Harbour Falls (A Harbour Falls Mystery #1)(53)

At the hospital, after her stomach had been pumped, Ami was moved to the psychiatric ward for observation. Following a series of tests, exams, and sessions with a psychiatrist, she was deemed to be a danger to herself but not to others. So she’d been moved to a Harbour Falls mental health facility for further, more intensive treatment.

Searching for a possible catalyst for her breakdown, which appeared to have come out of nowhere, the new psychiatrist treating her began to suspect it stemmed from her inability to have children—a condition which she and Sean had discovered that summer after a year of failed attempts to conceive.

Following two more months of treatment, Ami was finally released and initially appeared to be “cured.” She’d gone back to her house and her loving husband, and even returned to her job at Harbour Falls Realtors.

“I didn’t have the heart to fire her,” Adam explained, “She’d been a model employee, and I saw no reason to let her go. In fact, I hoped if she returned to a normal routine, it might actually help.”

“Did it?” I asked, though by Adam’s pained expression I sensed it hadn’t.

He explained that, at first, she really had seemed like her old self. But then one day, after showing a property located in Harbour Falls to a nice young couple who were expecting their first child, Ami was seen later sporting a rather impressive baby bump. In this “condition” she went to a local grocery store and a gas station. She later confessed she’d purposely sought out opportunities to talk with people about her “pregnancy.”

For example, a man at the grocery store had allowed her to go ahead of him in the checkout line. She thanked him and then proceeded to tell him how much she appreciated his kindness and how she’d just been so tired lately with her due date coming up. At the gas station, she’d waddled in to pay with cash and then spent ten minutes talking about babies with the young lady working at the station.

When she returned home, Sean was out in the yard raking leaves. “You can imagine how he felt when Ami got out of the car and Sean saw she was ‘pregnant.’” Adam slouched in the leather seat and leaned his head back on the headrest.

“That’s terrible,” I lamented.

Adam shook his head in what I guessed was dismay. “She confessed everything to Sean that night and even asked him to take her back to the hospital. He called me to let me know why Ami was going to be missing more work. That’s how I found out what had happened.” Adam paused. “He was so upset he even told me that Ami had admitted to sneaking into the high school and stealing one of those prosthetic pregnancy suits that had been used in a school play.”

“Oh, Adam.” Tears welled up in my eyes as my heart went out to this broken woman who, as a girl, had once shared so much with me. “She didn’t end up at Willow Point, did she?” I asked, shuddering.



Willow Point was a mental health facility that housed patients deemed to be a danger to themselves and/or others. It was located over in Bangor, perched high atop a hill overlooking the small downtown area. Even without the knowledge that it housed the insane, the old gothic structure itself was just plain creepy. In fact, Willow Point had inspired many a lurid tale. Almost everyone who’d grown up within a hundred-mile radius of the place had heard the terrifying stories of what went on at Willow Point. Many of the stories were true. Back in the sixties and seventies the place had been so overcrowded that beds were placed in the hallways. The atrocities that had occurred with patients essentially running amok were truly hair-raising. Reforms were passed, though, and conditions improved. But it still was a place that inspired terror.

“Maddy,” Adam said, throwing me an exasperated look. “Willow Point is for the criminally insane. Ami didn’t commit a felony; she just needed more help.”

According to Adam, despite more treatment Ami still periodically regressed back to these false pregnancies. Over time, though, the episodes appeared to occur with less and less frequency. So the doctors felt it’d be best to just allow things to play out. Especially since her farce never lasted for more than a day or two. Consequently, people who knew better just played along, and people who didn’t know—like me—remained none the wiser.

“Should we call someone?” I asked. “Let them know she’s at it again?”

Adam shook his head. “No. I’m sure Sean knows anyway. That’s probably why he took her out of town. To get away for a few days.”

So he did know they were gone. “Do you know where they went?” I tried to keep my voice even.

“No idea,” he replied. “She just asked for a few days off.” I bit down on my lip and stared out the passenger-side window. Noticing, Adam added, “Maddy, if you’re that curious, I can find out where they are.”



There really was no reason, so I shook my head. “This is just a lot to take in,” I murmured, leaning my head against the cool glass of the passenger window.

I kept thinking of the time I’d recently spent with Ami. She’d seemed so excited about the nonexistent baby. The whole thing was just heartbreakingly sad. So much had changed since I’d left Harbour Falls. Everyone was so different, their lives so full of complications. Me, I just wanted to go inside and forget this whole day.

Adam put a comforting hand on my knee. “It is a lot to digest,” he agreed. “And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I didn’t think it’d be an issue.”