'What's the name of the company who shipped him these cylinders?'
'Holloway Medical. San Francisco.
'Let's see what else they sent him and when: Cylinders-like empty tubes?'
'They're part of a kit.' I described the Insuject system.
'No needles or drugs under the sink?'
'Nope, the needles and the insulin spansules come separately.' I recounted my search of the bedroom and the refrigerator. 'But they could be anywhere in that house. Any possibility of getting a search warrant now?'
'Just on the basis of tubes? Doubtful. With needles attached and the insulin all loaded up, maybe. That would be evidence of premeditation, though she could still claim the stuff was left over from the aunt.'
'Not if the insulin was still fresh. I'm not sure of insulin's exact shelf life, but it's not four years.'
'Yeah. So find me some fresh insulin and I'll visit a judge. Right now, there's no evidentiary chain.'
'Even with Cassie's low sugar?'
'Even with. Sorry. Wonder why she left it under the sink like that.'
'She probably never imagined anyone would look there. It was stuck in a corner-you d have to be groping around to find it.'
And she wasn't pissed at all that you were snooping in her john?'
'If she was, she didn't show it. I made up a story about running out of toilet paper and going under the sink for a fresh roll. She apologized for not being a better housekeeper.'
'Eager to please, huh? The boys back in South Carolina sure took advantage of it.'
'Or she gets people to do what she wants by playing dumb and passive.
I didn't walk out of that house feeling in control.'
'Ye olde bathroom detective. Sounds like you're ready for the ViceSquad.'
'I'll pass. The whole thing was surreal. Not that I was doing much good as a therapist.'
I told him how Cindy had thrust Cassie at me, and Cassie's subsequent panic.
'Up till then my rapport with Cassie had been progressing pretty well.
Now, it's shot to hell, Milo. So I have to wonder if Cindy was deliberately trying to sabotage me.'
'Waltzing and leading, huh?'
'Something she told me suggests that control is a big issue for her.
When she was a kid, the aunt wouldn't let her eat any sweets at all, even though there was nothing wrong with her pancreas. That's a far cry from Munchausen, but there is a hint of pathology there-not allowing a healthy child to have an occasional ice cream.'
Aunt projecting the diabetes onto her?'
'Exactly. And who knows if there were other aspects of the disease the aunt projected-like injections. Not insulin, but maybe some kind of vitamin shots. I'm just guessing. Cindy also told me that she restricts Cassie's sweets. At face value, that sounds like good mothering. oReasonable health-consciousness from someone who's already lost one child. But maybe there's a whole weird thing going on with regard to sugar.'
'Sins of the mothers,' he said.
'The aunt was Cindy's functional mother. And look at the role model she provided: a health professional who had a chronic disease and controlled it-Cindy spoke of that with pride. She may have grown up associating being female-being maternal-with being sick and emotionally rigid: controlled and controlling. It's no surprise she chose the military right after high school-from one structured environment to another. When that didn't work out, her next step was respiratory tech school. Because Aunt Harriet told her it was a good profession.
