F Paul Wilson - Secret History 02 (22 page)

           
Rob realized that remark had not
been a good choice. He'd forgotten that Doc Winters tended to be a crusty old
fart.

           
"Sorry. I just want a personal
opinion of the man. He'll be treating a friend of mine and I just want to know
if he's the right man for the job."

           
"What's your friend's
problem?"

           
"Don't know yet. Might be a
multiple personality."

           
Doc Winters' eyebrows shot up.
"Really! Don't come across them too often. But she couldn't be in better
hands."

           
"How'd you know she's a
she?"

           
"Nine out of ten multiple
personalities are female. Larry's an expert on them. He was on my service as a
resident for a while when I had a post at Downstate. Brilliant guy. From day
one he's had a special interest in multiple personalities. He's done a few
papers on them. Good stuff."

           
Doc Winters seemed genuinely
enthusiastic about Gates. Rob was encouraged.

           
"Okay," Rob said,
extending his hand. "I guess she's with the right man then. Thanks a
lot."

           
"He's Hungarian, you know,"
the doc said as Rob turned to leave. "An immigrant. Real name is… let me
think." He tapped a pencil against his jaw. "Ah! Gati. Lazlo Gati.
Had it changed when he was in pre-med, I believe. Worked real hard to lose his
accent. Did a damn good job, too. Said he was an American now and wanted to be
accepted as one. Have to admire a man with that kind of determination."

           
"I guess you do," Rob
said.

           
"Doesn't even have to practice.
I understand he's rich as Creosus since his sister died in West Virginia a few
years ago, but he still keeps going. A dedicated guy—"

           
"Thanks again, doc."

           
Lazlo
Gati
, Rob thought as he hurried for his car. He'd have to see what he could
learn about Lazlo Gati.

           
Kara waited for Rob.

           
She stood in the cold outside the
Karmer Medical Arts Building where Dr. Gates had his office and breathed the
fumes from the traffic crawling downtown along Seventh Avenue. She could have
waited in the lobby where it was warmer but a vague apprehension prevented her
from entering the building alone.

           
She'd left a message for Rob in the
detective squad room at the precinct house and on the answering machine at the
home phone number he had given her. She didn't know if he'd received it, but
she did know she was not going in to see Dr. Gates alone.

           
Kara had contacted Dr. Gates' office
this morning and told the receptionist that she had to speak to him. He had
called back twenty minutes later and said he could see her briefly at lunch.
She'd said she needed more time. He agreed to see her after today's hours,
around five-fifteen.

           
She glanced at her watch: 5:14.

           
Just then a dirty, nondescript sedan
pulled into the curb and parked under the red and white NO PARKING—TOW AWAY
ZONE sign. Rob hopped out, wearing a sport coat, an open shirt, and no
overcoat. He smiled.

           
"Made it!"

           
"Is your car going to be here
when we're through?" Kara asked, pointing to the sign.

           
Rob in turn pointed to the vehicle
identification card lying on his dashboard.

           
"That lets me park anywhere.
Come on. Let's get inside. It's freezing out here."

           
Dr. Gates' receptionist appeared
poised to leave, waiting only for their arrival.

           
"He'll see you inside,"
she said, pointing to the closed consultation room door, and then she was out,
locking the hall door behind her.

           
Dr. Gates' face registered frank
surprise when Kara walked in with Rob.

           
"I expected you to come alone,
Miss Wade," he said with that mysteriously accented voice.

           
"Detective Harris is along as a
friend," she said.

           
"That is immaterial. I thought
I made it clear to you that I will not discuss your sister's medical history
with anyone but you.
Especially
not
with the police."

           
Kara sensed Rob bristling beside
her. She gave his arm a quick squeeze.

           
"I'm not here to discuss Kelly.
I'm here to find out about myself. I want to know if I've got a second
personality hiding within me as well."

           
"Very well. Arrange a regular
appointment and we'll begin therapy."

           
Kara had expected that. But she had
other ideas.

