- "Miss Lounds, I don't see how I could help you write an article. I may have written about my research but I'm good at writing when it comes down to my field of study, which you should know, isn't affiliated with the tabloids."
If he thought this was going to discourage the journalist, he was wrong. She had clear objectives, the only thing she needed was to bring the doctor around to get more details that will help to highlight her article.
- "I don't need your help to write my articles. I'm just looking for someone intelligent who is willing to give me a hand." In the art of persuasion, false praise was an essential instrument, and giving her voice a smooth and sweet touch had also proven to give good results. "As you mentioned, you are a researcher."
At the other side of the phone, Dr. Chilton drummed his fingers on his desk impatiently while looking for an answer in the recesses of his mind. After the incident that he had not only humiliated him, but had made him dependent on a cane, his reputation had been severely affected and if he could do something to change his public image, he'd do it. Still, he doubted that this was his chance to give things a spin.
- "I'm not entirely convinced and I hope not to offend you, but those who get involved with you always end up badly. Is it because misfortune pursues you or is it you who seeks for disgrace?"
- "I'm committed to my work, Dr. Chilton, you understand how that is, after all you're also a man devoted to his own, right? So much so that you became the protagonist of the crimes that you adjudged to one of your patients. Sorry to remind those moments. " After a brief silence, all she heard was a snort and for a fleeting moment she feared that the recklessness of her words had drawn the doctor away.
- "You were there, I doubt that any of us will be able to forget what we witnessed."
- "We could create new memories together."
Due to the suggestive tone of the woman, the man held his breath for a moment before asking what she was really up to.
The case that Freddie Lounds began to narrate was not new and it didn't sound like the crimes in which women used to intrude. A few months ago two women had disappeared completely: one was married to a wealthy neurosurgeon while the other was a humble nurse who worked in the same hospital as the husband of the former. When the police went to investigate the workspace, the other nurses agreed that this man was a womanizer who kept flirting with every woman in the hospital and no one doubted that the doctor and his nurse were lovers. Soon the neurosurgeon became the number one suspect.
The investigation determined that the failure to maintain double-life led the doctor, named Edwin Levine, to killed both women. The bodies hadn't been found so far, despite having everything to lose the man insisted on having no extra-marital relationships and claimed to be completely innocent of the disappearance of the victims, whose whereabouts were totally unknown to him. After being found guilty by the disappearance of both women, Dr. Levine became a prisoner of the Hospital of Baltimore, guarded by Frederick Chilton.
- "The case is closed, can I ask why you are interested in this old, boring story?"
- "Doesn't that sound familiar?" He knew what she meant but he didn't bother to respond. "It's a similar case to Abel Gideon's. A man, renowned doctor, kills his wife and ends institutionalized in your hospital. I hope you're not playing with the mind of this man as well."
- "Miss, if you really seek my help I must tell you that you will not earn it this way. Do you, perhaps, want to interview the murderer?"
- "I know where the women are." Said the journalist.
Dr. Chilton's patience was coming to an end, the ideas and proposals of Lounds made no sense to him. How could she have that sort of information? Besides, why would she bothered to call him instead of giving the scoop on the website for which she worked. He was not a man with the sense of humor enough to continue with that kind of senseless chit chat.
- "Goodbye Miss Lounds."
The morning after that phone call, Frederick Chilton was visited by Freddie Lounds at the Baltimore Hospital for the criminally insane. A little more relaxed than the day before, Chilton decided to spend some of his time with her instead of calling security to take the woman out of the building. Kicking out a journalist from his hospital would only help to increase the disrepute the media had given him.
Trying to be a gentleman, he accompanied her to his office so they could keep that talk in private. However, it was clear that these weren't her intentions, because the first thing she did when sitting at the desk was turning on her trusty tape recorder to record the conversation.
- "How I can help you, miss Lounds?" He asked with a smile full of falsehood as she finished her preparations for the impromptu interview.
- "You are the expert in homicidal minds, how can you be absolutely sure that Edwin Levine fits the profile of a murderer?"
-"A murderer's profile? The human mind is not easy to understand, although we may find certain patterns in the actions of murderers, not every of them thinks the same way. How to explain it better? Sometimes you listen to some people saying things like 'that man doesn't look like a murderer, he'd never kill a fly.', but how does a murderer look like? There's no such look. For example, not every killer it's a psychopath. It is not uncommon to find people with dissociative identity disorder having a normal life but when they faced certain situations another personality 'arises' and this persona can commit heinous crimes which will not be remembered once the person regains consciousness, a bipolar person in a sharp state of euphoria commits a crime without being aware of the situation. Some analyzes suggest that Levine belongs to this group I just mentioned."
