Season Of Strangers

Julie jerked when the tape recorder went off, looked up from the hands she’d been gripping in her lap, and returned her attention to Brian Heraldson. She wished the blood would flow back into her face.

“Now you can see why I called.”

She moistened her lips. Her mouth felt like cotton. “Yes.”

“Is there anything you can remember about either of those occasions, anything that might help explain the things Laura has said?”

“No. It makes absolutely no sense. The day we went to the beach, we both fell asleep for a while. Afterward we packed our things and went back to my house. Neither of us felt very good. Probably too much sun. Afterward I had a terrible headache, but other than that, nothing extraordinary occurred.”

“How about later, the weekend she spent with you after the incident with the police?”

“As she said on the tape, she was afraid someone was trying to break into her apartment. She was frightened. That was the reason she agreed to come home with me in the first place.”

“How did she behave that night? Did you notice anything unusual?”

“Not really. We ate an early supper—lemon chicken. It’s one of her favorites. We had a glass of wine and talked for a while out on the deck, then we both went to bed. I was having another one of my headaches, so I took some sleeping pills. I seem to recall seeing a very bright light that night, but it could have been anything…perhaps a spotlight on one of the beach patrol Jeeps. After that, I guess I must have fallen asleep. I don’t remember anything until I woke up in the morning.”

“How was Laura then?”

Julie frowned as she recalled Laura’s pale face the following day. “Now that you mention it, she did seem kind of upset. I thought she was getting the flu. I took her to see our family physician that afternoon.”

“I read Dr. Marsh’s report. The bleeding she suffered coincides with her memory of the physical examination she believes she experienced—but the body has been known to assist us in our delusions.”

“What do you mean?”

“It is not uncommon in cases of trauma for marks to appear with no physical contact, burns, bruises on the skin, that sort of thing. Psychosomatic manifestations can cause all sorts of problems.”

The doctor caught her worried gaze and came up from his chair. “I can see that you are upset and that wasn’t my intention in bringing you here.” He rounded the desk and walked toward her. “We’ve only just started Laura’s therapy. She hasn’t heard the tapes. I wanted to speak to you first, find out as much as I could. I’ve decided to play them for her during her next session. Perhaps hearing them will help her remember what it was that unleashed her fears in the first place. At the very least, since none of this actually occurred, she’ll be able to understand their groundless nature. Then we can begin delving into her feelings about the abortion.”

Julie rubbed the bridge of her nose, trying not to notice the headache that had started to build. “You really believe that’s what this is about?”

“Don’t you?”

“I don’t know. It was extremely traumatic for her at the time, but I really thought she’d gotten past it. “I’m not really sure what to believe, but I’m very worried about her.”

“I know you are, Julie. And your concern is one of the things that’s going to help her get well.” He walked her to the door. “I’d prefer you didn’t discuss this with Laura, at least not yet.”

“All right. And if there’s anything else I can do, please just call.” He showed her out the door then closed it softly behind her. All the way to her car, Julie’s stomach churned to think of the terror going on in her sister’s beautiful head.

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