The Dark Side - Danielle Steel Page 0,78
still had the bandage on her cheek from the dog bite when they visited, and Brad ranted and raved about people who let their dogs run around off leash, particularly big ones. Pam said nothing, and for a fraction of an instant her eyes met Austin’s, and he wondered if she knew, but he wouldn’t have dared say anything to her, in case she said something to Zoe’s father and he told Zoe what Austin suspected.
Secrecy was part of his life now and essential to Jaime’s well-being. But Pam was an alert, observant woman, and he had the sense that she knew that something was wrong. Zoe told them how brave Jaime had been with the dog bite, and Austin said that Zoe had been the hero, she had saved Jaime from a fierce German shepherd that might have killed her. She’d screamed at the owner and fought off the dog, and Zoe glowed when he spoke up. It would have been confirmation of his suspicions, but he no longer needed it. He was sure now. He had read a second book on Munchausen by proxy, which was even more detailed than the first, and more frightening, and he kept it in his office, and then sent it to Cathy in a confidential envelope, without comment. She had been doing some reading in medical journals too, and was heartbroken by what she knew was facing Jaime, and Austin, when he finally confronted it.
“Take care of yourself and your girls,” was all Pam said to Austin when they left town. Zoe had given them a tour of the shelter and the recent changes they’d made. It was easy to see how adored she was when they walked around the facilities. Pam was active in volunteer work in child abuse too, and always expressed a particular interest in the shelter. Zoe had recently won an award for her outstanding work in the field, with an article about her in The New York Times. It was one of the high points in her career.
Paul Anders had read it with interest and called Cathy, and commented on it when he reminded her of their promise to have dinner. Austin had signed a more formal release by then, which allowed Cathy to share Jaime’s files with Paul.
“She’s quite a woman, isn’t she?” he said about Zoe. “That may feed her ego for a while. Anything new on that front?”
“I haven’t seen Zoe since the dog bite incident the day I saw you. But no news is good news, I guess.” She knew Zoe had been busy and she’d called to congratulate her on the award when she read about it. All she’d said was that Jaime’s cheek was healing nicely, and you could hardly see the scar under her chin. Cathy didn’t know if that was good or bad, if she needed visible signs of Jaime’s accidents, or if the fact that they’d happened was enough to satisfy her. The whole situation made Cathy feel sick.
They invited her to dinner, and Cathy went to see how Jaime was doing. She looked fine, and only had to wear a small Steri-Strip on her cheek now, and Austin said again when Jaime was out of earshot that Zoe had saved her from being severely mauled. He was playing the game now, and did it well. Cathy sensed no argument between them, and she wondered whether he had been lulled into fooling himself or was a great actor. Zoe said she had a man she wanted to introduce Cathy to. He was a new member of the board, and Austin disagreed. He said that he was boring, and had never been married at fifty-four, which he thought was a bad sign and probably meant he was phobic about permanent relationships. He was an important investment banker on Wall Street, and was involved in numerous charitable causes, particularly those involving children, and Cathy said it would be interesting to meet him, just so Zoe felt appreciated. In reality, she felt the same way as Austin about men who had never been married at his age, and didn’t care if she met him or not.
Cathy had dinner with Paul Anders, as they’d promised, and talked about Jaime and Munchausen by proxy the entire time. He was a treasure trove of information. Cathy read everything she could about it now, as did Austin. He was seeing his mother for lunch more frequently than he had in years. He could