The Family Man by Amy Cross

Author:Amy Cross [Cross, Amy]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Published: 2018-06-14T05:00:00+00:00

Katherine Shaw

"We managed to sedate her eventually," the psychiatrist says, as we stand at the glass door and stare at Angela's prone form on the bed. "It wasn't easy, though. She fought until she was blue in the face. I think she thought we were somehow linked to those people. I don't think I've ever seen anyone look so scared."

"Exactly what happened?" Carver asks.

"I'll show you," the psychiatrist replies, leading us through to the next room. "Someone came from your department, Detective Carver, and asked if Angela could participate in a short interview to generate a composite image of the men who did all of this to her. I was a little dubious at first, but given the urgency of the case, I agreed to allow Angela to give it a shot, on the basis that I would sit with her at all times and end the session if I felt that she was suffering unduly."

"And this is what she came up with?" Carver asks, picking up a print-out of a man's face.

The psychiatrist nods.

"So what made her get upset?" I ask.

"I'm afraid that's my fault," she continues. "Once the composite image was complete, one of the nurses happened to note that it reminded her of a face she'd seen on the news a few hours earlier. I should have intervened, but instead I let Angela see the photo from the news broadcast, and that's when she experienced an extremely strong and very terrified reaction. It was difficult to get any words out of her, but based purely on the look in her eyes and the way she responded, I think there's a very strong possibility that the face from the news might be the face that she was trying to describe. It certainly acted as some kind of trigger."

"Show me," Carver says firmly.

Picking up a tablet computer, the psychiatrist opens a browser and quickly finds the page she's looking for, before turning the screen for us to see a slightly grainy image of a man's face.

"His name, apparently, is John Benson," she continues. "He's wanted in connection with a fire a couple of nights ago in which his wife, their two children, and a neighbor were burned to death. If the news reports are to be believed, the guy's a cold-blooded murderer, but I figure you guys probably know what's really going on here."

"Dawson's case," I mutter.

"Excuse me?" Carver replies, turning to me.

"Nothing," I say quickly.

"I know it seems rather incredible," the psychiatrist continues, "but I've honestly never seen a reaction like this before. As unlikely as it might be, I think there's a very good chance that this John Benson individual might be linked to the site where the women were being held."

"That's quite a long-shot," Carver says, interrupting her.

"No," I say, grabbing the tablet and taking a closer look at this John Benson guy's face. "I think there might be a connection."

"Based on what?"

"Based on the face," I continue, "and based on the fact that both cases seems to involve someone who likes burning places to the ground.

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