The Cove

"Tell you what I can promise for sure. I won't throw Sally in the slammer."

    "Good," Noelle said. "She needs to be kept safe. Doctor Beadermeyer will see to it. He's promised me he would."

    Their litany, Quinlan thought, their damned litany. Was Noelle a part of this? Or could she be this gullible? Couldn't she really see Sally? See that she was perfectly all right?

    Scott began to pace, looking at Noelle, who was staring intently at her daughter, as if to read her thoughts, then at Beadermeyer, who was lounging in his large wing chair, trying to copy the damned agent.

    "I met her at the Whistler exhibition at the National Gallery of Art. It was an exciting evening. They were displaying sixteen of Whistler's Japanese paintings. Anyway, Sally was there partying with her friends, like she always did. One of the Smithsonian lawyers introduced us. We talked, then had coffee. I took her to dinner.

    "That's how it began, nothing more, nothing less. We discovered we had a lot in common. We fell in love. We married."

    Beadermeyer rose and stretched. "Vastly romantic, Scott. Now, it's late and Sally needs her rest. It's time for us to leave, Sally."

    "I don't think so," Sally said, her voice as calm as could be. James felt the shaking in her arm. "I'm twenty-six years old. I'm perfectly sane. You can't make me go back with you. Incidentally, Scott, you didn't tell James why you neglected to mention that you worked for my father until after we were married."

    "You never asked, did you, Sally? You were caught up with your own career, all your fancy parties and wild friends. You didn't really care what I did. You never asked, damn you."

    "I asked, but you never came right out with it. You told me it was a law firm and left it at that. I remember asking you, but you wouldn't give much out, ever."

    Quinlan felt the ripple beneath the flesh of her hand. He squeezed slightly but kept quiet. She was doing just fine. He was pleased and optimistic. He was fast getting the measure of all three people. Soon, he thought, soon now.

    Sally paused just a moment, then said calmly, "I certainly didn't care after I found out you were having an affair."

    "That's a lie! I wasn't having an affair. I was faithful to you. I've always been faithful to you, even during these past six months."

    Noelle cleared her voice. "This is leading nowhere. Sally, you're saying that you're sane, that indeed your father abused you in the sanitarium-''

    "So did Doctor Beadermeyer. He had this creepy little attendant called Holland who liked to bathe me, strip me, fix my hair, and sit on the side of my bed just staring at me."

    Noelle turned to Beadermeyer. "Is this true?"

    He shrugged. "Just a bit of it. She did have an attendant named Holland. He's gone now. Perhaps once he might have been out of line. These things happen, Noelle, particularly when a patient is as sick as Sally is. As for the rest of it, it's just part of her illness-the delusions, the dark fantasies. Believe me, just as you believed your husband and Scott. Scott lived with her. He saw the disintegration. Isn't that right, Scott?"

    Scott nodded. "It was frightening. We're not lying, Noelle."

    Noelle St. John did believe them. Quinlan saw it on her face, the look of new resolve, the new certainty, the profound pain she felt.

    She said to her daughter, "Listen, Sally, I love you. I've loved you forever. You will get better. I don't care what it costs. You'll have the best care. If you don't like Doctor Beadermeyer, then we'll find you another doctor. But for now, please, go back with him to the sanitarium so you can be protected.

    "You were judged mentally incompetent by Judge Har-kin. You don't even remember the hearing, do you? Well, no wonder. You were so ill, you just sat through the whole thing, didn't say a thing, just stared straight ahead. I spoke to you, but you just looked through me. You didn't even recognize me. It was horrible.

    "I'm your guardian now that your father is dead. Both Scott and I are, as a matter of fact. Please trust me, Sally.

    I only want what's best for you. I love you."

    Scott said, "Mr. Quinlan, you could hold her for a day. maybe, but that's all. The judge has already ruled that she isn't responsible for her actions. You can't do anything to her. No one would consider having her stand trial for the murder of her father."

    She kept her head, though Quinlan knew that shook her. This was some group. He still couldn't make up his mind about her