Free Always Watching by LS Sygnet Page B

creature comforts.  I repeatedly tell
you that today, I might kill you.”
    “ After what I just saw, I
think I can almost picture that scenario,” he grinned.
    “ Knock it off.  I’m
serious.  So I’m constantly threatening to kill you. 
Maybe I even smack you around a little bit.  But I always end
the interaction with some act of mercy.  Say I give you food
and water.  I don’t speak kindly.  But my actions are a
stark contrast to the threat of death and physical
abuse.”
    “ I think I’d be wondering
if the food and water were poisoned.”
    “ You think like a
cop.  A normal human being is going to latch onto that
unspoken kindness.  It creates a situation where the captive
is willing to do just about anything to please the captor. 
The survival instinct kicks in.  They start convincing
themselves that maybe this horrible person isn’t so
terrible.”
    “ And all victims of
kidnapping experience this?”
    “ No,” I said.  “But
imagine a lifetime of systematic abuse like that, threats followed
by kindness.  It bonds the captive to the captor in ways that
are often impossible to work through.  If Florence Payette is
in her mid to late fifties and still identifies herself as the
property of another human being, it doesn’t bode well for even the
most gifted psychologist to break through that bond.”
    “ So you’re saying this is
a dead end.”
    “ No, but I don’t expect
her to open up and suddenly cooperate.  If we’re going to get
anything out of her, we’re going to have to take the approach that
she’s going to help her tormentor.  If she thinks she’s doing
the right thing for this person, we might glean a clue that helps
us find out who she stole that baby for.”
    When we arrived at OSI, Crevan met us with
tufts of hair standing on end.  He shook his head. 
“She’s not talking.”
    I shot Devlin a knowing glance.  “How
long did you try?”
    “ Fifteen minutes of dead
silence other than the sobbing was enough.  I don’t know how
you’re gonna get past her defenses, Helen.  I sure couldn’t do
it.”
    We discussed her comment to the arresting
state police officers.
    “ They’re sure she said
her owner ?”
    “ Yeah, Dev.  But how
the hell did you guys hear about it?”
    “ Briscoe,” I
muttered.  “We should probably expect him to pop out from
behind a filing cabinet any minute now.”
    Crevan stared at the floor.  “Did he
want to talk to me about the case?”
    “ Smug bastard,” I
muttered.
    Devlin intervened with the facts. “He heard
you talking to Chris before you came out here.  I assume he
was on his way to the victim they found by the bay tonight. 
He’s treading on thin ice right now with a lot of people. 
Best to keep focused on the case.”
    One of Johnny’s men stepped into the
conference room adjacent to Johnny’s office.  “Ms.
Eriksson?”
    “ Yeah.”
    “ Phone call for you on
line three.  It’s Commander Orion.”
    “ Why is he calling me here
instead of my cell?”  I reached for the phone on the table and
depressed the blinking button.  “Johnny?”
    “ Helen, what the hell are
you doing?”
    I groaned.  “He called you, didn’t
he?  That whining little troublemaker couldn’t call you fast
enough.”
    “ Did you try to kill
him?”
    “ No!”
    “ Helen, he says there were
half a dozen witnesses, that you almost choked him to
death.”
    “ Do you want to hear my
side of this or not?”
    “ If it includes any type
of justification for assaulting a police detective, one who happens
to be a very old friend –”
    “ I’m not saying another
word.  If you want me arrested, I’ve got two of your men
standing right here, Johnny.  If you want to hear how your
good pal accused me of not caring about a dead child because she
wasn’t white with blonde hair and blue eyes, you know where to find
me.  Until then, I don’t think I want to see you or talk to
you!”  I slammed the receiver down into its