My phone beeped. “Jay is calling,” I said. “Let me get back to you.”

I answered the call. I could barely hear Jay over the static.

“Katie, how badly are you hurt?”

“I’m perfectly fine, Jay,” I said. “Did you get a call from a woman saying that I was in an accident?”

More static. “I just got off the phone with her. What the hell is going on?” he asked, echoing Mona’s words.

Even though I hated to worry him, I knew I had no choice but to come clean. I told him about Abigail. “She took my Rolodex,” I added. “She has been making prank calls.”

“I only heard about half of what you just said,” he told me.

“Somebody stole my Rolodex and is making prank calls,” I said loudly. “If she calls back, hang up.”

“Are you in danger?” he asked. “Do you think it’s that lunatic from the anger management group?”

I hadn’t thought of that, but my gut said no.

“You need to call the police,” he said. “I don’t want you to try to handle this alone. Promise me you’ll file a police report,” he said.

“I promise,” I shouted into the phone, trying to make myself heard above the static.