Jefferson was looking forward to another productive session with Amanda, but the day would wind up leaving him feeling disappointed as the young lady was a no call no show. Jefferson had his secretary leave a message on her voice mail, which was the standard practice whenever any of his patients fail to show up for a scheduled session. Despite his disappointment, Jefferson was hoping her reason for missing out was something stupid, like mismanagement of time or she forgot all about him. While he valued the work they were doing, if it was something stupid that caused her to be absent than it would lower the chance of it being something dire that kept her from being with him that day. The last thing he wants to hear is that she got into a car accident while speeding to make her appointment, as Jefferson preferred his clients be late or even miss the session rather than risk lives over it, especially their own. Jefferson did his best to not dwell on it and use the time to prepare for the other day’s sessions and even catch up with a little paperwork. He didn’t think about the missed appointment until much later in the day when someone else who was scheduled came to his office. He was working on the same paperwork after the last session for the day when his phone beeped.
“Yes?” Jefferson said after picking up the phone.
“There’s someone here to see you?” she replied on the other end.
“There are no more sessions scheduled,” Jefferson reminded her.
“It’s not a client,” his secretary replied, “There’s a police detective here, and he really wants to speak with you.”
“Oh,” Jefferson said, rather surprised by the development. “Send him in.”
Jefferson put the phone down and got up off his chair and started to walk over to the door as the detective strolled into the room. He was a middle aged man, wearing a suit that looked as worn out as he was. The man had a two day scruff and had a slight limp as he strolled over and offered a hand for his host to shake. Jefferson eagerly took his hand and shook it.
“Good afternoon,” Jefferson said, “I’m Doctor Asher Jefferson.”
“Detective Harrison Smith.” the man replied.
“What can I do for you, Detective?” Jefferson inquired.
“I’m here to speak to you about one of your patients,” Harrison answered.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Jefferson replied, “I don’t break confidence for anyone, and I will not make an exception for you.”
“I appreciate your loyalty,” Harrison countered, “But I’m afraid the person in question no longer resides upon this mortal coil.”
“Oh dear,” Jefferson said, as he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “One of my patients is dead?”
“I’m afraid so,” Harrison confirmed, as he seemed rather calm about it, most likely because he saw death likely almost every day while on the job. “I apologize for being here under such circumstances, but I regret to inform you that a client of yours named Amanda Jones died earlier today.”
Upon hearing those words, Jefferson took a step back and if his desk wasn’t directly behind him there was a chance the man was going to fall over. This wasn’t the first time a client of his had passed away, but the other times were from old age and cancer, neither of which Amanda had possessed.
“What the hell happened?” Jefferson asked, eager to know more.
“She fell out of a high story window,” Harrison answered.
“How did it happen?” Jefferson demanded, “Was it an accident or was someone else responsible for it?”
“We’re looking into that,” Harrison replied, “Nothing has been ruled out yet, but that’s why I’m here. I want to talk to you about her treatment.”
“You want to know if she was suicidal?” Jefferson asked.
“Like I said,” Harrison conceded, “We’re looking into everything.”
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“And that’s why you’re here,” Jefferson said, almost disgusted by the mere thought of what he knew was coming. “You want me to tell you whether or not she was capable of jumping to her death.”
“I am,” Harrison confessed, “But I’m also here to rule it out as well if that may be the case. I’m only going to go wherever the evidence leads me. That’s why I need your help, doctor. I want to know what happened, and to seek out anyone if they turn out to be responsible for it.”
“I understand,” Jefferson said, as he was starting to feel a little uneasy, “This is all a bit of a shock to me.”
“How so?” Harrison asked, “Have you not lost a patient before?”
“I have,” Jefferson countered, “But they died of cancer and old age, and not under such suspicious circumstances.”
“I understand,” Harrison said, as he suddenly could tell how uneasy the doctor was. “Take a seat before you fall over.”
Jefferson did as the detective said, and sat down on the couch, while Harrison parked himself in the chair that Harrison would usually reside in.
“When was the last time you saw Ms. Jones?” Harrison asked.
