"Don't... please don't. I don't want to see through the glass."
Maja turned to Vebekka. The baroness was hunched in her seat, staring straight ahead. Before Maja could say anything, the baron came in alone, gray with fatigue.
"I'm to take you home, darling."
Maja watched Vebekka closely, and saw the relief when she learned she would not have to see the doctor. She kissed Maja warmly as she left.
Dr. Franks walked into the reception area.
"Well, Maja, what do you think?"
"I think she is a very disturbed woman. She is very entertaining, very sharp and witty, but I think she is also..."
"Dangerous?" he inquired. Maja touched her wrist, remembering Vebekka's strong grip. She nodded. "Yes... very!"
Dr. Franks returned to his study, where Helen was still waiting. He shut the door, and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Maja agrees with you."
He poured Helen a glass of sherry.
"Tell me about the violence, have you witnessed it?"
"Yes, she becomes very disoriented, very angry, verbally and physically. She is quite frightening. Although she loses control, and claims to have no recall, I believe she has. She knows what she did to Sasha, but denies it."
Franks asked Helen to elaborate on the destruction of the dolls, and listened intently as she described what the baron had told her.
"He said he had run in response to Sasha's screams. To his horror he had found that his wife had taken every doll belonging to the child, smashed their faces, and torn off their arms. Then she had stacked them, and set fire to them. The house could have caught fire, but she just stood, watching the toys burning, forcing her daughter to watch with her. Sasha was terrified; Vebekka held her by her hair, forcing her to watch the dolls melt. The baron heard her saying 'Watch the babies, Sasha, watch the baby dolls!' He had to release his daughter from Vebekka's grip."
Franks interrupted. "Did she give a reason for her actions?" Helen shook her head. "I spoke with Sasha, and asked her to tell me about the incident. She kept repeating that her mama looked strange. Oh, yes, I remember something else. Sasha said Vebekka screamed for her father, said she called out, 'Papa.' While holding Sasha by the hair, she repeated: 'He is my papa, not yours, my papa. Papa loves me.' I asked the baron about this, and he said that the baroness did not allow any of the children to call him Papa. When I asked her about it, she said only that she didn't like them using 'Papa,' and when I pressed her, she had no answer."
"The baron said she attempted to take her own life last night, is this true?"
Helen shrugged. "She cut herself. I don't think she would have killed herself. She wants attention, screams for attention all the time... she is a great attention seeker."
"What about the violence to her husband? I noticed he had a nasty bite mark on his right hand."
Helen drained her sherry glass.
"When she is irrational, she will attack anyone who is close to her. He happened to be there. I guess she mistrusts everyone during these episodes, including her children. But I find it interesting that she did not attack her daughter, just her toys. Yet her daughter was close by..."
"What about the other children?"
Helen referred to her notes. "Some of these attacks have occurred in their presence. When she is in her so-called irrational state, she bites, kicks, punches... but she has not to my knowledge taken a weapon, a knife, or anything like that!"
"What does she say when she is in this condition?"
Helen flicked through her notes. "Back in 1982 she was to be given sodium pentothal, the truth drug, but she refused it. I sent you the transcript."
Franks opened his file and leafed through.
Helen continued. "She believes someone is taking over her mind, just as she believes that anyone in a white coat, doctor or nurse, is going to hurt her. She has a terror of injections. She has refused shock treatment and, until now, objected to any form of hypnotherapy."
"What do you think has made her change her mind?"
"She knows she is becoming more dangerous, has even told me she fears she will kill someone... I have gone as far as I can. I hope you can help her."
"I never give up hope. But first things first, my dear Helen, we must eat. I am starving and there's a nice little restaurant close by. We can continue our discussion over lunch."
Hilda had helped Vebekka dress for dinner, and was delighted by her exuberance. Louis, however, was tired and not in good spirits. He could hear his wife on the telephone to Sasha; Vebekka's resilience was astonishing, unnerving. She was telling Sasha about their plane journey, about Berlin, as if they were on a vacation. The call completed, she danced over to the dinner table and began lifting with relish the silver lids from the tureens. She ate little, just sat with her chin cupped in her hands, watching his every mouthful. She reached over and stroked his hand gently.
"I'm sorry for all the trouble I cause you, my darling."
He smiled, as she poured a glass of wine for him. She was forbidden any alcohol. He took his glass and raised it to her. In the candlelight her amber eyes were as bright as a cat's. Looking at her now made him feel deeply, horribly sad... This was the Vebekka he had fallen in love with, the young girl he had showered with gifts and flowers until she had succumbed to his charms. She had been crazy, fun-loving, madcap, and willful. She was still all those things, but now, the craziness, the madness, was a hideous constant torment.
"What are you thinking about, Louis?"
"How beautiful you look! You remind me of when we first met."
The next moment she was on his knee, kissing him frantically.
"I'm still your favorite baby, I haven't changed. Please, please take me to bed, carry me into the bedroom, the way you used to, please Louis, let's pretend this is a honeymoon."
He lifted her from his knee. "Eat, finish your dinner."
Pouting, she returned to her side of the table. She picked at her food, nibbling on the green beans as she watched him. She slurped some lemonade, trying to amuse him with coy, sweet smiles, smiles that had won him over so many times. Louis wondered how long it would be before she turned on him. He could no longer tell how long the bad spells lasted; all he knew was that this sweet creature would turn, if not tonight, a month, a week, or a year from now into a vicious, violent monster.
Her eyes narrowed, but she smiled. "Take me home, Louis, please, I'm all right now, it's over. I know I have said this to you before, but this time I know it's over. The darkness is gone. I felt it lift in the waiting room at Dr. Franks's. And Sasha misses me, she needs me to be with her."
He drained his wineglass, patted his lips with his napkin. She brought him a cigar, clipped the end for him, and struck the match. "Please, Louis, take me home, we can be together, a family. I really am fine now..."
He grabbed her wrist and held it tightly. "No, no we stay here, we stay until Dr. Franks has seen you, that's what we came for."
She made no attempt to free herself and he released his hold.
"Bekka, please don't do this to me, please don't... Maybe you feel fine now, but it could change, in the car, on the plane. Please give it a try, if not for yourself, if not for me, do it for Sasha!"
Vebekka wrapped him in her arms. "I would never hurt my baby, please believe me. Just say you will take me home, I don't want to stay here."
Louis pushed her away. "Sasha is afraid of you!"
Vebekka recoiled as if he had slapped her. "She is not, I just talked to her on the phone; she is not afraid of me."
Louis spun around. "You don't even know what you do to her! You will stay here, you will go to Dr. Franks. I'll make you see this through."
She cocked her head to one side and smirked.
"Then you will leave me? That's why I'm here, you want to get rid of me. I will never divorce you, Louis, not for any of your women, I will never release you. You are mine."