           
"I can't wait that long, Dr.
Gates. I need to know now. Today. I'm heading back to Pennsylvania tomorrow. If
you won't help my today, I'll find somebody back there who will."

           
"I can't possibly help you in
one evening!" he said.

           
"I don't want therapy, Dr.
Gates. At least not until I have a diagnosis. And you said you could make that
diagnosis through hypnotism."

           
Dr. Gates was shaking his head.
"No. It's much too risky."

           
"What's the risk? Hypnotism is
used in stage acts. I thought it was pretty safe."

           
"In your case it might not be.
If indeed you have a second personality akin to your twin's, it is most likely
dormant. By attempting to reach it while you are under hypnotism, we run the
risk of awakening it. You may or may not have a multiple personality, Miss
Wade. If you do, it is presently a
potential
problem. I do not wish to be the one to turn it into an
active
problem."

           
"He's got a point there,
Kara," Rob said.

           
Kara didn't look at him. She hadn't
considered the possibility of awakening the someone else inside her. The very
thought of it gave her a crawly feeling in her stomach. But she couldn't go on
not knowing.

           
Besides,
there's no one in here but me.

           
"It's a risk I'll have to
take."

           
Dr. Gates shook his head. "Then
it's a risk you'll take without me."

           
"Very well," Kara said.
She turned and reached for the door knob. "But I'll find someone who will.
And when I do, I'll have him drop you a line and let you know how it comes out.
Come on, Rob."

           
This was her ace play. She hoped he
went for it. She was banking on the fact that the prospect of discovering a
pair of twins, each with multiple personalities, would be too tempting for him
to pass up. He wouldn't want to share the discovery with another shrink. He'd
want it all for Lawrence Gates, M.D.

           
But when he didn't call her back as
she crossed the waiting room, she thought she had lost. She was reaching for
the deadbolt knob on the door to the hall when she heard his voice behind her.

           
"Wait. Come back. Please."

           
Kara turned and faced him across the
combined lengths of the waiting room and office, but did not move toward him.

           
"I didn't think there was
anything to discuss."

           
He got up from behind his desk and
approached her.

           
"Are you really so set on going
through with this?"

           
"Absolutely."

           
He pulled the door open wider and
gestured to the chairs before his desk.

           
"Come in and sit down. Please.
There is much to discuss before we do anything."

           
Rob had to admit it, Kara was one
cool character.

           
Remind
me never to play poker with you, lady
, he thought as he watched her sit and
deal with Gates.

           
Rob didn't care how highly Doc
Winters thought of Dr. Gates. Rob's antipathy after their brief meeting
yesterday had been consolidated by today's lengthier encounter. The guy thought
he had all the answers, like he talked to God every night.

           
But there was more to it than that.
Rob didn't trust him. He had no rational basis for the feeling but some
primitive instinct deep inside warned him not to turn his back on Dr. Lawrence
Gates,
ne
Lazlo Gati. Over the years,
Rob had learned to trust his instincts.

           
At least now he could explain that
accent.

           
He was glad he was here. He wouldn't
want Kara to be alone with him, especially under hypnotism.

           
"I hope I have made my position
clear," he was saying.

           
"Perfectly," Kara replied.
"You've explained the risks backwards and forwards. I'm going into this
with my eyes open. Detective Harris is a witness: I won't hold you responsible
for anything that goes wrong."

           
Dr. Gates looked at him with his
cold, watery eyes.

           
"Are you a witness to that,
Detective Harris?"

           
"Yes," he said. "But
a reluctant one."

           
"Ah!" Gates said, turning
back to Kara. "Your friend shares my reservations."

           
"Because I
am
her friend," Rob said.

           
He hated this whole idea. It sounded
risky to him. Why couldn't Kara leave well enough alone?"

           
"I appreciate that," Kara
said, glancing at him, "but neither of you have to live with the
possibility of a 'Janine' hiding inside you. I do. And this is how I choose to
deal with it. Enough said."