Bedlam: An Alexander Gregory Thriller (The Alexander Gregory Thrillers Book 3) by LJ Ross

Author:LJ Ross [Ross, LJ]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2020-06-03T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 20

Four o’clock could not come soon enough.

Gregory was counting the hours until he could put a call through to Hawk and Douglas but, before then, he had an emotional gauntlet to run, and it came in the form of Dr Naomi Palmer.

Having apparently decided he was not about to bolt from the stable, Tilda allowed him to find his own way along to her office, which he did for the second time that day. His hands were clammy as he reached up to knock on her door—a sign he took clearly to mean he shouldn’t consider a serious career in cat burglary any time soon, if the merest bit of pocket-pinching was enough to have him sweating like a Sunday roast.

The door swung open, and she offered him a polite smile.

“Hello again, Michael. Come in.”

It was like returning to the scene of the crime, he thought.

“You look pale,” she said. “Are you feeling alright?”

He pasted a smile on his face. “Yes, thank you.”

She gestured him towards the seating area, and he took the same seat he had the previous day, with his back facing the wall.

“It’s funny, what you can tell about a person from the places they choose to sit,” she said. “For example, it’s interesting that you always choose the least vulnerable seat, which allows you to protect your back and see the rest of the room clearly—for some people, that can be an indicator that they have trust issues.”

That was true, he thought. He’d never been comfortable sitting with his back to an open room, just as he preferred to be near the door, which would allow him to make a speedy departure should the need arise.

He hadn’t realised he was so easy to read, but perhaps it depended on the reader.

“Would you like some water?”

“No, thank you.”

He would’ve preferred coffee, but that didn’t seem to be on offer today.

In fact, he’d noticed a distinct coolness to her manner which was at odds with her warm expression of thanks earlier in the day. His rational mind told him there could be many reasons for that; he was not her only patient, and who knew what manner of crises she had overseen that day, which might account for her own lowered mood?

Instinct, on the other hand…

Instinct told him, in no uncertain terms, that she knew.

His eyes strayed over to the sash window, which was now firmly closed.

“Are you feeling the heat?” she asked, sweetly. “You could always open a window.”

Gregory looked at her with unconcealed admiration. “I’m perfectly comfortable, thank you,” he said.

She clicked the end of her pen with slightly more force than was necessary, and crossed her legs.

“Is there anything in particular you’d like to talk about, Michael?”

“Not really,” he said.

She gritted her teeth. “Tilda tells me you suffered a night terror, last night,” she said, and something of the warmth crept back into her voice.

She was a woman who couldn’t help but care, Gregory thought, with another sharp stab of guilt. Even through her anger, she wanted to know how to help him.

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