- "Suggest." Lounds repeated, emphasizing each syllable of that word. "Therefore, you are not entirely sure."
Reluctantly, Chilton had to agree on that.
- "I know that asking questions is your work." Chilton said, interrupting what Lounds was about to say. "But I'm still confused. Where are you going with all this? Yesterday you mentioned that Edwin Levine is an innocent man, how can you tell?"
- "I didn't say he was innocent, but I'm pretty sure I know where to find his wife and thenurse." She responded with a proud smile on her face.
- "Why bother to visit me instead of contacting the FBI? You know them, they know you."
- "I guess you should already know that my relationship with the FBI is not the best. Dr. Chilton, I thought that both of us could benefit with this case. Whether this helps you to have the evidence you need to ensure Levine's guilt or to find that he is innocent, you can say that you managed to get the necessary information from the doctor, or that thanks to your great gifts as a psychiatrist you're able to discovered the truth of his innocence, what pleases you. "
- "And what about you?"
- "Having the scoop of the case, perhaps an exclusive interview with the man who unveiled the mystery." She suggested with a wink. "But of course, you can't discuss the case with any other journalist." She didn't want to admit it, but her followers had begun to decline due to the various accusations towards her. She was, apparently, losing credibility in the media, but if she could get the support of a professional she was sure that she could silence those who dared to question her stories.
Dr. Chilton poundered the matter for a moment. Could he trust in an arrogant and selfish woman like Lounds? Perhaps in the past she had proven not to have a heart of ice but that wasn't enough for him. A step in the wrong place and his career as a psychiatrist could sink completely, losing his job as director of the Baltimore Hospital.
Looking for a silver lining, though their personalities seem to collide, both of them were full of pride and therefore he doubted that Lounds would jeopardize the credibility she had betting on a case was considered closed.
Biting his lower lip, Chilton nodded slowly.
- "Where do we start?"
The way Freddie Lounds drove was making him feel a horrible knot in the stomach. He couldn't help to keep a firm hand on the place where Abel Gideon had left a big scar, as if he feared that the wound could open again at any time.
- "I would appreciate if you could to slow down, Miss Lounds." And if you could dodge at least one of the holes of this damn shattered pavement would be fine too, he said to himself.
When she turned to see her partner, Lounds felt a hint of compassion for the man when she understood what he might be feeling. Being quite frank, she admired him since she couldn't imagine how anyone could have survived that horrible experience he had been through, and the way he have continued to work with crazy people even after what one of his patients had done to him was something very bold. Without saying a word, she slowed down.
- "Thank you." He said, letting out a sigh of relief. "When do you plan to tell me how you got this information?"
- "It was not difficult." She replied, shrugging with a sly smile. "I guess anyone could have obtained the same information as I did, but apparently no one else saw what I saw."
- "And that is…?"
- "Mr. and Mrs. Levine own a nice house outside Baltimore, when you have the necessary contacts is not difficult to find information about the properties that certain people may have. The matter is that this cute little house to which we are going was about to be remodeled, but according to the workers in charge of the reconstruction, when they went to do their job no one opened the door, they only heard the house owner yelling from inside that she no longer needed their services. Therefore even if this isn't where the bodies are, it must have been the crime scene at least. Perhaps Dr. Levine took his young lover to a romantic getaway in his beautiful house in the middle of nowhere but they're surprised by his wife. In a fit of jealousy she could have killed the nurse and then commit suicide, or maybe she was murdered by her husband after she had killed his lover, it is also possible that he could kill his wife first to avoid giving explanations and when the nurse panicked and planned to call the police, Levine decid-"
- "Wait, wait…" Somehow he needed to stop her brainstorming. "Why didn't those workers report the incident to the police?"
- "Because they didn't know who owned that house was." Apparently Chilton was satisfied with that answer. "By the way, before you ask, the reason I didn't see it before is because once Levine was institutionalized everyone forgot the case, me too. I recently started cleaning my files and when I met again with case information I realized it may not be really closed. And to think that at first it seemed nothing new… boring news, only a man who failed to support the weight of a double life… Have you ever had a lover, Dr. Chilton? "
That sudden intrusion into his private life made the man blush slightly.
- "Irrelevant, but if you want to know the answer is no."
