Page 123 of Everything She Feared

“Itlooksthat way, Carl,” Wong said. “But I refuse to move on her until the case is solid. You guys are doing good work, diminishing doubt, making the case stronger little by little. But to charge a nine-year-old with murder is a complex matter. We’re not there yet. We need to keep working.”

55

Seattle, Washington

Dr. Mehta sawSara waving to her in the bustling food court of Northgate Station, a mall in North Seattle.

It had been a couple of days since Dr. Mehta’s last session with Katie, and, aside from a short conversation that day, she’d been unable to talk to Sara about it until now.

Dr. Mehta had been swamped with lectures and commitments. She preferred not to see patients outside of her office, but Sara wasn’t her patient. In fact, it was Sara who’d requested they meet here because she was ending her shift at the diner and would be here.

Meeting at the mall wasn’t ideal, but the time worked.

Moreover, after talking to Katie about the drawing, Dr. Mehta needed to convey her concerns about the other unresolved issues. She’d only touched the surface of Katie’s deeper problems, especially with Sara raising the possibility of violence in her family’s history.

Maneuvering through the hectic food court, Dr. Mehta arrived at Sara’s table.

“Thanks for meeting me,” Sara said. “I’m sorry to put you out.”

“Not at all,” Dr. Mehta said. “I was coming from a lecture and I have a meeting soon at the medical center nearby. My apologies, I’ve been busy.”

Sara surveyed the tables around them, satisfied that the activity and din of the crowded food court would make it impossible for anyone to overhear them. Still she leaned toward Dr. Mehta.

“So, in our last chat in your office, right after you talked to Katie about her drawing, you said you had new concerns.”

“Yes.” Dr. Mehta withdrew her phone from her purse and began tapping. “I’ve made a few notes.”

“What does the drawing mean?”

“According to Katie, it’s a sketch of what happened. Anna was taking a selfie, backing closer to the cliff’s edge, and Katie pleaded with her to stop before she fell.”

“So, in her drawing, she’s trying to save Anna?”

“Yes,” Dr. Mehta said. “According to Katie.”

“It’s not an attempt at confessing to doing something wrong?”

“Well, no.” Dr. Mehta looked at her notes.

Sara covered her mouth with her hands, blinking tears of relief.

“Sara, that’s one level of interpretation of the drawing.”

“One level?”

“I have to put this within the context of Katie’s cryptic references to herbad thoughts, and to the boy, who you said died in her presence. I also have to weigh it with your raising the subject of inheriting violent traits from violent relatives, and violence in your family’s history.”

The relief left Sara’s face.

“What’re you saying?”

“The trauma of Anna Shaw’s death may have triggered something about past actions, or abuse.”

Sara shook her head.

“At the outset,” Dr. Mehta said, “I attributed Katie’s sense of guilt as a by-product of Anna’s death. Fallout arising from the trauma of being with her when she died. But Katie’s conflicting thoughts appear to be intensifying.”

“What’re you thinking?”

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