PREVIOUSLY

“Todd?” inquired Doyle. The prisoner’s eyes were locked on the door where Téa had just disappeared, and he seemed lost in his own world as he failed to respond. “Todd!” said Doyle a little louder, waving his hand in front of Todd’s face. Finally, Todd seemed to hear him and looked at him with a blank expression. The policeman dangled the keys and gestured toward the empty cell with his head. Todd turned toward it, but he didn’t move. Doyle was just reaching up to give him a gentle push when he heard an anguished groan.

“I…I need to make a phone call, Bill,” choked out Todd. “I’ve….I’ve got to call my therapist.”

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“Hey Bo, what’s going on?” asked District Attorney Hank Gannon as he found his friend in the squad room of the Llanview Police Department. “I went to your office and a couple of the guys told me that you lent it to Susannah for some kind of hypnosis mumbo-jumbo on Manning.”

“Yeah. Can you believe it?” asked Bo in an annoyed tone of voice as he handed a file to a policewoman. “It could be worse, Hank. She almost convinced the judge to let her take him to the hospital.”

“What?! After that escape he pulled there last year? No way!” The DA slowly sat down on the edge of a desk. “These people are nuts! No matter how many times Manning pulls the wool over their eyes, they still swallow all his bull. I wonder what he’s trying to fake this time.” Bo held out his hands helplessly, glaring toward the door of his office. “So, why are you buying into this by letting them use your office, Bo?” asked Hank. “Why not call an end to this and order the men to throw Manning back in the clink where he belongs?”

“I don’t know, Hank. Susannah really did a number on me. I guess I’ve got a soft spot for her, in spite of the fact that Nora and I aren’t together anymore. She managed to convince me that she needed a quiet, private place to do the hypnosis and I let her persuade me to use the office. I was just happy that I managed to block her attempts to remove him from the premises.”

“I don’t like it,” growled Hank in a low voice. “That one is just too tricky. You never know when he’ll…”

“Save it, Hank,” said Bo, bringing a weary hand up to his head. “I just had to endure the same lecture from John Sykes not an hour ago. I understand where you’re coming from, but I do respect Susannah, and Manning’s therapy is court-ordered. Plus the fact that Viki and Rappaport made my life a living hell until I agreed.” Looking up, Bo saw Sam approaching. “Speak of the devil. At least it must be over and I can have my office back again.” Looking closely at the attorney, Bo was taken aback by his obvious emotional distress.

Sam was shaking noticeably and his eyes were red-rimmed and frightened. Barely keeping control, he reached up and ran a hand through his silver hair. “Look, Bo, you have to call an ambulance now. Todd is…he needs to go to the hospital.”

“Give me a break, Rappaport! How gullible can you be? Manning is manipulating…” He was cut off abruptly as Sam grabbed his shirt and pulled him up to his face.

“Shut up! Just shut up!” he shouted, losing control. “You don’t know what just happened…what he went through. I’m not going to allow you to hurt him again. Now get on that phone now!”

“Get off of me!” shouted Bo pushing back, and soon the two men were involved in a struggle that had the attention of the whole squad room.

“Hey, chill!” barked Hank, stepping between them to push them apart. Shoving Sam back, he turned to him and said, “Explain, Rappaport. What happened in there?”

Sam stood shaking. “He….oh God, he….Todd remembered.” He took a deep breath, sobbing in the air. “It’s bad….and he can’t take it…he’s shut down again. Just like before.” He covered his face with his hands.

Bo looked at him in disgust, then glanced at Hank. “Some people never learn. Well, Manning isn’t going to get away with his faking this time.” He marched toward the office. Sam got a hold of himself and followed, wiping away a tear.

Bo walked into his office and stared at the scene before him. Todd sat rigidly on the couch, staring blankly at nothing. A sheen of sweat covered his face and his breathing was shallow. Viki sat on one side of him, stroking his hair and shoulder and murmuring soft words of comfort and encouragement. Her face was white with shock and she reached up every once in a while to wipe away a tear. Susannah was on her knees, using a stethoscope to take Todd’s blood pressure. “Is he any better?” asked Sam, coming around Bo and squatting next to Susannah. Todd didn’t move a muscle or seem to be aware of anything or anyone in the room.

“Oh, please!” shouted Bo. “How naive can you people be? You’re not falling for this fake catatonia act again, are you?” Susannah got quickly to her feet. She pulled her former brother-in-law to the side.

“Keep your voice down and kindly show a little sensitivity,” she snapped, and Bo was shocked at the show of anger from the usually soft-spoken psychiatrist. “For your information, I have reviewed the scans and brain wave tests from last summer and in my opinion, the catatonia was real. This, however,” she said gesturing at Todd, “is not catatonia. It is shock brought on by an acute psychological trauma, and it can be life threatening. Now please allow me to take my patient to where he can be cared for properly.”

Bo hesitated. “Susannah, you know he has a history of faking mental illness to escape punishment…”

“This is not fake, Bo, you have my assurance. If he were suffering from appendicitis, would you make Larry Woleck come down and perform the surgery here in the police station? Todd needs proper care if he is to recover, and you can’t give it to him here.” She returned to her patient and began to take his blood pressure again. Sam and Viki continued to try and comfort him, but both of them were obviously undone themselves by what had been revealed during the hypnosis session.