- "Are you in a relationship?" Receiving no response, she couldn't help to let out a soft giggle. "Then no. It's hard to believe, some people call you a fraud there are lots of women who are attracted to the survivors of gory incidents like what happened to you. No one began to harass you after that? Women looking for a strong man who became a poor victim so they can take care of him, rescue their lover from the trauma and return the light to his life." Thanks to the theatricality tone Lounds gave to her words it was pretty obvious what were her thoughts about such women.
- "That's not my kind of woman, I'd prefer to be with someone more interesting.."
- "More interesting… Like me?"
The words Chilton wanted to say got stuck in his throat, but to his fortune, Lounds' tease was only that and she didn't expect a real answer. Stopping the car to the side of the road before Chilton could answer her question, camera in hand, Freddie Lounds got out and indicated her partner to do the same.
-"Take your cane and follow me, the house shouldn't be far."
To Chilton's standards that summer house was pretty far from the road and this path so uneven and full of rocks was making it hard for him to walk with his cane. Under these conditions it was difficult to look at the details surrounding them, since he had to keep his eyes on the way for his safety.
- "Here we are." Announced Lounds with arms akimbo once they found the building. Although there seems no big deal, due to the serenity of the location and the distance between the house and the rest of civilization it was apparent to them that this residence was the perfect crime spot. "Let's go." She decided, searching her unethical research tools in her pockets.
Putting his hand over hers, Chilton said in a low voice that they shouldn't attempt to open the door.
- "What if there is someone inside? I think it'd better look out the windows first."
- "Who could be inside? Perhaps Levine escaped your loony bin and you didn't say anything about it?" She suggested in a pedantic voice.
- "Thanks for always thinking the best of me." He replied ironically, before removing his hand from hers. "If you want to enter and contaminate a crime scene, go ahead, I'll be here waiting."
- "I appreciate your concern, very sweet, but you should know that I have experience in this." However, her recklessness sometimes turned against her. Recalling the words of Jack Crawford, she remembered that he could throw her in jail if she altered a crime scene again. She decided to step back. "But if it makes you feel calmer, I'll take a look at the windows."
While she began to surround the house to spy inside, Chilton made no gesture of wanting to accompany her. The lack of sense of adventure that the doctor had was boring. She had hoped that having a research partner would be more entertaining, but she should have seen it coming, the psychiatrist wasn't a rash person.
As she had thought the view to the house was hidden behind curtains. Taking one last look at Chilton, who didn't seem to be paying the slightest attention to her, Freddie slipped to the back of the house.
Happy to see a new entrance in that part of the building, Lounds didn't think twice before taking her picklock kit to try and open the door and enter the crime scene.
Once he noticed the absence of his partner, Chilton huffed and decided to go after her to see what she was trying to do. That stubbornness and lack of judgment of her could get her kill any day.
- "I can't that I have anything against your unethical methods," He began to say quietly as he approached her. "but I must remind you that my intentions here do not include being charged for trespassing."
- "I don't remember saying you to follow me into the house, doctor. Hush now, I hear something…"
Lounds put the picks back in the pocket of her coat to prepare her camera for whatever they might find there. Showing a little more caution, the journalist began to slowly open the door, trying to make as little noise as possible.
Neither of them was prepared to witness the scene they were about to discover.
In the kitchen of the house Levine they saw a poor woman tied to a chair. If she was still alive or not was hard to tell. Her head was bent over her chest, strands of hair that seemed to have been ripped off her scalp surrounded the flour, which was covered in blood stains, vomit and feces. Flies and other insects were flying around the room, and it seemed to concentrate on where her foot should be. Instead there was only a red swollen and wormy stump that had been lazily bandaged with the clothes had been torn from the body of the woman.
The smell of rot in that room pushed back Chilton, who felt that he was about to faint. After a moment of shock, Lounds hurried to open the door a little more to take a picture of the victim.
A cry of surprise would had escaped her lips if Chilton hadn't covered her mouth in time. A sturdy old woman had entered the kitchen. The gray roots that could be seen suggested that she hadn't dyed her hair in months, this woman was healthy and well fed, which made the young man who was tied look prematurely aged thanks to her painful condition.
- "Honey, are you still here?" Said the woman with a disturbing smile on her face. "Of course you are here… What is it, honey? Are you trying to tell me something?"
- "Ah… w-water…" The hoarse voice of the poor girl felt like a stab in the chest of the two witnesses. They couldn't imagine how much the girl had endured during all this time that she had been missing.
The woman who held her captive went to the sink to fill a glass with water for her.
