The FBI Thrillers Collection Books 6-10 - Catherine Coulter [508]
“I agree you might have seen your mother murdered,” Savich said. “Martin, do you remember hiding in the attic? Martin—Austin. Which do you prefer?”
“I’m Martin Thornton now, Dillon, have been for more years than I was Austin.”
“All right, then, Martin. I’ve described the house to you, described the attic, described your mother. Do you remember the attic? Can you see it in your mind at all? Do you remember ever being in an attic?”
“No, I don’t. There’s nothing there.”
Dr. Hicks put the watch away, sat back in his leather chair, and crossed his hands over his skinny belly. “I’m thinking that when Agent Savich is through with this current case, you need to go back to Blessed Creek, see the house where you spent the first six years of your life. You need to climb up that ladder into the attic, go into the bathroom where they found your mom. I’m thinking that might break that dam in your memory, help everything flood back.”
Martin’s eyes lit up. “I could go back now, with Janet.”
“No way are you going anywhere, Martin,” Savich said, his voice sharp. “You’re going to promise me that you’ll stay right here. Promise me.”
“But—”
“Promise me.”
“All right, I promise.”
“I don’t want you going anywhere. You’re in a safe place, and right now, that’s exactly what you need—to feel safe. You need to know that if something happens in your brain, you’ll have help to deal with it. Forget the frustration of not remembering. It will all come back when it’s ready to. Now, Dr. Hicks has the name of an excellent psychiatrist, and you’ll want to tell him or her everything you know, everything you’ve felt, in great detail. Who do you have in mind, Dr. Hicks?”
“Dr. Lynette Foster. She works regularly with the FBI. She’s very good with memory issues, cases of trauma. You can trust her, Martin.”
Slowly, Martin Thornton nodded.
Savich said, “I’ve already spoken to Janet. Believe me, she’s not worried about your girls or anyone but you. You’re here for the near future. Hey, the food in The Boardroom is pretty good, and you have the PX with plenty of FBI souvenirs to buy, pretty cool stuff you can give for presents. Best of all, you can spend some time with Janet. You’re staying, Martin, until I’m through with this case.”
Dr. Hicks smiled when Martin nodded.
“Excellent. Now, Janet’s in the gym, getting started on losing fifteen pounds she said, and it’s been over an hour. Dr. Hicks will show you the gym, then you and Janet can have lunch, wander the grounds if you like.
“I’m going to head out to the Hoover Building. By the way, can you do any of your work remotely if you have access to a computer?”
“Yeah, sure. I spend most of my time on the computer.”
When Savich left, he saw Martin standing tall, his shoulders no longer slumped. He heard him say to Dr. Hicks, “I’ve got lots of work to do. You said this Boardroom place has some good food?”
Savich would swear as he walked down the hall of the Jefferson Dormitory that he heard Martin Thornton whistling.
FBI HEADQUARTERS
WASHINGTON, D.C.
EARLY SUNDAY AFTERNOON
SAVICH LOOKED OUT over the thirty-plus agents and cops in the conference room. “Last night, as most of you already know, Günter fired six shots into my living room, his primary target Fleurette. His performance last night shows he’s becoming increasingly less controlled, more desperate, but given what he did in the middle of Georgetown, I certainly can’t say he’s any less daring. So long as he continues, our chances of finding him improve. So far the only physical evidence we have are ballistics from the recovered bullets