“If you want to see me,” Gordo snapped, “then make an appointment. The same way that everyone else does!”
“Oh.” Chloe nodded. “Brilliant. We will.” She pointed at Wendy. “We would like to schedule an appointment to ask Dr. Jennings about a series of murders. Not because we think he may have some amazing insight, but because we believe he may be directly involved—”
“No!” Gordo cried out.
The client ran for the door.
“Stephen, wait!” Gordo hurried after him. “Everything is under control. Just give me a moment to—”
Stephen was gone. Gordo grabbed the doorframe and frowned after him. Then he spun toward Chloe and Joel. “Are you trying to destroy me?” he demanded.
“Absolutely not,” Chloe returned. “If I wanted to do that, I would be blackmailing you with the video I recently saw in which you were getting high and looking to buy the services of a prostitute.”
His eyes bugged. “Wendy, please leave us alone. Now.”
The office manager—her eyes just as wide as his—hurried out. Gordo slammed the door shut behind her.
Joel cast a quick glance Chloe’s way. At this point, he wasn’t surprised by the information she rolled out. Well, fine, he was semi-surprised by it this time. A video?
“Stephen looked vaguely familiar to me,” Chloe murmured. She turned to Joel. “Have we met him before?”
“I met him,” Joel returned. “He was in for a session with Gordo when I came by yesterday.” He wasn’t sure when she might have encountered Stephen, but knowing Chloe, anything was possible.
“Hmmm.” Chloe’s head cocked.
“You do have an impressive memory, sweetheart. So if you think you know him, you do.”
“What is the meaning of this?” Gordo demanded.
“But you did take that blow to the head,” Joel reminded her. “Maybe it’s slowing you down.”
Her spine straightened. “I am not being slowed—”
“It’s a tactic.” Gordo strolled back to his desk. If he hadn’t been breathing so heavily, Joel would have thought the man was relaxed. He wasn’t. “You two are trying to throw me off. Doing this rapport thing that alienates me even as it is designed to confuse me. It won’t work. I’m far too adept at these games myself.” He propped a hip against his desk. Studied Joel. “You seem calmer.”
Joel clenched his back teeth. He actually wasn’t very calm. But Chloe was close by, and he knew she wanted answers, so he was keeping his veneer in place.
“I thought you might be on the verge of a breakthrough when you came by yesterday.” His gaze seemed to weigh Joel. “If you want my help, threats are not necessary, I assure you. I have always wanted to do what is best for you.”
Huh. How about that? The shrink almost sounded sincere.
Gordo’s gaze slid to Chloe. His eyes narrowed on her.
She stared back at him.
A long sigh slipped from Gordo as their stare-off continued. “I was concluding Stephen’s session, anyway. If you had just given me five minutes, we could have avoided any unpleasantness.” He lifted one eyebrow. “Though I suspect that you quite enjoy unpleasantness, don’t you, Chloe?”
“Oh, is this where you try to get into my mind?” She smiled, then hurried to take a seat on his couch. She waved one hand regally. “Please proceed. But…will you call me Constance or Ms. Hastings? Only my friends call me Chloe.”
What was she doing? Joel schooled his expression so it would look as if he knew what the hell was happening but really…
Gordo turned his focus to Joel. “How did you sleep last night? Were the dreams back?” He made a tut-tut sound. “Especially with your new discovery, I feared you would regress.”
“He’s not regressing,” Chloe informed him from her position on the couch. “So you can focus on all of the other fears that you may have.”
Gordo’s cheeks reddened. “I do not believe she is a good influence on you.”
I believe she’s one of the few things keeping me sane.
“Why not?” Chloe asked. She was still sitting—all prim and proper with her feet pressed together and her shoulders squared—on the edge of the couch. “What is so very bad about me? I hardly think I am the boogeyman.”
Gordo’s gaze hardened as it swept over her. “Why do you think you are drawn to killers?”
“I know why I’m drawn to them. I don’t have to wonder.” She tipped her head toward him. “Why do you think you were drawn to psychiatry? What was it about the field—and it’s various disorders—that attracted you in the first place?”
His breath huffed out. “I got into psychiatry because I wanted to help people.” His attention shifted to Joel. “I still do. Look, I get that you don’t like me. And you don’t trust me. Sometimes, my methods can seem unorthodox—”
“Oh, that is an intriguing word,” Chloe proclaimed. “Unorthodox.” She seemed to taste it.
“But I always have my patients’ best interests at heart,” he finished doggedly. “You think I was too harsh in our sessions. That I should have sugar coated with you. Is that truly what you would have preferred?” Gordo shook his head. “That’s not how I work. I believe you could be a threat, Joel. If you are not managed appropriately, the danger you present will grow.” He pointed toward Chloe. “She increases that threat potential because she deliberately puts you in life-or-death situations. She has you involved in physical altercations with others, she takes you into seedy locations…”
“We should discuss the seedy locations.” A quick chime in from Chloe. “Since we seem to like the same spots. That video I referenced was taken at a club owned by a friend of mine. I’m sure you remember…the Serpent? Were you aware that you were being recorded?”
Gordo’s hand fell back to his side. His chin notched up as he maintained his stare on Joel. “I think she wants you uncontrolled. You, uncontrolled—that would not be a good situation for anyone.” His fingers curled under the edge of the desk. “I want to talk about why you came to see me yesterday.”
Sure, that was an option. Just not one that Joel was interested in. “I’d rather talk about why I’m here to see you right now.”
“You said—you indicated that you believed you had killed the wrong man when you rushed to see me yesterday.”
Joel could feel Chloe’s stare on them. She wasn’t speaking now. No more Chloe taunts for the shrink.
“What makes you believe it was the wrong man? Or do you perhaps think…” Gordo rose and headed toward Joel. He put a hand on Joel’s shoulder. Joel looked at the hand, then back at Gordo’s face. “Do you think you are the man who should have died that day? Is the guilt getting to you? Joel, are you experiencing any self-destructive urges to—”
“Are you dead from the neck up?” Chloe’s accent sharpened. “Because when I think you cannot be more of a tosser, you just have to prove me wrong.”
Gordo swallowed, but kept his focus on Joel. “We should talk without her here. You and I need to discuss details about your case that are confidential.”