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“What is it?” Jake asked.
Claire fidgeted with her sleeves, pulling the hems past her fingers against the sudden chill. “I’ll do the hypnosis, but you don’t need it to find Max.”
Jake leaned forward in his chair, but Richter spoke first. “Tell us how we can help him, Claire.”
She winced, closing her eyes against the pain divulging the truth caused. “I hate betraying him.”
“You’re protecting him,” Richter said. “That’s admirable. But there comes a time where hiding him hurts him more than it helps.”
“He didn’t do anything wrong,” Claire insisted, her voice cracking.
“The best way to prove that is to bring him in and clear his name.” When Claire still didn’t answer, Richter said, “The longer he stays in hiding the worse this looks for him.”
She nodded. “Okay, I’ll tell you, but only if Jake is the one to bring him in.”
“I’m suspended,” Jake started to argue, but Richter held a hand up.
“I’ll make a few calls. See if I can’t make that happen. Either way, I’ll have to go with Jake. Is that okay?” Richter asked.
Claire hesitated, a single tear betraying her internal struggle. Finally, she nodded. “Max is at my storage unit. I met him and Betty two nights ago and gave them my key. I haven’t heard from Max since.”
Richter stood, phone already to his ear. He squeezed Claire’s shoulder as he walked by her. “You’re doing the right thing, Claire.”
More tears slipped down her face, “Then why doesn’t it feel like it?”
Jake was by her side. “I’ll make sure he’s treated fairly.”
She looked up at him. “They deserve justice. Him and Betty both.”
93
Dana sat with Claire,waiting for the FBI’s hypnotherapist to arrive. It was a contact of Richter’s. Jake trusted him, so that went a long way with Dana. Still, she spoke to the woman on the phone and verified her credentials, before sharing her home address.
Now all that was left to do was wait.
Claire sat on the couch, staring at her phone like it held all the answers to the world. She’d texted Max on Richter’s orders, advising him to surrender to the agents that were on their way there to help him.
“Anything?” Dana asked, handing Claire a cup of tea.
Claire shook her head and Dana curled up on the chair opposite, her own mug of tea warming her hands. She savored the warmth as a shiver rippled through her remembering the last time she’d witnessed Claire undergo hypnosis.
Dana was still angry at herself for letting Dr. Dvita into her home. Even more than that, she hated that she’d been footing the bill that gave Dvita access to prey on Claire and his other patients.
She didn’t need the hypnosis. She knew Dvita was behind this somehow. Hopefully Claire would give them the evidence they needed to prove it.
Glancing at the clock, Dana took a sip of tea, letting the warm mint reawaken her senses.
“You okay?” Claire asked.
Dana’s gaze met hers. “I should be asking you that.”
“I imagine your day was more stressful than mine.”
Dana sighed. She couldn’t get into it. It was all she could do to compartmentalize the day as it was. “I’m just grateful you’re willing to help. I think you’re the only one who can tell us why Dvita went after Meredith.”
Claire asked, “Do you really think he’s the Reaper?”
Dana nodded. “I can’t prove it, but yeah, I’ve never been more sure.”
