Noelle cleared her voice. “This is leading nowhere. Sally, you’re saying that you’re sane, that indeed your father abused you in the sanitarium—”
“So did Doctor Beadermeyer. He had this creepy little attendant called Holland who liked to bathe me, strip me, fix my hair, and sit on the side of my bed just staring at me.”
Noelle turned to Beadermeyer. “Is this true?”
He shrugged. “Just a bit of it. She did have an attendant named Holland. He’s gone now. Perhaps once he might have been out of line. These things happen, Noelle, particularly when a patient is as sick as Sally is. As for the rest of it, it’s just part of her illness—the delusions, the dark fantasies. Believe me, just as you believed your husband and Scott. Scott lived with her. He saw the disintegration. Isn’t that right, Scott?”
Scott nodded. “It was frightening. We’re not lying, Noelle.”
Noelle St. John did believe them. Quinlan saw it on her face, the look of new resolve, the new certainty, the profound pain she felt.
She said to her daughter, “Listen, Sally, I love you. I’ve loved you forever. You will get better. I don’t care what it costs. You’ll have the best care. If you don’t like Doctor Beadermeyer, then we’ll find you another doctor. But for now, please, go back with him to the sanitarium so you can be protected.
“You were judged mentally incompetent by Judge Harkin. You don’t even remember the hearing, do you? Well, no wonder. You were so ill, you just sat through the whole thing, didn’t say a thing, just stared straight ahead. I spoke to you, but you just looked through me. You didn’t even recognize me. It was horrible.
“I’m your guardian now that your father is dead. Both Scott and I are, as a matter of fact. Please trust me, Sally. I only want what’s best for you. I love you.”
Scott said, “Mr. Quinlan, you could hold her for a day, maybe, but that’s all. The judge has already ruled that she isn’t responsible for her actions. You can’t do anything to her. No one would consider having her stand trial for the murder of her father.”
She kept her head, though Quinlan knew that shook her. This was some group. He still couldn’t make up his mind about her mother. She seemed so sincere, so caring, but . . . Now they seemed certain she’d murdered her father? It was almost time for him to intervene, but not just yet.
Sally said, raising her hand to stem her mother’s words, “Noelle, did you know that Doctor Beadermeyer kept me drugged all the time? That’s why I don’t remember the hearing. I told you that my father came and beat me twice a week, but did you know that Doctor Beadermeyer watched? Oh, yes, Doctor, I know about that two-way mirror. I also know you let others look through the door window when my father was fondling himself while I was lying naked on the bed.”
She jumped to her feet, and Quinlan was sure she was going to attack Beadermeyer. He lightly touched her arm. Her muscles were frozen. She yelled, “Did you enjoy it, you filthy slug?”
She whirled around to face her mother. “I don’t remember the hearing because he kept me drugged up so I wouldn’t fight him or any of his keepers. Don’t you understand? There was no way in hell they could let up on the drugs. I would have blown them out of the water. Did you also know that sometimes my father would have him lighten the dosage so I’d be more alert when he came to abuse me? That’s right, Noelle, believe it. My father, your husband. I’m not lying to you. I’m not making this up to defend my shattered ego. My father was a monster, Noelle. But you know that, don’t you?”
Her mother screamed at her, “No more of that, Sally! No more of your crazy lies. I can’t stand it, I just can’t.”
Scott Brainerd shouted, “That’s right, Sally. That’s more than enough. Apologize to your mother for those horrible things you’re saying about her husband.”
“But they’re all true, and you know they are, Scott. Father couldn’t have had me committed without your being in on it. Why did you want me put away, Scott?”
“It nearly killed me to have you committed,” Scott said. “Nearly killed me. But we had to. You were going to harm yourself.”
To Quinlan’s relief, Sally actually managed to laugh. “Oh, that’s really good, Scott. You’re a wretched liar. Now, Noelle, when my father was beating me, or just holding me down while he stood over me, he’d laugh, tell me how he finally had me right where he wanted me, where I deserved to be.
“Goodness, I remember it all now. He said it was his revenge for all the years I tried to protect you, Noelle. He said being in this nice place would keep my mouth shut about the other, but I don’t know what he meant by that.”