The Mormon Candidate - a Novel (30 page)

Ben shook the man’s hand as well. “Family physician?”

“I’m a psychiatrist,” Dr. Neibauer said. “Zachariah was my patient.”

Palmyra walked to the edge and looked down. Dr. Neibauer put his arm on her shoulder. Ben waited.

After a few minutes, Palmyra said, “I wanted to see…where
Zachariah died
.”

“That rock,” Ben pointed, “over there, that’s where he was lying when—”

“
When you took his photo?
” She said it with bitterness
. “Do you think God approves of such disgrace?”

Dr. Neibauer patted her arm.

“It’s wrong! A dying man deserves respect
! And privacy!
”

Ben pulled out his iPhone, found the first e-mail he had sent
Ray
from the accident site, and opened the photo attachment. “This is the photo I sent to my editor. You can see that I blurred Zachariah’s face.”

Palmyra looked at it. “So…how?”

“Technology,” Ben said. “
They
remove
d
the blurring and publish
ed
it.” He pulled up the Internet
,
found NewZonLine.com, and scrolled down the news headlines to the accident report. “I told
my editor
this morning
to
take down the photo
,
or I’ll never do business with h
er
again.”

“Thank you. Please forgive me
for accusing you unjustly.
I’ve never imagined being in such a situation. A scandal.
We’
re
good
people
.” She wiped tears. “How could
all
this happen to us?
”

“Perhaps,” Dr. Neibauer said, “it would be helpful for you to hear Mr. Teller describe the events of Sunday.”

She nodded.

Ben told
them about
the
festive
atmosphere at the launching area, passing through Thurmont with the
a
nnual
Marine
Corps
Veterans
’
Ride, the
column of motorcycles
on the winding hilly roads
, the stars-and-stripes Harley passing everyone at high speed, the crash site, and the
s
tate
p
o
lice investigation
, which
conclud
ed
that the accident was the result of reckless driving. “But I don’t believe it,” he
said
. “Your husband was in trouble, wasn’t he?”

“
It’s personal
,” she said. “
Please
respect our privacy and not publish anything untoward.
I believe that the good Lord will reward your consideration.
”

Ben nodded
. The sound of a
passing car drew his attention—a
beige
pickup truck
with dark windows
that drove by quickly, disappearing around the curve
.

“My husband was a sick man,” she said. “He came back from Kuwait
almost
twenty years ago completely broken—in body and in spirit. The navy did what they could, with God’s help, and Zachariah was back on his feet.
O
ur
community
helped us
buil
d
a life
together
. A
good life. We
worked hard, raised children, and did our best to honor the Lord and earn
the right for exaltation in the afterlife
.
Have you read the
Book of Mormon
, dear?
”

“Not yet.” Ben almost laughed, but held it in.

“You should,” she said. “It will change your life. And your afterlife
too
.”

“I’ll give it a try, now that I hear how helpful it can be. Did Zachariah feel the same?”

“Oh, yes!”
Her face brightened up.
“We studied it together every Monday evening—we call it Family
Home
Night
, when everyone stays home to study the holy scriptures and sing hymns
. It’s
the
most wonderful
custom
of our faith. Do you have a family?”

“Only my mother. And my girlfriend. We live together.”

“Without marriage?” Palmyra swallowed hard. “This is not what the Lord expects of his children.”

Dr. Neibauer cleared his throat. “
We were discussing
Zachariah.”

“Yes, I’m sorry.” She took a deep breath. “I was just saying how we loved the
Book of Mormon
so much, especially Zachariah. M
y husband c
an…c
ould…
recite whole paragraphs from memory. And
he could sing
beautifully
also, which the children loved.”

Ben nodded sympathetically. “
But he became sick again.”

Palmyra was taken aback.
“Sick?”

“Mentally,” Dr.
Neibauer
said. “Post
-t
raumatic
s
tress
d
isorder
. It wasn’t his fault, you understand?
The trauma of the war, in particular the attack that killed his friends and badly wounded him in
ninety-one
,
left him with
irreparable
brain
damage.”

“He had brain injury?”