- "You know how long a person can live without water? Four days, you must know, after all you are a nurse, no?" Without the slightest regard, she emptied the content of the glass on the head of the girl, who tried with the little strength she had to drink some of the water that was running down her face. "I was thinking of going out to buy food. The reserves of the house won't last forever and I'd like to have some wine. Of course it is no problem for you, you still have your other foot and after that maybe we could continue with your legs or maybe your hands… Which do you prefer? Tell me later." As she spoke the deranged smile on her face did not seem to fade in the slightest. "But I need to eat, will you miss me when I'm gone? I'm sure you'll." After leaving the glass in place, the woman left the kitchen.
- "Miss Lounds, this is madness. We must call the police immediately." While Chilton was trying to drag journalist away from the house, her big blue eyes met the dull eyes off of the girl, who watched them through the thin crack of the door as if they were an illusion.
- "Wait a minute Chilton, I cannot let her like that while we wait for the agents to arrive you listened that freak, she will leave…"
- "Now you take pity on the victim, after you photographed her in her martyrdom?"
- "I thought she was dead…" Answered Lounds with sorrow in her voice. Photographing a crime scene, even if the place was full of blood or if a dead body was still there weren't worthy of her grief. What was done was done and there was nothing she could do about it, but this situation was different. "You can call the police if it makes you feel better and if you want to help go and make sure that freak doesn't return."
Making the doctor aside, the intrepid reporter walked into the kitchen surprising the poor victim, who so far had considered them to be a mere mirage.
- "Don't worry, we'll get you out of here." She promised with a warm smile on her face, leaning towards her to release her from her bonds.
- "W-water… water…" The young nurse repeated, more thirsty than anything else.
Considering that this was the most urgent, Lounds poured another glass of water and carefully approached the parched lips of the victim, helping her to ease the pain of her arid throat.
- "Thanks…" The girl managed to say, still with some difficulty.
Once the nurse seemed satisfied, journalist resumed her initial task of freeing the her.
- "Chilton, I told you to keep an eye on that woman." She reproached when she heard footsteps behind her. Her body paralyzed and she felt that her blood froze when she saw the kidnapper behind her.
- "I knew it…" The woman said with a tone of indignation. "I knew it as soon as I saw that car near the house that you called someone. How could you do that after how well you've taken care of you?" With a strength she did not expect, Lounds was pushed away by the women. "You are ungrateful." She shouted, giving a strong blow to the head of the nurse, causing her to fall to the floor so she could kick her while she keep on yelling at her. "You ungrateful little bitch. First you steal my husband from me and now this. How could you? You're a whore! I'm tired of you. Look what you did. I dind't want to come to this…" Tears of anger began to form in her eyes as Mrs. Levine hurried to take a knife. "You forced me to kill you!"
Before Lounds could rise to defend the poor nurse, the knife fell to the floor, followed by the woman that brandished it. A little blood began pouring from her scalp after the strong caning that Dr. Frederick Chilton had given her in the back of the head.
- "Chilton…" Lounds got up and run to her companion, slapping him on the. "I told you to watch over…"
- "That was what I was about to do, but she returned to the house before I could prepare myself…"
- "You're useless, Chilton… but at least I hope you can help us, we will have to carry her, she's too weak to move on her own."
- "… And so, after an independent investigation that at first didn't promised anything, it ended up being a brave rescue by the renowned psychiatrist and director of the Hospital of Baltimore for the criminally insane, Dr. Frederick Chilton." The doctor himself finished reading, closing the laptop on his desktop. "How's our friend?"
- "In the hospital, recovering with the help of her family and friends." Replied the journalist Freddie Lounds with a smile, sitting across Chilton's desk. "Will you keep that crazy bitch here in your hospital?"
- "Schizophrenic." Corrected the doctor. "And no, Dr. Levine will move from Maryland, so he asked if his wife could be moved to be closer to her. Poor man, he still cares for his wife after seeing what a woman dominated by jealousy can do. "
- "Dominated by jealousy or schizophrenia?" She replied, defiantly.
- "A mixture of both." He responded without wanting to grant her victory over that. "She was so convinced that her husband was cheating on her that when she saw him saying goodbye to a pretty nurse as they left the hospital her mind turned the young girl into her. But anyway, I must admit that you idea has helped me a little. I hope it has also served for your purpose even things weren't the way you expected them to be, Miss Lounds."
- "Of course! People are so accustomed to news about murder that sometimes it's good to come out with a story of a rescue…"
- "Returns hope to people."
- "No. Well, at least that's not my intention." She stated, indiscreet as she leaning towards the doctor to give him a kiss on the cheek before getting out of her site. "But you could that a case like that hits people as something new, and new things are interesting, right? Don't forget that you can give me a call if you want to create new memories together."