Drew swallowed that bitter pill. It should have been his announcement. It should have been credible arrests and a commendation. Instead it was a mess.
“You should see what tomorrow’s press is going to be,” Green shoved a tabloid at Drew. It was a proof.
Has Max Ramesly lost his mind?read the caption.Sightings of the missing man all over the city with new tattoos and a facial scar. Wife wonders if he had amnesia, pleads for him to return home.
It had all sorts of cellphone pictures of him, snapped by the eager public willing to sell a picture to the tabloids. Sterling Denver was outdoing herself in selling junk.
“Whatever, it doesn’t signify,” Drew said.
“You’re off undercover. You’re a liability there,” Green grimaced. “I’m putting you on two weeks of unpaid suspension.”
“Boss, this was not my fault,” Drew protested. “How was I supposed to know that Lawe was on to me?”
“I can make it a month!” Green said sharply. “I have to go to the mayor tomorrow and make an accounting of this. Budget meetings are coming up. You’re lucky I don’t throw you back to foot patrol.”
“Yes sir,” Drew squelched any urge to defend himself. It wouldn’t help when Green was in this mood.
“Get out of my office,” Green pointed to the door.
“Yes sir,” Drew grabbed the wire and left. He turned the recording device over to Monroe.
“That bad?” Monroe sympathized.
“I’m off for the next two weeks,” Drew shrugged. He took a deep breath to steady his temper. “Unpaid leave.”
Monroe whistled. “Sorry man.”
“What are you going to do with the goon squad?” Drew referred to the men they’d arrested tonight.
“Hold them for twenty-four then let them go. Can’t charge them with anything except maybe importing without a license,” Monroe sighed. “What a night.”
“Press a little on Lawe, would you? He’s the one who figured out I’m a detective. I doubt he’ll crack but I’d take it as a personal favor if you make his next few hours really annoying,” Drew requested.
“Done and done,” Monroe nodded.
“Thanks,” Drew gave Monroe a pat on the back before he went to his desk. He really didn’t need anything, but he wanted to put his stuff away. Two weeks was a long time to be away. Plus, he should write up a report and file it before he left for the night.
Drew sat down and looked at the report he’d left out from Bethany Searson. He should look up that boat before he left. Drew didn’t like leaving loose ends, so he’d make certain to look into it. Not that he expected to find anything.
Drew sighed again. He was disappointed in himself. He should have seen some sign that this was a set up. He’d been too eager for the operation and it had bitten him hard. Drew logged into his computer and started the tedious task of filling out a report.
Bethany was confused. “I thought you said we were making progress.”
“We are,” Dr. Urshman agreed cautiously. “However, I’m worried about the strong emotions you displayed while in the pool. I’m also concerned that you chose to try to trigger the memories on your own at the marina.”
“It worked,” Bethany insisted. “I keep remembering new details.”
“Bethany, your progress needs to be done in a supervised setting. Otherwise you could be introducing other elements and thinking that they are memories. There is a danger of creating false memories,” Dr. Urshman set down a container with a pill in it. “I think you need to slow down. We should also adjust your medications again.”
“I don’t want to slow down,” Bethany said stubbornly. “The whole point of this is to find out what happened.”
“We both want to achieve that goal,” Dr. Urshman grabbed a glass of water from the side board and set it down on the table with the pill in front of Bethany. “I’d like to put you in a sedative state. I’ll record the session and we can go over your memories. I won’t make any suggestions, just let you lead the conversation. That way we can see if your memories truly match what you’ve recently discovered.”
“I thought you said that this was too risky,” Bethany frowned as she recalled their earlier conversation when Bethany had first started coming to see the psychiatrist. “That you didn’t feel the science was sound in such a practice.”
“Normally, I don’t like to use this process, but you’ve been pushing your limits Bethany. It’s time to find out what is real, and what isn’t in your memories,” Dr. Urshman explained. “Otherwise, you’ll never know for certain.”
“What is it?” Bethany eyed the pill with some trepidation. She’d worked so hard to clear her mind that she really didn’t want to take a pill to dull it.
