but to retaliate with
any means at my disposal. Having him hanging out while I
slowly regained some strength was a fate worse than death, worse
than life in prison. "I never cared much for the experience
the last time you took me to bed. Why should anything change
now?"
That one hit the mark. His shoulders
sagged. "Well then, you really are one hell of a liar,
Helen. But you can relax. I can't think of a single man
alive that would find you attractive in your current
condition."
"Zack," I said.
"Excuse me?"
"You can't think of a single man alive that
would find me attractive in my current condition. Zack
does. He's my date Saturday night."
"Well we'll have to make sure you have time
to shop for something that won't emphasize the starvation, since
none of your current wardrobe fits the bill. Can't have you
disappointing your latest conquest, can we?"
It occurred to me that we'd sit there
trading barbs all night. All it would accomplish was more
frustration for me and more determination from Orion.
"I'll go back to bed now, but not because
you say so. You're right about one thing. I need to get
my strength back. The sooner I do, the sooner I can leave
this place and never look back."
"Pleasant dreams, Doc."
I stomped back to the bedroom and slammed
the door.
Prozac .
Maybe it was another weird dream like the
ice cream sundae chasing me around the house. Now it was
Johnny chasing me around with a quart of ice cream instead.
No such luck. I woke to the aroma of
brewing coffee and toast. The tea kettle whistled loudly
before I got through the kitchen door.
"Good, you're up. I was about ready to
wake you." Johnny poured boiling water over a teabag.
"One egg, scrambled, toast and a cup of tea. I'd suggest you
eat without a fight this morning. Amy is expecting you to
arrive on time."
Time for a different tactic. "This
really isn't necessary, Johnny." I pulled the bottle of
Prozac out of the cabinet and made a show of popping the prescribed
pill.
He didn't respond, simply slid a plate
across the breakfast bar and poured himself a cup of coffee.
I wasn't sure how much more of his presence I could endure.
In the battle of wills, he had an unfair advantage. Johnny
didn't feel the cold hand of death beguiling him into giving up,
and I did.
I perched on the edge of the stool at the
bar and dug into breakfast with mechanical determination.
Cooperate and he'll go away. It seemed like the easiest
course of action.
"I called Zack this morning."
Wary eyes rose from the perfectly scrambled
eggs. "Why?"
"We need the details on what David might've
been doing that prompted the probe into Datello's activities.
Did you forget already?"
"No. I figured you might've..."
"What, cancelled your date Saturday
night? Not on your life, Doc. It'll do you some good to
get out of the house and socialize with people for an
evening. What do you wanna bet we can put five pounds on just
by regular meals between now and Saturday?"
"Whatever it takes," I muttered.
Johnny braced his arms on the counter across
from me. "I've been thinking about this thing.
Actually, I spent most of the night using the computer in your
office digging into some background on Linder. He doesn't
strike me as courageous enough to stroll into the hospital and try
to kill Journey again."
Unbelievable. "Oh yeah? Why is
that?"
"I started thinking about the criminal
record Ned mentioned last night, particularly the arrests for
solicitation, so I decided to get some more information. In
both cases, the guy was caught seeking some rather kinky sex favors
from undercover officers."
"And this makes him a coward?"
"Let's just say he appreciates the
submissive role in certain situations. I believe there is a
specific term for his fetish, if I understand that DSM book of
yours correctly. It's called infantilism, and it's classified
as a part of para... para..."
"Paraphilia," I said.
any means at my disposal. Having him hanging out while I
slowly regained some strength was a fate worse than death, worse
than life in prison. "I never cared much for the experience
the last time you took me to bed. Why should anything change
now?"
That one hit the mark. His shoulders
sagged. "Well then, you really are one hell of a liar,
Helen. But you can relax. I can't think of a single man
alive that would find you attractive in your current
condition."
"Zack," I said.
"Excuse me?"
"You can't think of a single man alive that
would find me attractive in my current condition. Zack
does. He's my date Saturday night."
"Well we'll have to make sure you have time
to shop for something that won't emphasize the starvation, since
none of your current wardrobe fits the bill. Can't have you
disappointing your latest conquest, can we?"
It occurred to me that we'd sit there
trading barbs all night. All it would accomplish was more
frustration for me and more determination from Orion.
"I'll go back to bed now, but not because
you say so. You're right about one thing. I need to get
my strength back. The sooner I do, the sooner I can leave
this place and never look back."
"Pleasant dreams, Doc."
I stomped back to the bedroom and slammed
the door.
Prozac .
Maybe it was another weird dream like the
ice cream sundae chasing me around the house. Now it was
Johnny chasing me around with a quart of ice cream instead.
No such luck. I woke to the aroma of
brewing coffee and toast. The tea kettle whistled loudly
before I got through the kitchen door.
"Good, you're up. I was about ready to
wake you." Johnny poured boiling water over a teabag.
"One egg, scrambled, toast and a cup of tea. I'd suggest you
eat without a fight this morning. Amy is expecting you to
arrive on time."
Time for a different tactic. "This
really isn't necessary, Johnny." I pulled the bottle of
Prozac out of the cabinet and made a show of popping the prescribed
pill.
He didn't respond, simply slid a plate
across the breakfast bar and poured himself a cup of coffee.
I wasn't sure how much more of his presence I could endure.
In the battle of wills, he had an unfair advantage. Johnny
didn't feel the cold hand of death beguiling him into giving up,
and I did.
I perched on the edge of the stool at the
bar and dug into breakfast with mechanical determination.
Cooperate and he'll go away. It seemed like the easiest
course of action.
"I called Zack this morning."
Wary eyes rose from the perfectly scrambled
eggs. "Why?"
"We need the details on what David might've
been doing that prompted the probe into Datello's activities.
Did you forget already?"
"No. I figured you might've..."
"What, cancelled your date Saturday
night? Not on your life, Doc. It'll do you some good to
get out of the house and socialize with people for an
evening. What do you wanna bet we can put five pounds on just
by regular meals between now and Saturday?"
"Whatever it takes," I muttered.
Johnny braced his arms on the counter across
from me. "I've been thinking about this thing.
Actually, I spent most of the night using the computer in your
office digging into some background on Linder. He doesn't
strike me as courageous enough to stroll into the hospital and try
to kill Journey again."
Unbelievable. "Oh yeah? Why is
that?"
"I started thinking about the criminal
record Ned mentioned last night, particularly the arrests for
solicitation, so I decided to get some more information. In
both cases, the guy was caught seeking some rather kinky sex favors
from undercover officers."
"And this makes him a coward?"
"Let's just say he appreciates the
submissive role in certain situations. I believe there is a
specific term for his fetish, if I understand that DSM book of
yours correctly. It's called infantilism, and it's classified
as a part of para... para..."
"Paraphilia," I said.
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