It was possible to gauge the detective’s heartbeat from the throbbing of the protruding vein in his red-mottled forehead and for several moments the man was beyond speech. At last he managed, ‘I will report this to my superiors.’
Hall didn’t have to force the smile at the ludicrously ineffective response. ‘I’d strongly urge you to do that.’ He gestured through the window to the constable still inside the room. ‘Please call her out.’
Rodgers did so, at a nod from the senior detective. As she emerged Hall said, ‘Please make it clear they are to remain outside from now on.’
Rodgers did that, too. As Bentley stumped off down the corridor, trailed by his inspector, Julian Mason said, ‘What was that all about?’
‘An over-inflated sense of importance,’ said Hall, hoping Bentley was still close enough to hear.
Inside the ward Jane said, ‘ Look, they’re here. Let’s really see how stupid we can make you, shall we? ’
Jennifer tried to clench the sheet on either side of her, wanting something physically to hold on to, but totally against her will her fingers wouldn’t grip, splaying out helplessly instead.
‘ It’s no good, Jennifer. No good at all. ’
It wasn’t. As the group entered her arms flapped up and down, in unison again but slapping harder against the bed, and Jane said, ‘ Now you’re not a puppet, you’re a penguin. Tell them you’re a penguin.’
Jennifer bit her lips between her teeth to prevent the words, holding her breath, but she couldn’t stop a meaningless sound growling in her throat.
‘What’s the voice tell you to say?’ asked Mason, conversationally. ‘Let’s hear it.’
Jennifer’s breath came out in a rush. ‘That I’m a penguin. Oh dear God, this is ridiculous!’
‘I’m the one who’s got to decide if it’s ridiculous or not. That’s why I’m here.’ Mason pulled up the chairs abandoned by the police sergeant. Fosdyke took the other. Both ignored the lawyers, who pulled back against the wall furthest from the bed. Peter Lloyd remained at the foot of the bed. Hall was conscious of the two policewomen side by side looking through the window from the corridor.
‘You’re the psychiatrist,’ smiled Jennifer. ‘God, am I glad to see you! What’s your name?’
Mason told her and introduced Fosdyke as well. Jennifer extended her hand, but as Mason went to accept the gesture her hand began rotating, as if challenging him to catch it. Mason laughed, although not nervously. So did the neurologist. He didn’t sound nervous either.
‘It’s not funny!’ protested Jennifer.
‘You could laugh at her.’
‘ No, you fucking well can’t! ’
‘Does it hurt, in your head, when you hear the voice?’ demanded Fosdyke.
‘Only when she screams. She did that this morning.’
‘Why?’
‘I said I could resist her.’
‘Can you?’ came in Mason.
‘Sometimes.’
‘How?’
‘She’ll know, if I tell you.’
‘Don’t tell me then,’ agreed Mason.
‘ Tell him! ’
‘No!’
‘What’s she saying?’ prompted the psychiatrist.
‘She wants me to tell you how I do it.’
‘Don’t. Let’s resist her.’
The screaming started, not as loud as before but still agonizing. Jennifer said, ‘Oh no,’ and felt herself begin to shake. She tried to get her hands up to her ears but couldn’t move her arms. It stopped more quickly than before and she hadn’t wet herself.
‘She screamed again?’ said Fosdyke.
Jennifer nodded, not immediately able to talk. When she could she said, ‘Stop it!’
‘You talking to Jane?’ demanded Mason.
‘You! Both of you. You’re patronizing me. Pretending you believe me but you don’t, do you? Because it’s not possible to be possessed, is it?’
‘I don’t know,’ admitted Mason. ‘I’ve never heard of a proven case.’
‘So why are you pretending to believe me?’
‘Don’t you want me to?’
‘ I haven’t really got to try, have I? They’ve made their minds up already. ’
‘Jane says you’ve already made your minds up that I’m mad.’
‘I haven’t,’ denied Mason.
