roll.
“It’s been treated with lasers more times than I can count,” Shaye said as she dropped the gown and sat back down. “But they can’t remove it. It used to be worse. I had the protruding skin surgically removed. It’s better now. At least I can’t feel it when I lean back.”
“I am so sorry.” He struggled for words but couldn’t think of any that would properly express everything he felt. “I…I can’t even imagine, but I see why you feel it’s ritualistic.”
“You think I could be onto something?”
“Do I think there’s a satanic cult operating in New Orleans—I suppose anything is possible, but it’s more likely it’s one insane person.”
“Except there are other people in my dreams. I didn’t see them today but if we assume my dreams have been recall, then there were other people involved.”
Jackson shook his head. It was bad enough to assume one demented, evil individual was still loose on society, but if he had coconspirators, that opened things up to a whole different level of horror.
“If I hadn’t screamed,” Shaye said, “I might have remembered more. I should have been better prepared. I knew what might come out of this, and I rushed into it without preparation. I think I was afraid if I took time to think it through, I’d change my mind.”
“I can see that, but even if you’d waited, what possible preparations could you have made for something like this?”
She frowned. “I don’t know. Video, for one. At least if I said something during the recall, it would be recorded.”
“Do you think you said something that you don’t remember?”
“No. I didn’t have any lapses in recall. I’m sure I didn’t say anything.”
“Then it wouldn’t have made a difference,” he pointed out. “Look, I’m sure you could have done yoga or had a stiff drink or any of a dozen things to try to calm down, but I don’t think they would have done a bit of good once you were on the floor. I can’t imagine what would have, so stop chiding yourself. You did it to get answers and you got some. Not everything you were looking for, but it’s an important start.”
“Yeah. I guess so.” But she didn’t sound convinced.
“You remembered something from your past. Have you even thought about how huge that is?”
She stared at him for several seconds, then he saw a tiny flicker of excitement. “I guess I hadn’t thought it out. What if this opened the door for my mind to release all those things it’s been holding back? If I could remember how I escaped that night, I might remember where I escaped from. We could find him. We could find the man who bought me.”
It was hard to contain his emotions at what this breakthrough might mean to Shaye and to the investigation, but Jackson knew that the return of Shaye’s memory probably came at a huge cost. Her medical records told part of the story that her mind couldn’t, and it was dark and evil. If seven years of torture and abuse flooded back into her memory, could she handle it? Corrine’s love and Eleonore’s expertise still had their limits, although Jackson had zero doubt as to their commitment to Shaye.
“I think you need to take things slowly,” Jackson said. “You only got a quick glimpse of the past and it was bad. If it all comes racing back in…”
“I can handle it,” she said. “I know it doesn’t look like it, but this was a wake-up call. I’ll be prepared for it next time.”
Next time? He should have known her experiment wouldn’t end here. Shaye had spent years deciding whether or not she wanted to pursue remembering, but now that she’d made up her mind, there was no putting on the brakes. The discovery of her biological mother and Clancy’s records had only upped the ante.
And she didn’t even know about her captor’s recent purchase.
Jackson knew he had to tell her. If she heard it from Corrine, she’d be mad at him for withholding the information, and the last thing he wanted was
“It’s been treated with lasers more times than I can count,” Shaye said as she dropped the gown and sat back down. “But they can’t remove it. It used to be worse. I had the protruding skin surgically removed. It’s better now. At least I can’t feel it when I lean back.”
“I am so sorry.” He struggled for words but couldn’t think of any that would properly express everything he felt. “I…I can’t even imagine, but I see why you feel it’s ritualistic.”
“You think I could be onto something?”
“Do I think there’s a satanic cult operating in New Orleans—I suppose anything is possible, but it’s more likely it’s one insane person.”
“Except there are other people in my dreams. I didn’t see them today but if we assume my dreams have been recall, then there were other people involved.”
Jackson shook his head. It was bad enough to assume one demented, evil individual was still loose on society, but if he had coconspirators, that opened things up to a whole different level of horror.
“If I hadn’t screamed,” Shaye said, “I might have remembered more. I should have been better prepared. I knew what might come out of this, and I rushed into it without preparation. I think I was afraid if I took time to think it through, I’d change my mind.”
“I can see that, but even if you’d waited, what possible preparations could you have made for something like this?”
She frowned. “I don’t know. Video, for one. At least if I said something during the recall, it would be recorded.”
“Do you think you said something that you don’t remember?”
“No. I didn’t have any lapses in recall. I’m sure I didn’t say anything.”
“Then it wouldn’t have made a difference,” he pointed out. “Look, I’m sure you could have done yoga or had a stiff drink or any of a dozen things to try to calm down, but I don’t think they would have done a bit of good once you were on the floor. I can’t imagine what would have, so stop chiding yourself. You did it to get answers and you got some. Not everything you were looking for, but it’s an important start.”
“Yeah. I guess so.” But she didn’t sound convinced.
“You remembered something from your past. Have you even thought about how huge that is?”
She stared at him for several seconds, then he saw a tiny flicker of excitement. “I guess I hadn’t thought it out. What if this opened the door for my mind to release all those things it’s been holding back? If I could remember how I escaped that night, I might remember where I escaped from. We could find him. We could find the man who bought me.”
It was hard to contain his emotions at what this breakthrough might mean to Shaye and to the investigation, but Jackson knew that the return of Shaye’s memory probably came at a huge cost. Her medical records told part of the story that her mind couldn’t, and it was dark and evil. If seven years of torture and abuse flooded back into her memory, could she handle it? Corrine’s love and Eleonore’s expertise still had their limits, although Jackson had zero doubt as to their commitment to Shaye.
“I think you need to take things slowly,” Jackson said. “You only got a quick glimpse of the past and it was bad. If it all comes racing back in…”
“I can handle it,” she said. “I know it doesn’t look like it, but this was a wake-up call. I’ll be prepared for it next time.”
Next time? He should have known her experiment wouldn’t end here. Shaye had spent years deciding whether or not she wanted to pursue remembering, but now that she’d made up her mind, there was no putting on the brakes. The discovery of her biological mother and Clancy’s records had only upped the ante.
And she didn’t even know about her captor’s recent purchase.
Jackson knew he had to tell her. If she heard it from Corrine, she’d be mad at him for withholding the information, and the last thing he wanted was
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