organise her thoughts. How could she turn this meeting to her advantage? To start with, she needed more information. She looked at DS Bryant imploringly, doubt etching her features. ‘Are you able to tell me what happened?’
Bryant hesitated but didn’t look to his superior before nodding. As she’d hoped, they had come to her for information and sought her co-operation.
‘Miss Willis waited for the victim, either in or close to a dark alley, and then stabbed him with a kitchen knife. The first wound was most likely fatal.’
There was more than one wound. Alex closed her eyes for a second, selecting a lighter shade of disbelief. ‘Oh my goodness, I still can’t believe it.’
Things hadn’t gone exactly according to plan, but all she needed to measure her success was a face-to-face meeting with Ruth. She pushed her hair behind one ear with slightly trembling fingers. ‘I thought we had made such progress.’ She looked from one to the other. ‘Can I see her? She must be desperate.’
‘That won’t be possible, Doctor,’ the female said definitely.
Damn, Alex thought. That would have solved all her problems. Given enough time she could probably have worked on DS Bryant, but DI Stone, clearly, was the boss. Alex would bet the BMW outside that the intense detective inspector had been responsible for the speedy apprehension of her subject.
‘If we could just ask you a couple of questions?’
Alex returned her attention to the male. ‘Please feel free to ask any questions you like, however I will only answer the ones that I feel are ethically permissible.’
She softened her words with just a hint of a smile, meant solely for him.
The detective took out his notebook. ‘Can you tell us how long Miss Willis has been a patient of yours?’
‘Ruth has been coming to me for about three months.’
The detective’s forehead wrinkled. ‘Oh, that’s quite some time after the rape. What made her seek help at that point?’
‘Court order after a suicide attempt. Quite common for victims of rape.’
‘Was she using any prescription medication?’
Alex shook her head. She preferred her subjects clean. ‘No, she had been dosed by her GP for years on different antidepressants, which, at times, numbed the feelings, but they never worked for long and we removed her from that dependency together. I find other methods to be more effective in the treatment for victims of rape.’
‘Like what?’
‘Cognitive Restructuring.’
‘And how did she react to that treatment?’
Alex shook her head. ‘I’m not going to give you specifics about my patient. That information is confidential, but I can tell you about the psychology of a rape victim, understood?’
DS Bryant nodded his acceptance. The female detective had lowered herself into the patient’s chair and crossed her long legs. She appeared either totally relaxed or bored to death.
‘You obviously know the details of this case, so you understand just how horrific this attack was. A rape victim can suffer many after-effects, primarily self-blame. A rape victim might think they deserved the attack either because their behaviour invited it or because there is something in their personality that attracted it. They may feel that they should have done something differently. A victim of rape will often blame themselves.
‘Self-blame brings with it shame about the incident. Shame is more destructive than people can possibly imagine. Rape victims sometimes isolate themselves from their previous life, friends, family members, but most destructively, shame breeds anger and aggression.’
Alex paused to give either of her visitors an opportunity to ask her any questions.
‘Shame has a special link to anger. When victims are shamed and angry they are motivated to seek revenge.’
‘Had Ruth accepted that it wasn’t her fault?’
‘Ruth was prepared to consider that it wasn’t totally her fault.’
Alex enjoyed speaking about a subject of which she was
Bryant hesitated but didn’t look to his superior before nodding. As she’d hoped, they had come to her for information and sought her co-operation.
‘Miss Willis waited for the victim, either in or close to a dark alley, and then stabbed him with a kitchen knife. The first wound was most likely fatal.’
There was more than one wound. Alex closed her eyes for a second, selecting a lighter shade of disbelief. ‘Oh my goodness, I still can’t believe it.’
Things hadn’t gone exactly according to plan, but all she needed to measure her success was a face-to-face meeting with Ruth. She pushed her hair behind one ear with slightly trembling fingers. ‘I thought we had made such progress.’ She looked from one to the other. ‘Can I see her? She must be desperate.’
‘That won’t be possible, Doctor,’ the female said definitely.
Damn, Alex thought. That would have solved all her problems. Given enough time she could probably have worked on DS Bryant, but DI Stone, clearly, was the boss. Alex would bet the BMW outside that the intense detective inspector had been responsible for the speedy apprehension of her subject.
‘If we could just ask you a couple of questions?’
Alex returned her attention to the male. ‘Please feel free to ask any questions you like, however I will only answer the ones that I feel are ethically permissible.’
She softened her words with just a hint of a smile, meant solely for him.
The detective took out his notebook. ‘Can you tell us how long Miss Willis has been a patient of yours?’
‘Ruth has been coming to me for about three months.’
The detective’s forehead wrinkled. ‘Oh, that’s quite some time after the rape. What made her seek help at that point?’
‘Court order after a suicide attempt. Quite common for victims of rape.’
‘Was she using any prescription medication?’
Alex shook her head. She preferred her subjects clean. ‘No, she had been dosed by her GP for years on different antidepressants, which, at times, numbed the feelings, but they never worked for long and we removed her from that dependency together. I find other methods to be more effective in the treatment for victims of rape.’
‘Like what?’
‘Cognitive Restructuring.’
‘And how did she react to that treatment?’
Alex shook her head. ‘I’m not going to give you specifics about my patient. That information is confidential, but I can tell you about the psychology of a rape victim, understood?’
DS Bryant nodded his acceptance. The female detective had lowered herself into the patient’s chair and crossed her long legs. She appeared either totally relaxed or bored to death.
‘You obviously know the details of this case, so you understand just how horrific this attack was. A rape victim can suffer many after-effects, primarily self-blame. A rape victim might think they deserved the attack either because their behaviour invited it or because there is something in their personality that attracted it. They may feel that they should have done something differently. A victim of rape will often blame themselves.
‘Self-blame brings with it shame about the incident. Shame is more destructive than people can possibly imagine. Rape victims sometimes isolate themselves from their previous life, friends, family members, but most destructively, shame breeds anger and aggression.’
Alex paused to give either of her visitors an opportunity to ask her any questions.
‘Shame has a special link to anger. When victims are shamed and angry they are motivated to seek revenge.’
‘Had Ruth accepted that it wasn’t her fault?’
‘Ruth was prepared to consider that it wasn’t totally her fault.’
Alex enjoyed speaking about a subject of which she was
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