PREVIOUSLY

Téa couldn’t help feeling happy that Sam was back in Todd’s corner. “Well, gentlemen, I’ll leave you to discuss the case.” As the guard opened the door for her, she turned back toward the man who had been her husband until an hour before. “Take care of yourself, Todd,” she said in a soft voice as she exited the room.

Todd glanced down at the order officially ending his marriage. “Bye, Delgado,” he whispered. “See you around.”

***********************************************************************************************************

A look of relief settled over Todd’s features as he saw the petite woman waiting for him in the conference room. Dr. Susannah Hanen took a moment to look him over as he waited quietly for the restraints to be removed from his hands. He didn’t look bad, since he was freshly groomed and dressed in a tan suit, cream colored shirt and coordinating tie. He strolled into the room, taking large strides. Scowling, he said, “It’s about time! Where have you been? You’re supposed to be my doctor, but you took your sweet time getting here.” Susannah didn’t speak, but continued to watch her patient closely. He slowly relaxed, running his fingers through his hair. “I’m glad you’re here,” he said sincerely.

“How are you, Todd?” she asked with concern. “I hope you’ve been making use of the anger-control techniques we discussed.”

“Yeah. But being thrown in jail is a little harder test than arguing with the waiter over the price of the strudel,” he said, causing her to smile. “What’s with this?” he said, gesturing at his attire. “The guard said I had a hearing or something today.”

“That’s correct. Now that I’m here in Llanview, Sam has arranged for us to go before Judge Fitzwater in her chambers. With your permission, I’ll explain a little about your condition and my opinion of your state of mind during the kidnapping trial. The hope is that she’ll allow the perjury charges to be dropped in exchange for mandatory therapy.” The door opened and Sam Rappaport entered, looking nervous.

“Hey, looking good, Pal,” he said checking out his client’s appearance. “Now Todd,” he said in a warning tone, “It’s very important that you let Susannah do all the talking. Judge Fitzwater already has it in for you, and if she gets even the hint of an idea that you’re not sincere about this therapy, you’ll stand trial for sure.” Todd nodded, trying not to panic.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Hank, what is going on?” asked Téa, finally getting her boss’s attention. She eyed the commotion around Judge Fitzwater’s chambers with trepidation. Todd waited quietly with his guards, while Sam discussed something intense with an attractive middle-aged woman. “Who’s that?” she asked.

Hank looked over his shoulder. “That’s noted psychiatrist Susannah Hanen,” he said looking worried. “She’s Nora’s sister. She just flew in from Switzerland and Judge Fitzwater has agreed to hear her opinion about Todd.”

“Oh no. You don’t mean he’s going to beat the rap again, do you Hank?” asked Téa angrily. “The man never has to pay for the pain he causes!” She glared in the direction of her ex.

“Now, Téa, let’s not get too upset yet. If anyone is resistant to psychobabble, it’s Barbara Fitzwater. I know how much seeing Todd pay for his crimes means to you, but he has rights like everyone else. I’m pretty confident I can make our case, so relax.”

Téa laughed without warmth. “Relax? Yeah, right!” She felt tears filling up her eyes. Todd was going to walk again and there was nothing she could do about it.

“Look, I know you have a lot of work to do on that Wong case, so why don’t you get started. I’ll track you down after the hearing and fill you in.” Noticing the tears of frustration in her eyes, he chucked her gently under the chin. “Hang in there, OK?” Téa stood alone in the hall long after all the principle parties had been lost from view behind the judge’s door. She did have a lot of work to do, but she knew she could never concentrate while Todd might wriggle off the hook again.

Why was it so important to her to see him punished? Did she even know? She asked herself these things as she leaned against the wall opposite the door and thought about what it would mean to her to actually see Todd put away. Téa knew more than anyone how much Todd hated to be locked up. The prospect of serving seven years was likely to scare him into saying anything to get off, just like he had done before. And then there was Starr. Téa loved the little girl and didn’t really want to see her grow up without a father. She had pined for him terribly during his 5-month absence from Llanview. Todd appeared to be working on his problems with a psychiatrist. Maybe mandatory therapy was the best answer for everyone.

