Brandl and Ramsay observed the detective's agitation for several minutes until Ramsay commented irritably, "What's the matter, Caine? Afraid your wife may say something you don't want her to?"
Peter stopped his restless movements and speared the officer with a fierce glare. "I love my wife more than life itself, and I'm afraid this is going to be too upsetting for her, no matter what Dr. Harmon and Dr. Albin say." He strode over to where Ramsay was sitting and snarled as his fists clenched and unclenched with barely restrained fury. "Oh, wait a minute; I forgot. You're the two clowns who harassed my wife when she was barely out of ICU. You wouldn't understand decency and compassion if they bit you on the ass."
Ramsay bristled and jumped to his feet to stand nose to nose with Peter. "You're out of line, Caine. We identified ourselves and we asked your wife's permission before we asked her anything!"
Blake interrupted the two antagonists. "Looks like they're ready to start. You gentlemen want to watch this, or would you rather continue your pissing contest?"
"This is far from over, Caine," Ramsay warned.
"You got that right." Peter's eyes darkened and glittered ominously at the officer before all attention turned to the scene unfolding on the television screen.
She swallowed and nodded her head, eyes wide and dark in a face suddenly gone pale. "I-I don't know why. Dr. Harmon has explained everything to me, and I-I know there's nothing to be afraid of, but..."
He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. Removing his fingers from hers, he laid his palm on the bulge in her abdomen. "I will allow no harm to come to you or your child. This I promise you."
Kacie placed her hand over his and smiled as she felt the child within her womb kicking strongly. "You and Peter..."
Caine raised an eyebrow questioningly. "My son and I what?"
She laughed quietly and patted the hand resting on her stomach. "You two can get this baby to do entire gymnastics routines in my belly just by talking, and when you touch him, he goes ballistic."
"You are so sure the child is a boy?"
"Aren't you?"
He smiled at her and shrugged one shoulder noncommittally. Reaching around the back of his neck, he untied the string there and pulled a green jade amulet from under his shirt collar. He held the cord in his fingers, letting the circular ornament dangle. "This has been in our family for many years. I thought perhaps today Dr. Harmon would like to use it for your therapy."
Dr. Harmon rose from her desk and rolled her chair next to the couch. She reached out her hand and took the talisman from Caine's fingers. "This will work perfectly, Master Caine."
Caine bobbed his head respectfully. "Doctor, could you please explain this...procedure...to me? Is it like some of the meditations taught at my temple?"
"I don't know anything about those, Master Caine, but I can give you a brief summary of what I'll be doing with Kacie this morning. It's a type of regression, where Kacie will be going back in her mind to the time of her captivity. It would be much too stressful for her to remember it directly, so I'm going to use something called 'dissociation'. This is where I'll tell her the crime is being replayed on a movie screen, and she will watch the screen and repeat back what her other self is saying and doing. If even this is too much for her, I'll stop and 'remove' her again. She will then be watching herself watch a movie of herself. Does that make sense?"
Caine nodded. "Yes. Thank you for being so careful of my daughter."
"You're quite welcome. I try to be careful with all my patients." She smiled encouragement at Kacie. "Are you ready?"
Kacie breathed in through her nose deeply and exhaled slowly before nodding. "Yes." She turned to Caine. "Dad? You're going to be with me the whole time, right?"
Caine squeezed her hand comfortingly. "You know that I will. I have given you my word that you will come to no harm." He fluidly slid to the floor to sit cross-legged next to the couch. "I will be near."
The jade amulet twisted and untwisted, the light reflecting off the curved ridges, sometimes shining, sometimes glowing. Dr. Harmon's voice was low and soothing as she spoke quietly but firmly.
"Kacie, I want you to watch the amulet. Watch it; focus on it. Keep looking at it and listen to my voice. Relax as you watch the amulet. Feel your muscles relaxing...first your neck...down your shoulders...all the way down your arms to your legs to your toes. As you keep staring, your eyes are becoming very heavy and drowsy. Your entire body is growing heavier and heavier...your arms, heavy...limp...relaxed. Legs limp and heavy ...relaxed. Your feet are becoming relaxed...you are relaxed all over. As you keep staring, your eyes have to blink...you're getting drowsy...sleepy. A wonderful feeling, warmth and relaxation flowing all through your body."
Kacie's eyelids fluttered and her stare gradually grew unfocused as the amulet twirled and spun, scattering splinters of light. Her fingers slowly stroked over and around her stomach as if she were attempting to calm and soothe the occupant in her womb.
"You are more relaxed than anything you have ever felt before. Your eyes are blinking...tearing...you want to close them...they're too heavy to stay open...now they're closed...the sound of my voice makes you sleepier and sleepier. You are going to fall into a pleasant state of relaxation...think of sleep."
Kacie's eyes remained closed, and she sighed softly, her breathing slow and rhythmic. As her muscles visibly relaxed, she sank deeper into the cushions on the couch and her hands stopped moving, resting in place as she cradled her belly.
"Keep on going deeper...as I count backward from five to zero, you will keep going deeper and deeper...asleep...listen to my voice as you let go. You allow yourself to drift deeper and deeper. You will awaken only when I tell you to. The sound of my voice makes you go deeper...even deeper...this feeling of complete relaxation is wonderful...you let go all over."
A faint smile hovered about Kacie's lips and she turned onto her side, curling slightly as she pillowed her head with her hand.
"Kacie, in a moment, I am going to ask you to go back to the time when you were held captive, to the day that you were rescued."
Kacie's muscles instantly tensed, and her breath came faster. "I don't want to. I don't want to remember..."
