Chapter 6: Wednesday afternoon

Editor’s Note:
The next documents contain further transcripts of meetings and patient interviews written by Dr Koehler Snr (Psychiatrist).

Patient interview, Bec Freeman Wednesday 12/1; 5:00pm. Also present: Dan Freeman (brother), Bridget Baxter (grandmother).

Dan and Bridget sat side by side on the bed. Bec was on Dan’s lap, nestled into his chest. Bec was awake but quiet. Both Dan and Bridget periodically stroked whichever part of her they could reach.

Dr K: So, how are you feeling?

Bec looked at me but didn’t reply.

Dan: She’s not said a word all afternoon.

Dr K: Ah!

Pause.

Dr K: Would you like some paper and pencils? Would you like to draw something?

Bec looked at me and then nodded.

I stepped outside and picked up the pad and pencils from the Nurses’ Station. Back in the room, I handed them to Bec. Still leaning into Dan’s chest, she began to draw.

Dan: The comments she was making to me earlier sounded like she was remembering being examined at the hospital on Monday.

Dr K: I agree.

Dan: Someone took Nana’s locket. That locket is very important to both Bec and Nana. What happened to it?

Dr K: I’m not sure. I will have to check the files. She can’t have things like that in here but I am aware of how important the locket is to Bec.

Bridget was scrutinizing me with cold eyes

Bridget: Doctor, has Bec shown you the drawings inside her locket?

I had to listen carefully to understand her words due to her thick accent. Spending so many sessions listening to both Louise and Bec speak with a milder version of the same accent helped me to some extent.

Dr K: Yes, she has. Both Louise and Bec are very talented.

Bridget: Yes, they are. I wore that locket for many, many years. It’s a family heirloom. I gave that locket into Bec’s care and she treasured it. I would be very unhappy if it were lost.

Dr K: We keep good records of possessions when they are taken off a patient in the E.R. Valuables are either immediately returned to the family or locked in a storeroom. I’m confident that we will be able to return it to you.

Bridget looked at me with cold, cold eyes.

Bridget: Now would be appropriate.

Dr K: Yes, Ma’am.

It occurred to me that within five minutes of meeting her, Bridget had me scrambling like a schoolboy to obey her. I’m no greenhorn but that woman knocked me off balance with a look.

I went to the door, buzzing to be let out. As I waited, I glanced back at Bec. She’d been drawing during all of that exchange, apparently oblivious to the conversation going on around her.

Dr K: She cannot be left alone with those pencils. She’s in a secure room for more than one reason.

Dan: It’s okay, Doc. We aren’t going anywhere. She’ll be safe with us.

I went to the Nurses’ Station and checked Bec’s file. Nobody in the room had changed positions when I returned.

Bridget: Well?

Dr K: Due to the circumstances of her arrival at the hospital, the locket together with her ID-bracelet and her clothes were bagged and handed over to the police as evidence. We have a receipt which lists the locket and the bracelet. Here is a copy of the receipt. (I handed the receipt to Bridget) When this is all over, you will need to take that receipt to the police station in order to reclaim the locket and the bracelet. I suspect that you won’t want the clothes. They were not in a good condition to start with and then they were cut off her in the E.R.

Bridget took the receipt from me and looked at it. She then folded it and put it in her pocket.

Bridget: Thank you, doctor.

I detected a very slight thawing in her attitude towards me.

The conversation died and I realized I would not get anywhere with Bec until she finished drawing.

Dr K: If you will excuse me, I need to check my other patients. I’ll come back later once Bec has had the time to finish her drawing.

Meeting suspended: 5:16pm

Meeting resumed: 5:57pm

Dan and Bridget were still seated on the bed. Bec was now sitting astride Dan with her legs either side of his hips and wrapped around behind him. She was hugging herself into his chest with her torso pressed against his. Bec looked up, startled, when I entered the room. She stared at me for a moment with panic on her face but then I saw recognition dawn in her eyes and she relaxed and put her head back on Dan’s chest. Bridget was holding the pad and looking at it but she immediately handed it over to me.

The picture showed a large doorway with a standing figure filling the space of the open door. The figure in the doorway was a stocky man with the head of a bull. The only splash of color was in the bull’s wild and staring eyes which are a mixture of green and blue, the rest of the picture was in grey. The body of the man appeared to be dressed in pants and a shirt and would be quite ordinary – if it were not for the bull’s head attached to it. There was a startling feeling of threat and menace associated with the picture. The surroundings of the doorway were not detailed enough to suggest where that doorway might be.

Dr K: (in surprise) It’s a minotaur.

Bridget: Indeed.

Dr K: I wonder how much of the story Bec knows.

Bridget: She knows quite a bit. I’ve told her many of the Greek myths when she was younger and Bec has a good memory.

Dr K: It’s many years since I read those stories. I’m not sure that I remember all of the details.

Bridget pursed her lips and glared at me, as if accusing me of failing to be properly educated.