Téa was feeling a little better about the situation as she turned toward her office. Detective John Sykes blocked her path. “I just heard,” he said, narrowing his somewhat disturbing eyes. “Any word yet?”

“No,” said Téa, knowing she couldn’t talk about any of this with Sykes. He was convinced that she hated Todd and wanted to see him packed off to prison. “Look, John, I want to see justice done in this case as much as the next person. Judge Fitzwater is a good judge and I think we should trust her to do the right thing.”

“How can you say that?” he asked, caressing her chin. “Todd’s probably in there, lying his head off and putting on an act to bring the house down. Don’t let him make a fool of you again, Téa. You’re smarter than that.” Téa was suddenly more confused than ever. The chamber door suddenly opened, startling both of them. The two cops standing guard went inside and soon emerged with a manacled Todd between them. Susannah and Sam came out next with their heads together, discussing something in low voices. Finally, DA Hank Gannon came through the door looking somewhat haggard. Seeing Téa waiting expectantly for him, he walked over to speak to her. Sykes listened in as well.

“It’s up to the judge now, Téa,” said Hank in a tired voice. “She’s going to take a few days to review some reading material Susannah gave her, then she’ll rule on whether to dismiss the case or to make Todd stand trial. All we can do is wait.” Téa’s eyes flicked past Hank to where Todd had his head down talking to his attorney and his psychiatrist. He looked up at Téa with a wide-eyed innocent face and quickly winked. Téa suddenly saw red. She marched over and planted herself in front of her ex, oblivious to the stares from Sam and Susannah.

“Are you happy now, Todd?” she asked in a voice bordering on hysteria. “You’ve managed to dupe everybody again! Yeah, you’ll get off scott free and go on to wreck havoc on people’s lives over and over!” Todd looked stricken.

“Delgado, that isn’t what’s happening. I…” She cut him off abruptly.

“Shut up!” she screamed. “I’m sick of your lies. Once again you refuse to take responsibility for your actions. First it was alters and now it is poor, crazy Todd! You make me sick! You hear me? Sick!” Looking with concern at her patient’s crushed expression, Susannah stepped forward and pulled Téa quickly to the side. The younger woman wrenched away, but she was shocked at the strength she felt in the psychiatrist’s grip.

“Téa, isn’t it?” asked Susannah in a clipped voice. Her tone was even, but her dark eyes were flashing. She spoke in a low voice. “Excuse me, but I resent the implication that I’m such a poor analyst that I am unable to detect real psychoses from false ones.” Téa was intimidated by Susannah’s self-assured manner. “It has taken a lot for Todd to admit he needs help and seek it out, and I won’t have you sabotaging his progress with your hysterical, unfounded accusations, Ms. Delgado.” She eyed the young attorney up and down in a most unnerving way. “Frankly, you seem to have a lot of unresolved anger toward your ex-husband and I would recommend you seek out some counseling yourself.”

Téa sneered. “And you would just love to get inside my head, wouldn’t you, Dr. Hanen?” she asked rudely.

Susannah looked at her with pity. “That is impossible, since you know Todd is my patient. Unlike you, I know a conflict of interest when I see it. You’ll oblige me by keeping your opinions to yourself around my patient. Good day.” The doctor moved over to Todd, who was still shaken, and took his arm. “It’s time we had a therapy session, Todd. You missed your last couple of appointments.” She gave him a warm smile and walked along next to him as the guards accompanied them back to the police station. Téa blinked and looked at the circle of faces still around her. Sam looked hostile, Hank looked disappointed and John looked…well… just lustful. With a sudden cry, Téa took off running toward her office. The three men looked after her, until Sykes pulled away. Slowly and deliberately, he followed after the woman who was becoming an obsession for him.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Todd, please try to concentrate. I realize you were upset by your ex-wife’s accusations, but surely you understand that she no longer has your best interests at heart.” Susannah’s patient looked at her with lifeless eyes.

“Delgado thinks I’m faking it again to get out of jail.”

