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She didn’t reply, telling herself she would get back to him later. No sooner did she resolve that then another text came through, this one from Doctor West.
Special Agent Bold, your office has informed me that you’ve been assigned a new case. I must disclose that I advised against your assignment to this or any other case prior to a full psychological evaluation. I have been overruled. Despite this, I strongly encourage you to recuse yourself from the case should you feel it becomes too overwhelming or that your judgment is affected by your past trauma. I am available to help if you need it. —Dr. West.
Faith closed her phone and chuckled. What a debacle this day was turning out to be. Doctor West seemed possessed of the sixth sense that all psychologists had. She wondered if he was somewhere now watching her ignore his text.
Even more frustrating was the fact that she briefly considered taking him up on his offer. She couldn’t be sure that it was only exhaustion that caused her judgment to slip or her emotions to ride so near the surface. She didn’t like the way she felt. She didn’t like this new angry, emotional, moody Faith. It reminded her soberingly of her attitude after Trammell had hurt her.
If only the Boss would just let her solve the damn copycat case. If she could just get that monkey off of her back, she would be fine.
The most frustrating thing of all was that she was no longer sure she believed that.
“All right,” Porter said, “ask your questions.”
Michael said, “Can you state for the record how you knew the victims?”
“I was their psychologist,” he replied.
“How long have you known each victim?”
“I counseled Elmore Holland and his wife, Lucinda, for three months from October of last year through December. Katherine Navarro saw me alone from this April through June, and Amanda and Benjamin Montgomery saw me from May through August.”
So, there was overlap between the first two victims, but Elmore was seen earlier than those two. Faith wondered if that meant anything.
“Would you say counseling was successful?” Michael asked.
“I would say that Mrs. Navarro’s counseling was unsuccessful as was the Hollands’. Mrs. Navarro no longer loved her husband, and as a result, she treated him poorly. I counseled her to move on and allow her husband to do the same. It seems she ignored my advice and chose infidelity instead. For the record, I made it very clear that I did not approve of such behavior.”
“Noted,” Michael said.
“As for the Hollands, well, when I saw them, they expressed interest in keeping the marriage afloat, then proceeded to spend the next three months fighting constantly. I don’t think they actually wanted counseling. I get the impression that both of them were acting on the advice of divorce attorneys. I counseled them to navigate their divorce as civilly as possible. I am very sure that neither of them did so.”
“What about Amanda Montgomery?” Michael asked.
Porter perked up. “The Montgomerys were a resounding success,” Porter said. “Both were able to set aside their suspicions and work together to strengthen their marriage and find common ground from which they could build a lasting relationship once more.”
“May I ask the nature of their suspicions?”
“Mr. Montgomery suspected his wife of cheating. I suppose Amanda’s complaint wasn’t a suspicion so much as a grievance. She resented her husband’s lack of trust, and on top of that, she felt very alone. It’s a fairly common complaint around the ninth year of marriage. The tenth anniversary is a very considerable milestone, and couples tend to question their future. Benjamin felt insecure about his wife’s sexual fidelity—very common among men—and Amanda felt insecure about her husband’s emotional attachment to her—very common among women.”
“How common are preconceived notions among psychologists?” Michael asked drily.
Porter was unruffled by Michael’s veiled jab. “Profiles are never comfortable, but they exist for a reason. It’s not my job to satisfy anyone’s political agenda but to help struggling couples navigate hardship in their relationships.”
“Was Amanda cheating?” Michael asked suddenly.
Porter’s brow furrowed. “Well, I’m not sure what that has to do with anything.”
Faith rolled her eyes. Michael sighed. “Mr. Porter, I appreciate that you feel a need to protect your patients, but Mrs. Montgomery is dead, and I’d very much like to know who killed her before he or she decides to kill again.”
Porter sighed. “Well, yes. She was cheating. Part of the counseling process involves private sessions with each party. During her private session, she admitted to me in tears that she had enjoyed a fling with a coworker earlier in the year. She made it clear that she regretted her actions and wanted to repair her relationship. She even suggested she should tell her husband, but I advised against it. Benjamin’s insecurity would not have been helped by the confirmation of his wife’s infidelity, and their marriage would have been irreparable.”
“So, you advocated dishonesty.”
“Special Agent, I have seen this happen many times. A marriage goes through a rough patch and one or both parties are convinced that the marriage is over or soon to be over. They meet someone else, and they feel all of the effects of infatuation: butterflies, giddiness, strong feelings of affection and sexual attraction. They think this is a sign that they’re falling in love with someone else. Then those feelings fade, and they realize they still love their partner. So, they want to go back. I see no harm in facilitating that reconciliation when the philanderer has truly learned her lesson.”
Michael shifted uncomfortably, and Faith knew he was thinking about Ellie, who had lied to him about her own marriage—still very much valid. She hoped he would reconsider his own feelings before he ended up devastated.
“Can you tell me where you were on Saturday night?” Michael asked.
