Jamie Quinn Cozy Mysteries Collection

Chapter 18

When I spoke with Dr. Simon the next morning, he agreed we had a lot to discuss and suggested meeting at his Plantation office at noon. Plantation is west of Hollywood and a twenty minute drive, so I left at 11:30, to account for traffic. My GPS showed that his office wasn"t far from Plantation General Hospital. It"s not a coincidence that lawyers have offices near the courthouse and doctors have theirs near the hospital; everyone wants easy access in case of emergency. Different kinds of emergencies, though…

In addition to Susan Doyle"s polygraph question, I wanted to ask Dr. Simon if there was a safe way to question Adam. I needed to know why he said he was sorry when he saw Spike"s body; what "bad thing" he did, why he thought it was his fault. Adam could be the key to finding the killer, if only he could communicate what he knew.

Dr. Simon"s waiting room reminded me of a yoga studio: warm colors, new age music with nature sounds woven in, and a basket of herbal teas by the water cooler. There were no magazines on the table, only self-help books about finding happiness and inner peace, and some funny books of comic strips. Dr. Simon (or his decorator) had mastered the concept of Feng Shui. I really felt harmonized with my environment. And for people on the autism spectrum, like Adam, who can’t tolerate jarring external stimuli, this room was perfect.

Maybe it was the soothing cocoon of the waiting room, but as soon as I met Dr. Simon, I felt like I could trust him. A trim man in his fifties, he had an engaging smile and an openness that was welcoming. With his receding salt and pepper hair and wire-rimmed glasses, he reminded me of my old evidence professor, the one who gave me my only "C in law school. I"d try not to hold that against him.

"Hello, Jamie, thanks for coming in," he said, shaking my hand. "Let"s go to my office so we can talk."

I won"t bore you by describing the office; suffice it to say, it was more of the same. And the chairs were super comfortable. I wondered if his decorator could make my house look like that…

"Jamie," Dr. Simon said, his intense gaze never wavering from my face, "I"m very concerned about Adam, I believe he"s in crisis. Specifically, he is experiencing cognitive dissonance brought on by posttraumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, for short."

"Isn"t PTSD what war vets have?" I squirmed in my chair. I wasn"t expecting this.

"Yes, but it can affect anyone who has suffered a traumatic event, and Adam was severely traumatized by his teacher"s murder. Adam is particularly vulnerable because of his Asperger"s. He just doesn"t have the coping skills." Dr. Simon took off his glasses and tiredly rubbed his eyes.

"What"s cognitive dissonance? Is that part of PTSD?" I was trying to wrap my head around all of this.

"Cognitive dissonance is a feeling of discomfort resulting from holding two conflicting beliefs simultaneously. In Adam"s case, he believes he somehow caused Spike"s death, but he also believes he would never do anything to hurt people he cares about. He cannot reconcile these beliefs."

There was a tightness in my chest that wouldn"t let up. It was like an iron claw squeezing the air out of my lungs.

"Isn"t there anything you can do for him?" I asked.

"There are things we can try, but everyone reacts differently. One way to treat PTSD is to help the patient “reframe” the trauma situation to understand it in a new way. Adam"s been having nightmares and so we"ve been working on dream revision therapy. That"s a tool for reducing cognitive conflict which doesn"t address the trauma itself. Sometimes it"s enough to just treat the symptoms."

"Is it working?" I was pretty sure I knew the answer already.

Dr. Simon shook his head.

"What about medications?"

Dr. Simon referred to the chart on his desk. "Adam doesn"t do well with medications. In the past, we"ve tried several anti-anxiety medications, as well as a few different anti-depressants. None of them helped, and some have made him worse." His shoulders slumped in defeat.

I couldn"t accept that we were out of options. "Surely, there"s something else you can try?"

"Hypnotherapy can be effective in treating PTSD--but there is a risk. Reliving a traumatic event, even under hypnosis, can cause further trauma. In other words, he could get worse. Adam is so fragile right now, I"m afraid he might become suicidal. Nevertheless, I believe it"s his best option at this point, and his mother agrees. We"re planning to start tomorrow."

isMy arms were crossed tightly across my chest and I was rocking back and forth slightly in my chair. I realized I was comforting myself the way Adam does. Maybe, deep in our DNA, we are all wired to respond that way.

I looked up at Dr. Simon. "I came here to ask you if Adam would be able to take a polygraph."

Dr. Simon looked horrified. "Are you saying he"s a suspect in the murder?" I could feel my eyes tearing up. I nodded.

He jumped out of his chair, shaking with anger. "That would destroy him. I won"t allow it!"