Another Good Night’s Sleep

Diane sat fidgeting in Dr. Hubley’s office at eight-thirty in the morning. The doctor didn’t normally take appointments before nine a.m., but she felt Diane’s uncharacteristically frantic call the night before was reason enough to break her rules. Diane felt guilty for inconveniencing the doctor, but her life had quickly deteriorated and she needed to make sense of it all quickly. She tried to distract herself by reading diplomas on the wall. Her cheeks flushed when she realized that up till now, she hadn’t known the doctor’s first name was Rose-Marie. What kind of cop was she if she didn’t even know the first name of her own doctor? Boy, she was slipping. No wonder Andy had been so angry yesterday. Her whole face burned as she slumped into the couch. She had let her lifelong tendency toward personal denial run her life yesterday, and Andy was right: people could get killed because of her inattention. An angry tear raced down her cheek before she could catch it, and she shoved it violently away with her palm.

Dr. Hubley entered the office, balancing two cups of coffee. Diane sprang up to help her manage the cups and the door, grateful for something to do. They returned to set their cups on the coffee table, and Diane settled into the couch with her legs folded beneath her.

“So,” Dr. Hubley began, “what do you have for me today?”

“A hornet’s nest of neuroses,” Diane smiled weakly. The doctor didn’t laugh at her joke. Diane realized she would probably take everything seriously, most especially nervous humor, just like she did when interviewing a suspect or witness.

“Okay,” the doctor said gamely, “let’s pick one and start small, then we can build up to the whole buzzing swarm gradually. Fair enough?”

Diane laughed louder and longer than usual, and as she finally calmed enough to sip her coffee, she felt the warmth extending to every remote limb and digit of her body. She sighed and then stared at her cup for a moment. At last, she took a bracing breath, looked directly at Dr. Hubley, and said in a spooky monotone: “Harry Denby is haunting me.”

“Where’s Diane?” Lieutenant Fancy asked PAA John.

“She called in sick this morning. She had to visit the doctor.”

“Okay, call the borough, we need reinforcements today.”

“Yes, sir,” John said, picking up the phone. As he was dialing, he glanced over at Andy. John was surprised that he looked so relieved.

“Tell them to send over that Connie again,” Danny volunteered, then added quickly, “Uh, Diane said she was a good cop.”

John rolled his eyes and shook his head while he was waiting for someone to answer his call.