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‘I think we need to revisit the medications,’ he said.
‘NO!’ Billy said. ‘You don’t understand. You think I’m crazy. But you don’t know. I can hear them at night, whispering. Always whispering. They’re coming for me. For us all. You can’t fucking KNOW!’
Dr Osterma
‘Daemons!’ he screamed. ‘Fucking daemons – THEY’LL GET US ALL!’
Thirty-Nine
Striker stood in the centre of the room, mesmerized by the video footage before him. The man on the screen was completely delusional. And dangerous. Striker could feel it. He was so engrossed in the interview that it took him a few seconds to hear Felicia’s whispered warning from beside the door.
‘. . . coming, Jacob. Dr Osterma
Striker finally clued in. He hit the Stop button on the DVD player, powered off the television set, and walked back across the room. He was just nearing Felicia when the door opened and Dr Osterma
The doctor gave them both a careful look, then nodded. ‘Detectives. Good to see both of you again, though rather unexpected, I must say.’
Felicia said, ‘It’s good to see you as well, Doctor.’
Striker felt less inclined for the bullshit. ‘We said we’d be in contact, Dr Osterma
Dr Osterma
He stepped further into the room and closed the door behind him, locking out the receptionist and patients. In his hands was a dark green file folder with some black writing on the tab.
Striker could not make it out.
Dr Osterma
‘Were you . . . watching this?’
Felicia said nothing.
Striker stepped forward. ‘Stop answering my questions with ones of your own, Doctor.’
Dr Osterma
‘Beg nothing. You heard what I said.’
Dr Osterma
‘It was implied.’ Striker stepped up to the desk so that he was within arm’s reach of the man. ‘I didn’t come all the way from Vancouver to Coquitlam for a social visit, Doctor. And I think you know that. You were supposed to call us this morning; you didn’t.’
‘I just told you, it’s been a very busy morning. I’ve had many things on my mind. Many patients to tend to. They come first.’
Striker steeled his voice. ‘I wish I could say the same for Mandy Gill.’
Dr Osterma
He wanted Osterma
‘The reason I haven’t called back,’ the doctor finally explained, ‘is because I haven’t yet been able to reach my patient. And I’m not about to give out this person’s personal and private information until such time that I do. It’s as simple as that.’
Striker nodded. ‘That’s fine then, Doctor. And here’s my response to you: you can either fess up this guy’s name, or I will head down to the court house, bang up a warrant, and then come out here and take your whole office and Records Section apart.’
Dr Osterma
‘Actually, I think they would. And think of how the media would eat that one up: “Dr Osterma
Dr Osterma
‘Exigent circumstances,’ Felicia said.
Striker nodded. ‘Exactly. You have a patient who we think might have been murdered – not committed suicide, as previously thought – and there’s a co
‘That would never stand up in court.’
Striker shrugged. ‘Maybe not. But I’m more than willing to fight that a year or two down the road – after I seize your files here and at EvenHealth.’
‘EvenHealth?’
Felicia stepped forward. ‘Work with us, Doctor.’
Dr Osterma
Striker gri
Dr Osterma
Striker gave Felicia a quick glance, saw the concern in her eyes, and knew she would give it to him later. But for now, he had the upper hand, and he knew it. He met Dr Osterma
Dr Osterma
‘His name is Billy Stephen Mercury,’ he finally confessed. ‘As I am sure you well know. He has been a patient of mine for quite some time now, ever since his return from overseas.’ His eyes flitted to the DVD player, then back at Striker. ‘We are off the record here?’
‘Of course.’
He nodded. ‘Billy was a soldier, suffering badly. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, just like the DVD says. Barely sleeping. And self-medicating to deal with the pain. Delusional. One step away from being psychotic. When he was here, he was a very hard patient to deal with at times.’
Felicia asked, ‘When he was here?’
‘Yes, when. The medications helped greatly. And Billy did progress. He was released because of this – as part of the outpatient programme. And for a while, he was doing quite well on his own. We always kept tabs on him, of course. He had to see one of our psychiatrists regularly. But that was mostly to reassess the medications and make sure they were working. Make sure he was taking them as prescribed. The majority of his healing came through one of the EvenHealth programmes.’