“His vital signs are better, Viki,” said Susannah as she removed the stethoscope from her ears.

“Does that mean he may be coming out of it?” asked his sister in a weak voice.

“Maybe. His body may have just needed a while to deal with the shock.” Bo was still hesitating, glancing at the phone indecisively, when his office door opened a crack.

“Bo, I just need a little information from you about the Chenoweth case,” said Téa, glancing at a file. She looked up and stopped dead. “Todd?” she whispered, stricken by the blank look she saw in his eyes. “Todd!” she said more forcefully, rushing to his side. She shook him by the shoulders, then sank back on her knees, upset by his lack of response. “Oh no!” she cried. “Not again!” Téa knew that she should be skeptical after her experience with Todd’s feigned mental illness, but something in her gut told her this was no act, that Todd was in the deepest pain of his life. She gently stroked his face, tears standing in her eyes. “Come back, Todd,” she whispered. “Let us help you.” Bit by bit, she became aware that his eyes were no longer staring at a point in space. Ever so slowly, they focused on her face.

“Téa?” he croaked, and everyone in the room started at the sound of his voice.

“Yes, Todd, it’s me! I’m here!” she shouted, cupping his face in his hands. “Talk to me!” He stared at her a few seconds more, then his face crumpled and he shut his eyes.

“Oh, Téa!” he breathed. “I don’t want to remember anymore! I want to forget again!” Suddenly, he pulled her to him, crushing her against his body. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and a heart-rending wail escaped from his lips. Putting his head against her shoulder, he began to shake with sobs. She stroked his back softly, letting the tears flow from her own eyes. Sam put his arm around Viki and the two of them clung to each other for support. Both of them were obviously in misery. Susannah reached for a wrist and took Todd’s pulse, her face impassive, but Bo saw her dash away a tear from her cheek.

The commissioner was completely at a loss. He had seen Todd Manning in a lot of incarnations, from raging psychopath at the beach house with Nora, to loving parent sitting at the bedside of his gravely ill child. But he had never seen him like this, with all of his usual defenses stripped away. In spite of everything he had done and all his crimes, Todd Manning without his explosive temper or sarcastic wit was a pitiful sight. Bo could feel his pain radiating throughout the room, and although he didn’t know its source, his instincts told him it was real, and not something to be trifled with. He moved a little closer. “OK, Susannah. I’ll have a couple of the guys take him to the hospital. You can ride with him,” he said quietly.

“No!” yelled Todd before anyone could react. He looked up at his psychiatrist with a tear-stained face. “Not the loony bin, Susannah! Please! I’m not crazy!”

“Of course you’re not crazy, but we can help you there, Todd. I’ll…”

“No! I’m not going!” shouted Todd, flinging away from everyone and pulling himself into a ball on the sofa. “I’ll kill myself if you put me there! I swear I will, Susannah!”

“But the alternative is staying here in jail, Pal,” cut in Sam, “and you can’t get the help you need here.”

“Susannah can still come here, right? I don’t need a hospital. Please, I couldn’t take all that pity and being around crazy people. I’ll take jail over that!”

Seeing that he was getting distraught and fearing for his mental stability, his psychiatrist sought to soothe him. “Todd, you don’t have to go to the hospital, although I think it is the best alternative for you. Just try to relax.” She took his vital signs again. Looking at the others, she said, “Physically, he’s going to be fine. He seems to have recovered from the shock.” Téa remained on her knees, a look of loving concern on her face. Noticing, Todd reached out a hand to her and she took it.

“Can Delgado stay with me for a little while?” he asked, looking around at the others. “Will you stay?” he said, looking into her eyes.

“Of course I’ll stay, if that is what you want,” she said.

Taking a shaky breath, he said, “I want to tell her.”

“Todd, I’m not sure you should be re-living that so soon,” said Susannah softly.

“She deserves to know after everything I’ve put her through. All that stuff with Georgie—she needs to hear the truth.”

“Wait a minute,” said Bo in confusion. “What does this have to do with Georgie Phillips?”

Sam cut in. “As your lawyer, Todd, I’m directing you not to talk about this with anyone else, and I’m sorry, Téa, but that includes you. You’re no longer his wife, and you are a prosecuting attorney now. It would not be in Todd’s best interests for you to know about this particular matter.” Bo and Téa looked at each other with wide eyes.

“OK, Coach, now you’ve done your job, but I want to tell her.” Todd looked deep into Téa’s eyes and he knew that he could trust her, even though trust had been hard for him in the past. “Téa needs to know about this. She isn’t going to hurt me,” he insisted.

Viki finally spoke for the first time. “Susannah, Sam, I think you should let him do it. Look at the damage this secret has done to him all his life. Now that the boil is lanced, the wound needs to be cleaned so it can heal. I had a secret like this at one time, and the more I was able to share with the people that loved me, the stronger I became.” She looked at Téa. “Will you promise not to use whatever you hear to hurt him?”

