Gingerbread Man

that time in her life, it could push her too far."
    "So, just what is it he wants, that's worth torturing Holly that way?" Marty asked softly. "Jim? Has he confided in you, at all?"
    The chief sighed heavily. "Yeah. There were a couple of kids murdered in Syracuse. It was his case. He found some things he thought linked the crime to Dilmun, and then when he found out about what happened to Holly's little sister, he thought there might be a connection."
    Doc Graycloud frowned. "What could he have found to tie the Syracuse murders to Dilmun?"
    "Come on, Ernie, you know I can't tell you that." The chief sipped his beer while the other two stared at him. "I will say it's pretty compelling. I don't blame him for wanting to follow up on it."
    Marty set his beer bottle on the table. "I blame him. The man who killed little Ivy is in prison. That ought to be enough to convince this O'Mally he's on the wrong trail."
    "That's not our concern. Our concern is Holly. This isn't going to be good for her," Doc warned.
    "It's already causing problems," Marty said, leaning back in his chair. "Doris says Holly's been counting again. Having trouble sleeping. How long before the nightmares come back as well?" He shook his head slowly. "She left the bonfire early, said she wasn't feeling well."
    Jim sighed again. "Yeah, and then there was the incident out at the cabin."
    "What incident?" Doc asked, snapping to attention.
    "She thought she saw someone moving around inside. She panicked. Vince got back and checked the place out, but there wasn't a sign anyone had been anywhere near it The door was still locked."
    "You think she imagined it?" Doc asked.
    "I don't know what to think," Jim said slowly. He looked at Marty. "Doc and I have only been close with Holly and Doris for five years. Marty, you've been with them straight through the worst of it. Was there a time, even at her worst, where Holly was hallucinating?"
    Marty's lips pulled tight. "She was a little girl who saw her kid sister get snatched, and then never saw her again. Yeah, she hallucinated. There were night terrors. There was survivor's guilt. There were panic attacks, and bed-wetting, and insomnia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. There were doctors and more doctors, drugs and more drugs. Nothing helped, not for ten freaking years, until that son of a bitch confessed. That was when she finally started to put her life back together. She lost her dad soon after that, and it set her back, but she pulled out of it. I thought... dammit, I really thought it was finally behind her."
    Ernie Graycloud nodded. "I thought so, too. She's been doing so much better since I started seeing her when she first moved out here. But Doris called me about two weeks ago. She said Holly had been talking in her sleep, saying her sister's name, stuff like that. I've been trying to talk Holly into coming in for a checkup, but you know how stubborn she can be. She says she's fine."
    "She's not fine," Marty said. He took another swig of beer. "She's far from fine, and getting worse by the day."
    "Wait a minute. Did you say Doris called you two weeks ago, Ernie?" Jim asked sharply.
    Ernie nodded.
    "Odd," Jim mused, rubbing his chin. "That's before O'Mally ever set foot in this town." He looked across the table at his friend. "What else could have triggered all this, Ernie?"
    He replied with a shrug, "Anything. She could have seen a report about the missing children in Syracuse and that could have done it. Or any number of other things. I've seen people with post-traumatic stress have flashbacks triggered by nothing more than a smell that reminded them of the past event."
    "So, something reminded Holly of her sister's kidnapping before this joker arrived in Dilmun?" Marty asked.
    "Apparently so."
    Jim shook his head slowly. "Maybe she's starting to remember something. She never was able to recall much at all, as I understand it." He looked to the doctor for confirmation.
    "It's possible. Her memory about the abduction has always been spotty at best. Maybe it's starting to clear up now."
    "If she was starting to remember. Doc, would that be a good thing for her?" Marty asked.
    "Could be good. Could be devastating," Ernie replied. "There's just no way to know for sure, until and unless it happens."
    Marty snorted. "Then, I think the best thing for all concerned would be for Vince O'Mally to get his ass back to Syracuse where he belongs, and stay the hell away from my niece, and my sister-in-law."
    "I have