Chapter 9

Helmut was fast off the mark, in both instances.

He invited Elise to his house, claiming he needed advise in running the household. They all sat down to discuss their problems, real or imagined, Elise acting as catalyst or moderator mostly. Soon after the initial warm-up, she sent Helmut on his way. For Elvira and Charlotte the extent of the problems was not a surprise. They were quite shocked, however, to learn about our involvement. Elise is inherently unable to lie, I know that. If she fears that the truth might be hurtful, she remains quiet, tackling the issues in question from a different angle.

It did not take her all that long to win the trust of the girls. To such an extent, that both of them admitted that they were infatuated with their father and could not understand why he was treated so harshly by their mother, why he rejected them. Elise had no option but to address all facets of the dilemma. Apparently Karla had tried, and failed, to instill the weird pseudo-Christian principles of her upbringing into the girls. They went to a fairly average protestant church, sat through boring, even nauseating sermons when small but revolted, passively at first, actively when puberty took hold of them, and refused point blank to attend any more services. Even Christmas and Easter celebrations were confined to their home, no visits to the grandparents at all. Talking about sex to young girls is never an easy task. Elise had to break down quite a few barriers before they accepted that their mother's problem stemmed from the distorted sexual views of their grandparents, that their mother deserved not accusations but their love to eventually overcome this terrible burden.

"Elvira, Charlotte, it's up to you to help your father in this. He still loves your mother, as he does love you both. He must find a way to regain her trust. He can do that if you are there for him. Run your household unobtrusively; if you need help, call me. But any physical contact with you must come from him. He feels very insecure, give him time and space to become himself again. Will you do that, please?"

Elise told me that they all had moist eyes at this stage but felt reassured about their future. Time would tell.

Within a week a well-known psychiatrist evaluated Karla's condition and suggested Helmut move her to a reputable clinic reasonably close by. He had done so and asked me to go with him and see the doctor in charge.

"Berthold, I hate what you did behind my back. In fact, your whole meddling angers me and gives me the creeps. Yet you may well have prevented an even greater disaster. So come with me, damn it, the doctor thinks you may do some good. Perhaps you can with Karla, but stay away from my girls."

The clinic consisted of a few pleasantly informal buildings, grouped to form a neat square, open on the south side. There were no fences or walls around the property, just some safety rails along the small creek gurgling away to the left. A peaceful atmosphere was tangible throughout. However, I did notice a disproportionately large number of concealed surveillance cameras.

I mentioned both impressions to Helmut. "Yes, I feel it too. I wouldn't mind if they kept me here, make me human again. They might even succeed! Fences would spoil the impression, and who besides you would even notice the cameras?"

The lady at the reception was friendly and efficient, invited us to sit. "Doctor Theben will be with you in a few minutes, mr. Baumann."

The head shrink, possibly a misnomer for the dapper grey-haired man with pebble-like eyes behind rimless glasses, greeted Helmut like a long-lost friend, looked me over quite closely – and displayed a total lack of enthusiasm.

"I take it that you are Berthold. Helmut told me about you. Call me Horst. There are neither doctors here nor patients. We are all people, trying to help each other."

He took us to his offices upstairs. A rather large, sunny room with good furniture in a light-brown hardwood. A few mellow paintings, flowery curtains, an excellent Persian carpet. Yet the vibes I got from him disturbed me.

When I complimented him on his pleasant offices, he gave me flak immediately.

"We have to have pleasant surroundings to fix what other people, mostly callous bastards like you, damage. What you did to Karla is the most insensitive, insensible thing I ever came across. It should be you lying there like a vegetable. I doubt that I would even look at you, you scumbag."

Even Helmut was taken aback by his outburst.

"Doctor, I mean, Horst. What on earth did she tell you? I know what Berthold said to her. He told me. He did wrong there, no doubt about it, but still, I can sympathise with his action, if not his phrasing or timing."

Now it was Horst's turn to be shocked.

"What in hell are you people? Karla is the meekest, most submissive woman I have ever come across. If she does need help it should be to protect her from the likes of you two. I will not allow you to see her. She doesn't want to speak to either of you. If ever the need arises, I will contact you, Helmut. Now both of you get out of here."

He had jumped up in his rage, his glasses threatened to slip from his nose, spittle bubbled from his mouth. Yet Helmut had his measure. In two strides he reached the doctor, picked him up by the front of his shirt, carried him, single -handed, to the padded chair behind his desk and plonked him down there with a great push.

