back, watched her in silence. She wondered what he saw. Did he notice her hair, splayed out around her head in frizzy waves, a contrast to her usual glossy straight style? She’d been up so late the night before that she was certain her eyes held dark purple shadows, stark against her too-pale complexion. She must have looked a complete mess, but Robert didn’t pass comment.
‘I think I have a problem with a patient.’
She watched him stiffen slightly, a movement that most people would have missed.
‘What kind of problem?’
‘A conflict of interest.’
He relaxed a little, leaned forward, placed his elbows on his knees. ‘You know them personally?’ This was a problem he could deal with. She knew he was just going to suggest they move her patient to another psychiatrist, shuffle things around. As if it was that straightforward.
‘Not exactly. She’s conflicted about an affair she’s having with a married man. It’s possible that her feelings are a manifestation of a deeper issue involving her experiences of relationships, but that’s not the problem here. I believe I know the husband. And the wife, actually. It’s Eleanor.’
‘Eleanor the super-mum?’
She smiled. ‘More like Eleanor the harassed these days. Did I tell you she’d had another? Noah. He’s just a few months old.’
‘And you say her husband’s been having it off with one of your patients? Ouch.’
‘Don’t say “having it off”, Robert, it sounds bloody awful. But yes, I think he’s the one Jessica is referring to.’
Robert shifted in his seat. ‘You think? She hasn’t told you outright?’
‘No, that’s the problem. She came to see me about an obsession she has with the wife of the man she’s sleeping with. She’s been messing with her. Her words.’
He was starting to look uncomfortable again; clearly his hopes of a quick fix were fading. Any minute now the vein in his neck would start twitching.
‘Messing with?’
‘Just little things, she says, making life difficult for her. It sounds as though the poor woman is going to go crazy. And that’s the thing: you should see Eleanor. She’s a mess, missing appointments, losing things …’
Robert frowned. ‘That just sounds like every new mum I’ve ever met.’ Noticing her raised eyebrows, he added, ‘Yes, I have met a few in my day. Therapy was all the rage for the yummy mummy crowd at one point.’
‘This is different, Robert.’
‘It doesn’t sound it, Karen. Unless you’ve got some hard proof that this woman is causing your friend harm, you absolutely cannot take this any further. I know I don’t need to remind you of patient confidentiality. I don’t think anything you’ve said suggests a serious threat. Unless there’s something you’re not telling me?’
She wanted to tell him more, but in truth she didn’t have more to tell that didn’t make her sound crazier than most of the people they saw every day. Eleanor losing her car with baby Noah inside and swearing blind that someone had moved it. The letter she herself had received. The idea that someone had been outside her house in the dead of the night and a strange feeling about this girl, the feeling that she was playing with her, that she had no intention of using her therapy sessions to improve her mental well-being; she just wanted to toy with Karen’s. She had nothing concrete on Jessica Hamilton. Should she mention seeing her with Adam? Then he’d ask her if she’d told Eleanor, and she’d have to lie to her boss, or admit breaking the rules. Had she been wrong to tell her friend her suspicions?
‘No, nothing.’
‘I’m not saying you’re wrong about this, Karen, but you’re reaching here. You’re seeing associations that don’t exist and you’ll end up doing more harm than good, to your patient, your friend and yourself.’
‘You’re right.’ She made to stand up to leave, deflated, let down. She’d expected Robert to tell her that her fears weren’t unfounded and to help her find some way through what was going on. She was so sure she’d been doing the right thing. It was like in those movies when you screamed at the helpless woman to get help, Just tell someone! And the strong male character was supposed to fix things, yes? Liam Neeson didn’t tell his daughter it was unlikely she’d been kidnapped and it was just a coincidence those men had put a hood over her head and shoved her into a car. He didn’t make her feel like a hysterical female. He bloody helped her.