“There w
ere
no bullet
s
or shrapnel
lodged in
his
head. But
our brains are much more sensitive than our legs or even internal organs. New research shows that nearby explosions, the severe pounding of high pressure, causes
tiny i
njuries inside the brain matter
which can
not be detected in medical tests or magnetic resonance scans, but that leave permanent injuries nevertheless, resulting in long-term mental disease and emotional instability. That’s what happened to Zachariah.”

“
I
understand you
,” Ben said.
“
You’re saying that
Zachariah was crazy,
correct
?”

Dr. Neibauer
took off his glasses
. “
The word ‘c
razy
’
is not a medical term. He was mentally ill, yes.”

“But he
function
ed
well
for
years
. What triggered his recent illness?”

“He was
never
completely
fine,” Palmyra said. “He always had
issues. Di
fficulties.”

“Such as?”

“Typical symptoms,” Dr. Neibauer
answered for her
. “N
ightmares, mood swings, lack of interest in
his work.
”

“That’s right,” she said. “Life for him was
, in a way, harder than for others
.
I used to blame myself, and he
always told me
not to, that it was his problem.
”
He
r
voice cracked. “He had such a good heart!”

“Mental illness,”
Dr. Neibauer said,
“is not a static condition. Patients go through ups and downs, like the economy
.
As a psychiatrist, I work very hard to maintain the patients’ balance th
r
ough therapy and medication.
Do you understand?
”

“Yes,” Ben said.
“
B
ut with Zachariah
, you failed
?”

“
Not exactly.
” He put his glasses back on. “
Zachariah
was
a veteran. His healthcare was provided by the
Veterans Administration
system
.”

“You don’t work for the VA?”

He glanced at
Palmyra before answering. “I’
m in private practice. My involvement
with Zachariah was as a friend of the
family.”

“You worship together?”

Dr. Neibauer nodded. “
Our church encourages
brotherly assistance
to fellow
s
aints in times of need. We stand together before God, you understand?”

“
Were you called in because of his
dispute with Joe Morgan?”

Dr. Neibauer
removed
his glasses
again
. “What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean. Let’s say that Zachariah told me everything from his point of view. I’m here to hear yours.”

He
pointed
a
t Ben
with the glasses
. “Young man, let me
explain
something.
Mental illness often masquerad
es
itself behind a facade of normalcy, coherence, even eloquence.
But as a
journalist, you should be able to distinguish facts from
fantasies
.”

“Mrs. Hinckley,” Ben turned to Palmyra, “did you
r
husband suffer from hallucinations?”

She looked at the psychiatrist, he
r
lips trembling.

“Hallucinating,” Dr. Neibauer said, “is usually drug induced. Zachariah was a
s
aint. He didn’t even touch alcohol
, let along drugs
. His behavioral issues were rooted in chemical imbalance due to PTS
D
. He was a very ill man.”

“So he invented the whole thing?”

“
Insane people rationalize their behavior
to justify
aggression and unreasonable demands.
But often what you hear is nothing but
grandiosity
and paranoia. Zachariah Hinckley was a very sick man, I assure you.”

“Wasn’t he too sick to stand trial before church official
s
?”

Palmyra groaned, turned, and walked toward
the Suburban
.

Shaking his head, Dr. Neibauer said,
“These are confidential church matters. Who told you about—”

“
I’d like to know your
professional
opinion,” Ben said
.
“
W
asn’t
Zachariah
too
sick
to stand
trial?
”

“It wasn’t a real trial
!” The psychiatrist struggled to control his rising voice. “It was a curative effort! A
n attempt to
confront him with reality! Shake him up!”

“Was it your idea?”

“Yes!
I recommended it
! Brother
Zachariah needed to face the consequences of his belligerence
!
”

“Belligerence? Or illness?”

“
Both! That’s why forcing a patient to suffer for his actions—”

“S
hock therapy?”

“Exactly!” The psychiatrist
rubbed his hands
. “By making him
experience
the
social
degradation
, familial
humiliation
, and ecumenical
castigation
, for a faithful
s
aint
like
B
r
other
Zachariah, it would be
a most effective form of
mental conditioning
.”

“What’s that?”

“The creation of a mental
association between
bad
behavior and
painful
consequences.
”

“
Like mice with cheese and electric
shock?”

“That’s the concept. Yes.”

“
Did you succeed? Did punishing Zachariah cause him to
form
a mental
association between pain and
pressuring
Joe Morgan?”