'Well, why don't you tell the doctor we'll make it up to him later. I'm sure he'll forgive us,' Jade said.
'I'm afraid that's not possible.'
'And why not?'
'Because I'm the doctor. And I have an unforgiving nature.'
Travers closed her eyes. Jade looked over at her, than back at the doctor. 'You'll have to excuse my colleague,' Travers said. 'If it's any consolation, I have to work with him.'
Dr. Yung smiled and nodded at her gently. 'I can imagine it's quite taxing.'
He ushered them down a hallway and into an office.
'Well, how was I supposed to know?' Jade whispered roughly to Travers. 'He looks like he's not old enough to shave.'
Although the room they entered was dark, it didn't have a heaviness to it. An open window allowed a breeze to move through the room, carrying with it the smell of the foliage outside. Jade and Travers sat down on a brown leather couch, and the doctor took his place on a large, comfortable chair.
A poster of the yin and yang symbol hung on the wall behind Jade and Travers. In the darkness of the yin curled an immense dragon with red and orange limbs unfurled. Its glaring eye doubled as the white circle of the symbol.
Dr. Yung cleared his throat and spoke, hiding whatever anger he might feel under the calmness of his voice. 'Needless to say, I hope that the matter before us is an important one.'
'We're here about Allander Atlasia. I'm Jade Marlow. I'm in charge of the investigation.'
'Yes.' The doctor leaned back in his seat, arms crossed. 'My office manager mentioned something about your waving a badge.'
'Actually, there are several matters we'd like to speak with you about,' Travers said.
The doctor was silent.
'First of all, if you're one of the prison psychologists, why are you here treating kids?' Jade asked.
'Because you cannot study criminals without starting with children,' Dr. Yung replied. He chuckled. 'I have a private practice, Mr. Marlow. Since I spend most of my time with the prisoners, I like to treat children on the side. More optimistic.' He twirled the point of a letter opener against his thumb. 'Now if the details of my practice are sufficiently clarified, perhaps we could get down to business?'
'Uh… gentlemen? Maybe I could offer a different approach,' Travers said. She caught Dr. Yung's eye and nodded. 'Jennifer Travers.'
Crossing her legs delicately, she leaned back in her chair. 'Why don't we forgo the pissing contest and remember we're dealing with a serious matter here. We need your help, Doctor, before more people are killed.'
Jade and Dr. Yung looked at each other sheepishly.
'Now, how familiar are you with Atlasia?' Travers asked.
'Very. I'd say he was my reason for going into psychology.'
'Excuse me, Doctor?'
He laughed. 'I'm sure you weren't expecting that response at all. My father treated him when he was a child. Dr. Pan Yung.'
Jade nodded in recognition. 'Of course. The only psychologist who got anything from him as a kid. That was your father?'
'Yes. They had excellent rapport. I was in high school when my father was treating him. Of course, I shouldn't have known that, but the case was highly publicized. I found out watching the eight o'clock news. I saw reporters forcing their way into his office.'
'Can we interview your father?' Travers asked.
'He passed away,' Dr. Yung and Jade said at the same time. Jade shook his head regretfully.
'I'm sorry,' Travers said. The doctor nodded gracefully.
'So why was Allander the reason you went into psychology?' Jade asked.
'Well, I must confess I exaggerated slightly for dramatic purposes. But it was worth it to see the looks on your faces.' He chuckled kindly. 'It was during this period that I became interested in my father's work. He studied the effects of trauma on children, but I was interested in studying those who perpetrated the acts themselves. As you can see, my practice ended up being a mix of these two goals.'
'Were you surprised to see Allander when he got transferred to Maingate?'
'Well, he was already there when I arrived, but I wasn't surprised.' He stopped for a moment and thought. 'It was a strange coincidence, but I wasn't surprised. Many of the abused become abusers. I just try to break the cycle.'
'So you think that Allander's experience as a child led him to be a criminal?' Travers asked.
The doctor laughed. 'I only wish it were that simple. A lot of children have endured much worse and put their lives back together.' He paused, then caught himself. 'Well, not worse, perhaps, but for a longer period of time. Some children are molested for months, years.'
'You think Atlasia's experience is one of the worst you've ever seen?' Travers asked.
Dr. Yung rubbed his hand across his forehead. 'I don't know how, exactly, I should rank them, Agent Travers. Is forced oral sex worse than a prolonged whipping?'
Travers's eyebrows raised and her mouth tightened.
'I'm sorry,' Dr. Yung said. 'That wasn't fair.'
Travers nodded and indicated he should continue.
'My father's files were confidential; they were destroyed after he passed away. However, I do know that Allander was a very precocious youngster at the time of the incident. He remembered everything. It was a horrific molestation-the extent of what he was put through we can only imagine. We do know there was forced oral and anal penetration. Some of the… objects found in the room where he was kept…' The doctor's voice trailed off for a moment as he recalled the crime-scene photos. 'Well, let's just say that what purpose they served is well beyond the reach of my imagination. When I first saw Atlasia about six years ago, he dismissed those events as insignificant.'
'Insignificant?' Jade asked.
'What a psychologist does, Mr. Marlow,' Dr. Yung said, tilting back in his chair and pressing his hands together, 'is listen to the spaces between the words. Allander is bright enough to hold together on the surface, but he's in turmoil. I fear he never put those problems to rest.'
'Evi-fuckin'-dently,' Jade said.
Dr. Yung continued, ignoring Jade's interruption. 'You see, people develop by grappling with their unconscious, their darker half. The shadow. It consists of all their deepest desires and fears. We're all made of good and evil, of both parts. The yin and yang.' He gestured to the poster on the wall behind Jade and Travers. 'Most people are a blend of both sides. But some, some people allow one side to take over.'
'What do you mean 'take over'?' Travers asked.
'They are devoured,' the doctor said darkly, 'by their shadow.'
'So Allander has a problem differentiating reality from his fantasies?' Travers asked.
'Not exactly. He can differentiate between the two, he just has nothing holding him back from acting on his wishes. His shadow is no longer held in check by his persona, or superego. So it roams free.'
'A runaway libido with no brakes,' Jade mused.
The doctor looked surprised. 'Yes, Mr. Marlow. Something like that. I'm afraid I can't be more helpful, but Allander was quite guarded, particularly when he spoke to me. I'm sure you've found that in the tapes.'
Jade leaned forward and put his hands on his knees. 'Let's get into specifics, Doctor. Atlasia has made a number of Freudian references that I'd like some input about. He seems really proud of the fact that he's in touch with his unconscious, that he can see all the parts he's made of. And he's not afraid to act on his desires-the real way, not through sublimation. He's very aware of the difference, which I think is bad news. And he also said he's seen 'what there is in every little boy,' but if he's talking about the Oedipal complex, I'm not really sure why.'
Travers helped Jade fill in the blanks as he presented the entire case, beginning to end. They showed the doctor photos of the crime scene at the house, and Jade played him the segment from the tape of Allander's interview that he thought was significant.
For a long time, the doctor didn't say anything. He picked up the photographs and examined them closely.
