Bad Juju (35 page)

On a whim, Jessica looked up Haitian
loa
possession.  A few videos popped up in response to her search.  She clicked on the first one and watched the grainy, homemade movie.  A topless woman was gyrating in sync to bongo drums while frothing at the mouth.  There was singing in the background, but the sound was barely audible.

“What are you watching?” asked Tom, awakened by the volume of the computer.

“It’s silly.  Lucien came over today with Jake.  I asked, he answered.  Boy, did he answer.  I might have over-reacted.”

“I don’t know about that.  You’re pretty level-headed.  What did he do?” Tom questioned.

“He believes that Henry is possessed.  He believes that Henry was supposed to be used as a vessel for a spirit.  That night in Port-au-Prince…Was Henry wearing a scarf of any kind?”

“No.  Why?  Is it important?”

“No, it’s stupid.  Lucien gave Henry a bottle of some potion, and then prayed some Voodoo prayer.  I flipped out.  He left, and that was that.  Sorry I woke you.”

“He’s a Haitian.  Everything is about their Voodoo Hoodoo.  But he’s harmless, probably just wanted to help.  I really think Dr. Gold is on to something big.  Have some faith,” Tom said and then kissed her goodnight.

Jessica shut down the computer and quickly drifted off to sleep.

She ran and ran deep in the woods with a relentless wolf snapp
ing
at her heels. All she could think about was saving Henry.  Up ahead was a clearing.  A man sat on a tree stump with his back to her.  She was afraid, but ran towards him anyway.  Almost there.  The man sat so still.  Could it be Henry?  Something was wrong.  As she approached, the wolf growled between her and the man.  Unafraid of getting bitten, she reached out and touched his shoulders.  The wolf lunged at her throat.  As the man t
urned around, she screamed.  His
eyes blinded her.  They were orange as fire
. 

“Honey, wake up now,
” Tom whispered as he shook her shoulders.  “Someone is in the house.  I can hear something coming out of Henry’s room.  Go get Natalie and hide.”

She tiptoed into Natalie’s room and quietly awakened her.  “Be quiet.  Someone’s inside,” she whispered as her daughter slowly processed her words.

“Jess!  Natalie!  Come here!  It’s Henry!” Tom hollered from the other side of the hallway.

They both joined Tom inside of Henry’s room.  Henry sat on the edge of his bed, crying. 

C
hapter
41

Late Summer of 2010

Tom stood in the doorway of his son’s room, devastated to see Henry weeping while sitting on the edge of his bed.  It was the middle of the night, and Tom had awoken because he had thought there might be an intruder inside the house.  He dropped his bat, relieved, and sat next to his son.  Henry looked small, like a terrified little boy, despite his large frame.

Less than a minute later, Jessica and Natalie piled inside of Henry’s small bedroom.  They both shed tears of joy, witnessing a miracle.  Natalie flicked on the lights, revealing Henry’s face, full of the expression he had always worn before the tragedy struck.

“He’s back.  Henry’s back.  Oh thank you, Lord!  Son, you have no idea how much we’ve missed you.”  Tom was never one to cry, but his emotions could no longer be contained.  His tears bordered on hysteria.

Jess and Natalie joined them on Henry’s bed.  They prayed and took multiple turns hugging Henry.  The boy did not return any of their embraces, but was never particularly affectionate.

An hour went by, and Henry continued to cry.  Everyone patiently awaited his first words since their mission trip.

“Nat, Jess, why don’t you two go back to bed.  Jess, we’ve got a big day with Gold and his colleague, what’s-his-name.  I’ll stay up with Henry.  Please get some rest.  We got to take shifts and watch him.  No good if we’re all sleep deprived.”

“But…” Jess protested.

“You’ll stay up with him tomorrow night, okay?” Tom compromised.

Reluctantly, his wife and daughter went back to bed.  Tom watched Henry cry himself drier than the desert, without words, just raw, exposed pain.  By dawn, the boy stopped crying and stared at the wall.