"Listen good, Horst. I know that you are quite the excitable fellow. You proved it a few times already. I did not know that you are a blockhead as well. Either listen to Berthold now, and listen really well indeed, or I take Karla out of your little fool's paradise for competent treatment somewhere else. – Shut up! – Will you listen?"

Horst, however, had to search for his glasses first. When he found them on the floor, bent but unbroken, he put them on his nose with shaking hands.

"Talk, I am listening," he hissed through thin lips, bloodless with suppressed rage.

"Doctor, I do not blame you at all for being taken in by Karla, even if I had hoped for more professionalism by a man of your standing. No matter. I will tell you what I told Helmut. Make up your mind afterwards."

To level the playing field I changed time phases for a moment and pressed my secret weapon behind his ear. Switched back again and was surprised to find his attitude quite different, pensive, but still doubtful.

He listened, grudgingly at first. Then he became enthralled, throwing some very dark looks Helmut's way occasionally, but fixed his stare mostly onto myself as I laid all secrets open for him. Karla's secrets, not mine.

"So there you are, doctor. Did she hoodwink you or not? She managed to fool Helmut, fooled me. But you of all people should have been able to see through her faking. As you would have, had you not been so terribly eager to condemn us."

The silence after my last words lasted a long time. Eventually he got up, went to a cabinet and took out a bottle and three glasses.

"Much too early, of course, and I must never drink while on duty. I have taken myself off schedule now.

"Berthold, you are right. I thought Helmut was to blame for everything, especially concerning the children, and that you compounded the matter, were covering for him. Forgive me, I'm sorry. Cheers."

It took a second glass, excellent Armenian brandy by the way, to calm us all down.

"This healing business you talked about, Berthold. How did you do it? It is simply not possible, even I know that."

Of course, this was the most difficult, dangerous part. He could do me some major evil if he wanted to. And I did not trust his sudden humble attitude. – To hell with caution. I brought out my little bottle, picked up a small penknife from his desk, slashed across the ball of my left thumb – and made quite a serious mess of it.

"You ... you are mad. What are you doing, for God's sake?"

I should have set it up better, I had to ask Helmut to open the bottle for me. But even so, it worked. The cut closed up almost instantly after dabbing it with the liquid. Wiping away the blood was a bother till Horst pointed to a sink hidden away in a corner behind me.

"I would not have believed this. Spectacular! But you are walking on extremely treacherous grounds here. Practising medicine without a licence. It could cost you heavily, both time and money in great measure."

The sputtering doctor mellowed somewhat after I told him that I only used it for family. Karla's case being the exception to the rule.

"If it had been just her, I would not have done it. Sorry, Helmut, but I don't like her all that much. Again, I too believed her accusations about you molesting your daughters. And though I was wrong in many of my doings – I admit that readily –, I was at least partially right, too. Eventually, this affair would have destroyed your entire family."

I could read the doctor extremely well. He was wondering how he could get hold of some of my liquid, and would it work on the mind as well? I suspected the latter, at least to a certain extent, although Jake and Alfred had never mentioned it.

"No, doctor. It's off limits to you. I won't even tell you its contents. For exactly the reasons you stated earlier on. Time and money, remember? Also, it works only when applied by me. To everybody else it would be useless."

As with the quack doctor in the general hospital, I felt his surprise. He was trained in out-thinking people, they were not supposed to do the same to him. And some of his ideas were way off...

"Karla would not have been responsive to any of your ministrations, had I not been there to take care of her initial hurts. She is your patient now. You should be able to put right whatever may be wrong with her. Without any of my fancy potions."

Horst, I still did not feel at ease calling him by his name, the doctor then, shrugged and suggested we should all see Karla together. I was much against that, but understood that he did not want us to 'meddle' with 'his' patient unsupervised.

"No, you go to her and ask her if she would like us to visit with her. Any one of us. Or all together. It has to be her decision."

At first glance he had seemed to be more humane. Yet he could not overcome the rigid guidelines his professional code set for him, nor his personal limitations. He also needed more money for his fancy clinic. The potion, he had to have it. Obviously, it did not take much to corrupt him. His greed made me understand how easily he had been taken in by Karla. Once more I lost my temper and all restraint.