Page 19 of Doctor Grump

“Okay, explain it to me again.” It was something I should have expected, but it was still difficult to wrap my head around the fact. “What the hell is going on?”

“Well, as I said, the head of the Santorini family is suing you for malpractice and trying to get the will voided.”

“On what grounds?” I slowed to a stop at a traffic light, tapping my finger impatiently on the wheel.

“They claim that you somehow took advantage of their mother’s deteriorating mental state and compelled her to include you as majority heir of her fortune.”

“Compelled her? What am I, a fucking wizard?”

“Right. They also claim that the antipsychotic pills you gave her somehow made her more open to suggestion, and I quote, ‘mentally enslaved her.’”

I rubbed my hands over my face. “Jesus Christ.”

“Yes. And that’s not even the worst of it. I mean, sure, worst-case scenario, they convince some judge somewhere, and the foundation loses out on millions of dollars in investment. But there is also your career to think of. If they win the case, it would massively impact your professional reputation as a psychologist. Your patients may even start to think the worst of you.”

“Yes, that I ‘mentally enslave’ them,” I said sarcastically.

Fields chuckled. “It sounds ridiculous, but you’d be surprised how many people would buy that cuckoo bullshit. It only takes a few bad mouths to ruin a good man’s standing. And there is the reputation of the foundation to think about too.”

I sighed. I had already considered that when I found out about the lawsuit this morning, but the entire thing was just so stupid that it seemed unbelievable. Of course, I didn’t think the illustrious Santorini clan was going to accept the will just like that, but I at least thought they would come up with something credible to state their case.

Then again, I should have known to expect nothing less than shenanigans from their type. One didn’t have to be clever when money did all the talking for them.

“They don’t have any legal leg to stand on,” I said. “I have recordings of all my sessions with my patients, and everything with Judith was above board.”

“Yes, but there is a way to twist those things, especially in front of a jury. Which is what they're asking for, by the way—a jury trial. And they are also asking for access to the recordings as evidence to be cross-examined before trial.”

It made sense for their strategy, but it made things more difficult for me. A jury would be made up of people in this damn town, most of whom knew and respected the family.

And it would be against me, a virtual stranger.

“So, what do we do?” I asked. “What happens now?”

It took Fields some time to answer, a testament to the difficulty of the predicament. “I’m not sure, my friend. But it would help to know how this entire thing came up in the first place. How did the old lady end up leaving millions of dollars to you?”

“I’m not sure,” I responded honestly as I merged into a different lane.

Fields gave me a disbelieving scoff. “What do you mean you’re not sure? Were you two close?”

“No closer than any of my other patients,” I said, trying to remember the exact details of my conversations with Judith. My sessions with her always stretched longer than they needed to be. The woman had been needlessly confrontational, completely non-compliant, and had seemed resigned to the psychological implications of her disease. I had counseled her incessantly on medical relief, but she hadn’t even pretended that she was going to obey my dictates.

“The only way you’re going to get those pills in me is if my granddaughter forces them down my throat, and she doesn’t have the balls to do that,” she had said. “Which is just as well because I would rather be clear-headed for what’s to come.”

I’d appreciated the fact that she was a sharpshooter who didn’t mince her words. She also didn’t try to feed me a line of bullshit feigning compliance and simply told me that no matter what, she would not be medicated. So our visits revolved around her telling me about her current stressors and both of us trying to find ways to relieve them. She would frequently bring up everything that needed to be done with her work and family, most of whom annoyed her. It was clear to see that she was a woman not easily given to soft emotion. The only thing she spoke of with even a modicum of affection was her granddaughter.

Although she’d had a lot to complain about her as well.

“The girl is completely naïve,” she’d said. “Unsuited to living by herself in this world. She coasts through life as if the world is an inherently fair place and doesn’t understand that this world takes advantage of the weak and is not kind to the kind. I need her to be stronger.” She looked away thoughtfully. “Even if it means she loses what makes her truly her.”

She was talking about Piper.

I hadn’t known at the time, but now that I had finally seen Piper and her grief for her grandmother at the funeral, I knew she was the one Judith had spoken about in the fond tone that had been uncharacteristic for the cold woman.

“We briefly spoke about my foundation,” I said now, remembering. “She asked me about it, and I told her it was a foundation that was all about researching cures for mental illness. She mentioned possibly making a philanthropic donation to it at some point, but I didn’t think much of it. Certainly didn’t think it would be anything of this caliber.”

“Interesting,” Fields said.

“Would it all be easier if I turned down the donation?”

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