Chapter 13

Roxanne scowled. Letting Angelique in on her decisions was not something she enjoyed. In fact, she loathed it. But she had been outmaneuvered, and had to accept that.

"We have to bring Megan in."

"No. not her. You do not know her as well as I do. She'll invite herself before we know it. Too many suspicious things going around her."

Roxanne shook her head. "I told you why I don't want her. They may have her under her control, for all we know."

"The more the reason before we get to her before she puts two and two together. But I don't think that they control her. Not after the way they sent Phillip to Wyncliffe"

"I sent Phillip to Wyncliffe so that I can interrogate him."

Angelique paled. "Better not let Megan find out. And again, better if she does not come here gun in hand, asking for explanations."

"So what do you propose?"

"She knows that I am still alive. You could approach her with a message from me. I will give you this potion. It acts as sodium pentothal on a vampire. Will put her under and you can interrogate her. Then we'll know where she stands, and whether or not se will help us."

"Suppose she's one of them. What will you do?"

"I can incapacitate her until this is over. But there will be no need. She is no Leviathan."

"This is going to be the last night, Sandy." Barnabas said.

"I am glad that it is over."

"You'll have to come back next month." he reminded her.

"I know" she grimaced. "But not tomorrow."

"Yes. That should be enough for now." he admitted. "Do you know how to unlock yourself when you wake up?"

"No, I have David there..."

"You must learn to rely on yourself. It is very important."

"I promise that by the next full moon I will have learned it. Now, would you mind taking care of me? Just for tonight?"

He could not let her become dependent on him. Yet she still needed him. Well, the next full moon would be different.

"All right." he said. "but if I keep doing this often, David will get jealous."

As they went down, they found Kenneth, brandishing a pen and pad.

"Are you going to observe her?" Barnabas said with disapproval.

"I have to."

"This is not a freak show! She has some right to privacy in this!"

"I am here as a doctor. Julia thought I might come up with some ideas."

Sandy moved forward. "If you watch me, will you be able to come up with a cure?"

"I cannot promise you anything. But I will be working on it."

"Then you can watch."

Barnabas grumbled but did not complain further. Kenneth had been badgering Julia for a long time for the chance to observe a werewolf transformation and had finally gotten his way.

He chained Sandy and made her like down on the cot. "Are you comfortable?"

"Yes." she smiled at him. "Will you wtay with me for a while?"

In her office, Julia watched how Roxanne helped the orderly lay Tom Jennings to the couch and strap him down. Tom wasn't sedated this time. A straightjacket kept him helpless and a silver pentagram handing from his neck prevented his transformation into a wolf.

"You can go now." Roxanne said to the orderly.

He nodded, and the look in his eyes told Julia that Roxanne had been at his throat recently.

Tom was gagged and the electrodes were affixed to his body.

"Well, Tom." Julia said wearily "you know what comes next. Why not make it easy on yourself and get out of that body?"

Tom made strangled sounds and glared defiantly.

Julia threw the switch.

Sandy's body arched as the convulsions came upon her. In the next cage, David was sprouting hair. Barnabas slowly stepped back. She did not need him there anymore, as she no longer was aware of her surroundings...

Coming out of the cage, he saw Kenneth scribbling furiously. His face darkened... Kenneth should not be here at all. He had no right to this.

Determined to make an issue of it, he raced up the stairs to tell Julia exactly how he felt.

Sandy was not a freak. Neither was David. They were human beings and they had dignity.

He opened Julia's office door and stepped in, just in time to see Tom Jennings twisting in pain against the restraining straps.

"Louella, please come back..."

He missed her so much. How could she have left him like that?

Willie steadied himself. he couldn't go on like this. He could not give in to self-pity.

Fact, he had beaten her. Fact, he had accused her of something he knew wasn't true. Fact, he would hit her again if he could get away with it.

He loved her. But did he love her enough?"

Barnabas had been right. He was only a small child throwing tantrums. Of course, Barnabas had treated him like a child by cutting him off for a whole month. But that was not Barnabas' fault.

If he wanted to be treated like an adult, he had to behave like an adult.

And what does an adult do? An adult faces up to the fact that he has a problem and does something about it. An adult goes to a psychiatrist on his own, without waiting for someone to tell him to do it.

"What are you doing?" Barnabas screamed.

Roxanne had disappeared the moment the door opened. Now she hovered as a tiny bat in a corner, watching with curiosity what kind of trouble Barnabas was going to make for them.

