A Voice from the Field by Neal Griffin Page B

because in that police report I don’t mention hallucinating anything. I witnessed an abduction.”
    Gage studied her face for several seconds, then looked down to scribble on the notepad he kept in his lap. Like always, he kept his knee at just enough of an angle to prevent Tia from seeing what he wrote. After several seconds of writing, Gage looked up. His expression showed concern mixed with pity and draped over insincerity.
    â€œI thought we had worked through all this, Tia. I thought we both understood that because of your shooting, you would probably have episodes. Recurrences of a sort, especially when you’re under a lot of stress. Doesn’t this sound very much like the episode you experienced in the courtroom?” Reaching to his desk, the doctor retrieved a manila folder that was nearly two inches thick. He opened it and turned several pages. “That was just three months ago.”
    â€œThat was a reaction to the meds. You told me that yourself.”
    His smile exposed a small, neat row of whitened teeth. “What I told you was that you experienced a significant psychological breakdown manifested through visual and auditory hallucinations and that the episode was likely to have stemmed from abuse of the medications I prescribed for you. I believe we determined you were mixing the pills with alcohol.” Gage made sure he had eye contact before saying, “Is that something we need to talk about again?”
    Tia looked away and immediately regretted it. She tried to reestablish eye contact but knew Gage had picked up on the sign of avoidance. He made a note while she chastised herself for the rookie mistake.
    Squaring her shoulders, Tia decided to ignore the question and get back to the issue at hand.
    â€œThere was a girl tied up in the back of the van Gunther Kane was trying to force me into. I didn’t hallucinate anything.”
    Gage gave a condescending nod. “And why do you think it is that no one else saw any of this? That there are no missing person reports? No evidence of any sort? Not to mention that this Mr…” Gage made an issue of pulling the Milwaukee PD arrest report from his file and Tia knew he wanted her to react. This time she was like a rock and gave him nothing.
    â€œAh, yes, Mr. Kane. He tells a much different story. Something about you attacking him while he was trying to—well, when he was trying to complete the transaction, so to speak.”
    â€œGot some news for you, Doc.” Tia nodded toward Gage’s notepad. “You might want to write this down. When it comes to the truth, crooks make like rugs.”
    Gage’s pen stopped and he looked up, confused. Tia smiled, amused that the man with three diplomas on his wall couldn’t follow the simple humor. She helped him out. “They lie.”
    The psychiatrist smiled thinly, then pressed harder. “Tell me why this is different, Tia. Why is this girl so real to you?”
    She noted the “to you” but replied honestly anyway.
    â€œBecause I know. I was there. I saw her. I touched her, for God’s sake.”
    â€œYou touched her?” Gage leaned forward and his interest seemed to peak. “That wasn’t in your report. Tell me about that.”
    â€œI tried to pull her out. I grabbed her by the ankle, but then…” Tia paused, hearing the van door slam shut in her mind. She shook the image away, knowing Gage was watching every breath she took. “Kane got back in the fight. Slammed the door shut. You can read the rest.”
    â€œWhat did she feel like?”
    Tia couldn’t hide her frustration anymore. “Excuse me?”
    â€œThe girl. You said you touched her. What did she feel like?”
    Tia wasn’t going to let him drag her in. “Like a human being. A real, live human being.”
    â€œDescribe the texture of her skin. Was she wet? Dry? Hot? Cold? Describe it.”
    â€œRough. Her skin was