Panic Attack

During the ride back to the Blooms’ house, Marissa looked away the whole time, staring blankly out the window. Joh

Marissa didn’t say a word until they got back to the house. She took him up to her room, shut the door, and said, “I think you were right- he definitely did it.”

“I never said I thought he actually did it,” Joh

“But that’s what you thought, that was your first instinct, and first instincts are usually right.”

Joh

She continued, “Everything about him today was so fucking fake. Did you see the way he was punching the ground? He thinks he’s go

Joh

The Blooms were having some Jewish thing called a shiver sitting, something like that, where all their friends and relatives were going to come over with food and drinks and sit around and mourn with the whole family. It sounded like hell; Even worse, it was going to last a whole week. What was it with Jews anyway? Did they want to drag out their misery for as long as they possibly could?

Maybe people were staying away because of the “rumors” about Adam in the news, because only about ten people showed up at the house all day even though there had been at least a hundred people at the funeral. Adam seemed out of it, wandering in and out of the living room, occasionally checking his BlackBerry, shaking his head and mumbling to himself. Grandma A

Marissa wanted Joh

“Someday,” she said. “Definitely. What about you?”

“Yeah,” Joh

If she seemed at all freaked out by this, he would’ve backed off, changed the subject, said he was only joking.

Instead she said, “I know, I was thinking about that today actually.”

“You were?”

“Yeah. I mean, I know it’s early, but I definitely feel strongly about you.”

Wow, Joh

“I want to show you something,” he said.

He went over to his suit jacket, which he’d laid over the chair at her desk, and took the diamond ring out of the inside pocket.

“I know this isn’t the right time to do this,” he said. “And I’m not sure you’ll even want me to do it, but if you do… someday… look at what I have.”

He opened his hand and watched her eyes widen. It was amazing the way women shit themselves over diamonds.

“Wow, it’s beautiful,” she said.

“My grandmother gave it to me when she was dying of cancer. She told me to propose to the girl I love someday.”

Marissa was smiling, and Joh

Then her expression changed and she said, “It was your grandmother’s ring?”

“Yeah,” Joh

“Oh,” she said, “that’s weird. It doesn’t look like a very old setting.”

“That’s because I had it reset. Yeah, I wanted it to look more modern, and it’s the stone that’s really important to me.”

Good thing Joh

“That’s so sweet,” she said, “and the stone is so beautiful.”

He could tell she wanted to try the ring on, but he took it away, thinking, Always leave them wanting more.

He was kissing her tenderly when there was a knock at the door.

“Yes?” Marissa said.

“Di

“Okay, coming,” Marissa said.

“It’s getting cold.”

“We’ll be right down.”

Joh

“Maybe I should go,” Joh

“Why?” Marissa asked, concerned but talking very quietly, matching Joh

“I just think your family needs some time alone.”

“Please don’t go. I need you here tonight.”

Joh

Moving a few strands of hair away from her eyes, Joh

“I’m telling you that’s just the way she is.”

Now Joh

“She’s totally harmless, I’m telling you.”

Joh

Yeah, it was time to kill Adam Bloom.

twenty- three

Hello, Dr. Bloom, this is Lisa DiStefano. I’m very sorry to tell you this, but…but I’m going to have to discontinue my treatment… I’m really sorry, Doctor, but I just feel like I have no choice. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me and-

Adam couldn’t listen to any more. He deleted the message, as well as the other messages he hadn’t even listened to yet, and shut off his BlackBerry. He didn’t know how many patients he’d lost so far- ten, fifteen? And those were only the ones who’d bothered to call, the ones he’d been seeing for years, who felt indebted to him. The others probably just wouldn’t bother to show up to their appointments.

It wasn’t like the situation would ever improve, either. Even if the police a

All funerals are like nightmares, but for Adam, Dana’s funeral was especially horrific. It was bad enough that he had to bury his wife, a woman whose life had been tragically cut short- she’d only been forty- seven years old, for God’s sake- but he had to suffer through the indignity of being scrutinized and judged, not only by the media and the public but by his own family. Even Marissa didn’t believe he was i