The Nose Knows (31 page)

Mom’s voice was soft. “Theodore, I think some very sad and awful things happened in your life. I know you blame me for some of them. Maybe things could have been done differently. Maybe if we had, your father might still be alive. We’ll never know. We can’t change the past. But there is one thing we can try to change, and that is what will happen to you.” Theodore looked from Mom to Dr. Hayden, who said nothing but gave one simple affirmative nod. Theodore looked at my face. Then he looked at Fearless. He lingered a long time as he studied Fearless’s eyes.

Maybe we’d reminded him how restless one can feel when they’re locked up. Maybe he was tired of carrying all that anger. Maybe rubbing on two adorable critters had softened his heart. I don’t know. But I knew Fearless understood, far better than I, what it takes to overcome your past. Maybe Theodore saw something in the eyes of Fearless that I had not.

All I can tell you is that the next thing Theodore said was, “How can you possibly change my future?”

I looked at Mom. Her smile was gentle, reassuring and very real. She calmly stepped toward the table and sat down. “If you’re willing to work with Dr. Hayden and me, we may be able to change what happens to you. That’s why we came to talk to you today.”

Just like that, in one moment, Theodore’s future changed. There was now a chance his father’s story would never have to be repeated.

A
n hour later, when Mom had finished talking to Theodore, she met with Detective Finley, Dr. Hayden, and the District Attorney. She achieved the consensus she wanted.

Her next move was to call and talk to each member of the group. She asked if they would be willing to meet her today in the downtown office at six p.m. Every agreed to be there. Everyone except Alan, that is. He said he’d never again go into that office. Since Mom remembered once she had felt the same way, she didn’t push the issue. I, on the other hand, was more determined than ever to find out what secrets Alan was hiding.

However, right now my dance card was full. Since it was already after five p.m., we left the jail and headed straight to the office. Before we left, Mom called Jacob and gave him an update.

When we arrived, Jacob and Quincy had made great time and were waiting for us in the lobby. This time they’d stay there with Pete. Mom thought it would reassure the group to know they were watching everyone who entered the building. Peter said no one he didn’t know had come through that door all day. Pete didn’t mind having the company. He really liked Quincy.

However, Quincy wasn’t paying attention to anyone but me. In fact, Quincy was in my face. “Spunky, you’re never going to believe what happened with Alan. We finally know what he’s been up to.”

Mom was pulling on my leash. “Spunky, pay attention. We have to go upstairs now. Hurry up. You can see Quincy later.”

“I’ll talk while you walk.” Quincy wasn’t about to be deterred so easily. “While you guys were all at the jail, Jacob decided to go check on Alan; and sure enough, he was meeting with that same dude again. Then . . .”

As the elevator doors shut, Quincy’s voice was cut off. Now all I could count on was that Jacob and Quincy were in the lobby and they knew more than I did. They’d be there to stop Alan from coming to the meeting if he changed his mind and showed up. At least, I hoped they would stop him.

For the very first time, everyone in the group was on time. In fact, Melanie actually arrived before Donny. Who would’ve guessed that would happen?

It was quite the grand reunion. They’d missed us as much as we’d missed them. Donny was so happy to see me he didn’t think twice about sitting on the less-than-clean floor. I rewarded his efforts by jumping into his lap and kissing his face. It was all so spontaneous that I totally forgot to check if “Mr. Squeaky Clean” would even tolerate doggie kisses. He didn’t mind one little bit. Meanwhile, Fearless was purring away and rubbing on Melanie. She was laughing and cooing over him as if he were her baby.

“Hey, what about us?” Cynthia and John asked simultaneously.

Donny laughed. “Go ahead, Spunky. Go say hi.”

I jumped off his lap, ran to greet John, then bounced onto Cynthia’s lap and then back to John. I was getting dizzy. I was grateful when Fearless jumped up onto Cynthia and started rubbing against her face. Hey, remember, it was Cynthia who was the first of the group to jump in and help Fearless when Cartwright was trying to get up off the floor. Fearless knew he owed her a big rub of thanks. Meanwhile, I was giving John a very thorough face washing for his help in keeping Mr. Johnson pinned down.

It was so good to see them all. I wanted to keep the love fest going, but Mom had some important things to discuss.

“Okay, you guys, we really do need to get started.” They all got up, brushed themselves off, and took their seats. Donny patted his lap. I didn’t hesitate to jump up and settle in.

Mom started to say, “Hey Spunk, you and Fearless should go—”

Then another first happened. Donny actually interrupted Mom. “Oh, Dr. Richards, please let Spunky stay on my lap. I know she’ll behave herself. Please?”

I’d never heard Donny interrupt anyone, let alone Mom!

I gave Mom my best “Pretty please” look. She smiled. I knew that Donny actually speaking up and asking for something was having a far greater impact on her than my endearing look, but hey, my charm hadn’t hurt any either.

“Okay, okay, I guess we don’t have to stick to the rules all the time.”

Melanie leaned forward and whispered to Fearless, “Maybe the doc is finally starting to see things my way, Fearless.”

The quiet chuckle from Mom let us know she too had heard Melanie. “Okay, let’s get started. I asked you all here tonight because I need to let you know what we’ve discovered about the two people who tried to assault us.”

Mom went over all the details about Theodore and Samantha Cartwright. The group sat mesmerized as she explained their connection to her past. No one asked any questions or said a word.

After Mom covered all the historical events, she told them how Theodore had reacted when he’d seen Fearless and me at the jail. She told them each move we’d made as we acted out our “Close Encounter of the Critter Kind” and described the effect it had on Theodore.

John got all choked up. Donny gave me a bunch of extra squeezes.

