InSight

Luke’s car for a tracking device, he insisted on going along on the trip to Dayton . The muscles in Jeff’s face tensed whenever Collyer’s name was mentioned. Luke knew his friend salivated at the thought of a confrontation with the South African, a man Jeff had yet to see but kne w as if he were a mirror image.
    * * * * *
    T he three spoke little on the drive, and when they arrived, Don greeted them and introduced Abby to Dr. Schell.
    “The hypnotist is a facilitator,” Dr. Schell said in his Swiss accent. “Ordinarily, a subject will not perform any act under hypnosis he would be loath to do under normal circumstances. However, given the heavy concentration of drugs mixed with whatever else comprised his pharmacological cocktail, Mr. Gentry may have lost all control. The fact that there is a history of mental illness in his family may or may not contribute to his reaction to the drugs he was given.”
    “Could he have been programmed?” Abby asked.
    Dr. Schell didn’t respond. Abby doubted he wanted to irresponsibly implicate another doctor without proof.
    Proof. How could so many things happen with no proof?
    They decided that Abby would take the first session, then she would spend time with Stewart to explain what Dr. Schell was going to do.
    “You will remember everything you tell me, Dr. Gallant,” Dr. Schell said, “and you will know everything that’s going on.”
    “I will?”
    “That breaks a few myths, doesn’t it? But that’s how it works.” He turned on the recorder.
    “I want you to think of a soothing image and put yourself in that place.”
    The constant undulation of the ocean always had a calming effect, and now she concentrated on the picture she drew in her mind. Dr. Schell began counting, and on each count he deepened the hypnosis by asking her to think of additional details of the ocean—its sound and smell, the sea breeze. Before long, Abby slipped into a deep trance.
    “How do you feel?” Dr. Schell asked.
    “Relaxed.”
    “I want you to focus on the time you were married. The time when you were very happy. You and Stewart and your daughter Macy.”
    Abby recounted the days when Stewart was painting, and how their lives were exciting and productive. She recalled when both she and Macy started school in Atlanta at the same time.
    “Do you remember Martin Gentry’s plane crash?”
    “Yes. Stewart was very upset over his father’s death. He loved him very much.”
    “What happened after the funeral?”
    Abby didn’t answer, and Dr. Schell prompted her.
    “Stewart was angry with his mother.”
    “Do you know why?”
    “No, he wouldn’t talk about it, but he didn’t want to see her anymore.”
    “Did you see Dr. Scanlon during this time?”
    “He visited with Stewart.”
    “Did you speak with him?”
    “I…I don’t know.”
    The psychiatrist tried a few other avenues to ask the same question, then asked some others. Confusion filled Abby’s head, and she became agitated. She couldn’t remember anything.
    Dr. Schell brought her back slowly. “How do you feel?”
    “Frustrated. It was as if a switch had been pulled and my memory disappeared.”
    “I didn’t want to press or dredge up bad memories unless you went there willingly. We needed to extract one thing. When that wasn’t forthcoming, I feared going deeper.”
    “I’m sorry, Doctor.”
    “Nothing to be sorry about. We knew that would be a possibility. Yours is an unusual case. There are numerous reasons why you might not remember.”
    “Have I purposely erased the last few months of my marriage? Is that possible?”
    “Hmm, yes. It’s possible. And don’t forget, you suffered serious head trauma. Or you may have responded to a hypnotic suggestion that won’t release. Then again, Mr. Gentry might think he told you those things. We’ll see what he has to say. You can sit in if you wish. Your presence might relax him. I’ve studied his chart, his EEG, and the notes supplied by Dr. Weston and the Dayton staff. Let’s see how it goes.”
    * * * * *
    A bby listened as Dr. Schell spent thirty minutes with Stewart, explaining the procedure as simply as possible. Stewart sounded suspicious. Abby wondered if he equated the doctor with Scanlon. With her help, he eventually relaxed.
    When Stewart finally relaxed, the doctor followed the same procedure he’d applied to Abby. Stewart didn’t resist and went deeper into a hypnotic state with each successive count. After a few simple questions