“It’s been a week,” Jefferson answered, “She was supposed to come in today but was a no show.”
“I see,” Harrison said, taking down some notes. “What time was her appointment?”
“Earlier this morning,” Jefferson said, “We meet every Thursday at ten.”
“And she’s never missed an appointment?” Harrison asked.
“She has a few times,” Jefferson said, doing his best to recall. “But she would usually call in first and let us know whenever it happened. Sometimes work at the hospital would keep her for whatever reason. Stuff like that.”
“Alright,” Harrison said, as he was taking notes, “So, you haven’t seen Amanda since her last scheduled appointment last week?”
“That is correct,” Jefferson confirmed.
“How did she seem last week?” Harrison inquired, “How was her demeanor?”
“She was well,” Jefferson replied, “She was making real progress.”
“That’s good,” Harrison said, taking more notes. “Can you tell me the reasons she was here to seek treatment?”
“I cannot, and will not,” Jefferson replied, sticking to his moral guns.
“I don’t need the details,” Harrison said, holding his hands up, “I just need to know if she’s ever had suicidal thoughts or had made any attempts before today.”
“No,” Jefferson answered, “at least not that I’m aware of.
Jefferson was being very careful about what details that were given. He wasn’t going to tell Harrison exactly why she was there, but he saw no harm in telling the detective what she wasn’t being treated for.
“So, Ms. Jones never talked about it with you?” Harrison asked.
“No, she didn’t,” Jefferson replied, “Amanda wasn’t being treated for that. We never even discussed the subject of suicide ever during any of her sessions. The topic never came up. I can check my notes to be sure, but at the moment I can’t recall ever talking to her about that.”
“Alright,” Harrison said, closing his notebook. “Believe it or not, I’m not trying to pass this off. I just need to examine all possibilities, and this is just one of many that we are looking into.”
“I understand,” Jefferson said, as he was still shaking a bit. “I’m just still a little shocked by the news. I don’t want to believe that she could do that, but you need to follow where the evidence leads you. I will do my best to assist that but only where I’m legally allowed to.”
“I appreciate your honesty,” Harrison said, as he started to pace the room. “It’s never easy to break news like that, especially to someone who cares about the person in question.”
“Excuse me?” Jefferson said, standing up. “What do you mean by that?”
“I didn’t mean anything,” Harrison said, noticing his sudden defensiveness. “I assumed that you cared about all of your patients, since you’re working so hard to help them with their issues and what not.”
“Of course, I do,” Jefferson conceded, “I’m sorry.”
“Understandable,” Harrison said, “I’m the one who should be sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you,” Jefferson replied, “She was doing so well. It’s a shame that it all had to end like this.”
“I get it, I really do,” Harrison said, as he walked closer, “I see criminals try to recover and get their life back in order all the time. I’ve lost count of how many recommitted and are back in prison, or worse in the ground. It breaks the heart to see all that potential flushed down the metaphorical shitter.”
“I will go over my notes,” Jefferson repeated, “And if I find anything that will assist your investigation, I will reach out.”
“I do appreciate that,” Harrison said, as he took a card out of pocket. “Here’s my number. Feel free to call me whenever you have something to add.”
“I will,” Jefferson said, as it took the card from him. “Thanks for coming by, but I would like some time to go over and process what you told me.”
“I understand,” Harrison said again, “I’ve got what I need. If I need to come back, I’ll be sure to set an appointment next time with your secretary.”
“That would be ideal,” Jefferson said.
Jefferson watched as Harrison walked out of the same door he entered in, as he was unaware of the side door that his patients used to exit after their appointments. He was still stunned by the news the detective had brought that it never occurred to him to inform him of the way things usually went. There were no other clients booked for the day so there was no harm done. Jefferson stood there in the middle of the room, processing what he was just told. Moments later, he picked up something off the table and threw it at the wall. The item was tough, so it never broke, and he stood there brewing in anger. He felt the need to call someone and reach out. Something he could talk to about the trauma that was just brought to his office. He needed to get his frustrations off of his chest as soon as possible as he waited for the line to get picked up.