"It will be all right, Kacie," Harmon continued calmly, her voice low and soothing. "I'm going to ask you to watch the scene as if it were a movie, from start to finish. You will see what is happening, you will hear what is happening, just like you would at the movies. If you see something from that day that troubles you, do not try to relive it. Instead, just look at it from where you are now, like you are watching a movie. Everything that you will see is in the past now. You are alive and healthy, and your baby is alive and healthy. Peter is safe and waiting for you outside my office. You are safe. The past is gone."
The tenseness faded away, muscles growing limp and relaxed once more.
"That's better...relax...nothing from this past can hurt you. You are safe now...accept that the past is gone...never to upset you again. Do you understand? It has no power to upset you ever again."
"Never again." Kacie's words were thick and heavy. Speaking now seemed a difficult task.
"When you are ready to start watching the movie, I want you to signal to me by lifting your right index finger. We'll call that your 'yes' finger, all right?"
"Oh-kay."
The room was quiet, the only sound the faint humming of the fluorescent lights overhead. After several moments, Kacie lifted her finger and began to speak.
"I'm...on the floor...bathroom. Floor is hard. It's rotten. Smells bad. I'm thirsty. I'm hot. No water. My back...stiff...hurts me to move. The door opens. He comes in."
"Who is he?"
"Man who...took me. No mask...now."
"What does he do?"
"Picks me up. Carries me. I'm so tired. I'm so hot. I want Peter."
"Where is the man taking you?"
"Hallway. Now different room. Puts me down on a bed. Dirty. Smells bad. I feel sick. My back hurts. Peter. I want Peter."
"What does the man do after he puts you on the bed?"
"Lies down...beside me. I want Peter. I'm so hot...so hot. Head pounding. Back hurts. On my back. It hurts. It hurts. Peter."
"What is happening now?"
"Hands...touching me. Squeezing my breasts. Hurting me. Hurts. Peter? Peter, stop it. Hurting me."
"But it's not Peter, is it?"
"No. Peter...gentle...loves me. Not Peter. Hands. Hands everywhere. Stop. He's laughing. Laughing...hurts me...laughs. Push him away. Push. Can't. Too strong. I...hurt. Stop. Don't." She frowned and caught her breath, her face twisting with emotion. "Stop it. Don't...touch me." She began fighting the air, pushing at an invisible assailant.
Dr. Harmon stopped her questioning and addressed Kacie quietly and calmly. "Kacie, remember. This is the past. All this is in the past, and that past is gone. It can never upset or hurt you again. It has no power to harm you. No power at all."
Kacie stopped her restless movements, hands automatically finding her stomach and caressing the precious life there. "No...power."
"Relax...relax. You're safe...you're well." Harmon waited until she was satisfied that her patient was completely calm before she restarted her questions. "What is happening now?"
"Takes my hand. Makes me touch him. He's hard. Rubs my hand over him. He's getting bigger. I can feel him. Laughs. Always laughing. Strong. Too strong. Can't push him away. Talking. Now he's talking."
"What does he say?"
"Laughing. Hurting me. Saying, 'That's it...fight me...see how much I like it when you fight me?' "
"What is he doing now?"
"Pulling down...my pants. Touching me. Rubbing my legs. Kneeling between my legs. Touching me. Touching my pubic hair. Laughing, always laughing. Touching me, stroking my crotch. Talking."
"What does he say?"
"Laughing...saying, 'I wonder how hard I can fuck you before the baby comes out.' " She shifted restlessly on the couch, curling into a protective ball around her belly and whimpering.
"Kacie? Kacie. Stop watching the movie for now and listen to me. Remember you are in a safe place. You are protected from any harm, emotional or physical. No one will let anything bad happen to you. Caine is right here, watching over you, and Peter is in the next room. We're all taking care of you and your baby. You are in a safe place. You are safe. You are not reliving this experience; you are only watching a movie. This is the past, and this past can never harm you again."
The words seemed to pacify and relax Kacie, and she quieted her agitated movements. She lay still a few moments, her hand moving in ritualistic-like circles over her abdomen.
"When you're ready to go on watching the movie, raise your 'yes' finger, Kacie. There's no hurry. When you're ready."
Silence descended once more, and nearly five minutes passed by before Kacie signaled the beginning of her next narration. "Unzips his pants. He's hard. He's big. Holding it...in his hand. Squeezing himself. Laughing. Always laughing."
"Look around the room, Kacie. Is anything else happening?"
"Someone...comes in the door. Watching. Bad man doesn't see."
"Can you describe the person who came in?"
"Man. Short man."
"Is he old or young?"
"Hat. Wearing a hat. Can't see his face."
"What is he wearing?"
"Jacket. Brown. Expensive. Reaching for something."
"Can you see what he's reaching for?"
"Star. Looks like a star. Throwing, he throws it. His arm. Something on his arm."
"What do you see on his arm, Kacie?"
"Tiger. Burned there. Scar. Brand. Caine has a brand."
"Is it Caine that you see?"
"Can't see...face. Short man. Too short. Not Caine."
"What is happening now?"
"Nothing. The movie stopped. There's only black. The movie stopped."
Dr. Harmon cleared her throat again and let the pitch and tempo of her voice gradually rise as she spoke. "When you hear the number five, you will wake up feeling better than you have ever felt before. One. Getting ready to wake up now, feeling great. Two. Your mind is clear, and your body is refreshed. Three. You're looking forward to each and every day of your future with your husband and your baby. Four. You're ready to get back to your life, feeling positively wonderful. Five. Wide awake now! You feel great!"
Kacie's eyes flew open and she stretched luxuriously. "Wow. I feel great, like I just had the power nap of all power naps!" Her eyes shifted from Caine to Dr. Harmon and back to Caine. "Well? Did I remember anything?"