Der Schädelring: Thriller (German Edition)

thought of his parting words, and considered a possible double meaning for them. Maybe praying for her didn’t mean he was asking God to help her. Maybe he was asking God to make Julia his possession. If she were braver, or more scared, she would ask God herself, but she was afraid she might get an answer.
    She closed and locked the door.

 
     
    CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
     
    The phone call woke Julia sometime before dawn. She rolled over, kicking at the blankets, trapped for a moment in some strange dream in which she'd been buried alive. The bed was damp with sweat. She squinted for the clock before remembering that it was in the trash can.
    She fumbled for her cell phone on the dresser and nearly knocked it to the floor before finally getting it to her ear. Only important calls came during sleep, usually with bad news. But lately, there had been no other kind of news. "Hello?" she said, trying not to sound groggy.
    "Julia."
    "Dr. Forrest?"
    "You're not obeying my orders."
    "Uh?" Julia fought into a sitting position.
    "I told you to stay away from that man. He's not conducive to your healing."
    "Which man?"
    "You know. Did you dream?"
    Julia tried to remember, though she knew only bad things waited in the gray shadows of semi-consciousness. "Yeah. I think Daddy put me in a room, except the room was really a box, and I couldn't breath, and I beat on the sides trying to get out—"
    She realized her arms were sore, and wondered if she'd been lashing out in her sleep.
    "You know what that means, don't you, Julia?"
    "No," Julia said, afraid to find out.
    "Your father oppressed you for years before the actual ritual abuse occurred."
    "But I was only a small child. How could I remember all of that?"
    "The memory is in the meat, Julia. Some women have reported experiences of attempted abortions, memories made while they were still in the uterus."
    "Before they were even born?" Julia was wide awake now, her heartbeat racing, any relaxation she might have gained from sleep long gone.
    "We're just beginning to understand memory and how the mind stores information. It's possible that memory works at a cellular level, so that even the moment of conception is recorded somewhere. Of course, it's the retrieval system that's flawed. That's why you need help."
    Julia thought of Walter's words, about how sometimes the past is best left alone. "Maybe it's not such a good thing to remember all that."
    Dr. Forrest sighed. Julia wondered if the woman ever slept.
    "Julia, we need to heal you. We need more survivors. There's strength in numbers. It's all about the truth. And it's all about sharing."
    "I . . . why didn't you tell me before that you had been abused, too?"
    "Because I'm the doctor, Julia. And the only reason I told you was so you'd know that you're not alone."
    Julia tried to wipe the darkness from her eyes. "What time is it?"
    "A little after four."
    "Why are you calling?"
    "You need me, don't you?"
    "Of course."
    "Tell me what else happened in Memphis."
    "I've told you everything."
    Except for the part about the wooden blocks spread across my table and the silver skull ring and maybe one or two other things which either I have forgotten or am lying to myself about.
    "Julia. Don't keep secrets from your therapist."
    "I'm not keeping secrets."
    "You talked to a detective. You went back to your childhood home. You saw the barn where you were the victim of Satanic ritual abuse. Why didn't you call the police and tell them about remembering the barn?"
    Who had told her those things? "Because I was afraid."
    "Afraid of what? Never be afraid of the truth."
    "Because I don't think the police would have believed me. I don't think they would have believed me about Mitchell's assault, either."
    "Am I the only one you can trust?"
    No. Maybe she could trust Walter. Or could she? Her pulse throbbed in her temples, and she rubbed at her forehead. "Yes, Dr. Forrest."
    "Then you'll do what I say?"
    "I want to get better."
    "Come to my office today. There's someone I want you to meet."
    "Today?" Julia thought about her staff meeting at the paper. She still had a lot of work to catch up.
    "Ten in the morning."
    "I don't think I can make it."
    "You'll come. You want to be healed, don't you?"
    "Yes."
    "You want to become the person you're supposed to be."
    "Yes."
    "You want to be free."
    "Of course I do."
    "He owns you, Julia." The earpiece clicked as the doctor hung up.
    Julia put down the phone and sat on the edge of the bed. He owns you . The