Too Long Among the Dead

Chapter 3: Walking Granger-1

Chapter 3: Walking Granger

Wednesday Afternoon

Guy caught a quick lunch at a nearby deli and rushed back to the office. Unfortunately, Ms. Lansing informed him that his one o’clock had called to cancel, and facing a good hour or so break, he decided to make use of his free time and review patient files.

From the file cabinet behind reception, he sorted through the alphabet and brought a stack of folders back to his office. Each file contained an intake questionnaire, a patient narrative, case notes, diagnostic testing protocols, and observational data. The narrative statements comprised what Hal—to Guy’s chagrin—referred to as “the what I did over my summer vacation section” of the file.

Before settling in, Guy poured himself a cup of coffee from the small coffeemaker he kept behind his desk, and then he sat down to make a list of the dubious winners: The six Hugo and Sanford patients selected for the weekend trip into the Sierras.

Hilary Colbert, age 53

Vera Field, age 31

Meeda O’Connell, age 43

Sarah/April Preston, age 65

Jennifer (Jennie) Travers, age 39

Emily West, age 28

Given that both psychiatrists routinely saw different patients, the bulk of the caseload often fell on Guy’s shoulders as Hal preferred to spend his “work time” reading psychiatric texts, medical journals, and theorizing about this and that.

Guy hoped a cursory review of the files would refresh his memory as to each patient’s presenting problem: the main reason they ended up at Hugo and Sanford’s door.

If, as Hal expected, their experimental study somehow came to the attention of their colleagues—a long shot but not entirely impossible—some semblance of scientific objectivity would need to be imposed at the outset and maintained throughout the project. Obviously, with Hal’s feet planted firmly in the clouds, that task would fall to Guy unless he could enlist the services of the ever-dependable Ms. Lansing.

Guy glanced at the digital clock on his desk. He would start with one of Hilary Colbert’s first sessions, and Miss Lansing’s transcription of the tape-recorded hour. He settled down to read.