just talking and me offering some coping skills, strategies for handling the nightmares, can do a lot.”
“You can do that?”
“Of course.”
Sarah nodded again. “I’ll think about it.” She paused. “What did Dustin do? Did he choose to take meds or go the other route?”
The doctor hesitated. “Why?”
“I don’t know. I guess I just need to know.”
“Everyone is different. Dustin’s choices shouldn’t reflect yours.”
Sarah sighed. “I’m not saying they will. I’m just trying to understand him.”
“I know.” She tapped her chin. “He chose medication and it seemed to help him.” She paused and shook her head, then cleared her throat. “So, what did you do over there in Kabul?”
“I’m an investigative journalist.”
“Ah. That explains a lot.” Sarah raised a brow and the doctor smiled. “Your inquisitive nature.”
“Oh right. Yeah.” Other questions surfaced. “Do you know who Dustin was hanging around? Who his friends were? Who he may have confided in?”
“He talked a lot about your brother, Caden, and he mentioned you quite a bit. He was very concerned about you, but when I tried to press for more information, he shut down.”
“I see. Anything or anyone else?”
Mel hesitated, then walked behind her desk and picked up a pen and paper. “There was a woman. Her name was Dr. Helen Craft.” She wrote on the paper and folded it. “Dustin talked about her quite a bit. He said he met her in Afghanistan and said he was surprised that she lived only an hour away from him. He looked her up when he moved home, and they had some group counseling sessions together.”
“She was a good friend of his?”
“I’m not sure of the nature of their relationship, but yes, I know he cared about her. She . . . uh . . . killed herself about three weeks before Dustin did.”
“What?” Sarah whispered. She took the paper the doctor held out. Had Dustin mentioned her to Caden?
Mel hesitated. “Look, I’m not supposed to discuss patients, but Helen was different. One thing she made very clear is that she wanted to get better and she wanted to help people. She told her story to anyone who would listen, anyone who she thought needed to hear what she was experiencing in order to make a difference. So, I know she would be completely fine with me sharing this.”
“Okay,” Sarah said.
“Helen was part of the medical team that was there when an orphanage was bombed. Kids were on the playground at the time, and as you can imagine, it was horrific. She operated on as many as she could, but couldn’t save the majority. It was something no one should ever have to see or experience.” The doctor shuddered. “She had PTSD and nightmares for months until she finally requested to be sent home to seek help. Helen’s sister, Lucy, moved in with Helen when she came home to make sure she wasn’t alone at night and got to all of her appointments. I spoke with Lucy and she agreed with me in my assessment that Helen was doing better. Her PTSD was under control and Lucy was getting ready to move back home. So when she walked in the door to see Helen standing in the window of her fourteenth-floor apartment, she was shocked. Lucy called out to her but said Helen didn’t even hesitate. She just jumped.”
“Oh my. How awful.”
Sarah knew just how ghastly the bombing had been. She’d covered that incident, had seen the dead bodies. Had held the weeping mothers. A small terrorist organization had taken credit for the attack, but a rumor had leaked that an American soldier had been the instigator. She’d cleared the soldier’s name and passed on intel to the higher-ups. The terrorist cell had been wiped out before it had a chance to expand any farther—or kill any more innocent people.
A pang hit her. She’d done good work over there. She’d been making a difference. Swift, hot rage consumed her, and she vowed once more not to let her father win.
“I don’t know what else Lucy can add to that,” Mel was saying, pulling Sarah back into the present, “but I believe she met Dustin several times, so I can’t help but think she might be able to answer some of your questions.”
“All right. I’ll talk to Lucy and see what she has to say. Thank you.”
Mel cleared her throat. “Normally, I wouldn’t say a word about my patients, but Lucy was on Helen’s HIPAA list and she specifically told me that if I ever came