Bridget: (lecturing) The wife of King Minos of Crete mated with a bull which was a gift from Poseidon, God of the Sea. The bull is therefore assumed to be a manifestation of Poseidon. She bore a babe who was half man and half bull. It was called Minotaur because it was legally the son of King Minos. The babe suckled at the breast of its mother but when it grew larger, its beastly heritage emerged and the only thing it could eat was human flesh. No man could slay the minotaur because it was the son of a god.

Bridget: King Minos imprisoned it in a maze beneath his palace and was forced to sacrifice young virgins, young boys and girls, to the minotaur lest it break free and devastate the kingdom. Or possibly the sacrifice was to prevent it from cursing the kingdom with plagues and pestilence – the stories vary.

Bridget: In the meantime, the son of King Minos had been killed by Athenians. King Minos forced King Ageus of Athens to pay compensation for his murdered son. The compensation Minos demanded was a dozen young Athenian virgins each year. The Athenian youths became the sacrifice to the minotaur. Minos would send the Athenian youths into the maze to be eaten by the minotaur.

Bridget: Along came Theseus of Athens. He was officially the son of King Ageus, though actually he was also the offspring of Poseidon and therefore half-brother to the minotaur. Theseus decided to put an end to the sacrifices. In some stories, Theseus’s own sister was selected to be a part of the next sacrifice and he wanted to protect her. Theseus sailed to Crete and made his way through the maze with the help of Ariadne and her famous ball of twine.

Bridget: Ariadne was the daughter of Minos and therefore the sister of the minotaur and also sister of the son murdered by the Athenians. She fell in love with Theseus at first sight and wanted him to return safely from his confrontation with the minotaur. Following Ariadne’s suggestion, Theseus made his way into the maze, unrolling the twine as he walked. Later, he would follow the twine back and emerge safely from the maze. Theseus, being the son of a god, was able to succeed where others had failed. He slew the minotaur thus saving his sister and putting an end to the Athenian tribute to Minos.

Dr K: Thank you. I was familiar with the basic story but you’ve added some details I didn’t remember.

Bridget: Given that background, perhaps we can see some symbolism behind Bec’s drawing of the minotaur.

Dan eased Bec out from his chest and held her so she was looking into his eyes.

Dan: Bec, what does the picture mean?

Bec stared back at Dan and then gave a slight shrug.

Dan: Who is the minotaur supposed to be?

There was a pause and then another small shrug.

Dan: Are you Theseus protecting your sisters? Or are you one of the victims of the minotaur? Or are you the minotaur?

Again there was a pause and then a shrug.

Dan: Where is the doorway?

Bec immediately shrugged and then she forced her way back against Dan’s chest and buried her face out of sight, thus ending the interrogation.

Dan: I don’t think she knows. It’s come from somewhere deep inside that little brain of hers.

Dr K: I hadn’t realized that everyone in the story was so closely related. Theseus and the minotaur were half-brothers, both sons of Poseidon. Ariadne was the half-sister of the minotaur and had to choose between her brother and her lover. Theseus was protecting his sister. Given Bec’s desire to protect Tara and Angie, that could be the link.

Dan: Sometimes Bec’s drawings are simply weird drawings. Let’s just say that we don’t understand this one yet. Perhaps we never will.

Dr K: I’ll file this with her other drawings and hope she draws us a more useful one later. I have to keep doing my rounds. Dinner should be coming around soon. I asked Nurse Raoul to arrange meals for you. Did he talk to you?

Bridget: Yes, he did. Thank you.

Dan: We’ll stay here for dinner but we’ll have to leave soon after that.

Bec immediately moaned and squeezed Dan even more tightly.

Dan: I’m sorry, Bec, but I have to take Nana back home. She’s staying with us at the moment. Dad drove her in earlier so she doesn’t have her own car here.

There was no reaction from Bec.

Dan: I can’t stay here all night. That means I’m going to have to leave at some stage. You knew that.

I nodded to Dan and buzzed the door to be let out.

Meeting ended 6:13pm

Editor’s Note:
The next document is a copy of the picture Bec drew showing a minotaur standing in a doorway.

Following that are more notes by Dr Koehler

Patient interview, Bec Freeman Wednesday 12/1; 7:40pm

When I entered, Bec was sitting on the bed with her back against the wall and her legs pulled up into her chest. She was alone. Keeping in mind the picture of the minotaur in the doorway, I quickly moved sideways so that I wasn’t framed by the door. Bec watched me carefully from the moment the door opened.

Dr K: Hello Bec. How are you feeling?

She paused then shrugged.

Dr K: Do you still not feel like talking?

Bec frowned and then made quick gestures miming writing or drawing on a pad.

I handed the pad and pencils over to Bec. She shifted her legs down slightly to make a shelf and started writing. After a moment, I realised that she was writing more than one sentence so I sat down again to wait.

Eventually Bec finished writing. She tore the page off the pad and thrust it at me. As soon as I took it she started on the next page.