A Necessary Evil(55)

“Hello, there,” the woman said as she closed the door behind her and took a seat at the desk. “My name is Doctor Hannah Fischer. I assume you are Mollie Cartwright?”

Mollie nodded and raised her hand and wiggled her fingers.

Dr. Fischer turned to Kitty. “And how have you been lately, Katherine?”

“I’m doing much better now that Mollie’s home.”

“I’m sure that’s true. Now, Mollie, your mother filled me in on what happened to you recently. I want you to know, I’m not going to pressure you to tell me anything you’re not prepared to tell me. I’m simply here to listen today. We’ll take everything one step at a time and talk about things when it feels right to you.”

“Thanks,” Mollie said with a wary smile.

“Great. Now, would you like your mother to stay or would you like to talk to me alone? It’s completely up to you.”

She looked at her mother, hoping she would give her a sign as to what she wanted to do. It really didn’t matter to Mollie. When her mother continued to look at her with wide, hopeful eyes, she shrugged and said, “She can stay.”

“Okay. Why don’t you just tell me what you want me to know about what happened to you? You say as much or as little as you feel comfortable saying.”

Mollie drew in a deep breath, let it out, and began. She told the doctor everything that had happened, just as she’d recounted it to Detective Jamison. Slowly, mechanically, as if she were reciting a monologue from a Shakespearean play. She, of course, left out any references to her pops and his relationship to what happened. But she stopped right before she was about to let slip that he had saved her.

There were a few seconds of silence where the shrink just looked at her compassionately. Mollie felt her stomach twisting, and she fidgeted in her seat.

“Mollie,” Dr. Fischer said, “is there something else you want to tell me?”

“No,” Mollie whispered.

“You do know that everything you say to me stays in this room. I can’t tell anyone anything you say, unless you tell me you’re going to hurt yourself or someone else. And again, if you’d rather speak to me alone…”

“It’s not that,” Mollie interrupted.

The doctor leaned back in her seat. “Okay, then. What is it?”

She looked at her mother. Kitty’s eyes were wet, and Mollie could tell she was trying not to cry. It must have been hard on her to hear what Collin McAllister had done to her daughter. But she was hoping her mother would give her an indication one way or another whether she should tell the doctor the whole story. Kitty nodded as if to say it was fine to tell Dr. Fischer everything.

Mollie sighed again and decided to let it all out. She needed to unburden herself and tell someone the truth. It was eating away at her.

“My grandfather saved me,” she said. And when she did, she felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders.

“How is that? Do you mean he saved you metaphorically? Or do you mean he actually saved you from this…”

“The Vault,” Mollie finished.

“Yes, The Vault. So, which was it?”

“Just when the man was about to hurt me, the door at the top opened, and my grandfather came rushing down the steps. The man—”

“His name is Collin McAllister. It’s okay. You can say his name,” Kitty instructed.

“Collin had his arm around my throat and was squeezing so tightly. But my grandfather shot him in the shoulder. I thought he killed him. But he was just injured. He and his friends carried me out of The Vault and saved me.”

“That’s quite a story, Mollie,” Dr. Fischer said. “You’re a very lucky girl to have your grandfather find you and save you like that. How on earth did he accomplish this?”

Mollie looked at her mother again. This time, Kitty’s head was down, and she was staring at her hands which were laid neatly in her lap. What should she do? Should she tell Dr. Fischer the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Her mother wasn’t giving any indication as to what she wanted Mollie to do. The decision was solely hers.

“Mollie?” Dr. Fischer said. “Is something wrong?”

“No. Nothing’s wrong. It’s just…you see…my grandfather, he…he kind of figured out who had kidnapped me, and he…he just found me. My pops, he’s kind of, well…”

Dr. Fischer nodded solemnly. “Yes, Mollie, I know who your grandfather is. Remember, your mother has been coming to me for many years. I know he has certain…resources at his disposal.” She picked up a pen and tapped it on her desk. “What I want to know is, how does this make you feel?”

“How does what make me feel?”

“How do you feel about your grandfather’s chosen lifestyle? That he may have used, shall we say, less than legal resources to find you?”

Mollie shrugged again. “I don’t know. I mean, I guess I don’t care how he found me. I’m just glad he found me when he did.”

Dr. Fischer leaned back in her big chair and crossed her right leg over her left. She twitched her foot ever so slightly. “That makes sense. What happened after he found you?”

“I…I don’t remember.”

The doctor tilted her head, and one corner of her mouth drew up in a half-smile. “Really? You don’t remember? That’s interesting.”