Jamie Quinn Cozy Mysteries Collection

Chapter 23

It took two espressos to pry my eyes open in the morning. Although I must"ve gotten some sleep in between watching re-runs of "Friends" and "30 Rock," it sure didn"t feel like it. I was nervous, but I wasn"t sure why. I could"ve used some comic relief right about then. Where"s Duke when you need him?

some At 10:00, I called Dr. Simon over Skype and we confirmed that we could see and hear each other. Then he temporarily draped a towel over the screen, so Adam wouldn"t see me when he came in. He removed it after Adam was lying comfortably on the sofa.

Contrary to popular belief, no shiny object is required for hypnosis. It was simply a deep relaxation exercise with Dr. Simon making suggestions in a voice as soft as cotton. Adam looked like he was asleep, but he was still able to respond to questions. First, Dr. Simon asked him to rate his anxiety on a scale of 1-5 with a specific description for each number. Then, he told Adam to picture himself riding an elevator in a building with five floors and he was the only one who could push the buttons. If he started feeling anxious, all he had to do was ride the elevator to a lower floor.

"Do you like elevators, Adam?" Dr. Simon asked.

"Yes…"

"Don"t forget to push the buttons when you need to, Adam. You are in a safe place. Nothing can hurt you here. Do you feel safe now?"

"I feel safe."

Then Dr. Simon asked him some neutral questions about his dogs before asking the next question.

"Do you know a dog named Beast?"

"Spike"s dog. Like drummer…Led Zeppelin."

"Do you like Beast?"

"Beast is a good dog. He likes to play."

"When is the last time you saw Beast, Adam?"

Adam started flailing. "I hear him barking…he"s upset. Why is he barking? Where is Spike? I can"t go in there! No no!"

Dr. Simon backed off. "It"s okay, Adam. You don"t have to go in there. Don"t forget about your elevator buttons. Take a deep breath and let it go. Push the number one button and ride the elevator down. Do you feel better?"

"Yes..."

"Now, Adam, you don"t have to go in the room where Beast is, but I need to ask you about that day, okay?"

No answer.

"Adam, you said you did a bad thing. What was the bad thing?"

Tears started rolling down Adam"s face.

"Adam, listen to me. I know you think you did a bad thing, but you didn"t. Maybe you made a mistake, but you did not do anything wrong. Okay?"

No answer.

"Adam, please repeat after me. I didn"t do anything wrong."

Adam started shaking his head from side to side.

"Adam, listen to me." Dr. Simon said gently. "You didn"t do anything wrong. I am sure of it. Now, can you repeat after me?"

"Okay."

"Can you say this for me? I didn"t do anything wrong."

In a voice so low I almost couldn"t hear him, Adam said "I didn"t do anything wrong."

"Good! Now what was the bad thing?"

"I didn"t mean to do it! I"m sorry, Spike. It"s my fault, all my fault!"

"Adam, listen to me. Let"s pretend you"re a fly. Can you do that?"

"Yes."

"Can you feel your pretend wings?"

"Uh huh."

"Okay, now you"re a fly and you"re watching Adam do the thing he thinks is bad. Tell me about it. You"re a fly that can speak…just pretend."

"Adam is playing music with Spike. They"re laughing. Adam asks "What"s your favorite song Spike? Spike is smiling. He says ‘Rosalinda"s Eyes’…it reminds him of Rosa..."

"Who is Rosa?" Dr. Simon asks.

"She"s a teacher. She"s pretty."

"Then what happened? Remember, you"re still pretending you"re a fly."

"Adam asks Spike if he loves Rosa. Spike says yes. But it"s a secret…don"t tell."

"Then what happened?"

"Adam broke his promise! Why did you do that, Adam? You"re bad!"

"How did Adam break his promise?" Dr. Simon prodded.

"He told! He promised, but he told anyway…"

"Who did Adam tell?"

No answer.

"I"m talking to our pretend fly now, Mr. Fly, who did Adam tell?

"So angry! Broken pictures, sharp! My finger hurts…I"m sorry I"m sorry I"m sorry!"

"Who is angry?"

"I can"t tell you."

"Adam, did you tell Steve the secret?"

"No."

"Who did you tell?"

Adam started pulling his hair. "She was so mad!"

"Take a deep breath. Push the button and ride the elevator down. Can you do that?"

"Yes."

"Do you feel better, Adam?" Dr. Simon was speaking softly.

"Better…"

"Let"s play a guessing game, okay? Was it Rosa, did you tell Rosa?"

"No…Rosa is nice."

"It"s okay if the fly tells me who was mad."

Adam started shaking and crying. "Spike is dead! Spike was my best friend…"

"Adam, did you hurt Spike?"

"NO!"

"Then it"s not your fault. Do you hear me? It is not your fault. Repeat after me: it is not my fault."

"It"s…it"s….not…m-m-my fault…"

"Now tell me, Adam, who was mad?"

"It was…Marian!"