Fearing regression, Tom searched for some neutral, harmless questions to ask.  “Henry…you
gotta
be thirsty.  Drink?  Something to eat?”

Henry readily nodded.  They went downstairs into the kitchen where Tom scrambled up some eggs.  Henry gulped down a quart of apple juice and two omelets, drinking and feeding himself without assistance.  Tom was elated.

“You must have been starved.  I can make more,” Tom proposed.  Henry shook his head.  “So, can you tell me what the last thing you remember back in Haiti?”

Henry’s dark blue eyes clouded.

“Scratch that.  Can you talk at all?” Tom asked.

Henry whispered a ‘yes.’ 
Another gift from God
, thought Tom.

“Do you know who Dr. Gold is?” Tom casually questioned.  Henry shook his head.  “He is your doctor.  And your mother has been taking you to see him the whole summer.  She’s going to take you there this morning.  I can hear her upstairs.  Her footsteps, the shower…You know, I’m going to go with.”  Tom made a few calls and rearranged his schedule.

Jessica sat in the back seat with Henry as Tom drove to Eau Claire.  Tom was anxious to meet the specialist Dr. Gold had recruited.  Henry looked exhausted, but content.  Tom counted seven yesses Henry had uttered since he awoken in the middle of the night.  The progress revived his hope.  He tried not to get too optimistic, knowing disappointment always had a way of showing up when things appeared to be going well.

***

Justin Gold cleared his schedule to make way for Dr. Phillip
Resnick
.  The doctor’s celebrity status caused
Justin
to gush into star-struck mania.  Dr.
Resnick
led the field of hypnosis for decades.  His long list of achievements included several bestselling books and appearances on multiple talk shows including Oprah Winfrey.  He was a rock star within the psychiatric world.  Henry’s odd set of circumstances were enough for the esteemed doctor to drive several hours to Eau Claire from Mayo Clinic. 

Dr. Gold
believed
Henry’s hypnosis
was
connected with his catatonia.  The doctor even theorized Henry might still be hypnotized, making his case the longest case in psychiatric history.  Justin burned with ambition.  All he needed was one bizarre case, one unique patient, one unbelievable set of circumstances…Bang!  Like striking oil within the medical field!  He had all of the ingredients, including Dr.
Resnick’s
interest.  Now
all
he needed was Henry to recover.

Dr.
Resnick
came early, admitting he left yesterday evening and stayed in a nearby hotel, afraid of being a slave to traffic.  He was anxious to review Henry’s file. 
This could be even bigger than I had imagined
, thought Dr. Gold.

Dr.
Resnick
did not have a poker face.  His obvious interest in Henry grew exponentially after reading each page of Dr. Gold’s notes.  “You didn’t tell me he had Asperger’s nor mention his interest in Voodoo.”

“I think he could be a prestigious case study.  Maybe Mayo would be interested?” Dr. Gold commented.  Dr.
Resnick
agreed.

The visiting doctor was not what Justin had expected.  He was much older than he appeared on television and publication pictures.  He had age spots and faded brown eyes, shaggy white hair in dire need of a haircut.  He dressed down in khakis and a button-down plaid shirt, whereas Justin looked the polar opposite, young, handsome, donning a custom-made black suit.

Dr.
Resnick’s
achievements overshadowed his casual appearance.  Dr. Gold, usually self-confident, was nervous.  The pressure was turned up.  Henry had to progress or else he would look like a fool for wasting the famous doctor’s time.

Justin lied about his relationship with
Resnick
to Jessica Novak.  He claimed the venerated doctor was a colleague, but really was a stranger.  Justin sensed she disliked him and
was
getting ready to pull the plug on his sessions with Henry.  He doubted she ever heard of
Resnick
, but predicted the protective mother would run to the Internet and check out the man’s credentials.  Through
Resnick’s
fame, Justin’s association might elevate his own status within her eyes.  He needed her commitment to keep Henry in his therapy sessions.