“But you know that isn’t true, Todd. Frankly, the woman seems motivated by an almost irrational need for revenge.”

“I can understand that, Susannah. I’m like that.” Todd stood up and began to pace around the small conference room. He stopped and stared at his therapist with deep pain in his eyes. “She’s like this because of me. I hurt her badly.”

“I know you want to make things right with Téa, but first we have to get you to a place where you’re ready to deal with the people you hurt. We were making progress before this all happened, Todd. And now there are the legal considerations to keep in mind.”

“I just want this to be over, Susannah. I don’t think I can hold it together for another trial. I’d have to see Delgado there, day after day; looking at me, accusing me…” He sat down at the table again, staring into space.

A light knocking at the door interrupted them, and Sam Rappaport opened the door a crack. “Is it OK?” he asked nervously. “I don’t want to intrude.”

“We’re finished for today, Sam,” said Susannah. “How do you think things went with the judge?” Sam joined them in the conference room and shut the door. He looked at Todd with sympathy, clearly affected by what he had heard in the judge’s chambers.

“Well, I think you did a great job, Susannah, but I don’t think Judge Fitzwater is likely to drop the charges. She’s the kind of judge who generally likes to let a jury decide guilt or innocence.” Todd’s shoulders slumped as he looked down at the table.

“So I’ll have to go through a trial?” he asked weakly.

“There’s still a chance with the judge, Pal, and a good chance of acquittal with a jury, but you have to hang in there.” Todd stood up abruptly and faced the back wall of the conference room with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Coach, I don’t want another trial. I don’t want to talk about this stuff in public. Is there any chance you could make a deal?”

Sam looked shocked. “You…you mean plead guilty?”

“Yeah. They can have anything they want-probation, mandatory therapy, community service, a fine.” He turned around, looking tired. “Anything except jail time, Sam. I can’t go through that.”

“Forgive me for asking this, Todd, but is this a reaction to what Téa said to you in the corridor about taking responsibility for your actions? Because I’d like to remind you that she is not on your side anymore. She wants to put you away; just like Hank, just like Bo.”

“Todd, I’m not your legal counsel, only your doctor, but I’d like to caution you about making any decisions that could affect your life based on your perception of Téa’s wants and needs. You have to think of what is best for you,” chimed in Susannah.

Todd stepped forward, looking back and forth between his attorney and his psychiatrist. “Look, I just want this over with. I hate therapy…hate it with a passion, but I know now it’s my only chance if I want to be a good dad for Starr. I’m tired of fighting everyone. I just want to get back to working with Susannah and getting on with my life. If getting a conviction--seeing me pay for my sins--will get them all off my back, then I say go for it.”

“All right, Pal, if that is what you really want, I’ll talk to Hank and see what we can come up with. What do you think, Susannah?”

“As long as you’re doing this for yourself, Todd, and not because you think it is what Téa wants,” said the petite doctor.

“Hey, if Delgado gets some satisfaction out of this, I don’t care. I guess I owe her that, at least.” Todd began to pace around the room again.

“Maybe we should wait for the judge’s decision,” said Sam. “She might come through for you.”

“Yeah, right,” said Todd contemptuously. “I don’t want to wait. The sooner we get this taken care of, the sooner I can get back to Shorty.” Sam glanced at his watch.

“Let me see if Hank is in his office. I guess there is no reason to delay if this is what we’re going to do. I’ll let the guard know you’re going to wait here for me.” Sam knocked and the guard opened the door. Turning back, he asked Todd, “You’re sure?”

“Go for it, Coach,” said Todd with a sigh.

“Well Todd,” said Susannah, taking a seat at the table to wait with her patient. “I have to commend you for attempting to take responsibility for some of the damage you’ve done. I just hope you aren’t expecting happily ever after with Téa because of it.”

“Nah, it’s over between Delgado and me,” said Todd with his back toward his doctor. Looking down, he realized he was rubbing the finger where his wedding band used to be.

TO BE CONTINUED

This page hosted by Get your own FREE Home Page