‘Neither have I,’ said Fosdyke.
‘ They’re liars.’
‘Help me!’ pleaded Jennifer, looking between the two men. ‘For God’s sake, help me!’
‘How do you want to be helped?’ asked Mason.
‘Get her out of my head! Find a way to prove that I am sane and didn’t kill Gerald.’
‘I’m not sure I can do that,’ admitted the psychiatrist. ‘But I’ll try. And for me to do that you’ll have to help me.’
‘Anything. Whatever.’
‘ Why not open your legs? You’re good at that.’
‘Tell me everything she says.’
‘Everything?’
‘Yes.’
‘ Fuck him. Don’t! ’
‘She says fuck you. And that I should help you by opening my legs.’
Mason showed no reaction. Neither did the neurologist. Mason said, ‘She tried to stop you repeating everything?’
‘Yes.’
‘So you defied her?’
‘ He’s a cunt.’
‘She says you’re a cunt.’
Again neither Mason nor Fosdyke gave any reaction to the obscenities. Instead, suddenly, Mason said, ‘You were having an affair with Gerald Lomax when his wife was still alive, weren’t you?’
‘ Whore, whore, whore.’
Jennifer didn’t reply at once. ‘She’s calling me a whore.’ Then, ‘Yes, we were having an affair.’
‘You feel guilty about that?’
‘ Of course she didn’t. Mad whore.’
‘Yes,’ said Jennifer. ‘Jane says I didn’t but I did.’
‘Before his wife died? Or after?’
‘Before and after.’
‘ Liar.’
‘Did she know it was going on?’
‘No, she didn’t. And she called me a liar.’
‘ No, I bloody well didn’t know, you cheating whore! ’
‘Were you going to tell her?’
‘I wasn’t. Gerald wanted to. She’s calling me a cheating whore.’
‘Why didn’t he?’
‘I asked him not to. I didn’t want to be the person to break up a marriage.’
‘ Lying whore! ’
‘She says I’m a lying whore.’
‘Are you lying?’ asked Mason.
‘No.’
‘What did Gerald say?’
‘That he didn’t want things to go on as they were. That he didn’t love Jane and wanted the marriage to end.’
‘ LIAR! ’ The voice roared, making Jennifer wince. Only slightly quieter, Jane said, ‘ Happy with me. Loved me until you came along.’
‘What does the voice say?’ anticipated Mason.
‘That I’m lying. That Gerald was happy with her until the affair started.’
‘You think that’s true?’
‘Gerald said it wasn’t.’
‘You thought everything was all right between you and Gerald, didn’t you?’ pressed Mason.
‘You want me to talk about Rebecca?’
‘Do you want to?’
‘Answer me!’ demanded Jennifer, angrily. ‘Why do you respond to every question I ask with another question? Can’t you think for yourself?’
‘ They got a crap psychiatrist, Jennifer. Because they’re just going through the motions. You don’t even know if he’s qualified: from the way he’s dressed, he could be a hospital porter.’
‘Are you?’
‘Am I what?’
‘A qualified…’ began Jennifer, before stopping. ‘She says you’re a crap psychiatrist. Could even be a hospital porter.’
Mason laughed. ‘We’re really upsetting her, aren’t we?’
All the gauze-thin confidence that she could confront Jane had gone. Once more Jennifer felt totally lost, as if she was being sucked towards a whirlpool that would drag her down into a vortex from which she’d never escape.
‘ That’s it, honey. That’s how it’s going to be. Suffocating. Drowning. Like this…’
It became difficult for Jennifer to breathe: it was as if someone had their arms wrapped around her, squeezing the air from her and not letting her inhale any more. She began to pant, noisily.
‘You’re panicking,’ said the psychiatrist, calmly. ‘Don’t do that
…’ He felt out, enclosing her hand in both of his. ‘Breathe with me, slowly now…’ He began to space his words. ‘In and out, in and out, in and out…’