Jessica arrived five minutes early as she always did, this time bringing her husband along.  Dr. Gold had only met him once the day of their initial visit.  The usual skepticism on Jessica’s face was gone. 
Could there be more developments since yesterday?

Dr. Gold led Dr.
Resnick
into the waiting room and cordially made the introductions.  Tom burst with excitement as he shared last night’s happenings.

“Henry cried throughout the whole night.  We saw a stint of recognition in his eyes.  He answered a few yes/no questions and even ate by himself.  He’s tired, but he’s ready.  Don’t know what you did yesterday, but keep on doing it.”

“As I told your wife, Dr.
Resnick
is renowned for his work in hypnotherapy.  He will be taking the lead in today’s session.  We’ll call you back inside of the office if something new transpires,” Dr. Gold brusquely said as he and Dr.
Resnick
led Henry back into his office.

“But…” Tom mumbled.

Dr. Gold ignored him.  He and Dr.
Resnick
agreed to examine Henry alone.  The boy’s parents were too much of a distraction.

“Henry, sit down.  Dr.
Resnick
came all the way from Mayo Clinic to see you.  Do you know where Mayo is?”

Henry sat in the big, overstuffed chair and stared at the floor, unresponsive.

“It’s in Minnesota.  This man is the best at what he does.  Trust him.  We’ll bring your parents back here later on this morning,” Dr. Gold instructed.  He wasn’t certain if Henry understood or reverted back to catatonia.

Dr.
Resnick
approached Henry with the same metronome Dr. Gold used the day before.  He wound it up and set it in front of Henry.  The swaying movement of the wand instantly captivated the boy.

Dr.
Resnick
probed Henry with a series of yes and no questions taken from the boy’s file. 
Your name is Henry?  Are you fifteen?  Do you live in Hayward?  Were you born in October?

At first, Henry was taciturn, absorbed with the ticking wand of the metronome.  Eventually he began to nod or shake his head to some of the questions.  Sometimes his answer would be wrong, but there was evidence of communication.

“I believe you’re right.  This is certainly not Post-Traumatic Stress.  This boy is hypnotized.  How long?  Two, three months?  This could be the longest case on record,” stated Dr.
Resnick
.  He began to prod Henry with a small mallet, checking his reflexes, and then checking his pulse.  “We will bring him back to his family.  Do you have any pictures from Haiti?”

Dr. Gold nodded and retrieved his laptop.  He opened up the downloaded file Jessica had emailed him.  Dr. Gold set the file in a slideshow mode, placing the laptop next to the metronome for Henry to view.

“Henry, do you remember anything about your mission trip?” Dr.
Resnick
pried.  Justin admired his blunt technique.  Henry’s eyes shifted from the metronome to the computer, watching the photos of him, family, and friends taken at the campsite.

“Yes,” Henry whispered.

“Excellent, Henry,” Dr.
Resnick
praised.  He smiled at Dr. Gold with his brown eyes dancing with jubilation.  “Looks like you were all having fun while doing God’s work.  Henry, were you having fun?”

“Yes,” Henry said, this time at regular volume.

“But then something happened.  Again, answer me yes or no.  Did something bad happen when you left your campsite?” Dr.
Resnick
questioned.

“Yes,” Henry answered.

Dr.
Resnick
turned to Dr. Gold and softly stated, “Things couldn’t be progressing any better.  I think we can enter the next phase of questioning.  Okay Henry, can you tell us where you were headed once you left your campsite?”

Henry squirmed in his seat and fidgeted with the laptop until Dr. Gold took it away.

“I know this is painful.  Let me make this easier.  Were you going to the other campsite where all of the refugees were staying?” Dr.
Resnick
pestered.

“No!” Henry exclaimed.

Both doctors shuddered, but Dr.
Resnick
wouldn’t let up.  He continued with the uncomfortable questions.  “Did you wish to watch a Voodoo ceremony?”