Chapter 5 - THE DOCTOR WHO NEVER SAW HER
The doctor listed on Audrey's records was Dr. Preston Hall.
His notes described her as paranoid.
Delusional.
Violent.
Uncooperative.
Dangerous to herself.
There was only one problem.
Audrey said she had never met him.
Rachel brought a photograph.
“This man?”
Audrey shook her head.
“Never.”
“You're sure?”
“Yes.”
The signature on the medical records belonged to a respected psychiatrist with twenty-six years in practice.
His reports had given Julian everything he needed.
Control of medication.
Emergency guardianship petitions.
Restrictions on Audrey's finances.
A legal paper trail making an imprisoned woman look unstable.
Someone had built Julian a cage out of documents.
I sat beside Audrey's bed.
“Why didn't you call me sooner?”
The second the question left my mouth, I hated myself.
Her face collapsed.
“I tried.”
“I know.”
“No, Dad.”
She swallowed.
“I really tried.”
She told me about the first month.
Julian took her car keys after an argument.
Then her credit cards.
Then her phone.
He told staff she was depressed.
He told friends she needed privacy.
When she borrowed a housekeeper's phone, Miriam fired the woman the next morning.
When Audrey mailed me a letter, Julian found it.
“What did he do?”
Audrey looked toward the window.
“He made me burn it.”
My throat tightened.
“He said if I contacted you again, he'd make sure everyone thought you were senile.”
I almost smiled.
“That was his plan?”
“He said he'd use your age.”
“I've been called worse.”
She didn't smile.
Then she told me about the food.
At first, missing meals was punishment.
Then it became routine.
If she disagreed with Julian, no dinner.
If she asked for her phone, no breakfast.
If she demanded to leave, two days.
Miriam supervised.
Arthur watched.
Neither stopped it.
“What happened to your ankle?”
Audrey's eyes filled with tears.
“I ran.”
I said nothing.
“I reached the gate.”
She pressed her lips together.
“Julian caught me.”
My hands closed slowly.
“He pushed me.”
“Down what?”
“The stone steps near the east garden.”
“How many?”
“Seven.”
I looked away.
Audrey whispered.
“He wouldn't take me to the hospital because he said doctors ask questions.”
A knock came at the door.
Marcus entered carrying a plastic evidence bag.
Inside was an old cell phone.
“We found this under the basement mattress.”
Audrey sat up.
“My phone.”
Marcus nodded.
“Battery was dead.”
“How did you call me?”
“I found Miriam's phone.”
Audrey looked embarrassed.
“She came downstairs angry.”
“What happened?”
“I pretended to faint.”
A tiny spark appeared in her eyes.
“For once, she believed me.”
I almost laughed.
Audrey had taken the phone from Miriam's pocket.
She had exactly twenty seconds before footsteps returned.
She called the only number she still knew by heart.
Mine.
Marcus handed the phone to Rachel.
“Forensics thinks there may be deleted files.”
Audrey suddenly grabbed my hand.
“There is.”
“What?”
“A recording.”
Her voice dropped.
“Julian forgot my old phone was still recording one night.”
“What did it record?”
Audrey stared at me.
“Julian and his father.”
“Talking about what?”
May you like
She looked toward Rachel.
“My funeral.”