"You can't do this, Julia." Barnabas said heatedly, tearing at the wires.

'How dare you?" Julia shouted at him. "This doesn't concern you!"

"It does. Turn off the current. Turn it off!"

Julia crossed her arms. "I will not do such thing. I have to get Tom's spirit out of that body, and this is the best way."

Barnabas pushed her to a side and turned the current off.

Tom sighed through his gag and relaxed.

"Who are you to tell me what treatment to give my patients?"

"Where did you learn this anyway? Did you study with the Gestapo?"

'You know where I went to school and with whom."

The barb stung Barnabas, yet he insisted. "You can't do this, Julia. It isn't right."

"What do you suggest I do, instead? Do you know of a better way to exorcize Tom?"

"I don't know" Barnabas admitted.

"If you don't,. then keep your mouth shut."

"It is wrong, what you are doing."

"How many times do I have to tell you that if you want to hang up a shingle, to get a degree first.?"

Before Barnabas could answer Kenneth's head appeared through the door. "What's the meaning of this racket?" he asked.

"I thought you were downstairs." Julia said.

"I was . One of the nurses called me."

"Well, since you are here, try to teach this... this dumbbell not to interfered between a doctor and a patient."

Barnabas looked at him "Do you know what she's doing?"

"Why not explain it to me outside?"

"I can't" he looked distrustfully at Julia "she will start again."

"Come with me" Kenneth took his arm. "Explain the whole thing to me. If you are right, I'll back you up against her."

"Against another doctor?"

"If needs be."

Kenneth led Barnabas outside. And no sooner had the door closed behind them that Roxanne appeared in front of Julia.

"I hope that Kenneth keeps him away."

"Were you the nurse who called him?"

"Yes. I figured that he would be the only one who would dare to interrupt you when your were having a shouting match with Barnabas. I don't think he paid much attention to me. I said that I was a nurse, and that was all."

'You didn't bite him by any chance?" Julia looked at her skeptically.

"I don't do it if I can avoid it. As an ex-addict, biting someone I am not sell acquainted with is like Russian Roulette. Before I know, I am hooked again."

"You did bite the orderly."

"After I checked that he was clean."

"Kenneth isn't an addict."

"He's a doctor. That's a high risk group when it comes to drug addiction."

"I am a doctor too. Weren't you afraid to bite me?"

"I told you. I don't bite unless it is strictly necessary."

"It seems the right idea." Kenneth said quietly "After all, Tom clings to that body because it is comfortable for him there. Make it uncomfortable enough, and he'll leave."

"Do you know where she puts the wires?"

"Yes. Highly effective."

"We are talking about torture, pure and simple! And you just shake your head and say that it might work!"

"Well, I am a professional..."

"Your wife has set up a private torture chamber in her office.!"

"It isn't the same thing. She is doing to somebody who is sick and who will benefit from it."

"Is that all the difference?"

"Sure, Do you know what I do in the operating table? If those were healthy bodies it would be called mutilation. But it is not, even if I have to amputate whole limbs sometimes. If you saw me, you'd be just as revolted as you are by Julia, and you'd be equally wrong to interfere."

"Doctors!" Barnabas muttered.

"Do you know what your problem is?"

"What is it, according to you?"

"You keep reminding us that patients are human beings and that they have to be treated with dignity. Which is fine. But then you forget that they are patients and have to be treated."

"I don't forget it."

"Why did you resent me watching David and Sandy?"

"They need privacy. Specially Sandy. She's still very shaken by what happened to her.

"But how can a cure be found if they never get examined? How can anyone figure out a treatment when we don't even know what's wrong with their bodies?"

"Were you trying to find a treatment of just satisfying your curiosity?"

"The two are one and the same. We can't go around seeking a specific answer and expect to find it. We look at anything interesting and maybe we can use it. Fleming did not set out to discover penicillin. He just got curious about a strange fungus growing in his cultures, that's all. Maybe if I can examine Sandy to my satisfaction I might find a way to cure her."

"There is no guarantee of that, of course."

"No. There isn't. But it's a start. Do you remember when Julia started treating you?"

Barnabas grimaced at that. "I wasn't a very cooperative patient.,"

"Her patients usually aren't. But what I mean is, did she give you a complete physical?"

"Not immediately, but she did."

"Made you strip and looked all over?"

"Yes."

"And you understood why she had to do it, and you cooperated."

"Yes."

"And you think that Sandy's too stupid to do the same?