“I guess I didn’t think it was any of your business,” she said.
“But you were a child,” I said. “Everything you did was my business.”
“That’s what parents think,” she said.
“This is a second chance, Caitlin, for all of us. And I’m not going to let it slip past me. I’m not.”
“Are you going to hit me again? Would that make you feel better? Some men like to do that.”
“Did that man hit you?” I asked. “Did he hurt you? You said things happened to you. What happened to you, Caitlin? Tell me.”
She shivered, her shoulders rising, her body quaking. But she didn’t yield. “It’s cold,” she said. “I either want to go in or go home.”
“Were you kept in the basement? In that room?”
She didn’t look at me. She scrambled for the door handle and tugged against it. She pressed against the door with her shoulder, but it didn’t give. The child safety locks were on. She couldn’t get out. “Locks,” she said. “You all use locks.”
“I’m protecting you, Caitlin. There’s a difference.”
She kept her eyes straight ahead. “If you want to go in, let’s go in,” she said. “I already told you I’m cold.”
Chapter Thirty-nine
Susan greeted us on the porch. “Well, I think I know who this is,” she said, stepping aside and sweeping her arms out, directing us through the front door and into a wide, cluttered living room. The house smelled of something like fried onions, and a national news program played over the radio.
Caitlin looked uncertain. I nodded at her, letting her know it was okay to go in. Susan pointed to an overstuffed chair, and after a brief hesitation, Caitlin sat down.
“Would you like some tea, Caitlin? I have some tea in the kitchen,” Susan said.
“No.”
“Would you like anything?” Susan asked. “Water? A Coke?”
Caitlin’s eyes wandered around the room before settling on me. “My dad wants me to talk to you,” she said. “Instead of the shrink.”
“Very good,” Susan said. “What do you think of that?”
Caitlin kept her eyes on me when she spoke. “It’s fine, I guess,” she said. “But if he wants me to talk to you, he has to leave.”
“No,” I said. “That’s not the deal.”
“What deal?” Caitlin asked.
“Tom.” Susan’s voice cut through the room. “Tom, listen. I’ve talked to girls like Caitlin before, and sometimes they want to have their privacy. At least initially, while they’re getting to know me a little better.”
“Can we talk?” I said to Susan.
We moved off toward the doorway to the spotless kitchen. We stopped there so I could talk to Susan in a low voice but still keep my eye on Caitlin.
“I don’t like this,” I said. “I brought her here to learn something. For
“I’m a stranger to her, Tom. She has to learn to trust me too.”
“All the more reason for me to stay.”
Susan looked behind her, then turned back to me. “Tom, you and I have trust issues to work through, don’t we? You’re feeling angry because I wasn’t up-front with you the first time we met, and I understand that. Maybe if I can talk to Caitlin alone, we can make up for that.”
She fixed me again with her wide-open eyes, and they worked on me. Despite what I considered her betrayal over Tracy, I believed this woman when she said she wanted to try to help. And beyond that, even if I didn’t completely believe her, I didn’t have anyone else to turn to.
“What am I supposed to do?” I asked.
“You can wait on the porch. It’s a nice day.”
I looked at Caitlin, who was pretending to ignore us. “She likes to run,” I said.
“I’ve been there before, Tom,” Susan said. “I’ll keep a close eye on her.”
I broke away from Susan and stopped by Caitlin’s chair. “Is this what you want?” I asked. “Me outside and you in here?”
She nodded.
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll be outside if you need me.” Susan walked with me to the door, and I whispered to her, “There’s more to this story, you know.”
“There usually is,” she said.
“And you’ll find it out?” I asked.
She placed her hand on my chest, gently but insistently, and moved me back. “I’m going to do whatever I can, Tom.”
It took fifteen minutes for Rosenbaum’s office to call my cell phone. When I answered on the porch, it was the man himself speaking, not his secretary.
“Tom, we were just wondering where Caitlin is. She’s missing her appointment with me.”
“I don’t think we’re going to make it in today. To be honest, I’ve decided to take her to someone else, another professional, someone who I thought might have a better rapport with her.”
“You can’t do that,” he said, his voice rising. “It is not advisable to take a patient from one specialist to another. Who did you bring her to? Does your wife know about this? I know we haven’t made much progress yet, but a case like this can take a long time to work through.”
“I have to go.”
“Who have you taken her to? What’s the doctor’s name?”
“It’s not a doctor.”
“Not a doctor? Tom, I’m going to have to tell Detective Ryan. This case is at a critical juncture. If she’s not getting consistent care-”
I hung up.
I paced on the porch after I hung up with Rosenbaum, listening to the birds and watching the comings and goings of the students in the neighborhood. Soon enough, Abby called, and I knew I needed to reassure her.
“It’s okay, Abby. She’s with me.”
She sighed on her end of the line. “Did you really take her to another doctor?”
“No, not that.”
“Who then?” A pause. “Oh, Tom.” She didn’t sound angry. Instead, her voice dripped with judgment and concern. “That woman from the porch?”
“She works with the police department. She’s a counselor-a support system-for victims of crime.”
“Is she a doctor?”
“No, she’s not, but she’s trying to help,” I said. “She listens. She’s trained to work with people who are having crises. She doesn’t have an agenda. She just listens and works with me.”
“Caitlin’s my daughter, too. You need to tell me what you’re doing with her, especially now.”
“I didn’t plan this. I just did it.”
Someone spoke to Abby in the background. She muffled the phone with her hand and said something that sounded like, “It’s okay, it’s okay.” Then she came back on the line. “I feel bad that you think this woman was the only person you could turn to in a crisis. You’re so alone, Tom. I worry about you.”
“I have to go, Abby. Caitlin’s going to be ready soon.”
“Will you talk to me about this later? I don’t think this should be the end of our conversation.”
“I have to go, Abby. Good-bye.”