“Of course, Viki. I only want to help him, just like the rest of you.”

“That hasn’t always been true, Téa,” said Sam sternly, “and I’ll need your word that you will not repeat anything.” He looked hard at Bo. “Especially not to the police.” Téa nodded.

“All right, then,” said Viki decisively. “Let’s give them some privacy.” She rose to her feet. Susannah and Sam began to move to the door, looking back at Todd with worried expressions on their faces. Bo watched as Téa sat down next to Todd on the couch, still holding his hand.

“Téa, if there is a crime involved here, you have a duty to…”

“Stop, Bo!” she said holding up her hand. “I’m not here as the ADA. I’m here as someone who cares about Todd, and I won’t see him hurt anymore. I’ve given my word to keep his secret, and that is what I intend to do. Now please leave us alone.” Bo glared at both of them, but finally turned on his heel and left. Téa faced Todd and stroked his chin. “Let’s get this clear, Todd. You don’t owe me anything. Our relationship is in the past. If it makes you feel better to tell me what you remember, I’m happy to listen. But if you want to keep it to yourself, I’ll understand.”

“I want you to know, Delgado,” he said weakly. “Maybe after you hear it you’ll understand why I was always warning you to keep your distance and stay away from me.” He put his head down and drew a deep breath. “Do you remember all that stuff about my fourteenth birthday that I talked about on the stand during the kidnapping trial?” Téa nodded. “Well, all that really happened. Michelle brought me a cake, my dad came home and went into a rage, he threw her out after calling her a slut. He sent me to his study to wait for him.” Todd looked up at her face, his own a reflection of misery. “When he came in, he had been drinking. First, he played the game with the lighter, seeing how long I could hold my hand in the flame.” Téa flinched. “When I didn’t pull away, he got mad. He had this whole ritual when he would punish me. He’d make me drop my pants and ‘assume the position’ by leaning over his desk.” He swallowed hard. “Oh yeah, nothing was too humiliating for my old man,” said Todd bitterly. “So, he pulled out his belt and started whipping me as usual. But this time I didn’t make a sound. He got angrier and pulled up my shirt to expose my back and then he started to use the buckle end on me.” Téa sat listening, silently squeezing his hand and swallowing down the horror she felt at the terrible suffering he had endured. “Then he…then he really lost control and he picked up a heavy paperweight off his desk and he clocked me in the head. He didn’t knock me out, but I was really woozy, you know?” Todd suddenly turned away abruptly.

“Todd?” asked Téa when the silence had lasted for a minute or two. Sudden realization dawned on her and she had to fight back the urge to vomit. “Todd? You said the things you told about your fourteenth birthday were true. What about the part where your father….sexually abused you? Was that true as well?” The silence stretched on.

“No, that’s a lie,” he snapped, not making eye contact.

“Is it, Todd?” she asked quietly, pretty sure she knew the truth of the matter.

He drew a shaky breath. “Look, Delgado, I can’t talk about that…not with you.” Téa was worried about Todd’s mental stability, and not wanting him to believe that any part of her revulsion was directed at him, she didn’t push. After a long silence, he continued. “Up until today, that’s all I could remember--at least until the moment Sam was peeling my fingers from around my old man’s neck. All I could remember was the rage, Téa, and it’s been with me ever since.” He turned back to her and crushed her to him again, and she could feel him shaking. “The rest is pretty bad. I wish I still couldn’t remember,” he said in a choked voice.

“Todd, maybe we should get Susannah. I don’t need to hear this…it’s upsetting you too much.”

“No, I have to get it out, Téa. I want you to know.” Swallowing hard, he said, “While my dad was….punishing me, I heard a noise. Michelle was standing in the room and she was watching…she saw what he was doing to me!” He gave an anguished cry. “I never knew she came back, Téa, I swear it! Well, my old man saw her too, and he was after her like a shot, chasing her when she ran away. I followed, but it took me a few seconds, you know? My head was swimming, and…and I had to fix my clothes….Oh God! Why did I take so long? Why didn’t I just run? I could have got there in time! I could have helped her!” He ground his fists into his eyes, sobbing quietly.

Téa had tears streaming down her face, but she forced herself to keep it together for his sake, just stroking his back. Finally, he stood up abruptly and walked away a few paces, speaking with his back turned toward her. “Before I made it to the entry hall, I could hear him slapping and punching her. He said he wasn’t going to let her ruin him. He wasn’t going to let her steal the money he had earned by taking the little bastard.” Todd brought his hands up on either side of his head. “There was this…this umbrella holder thing by the front door. It had some long, skinny things in it…a walking stick, a tube of blueprints, even an umbrella, I think. My baseball bat was in it.” He hunched over, yelling into the floor. “Michelle was on her knees, begging him to let her go. Just as I ran into the room, my old man grabbed the bat. I tried to run, tried to get there in time…but I was too late!!”

Téa was sobbing as Todd whipped around to face her. “He killed her, Téa!” he screamed, clenching and unclenching his fists. “My old man bashed Michelle’s brains in with the baseball bat!”

TO BE CONTINUED

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