Then Mom got to the difficult part of why she’d asked them to meet with her today. “Before I tell you what happened next, I want to preface it by saying that none of you are obligated in any way. If you choose, this group can stay exactly the way it has been. If Alan decides not to return then I will offer to see him privately. . . .”

I snorted. “Not if I have anything to say about it, you won’t!”

Mom continued. “I would like the group to consider something. I believe that if Theodore goes back to jail without any treatment, he, too, might kill himself. Given his genetic makeup and his father’s history, I think the cards are stacked against him. Dr. Hayden has agreed to admit him to his psychiatric ward in order to initiate medication and to start intense therapy. In addition, Theodore must be willing to deal with his anger towards me. Today, with Spunky and Fearless helping to break down the barriers, I believe Theodore took a big first step. He tolerated my presence in the room and he did talk to me. He and I and Dr. Hayden worked out a plan. . . .”

Mom stopped and took a drink of water. I think she was checking her own feelings. Once she presented this possibility to the group, she couldn’t turn back. She was checking to make sure if she could take the next step.

She took a long, deep breath. As she exhaled, she said, “This is what we discussed with Theodore. If he agrees to a voluntary three-month inpatient treatment program with Dr. Hayden then, we’ll recommend that he not be sentenced to jail time. He knows we’ll revoke this recommendation if he fails to cooperate with Dr. Hayden. He will be on a locked ward at the hospital and won’t be able to leave the unit. After three months, we’ll review his status and decide if we think he is ready for an outpatient program. He’ll have to agree to wear a leg monitor and live in a designated halfway house. He’ll only be able to go back and forth to the hospital and must stay within a three-mile radius that allows him to get groceries and other basic necessities. Since my house and this office are more than fifteen miles from the halfway house, I feel it is an acceptable safety zone. If he moves out of his three-mile zone, his alarm will go off at police headquarters. Another condition of this agreement is that he must meet with me at the hospital at least twice a week. And finally . . .”

Mom took in a big breath and spoke very slowly. “Once a week I’d like him to meet with this group via computer.”

There was a palpable spike in everyone’s anxiety level. Donny squeezed me as he tensed. Melanie started twisting her hair. John cleared his throat several times, and Cynthia started jiggling her leg.

“Remember, I said via computer. He’ll
not
be here in person. This would begin while he is under lock and key at the hospital. We’d try it for three months and then evaluate how you feel about it.”

Her voice got even quieter. “Right now, all I’m asking is that you consider it. It might be helpful if I give you my reasons for making such a request. First, I spent a whole lot of years avoiding both my fears and Mr. Cartwright, senior. I could’ve gone to see him in the hospital or in jail. I chose not to. It felt safer to have nothing to do with him. However, in truth, I wasn’t safe. Fear ruled all my decisions and my life. I never stopped being a victim. That took a terrible toll on me. This time, I want to help all of you and myself confront these new fears and deal with them in a more proactive manner.

“Second, I now see that there were several fatal flaws in our plan with Theodore’s father. First, we hospitalized him, where yes, he had a whole lot of support, but he only had sick people around him. Then he went to jail. There he was surrounded by hostile, angry people. He didn’t have enough support or skills to manage his way through it, and as a result his mental status deteriorated. I believe his paranoia grew and he might even have believed his pills were poison. He stopped taking them and when his mental illness became too great to bear, he stopped all of it by killing himself. We should have built a better bridge to support him while he was in jail.

“A third reason I want you to consider doing this, is that by finding a way to link Theodore to this group, you can get to know him as a person, not just the monster you remember coming through that door. You get to work through your fears with the actual person who caused those fears. Meanwhile, Theodore will be forming a relationship with the group. That relationship might be the support bridge he needs after leaving the hospital. He’ll already have a relationship with people outside the hospital. Good, regular people trying to cope with regular, everyday problems. We’re hoping it might be a win-win situation for everyone.

“Finally, while Theodore and I must meet face to face, I think for you—beaming him in via computer is a much better way to go. Remember, I said the group could stay exactly the way it is right now. Unless you all agree to this, it will not happen. I can always beam him into another group where no one knows him. So, that about covers it. Now I need to know what you think.”

At first no one spoke. They looked from one face to the next. Donny’s body told me that he was anxious and scared. He began to speak very softly. “You know, Dr. Richards, I for one was terrified by what happened. But over these last few days I’ve come to see that some really good stuff happened at the same time.”

Mom nodded. “Tell me, what kind of good stuff do you mean, Donny?”

Donny squeezed me. Now he was getting excited. “Well, I’ll admit before all of this happened I was pretty much scared of everything. As you’ve taught me, I try to control my world by keeping control over my stuff and my feelings. Then all this escalated and that day happened. All I know is, when I saw Spunky in trouble, I jumped in and fought for her. I’d never fought for anyone or anything before. In fact, I didn’t think I would fight for anyone. But I did, and you know something? It felt good. Scary, but good.”

Donny took a deep breath and lifted his chin. “That day, I found out I may be shy and timid, but I ain’t a coward.”

I do believe his chest puffed up!

Mom replied, “Good for you! Congratulations, Donny. I too have seen quite a few good changes in you since that day. I’m very proud of you.”

Now his chest was definitely puffed.

John raised his finger to get Mom’s attention.

“Yes, John?”

“Dr. Richards, can I ask if Theodore agreed to this plan?”

Mom smiled. “Well, John, he did have two very clear stipulations. He said he’d only agree to meet with me
if
I agreed to bring Fearless and Spunky with me to every meeting! He said it was a non-negotiable point.”

The entire group laughed. Now it was my turn to puff out my chest. Hey, a request for a return performance is a great honor.

John grinned. “I can understand why he made that request. I think we should add the same stipulation to any agreement we reach. Spunky and Fearless must be present for all of our group meetings. Hey, these two are our heroes. We have to include them!”