be.”
A creak came from up the hall. The door to Howard Goldfeder’s study opened and he stuck his head out.
Heather said, “I’m fine, Daddy.”
“Just checking.”
“Thank you, Daddy.”
He didn’t budge.
“Daddy.”
He went back inside but the door remained ajar. Heather trotted over, pushed it shut, returned. “Do me a favor, Dr. Delaware. Before you leave tell him I look normal. So he doesn’t think I need some Beverly Hills shrink.”
“Will do,” I said.
“You don’t think I need that, right?”
“You’re the best judge of that.”
“Are you saying I’m screwed up but you don’t want to piss me off?”
“Everything you’ve told me says you’re reacting normally. The fact that you’re already in therapy says you know how to take care of yourself.”
“What about my running?”
“Sounds like you like to run. So do I.”
“That’s it?”
“Do you eat normally?”
“Yes.”
“Do you binge and gag yourself in secret?”
“No.”
“In general, do you think life’s going okay?”
“Yes.”
I shrugged.
She said, “Are you like … super-supportive to everyone?”
“I don’t read minds, Heather, so all I can go on is what you tell me and what I observe about you. If there’s some secret problem you’re not telling me about, I could be missing something. But so far you’re not setting off any alarms.”
“Okay … do you like talk directly to the police?”
“Not about what patients tell me—”
“No, no, that’s not what I meant,” she said. “I’m talking about crimes. Like if someone tells you something and
wants
you to tell the cops, what do you do, just get on the phone?”
“You bet.”
“And then the police come to see that person?”
“Sometimes,” I said. “But the police can’t force anyone to talk to them. Even a suspect.”
“Like on TV. You have the right to remain silent.”
“Exactly.”
She sat back down. “Okay. I have something. It’s probably not important, I was going to call them, then I said why bother, it’s probably nothing. Then I wasn’t sure if I was doing a wrong thing. But since you’re here, anyway …”
She exhaled. “It’s
not
some big clue or anything but the night before, I was near the park. Pretty close to where I found her but outside the park, on the other side of the fence.”
“On the street.”
“I wouldn’t think anything about it, but with what happened … I mean it was so close. If you could walk through the fence, you’d be right there in seconds.”
Her right hand tugged at the fingers of her left. “I was with someone. Parked in my car. My parents were out late, a party in Newport Beach. I figured it would be a good time to … then I chickened out of using the house so we went driving and we parked. Not that we were doing anything, we were just talking.” She colored. “Kissing a little, that’s it. Just hanging out, it was nice. Until someone drove by and slowed down. Then they drove away and came back and slowed down again. Like they were checking us out. We got the frick out of there. Think we were in danger?”
“I think you were smart to be careful.”
“I figured I should tell the cops,” she said. “But the person with me can’t … she’s got commitments, okay? This could screw things up.”
“I understand.”
She punched the arm of her chair. “I’m
trying
to do the right thing but I also need to do the right thing for her.”
“I don’t see a problem with that, Heather.”
“You promise she won’t get hassled?”
“She doesn’t need to get involved at all if you know everything she does.”
“I do, I was in the driver’s seat, had a better view.”
“Then I don’t see any need for her to be interviewed.”
“I need to be interviewed?”
“At the most Lieutenant Sturgis will follow up with a phone calland have you repeat what you just said to me so he can have an official statement.”
“That’s it? You promise?”
“I
A creak came from up the hall. The door to Howard Goldfeder’s study opened and he stuck his head out.
Heather said, “I’m fine, Daddy.”
“Just checking.”
“Thank you, Daddy.”
He didn’t budge.
“Daddy.”
He went back inside but the door remained ajar. Heather trotted over, pushed it shut, returned. “Do me a favor, Dr. Delaware. Before you leave tell him I look normal. So he doesn’t think I need some Beverly Hills shrink.”
“Will do,” I said.
“You don’t think I need that, right?”
“You’re the best judge of that.”
“Are you saying I’m screwed up but you don’t want to piss me off?”
“Everything you’ve told me says you’re reacting normally. The fact that you’re already in therapy says you know how to take care of yourself.”
“What about my running?”
“Sounds like you like to run. So do I.”
“That’s it?”
“Do you eat normally?”
“Yes.”
“Do you binge and gag yourself in secret?”
“No.”
“In general, do you think life’s going okay?”
“Yes.”
I shrugged.
She said, “Are you like … super-supportive to everyone?”
“I don’t read minds, Heather, so all I can go on is what you tell me and what I observe about you. If there’s some secret problem you’re not telling me about, I could be missing something. But so far you’re not setting off any alarms.”
“Okay … do you like talk directly to the police?”
“Not about what patients tell me—”
“No, no, that’s not what I meant,” she said. “I’m talking about crimes. Like if someone tells you something and
wants
you to tell the cops, what do you do, just get on the phone?”
“You bet.”
“And then the police come to see that person?”
“Sometimes,” I said. “But the police can’t force anyone to talk to them. Even a suspect.”
“Like on TV. You have the right to remain silent.”
“Exactly.”
She sat back down. “Okay. I have something. It’s probably not important, I was going to call them, then I said why bother, it’s probably nothing. Then I wasn’t sure if I was doing a wrong thing. But since you’re here, anyway …”
She exhaled. “It’s
not
some big clue or anything but the night before, I was near the park. Pretty close to where I found her but outside the park, on the other side of the fence.”
“On the street.”
“I wouldn’t think anything about it, but with what happened … I mean it was so close. If you could walk through the fence, you’d be right there in seconds.”
Her right hand tugged at the fingers of her left. “I was with someone. Parked in my car. My parents were out late, a party in Newport Beach. I figured it would be a good time to … then I chickened out of using the house so we went driving and we parked. Not that we were doing anything, we were just talking.” She colored. “Kissing a little, that’s it. Just hanging out, it was nice. Until someone drove by and slowed down. Then they drove away and came back and slowed down again. Like they were checking us out. We got the frick out of there. Think we were in danger?”
“I think you were smart to be careful.”
“I figured I should tell the cops,” she said. “But the person with me can’t … she’s got commitments, okay? This could screw things up.”
“I understand.”
She punched the arm of her chair. “I’m
trying
to do the right thing but I also need to do the right thing for her.”
“I don’t see a problem with that, Heather.”
“You promise she won’t get hassled?”
“She doesn’t need to get involved at all if you know everything she does.”
“I do, I was in the driver’s seat, had a better view.”
“Then I don’t see any need for her to be interviewed.”
“I need to be interviewed?”
“At the most Lieutenant Sturgis will follow up with a phone calland have you repeat what you just said to me so he can have an official statement.”
“That’s it? You promise?”
“I
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