“I’m not,” Ryan said. “There’s probably a good reason she conducts her sessions in a stand-alone bungalow away from all the others. I bet they get noisy.”
“Anyway,” Kat said, steering them back to her point, “this maid was talking about seeing a story about Scott Newhouse’s death on the news and realizing she recognized him and his wife.”
“How?” Jessie asked, sensing that Kat was coming to her big reveal.
“She said that late yesterday afternoon, when she was cleaning the physical therapist’s office, she saw them coming out of another office, where they’d just had an appointment.”
“Which office?” Ryan pressed.
“The marriage and family counselor,” Kat announced proudly.
Jessie and Ryan were quiet for a second, and she knew they were both thinking the same thing: if the Newhouses were meeting with a marriage counselor in the middle of their couple’s retreat, they were likely dealing with a significant issue. It sure would be nice to find out what it was.
“Did she say which marriage counselor they met with?” Jessie asked.
“She didn’t have to,” Kat replied. “I checked. There’s only one. His name is Cedric Cleaver.”
Jessie turned to Ryan.
“Maybe we should see if the man is in right now,” she suggested.
“He is,” Kat assured her.
“How do you know?” Ryan asked.
Kat smiled devilishly.
“Because I scheduled a session today for you guys today.”
“You did what?” Jessie demanded, feeling her face start to flush. Was this Kat’s sneaky way of getting them into therapy to discuss their wedding disagreement?
“I made you an appointment,” Kat repeated. “I figured that if you started out telling him you wanted to question him about other clients, he’d shut down. But if you go in under the guise of a couple who needs advice, he’ll be less suspicious. Then you can hit him with the questions. I know it’s not completely kosher, but you’ve both done worse.”
“That’s okay,” Ryan said. “Normally, I don’t like to start an interview under false pretenses. But with Laird breathing down our necks, I don’t mind a little trickery if it guarantees we get in the door.”
“Did your conversation with him go that badly?” Jessie asked.
“About as expected,” Ryan told her. “He fumed for a while, mostly because the press is hammering him with questions and he has to be so cryptic in his answers. To be honest, I think that’s much more of a concern for him than the inability to console Bridget Newhouse. But in the end, he understood. We’ve probably got another 18 hours before his ego overwhelms his good sense.”
“Then I guess we better go to see this Cleaver guy soon,” Jessie said. “Frankly, I feel a little bad for the guy. Honey Potter is booked months in advance but we can walk in the same day? When did you make the appointment for, Kat?”
“3 p.m.”
Jessie looked at her watch.
“It’s 2:49 right now,” she objected.
“I know,” Kat said, seemingly enjoying her friend’s distress, “so that doesn’t give you much time to finish those lamb skewers I got. They’re really good, by the way. Maybe you should take them to go.”
*
Jessie almost felt bad for him.
Cedric Cleaver welcomed her and Ryan into his office warmly, clearly oblivious to whom he was dealing with or what their real intentions were. The man was in his mid-fifties, with a soft face, thick glasses, and a thick mop of conservatively parted brown hair. He was short, with a little belly. He wore a beige sweater over a collared shirt, along with casual black slacks. He reminded Jessie of Mr. Rogers if he had been melted down slightly.
Cleaver motioned for them to sit on the loveseat across from him before settling into a high-backed chair and pulling out a legal pad and pen, which he left in his lap.
“So Jessie and Ryan—my understanding is that you’re recently engaged,” he said in a tone so soothing that Jessie considered secretly recording him so she could use it later to help get to sleep. “Is that correct?”
“It is,” Ryan said. He left it there, holding off on dropping the interrogation hammer.
“Well, I think that it’s great that you’re coming in so early on,” Cleaver told them. “So often, couples wait until they’re officially married to address their concerns. It’s sometimes helpful to nip them in the bud before they become something larger. So what can I do for you?”
Jessie glanced over at Ryan hesitantly, wondering if he might take Cleaver’s comments to heart and let the session play out before revealing their true intent. But her fiancé, who seemed oblivious to the opportunity, went a different way completely.
“Well, before we get into that, do you mind if I ask you a question?”
“Of course not,” Cleaver told him with an open smile.
“How often does this work?” Ryan began. “I mean, most of the couples who come to see you aren’t regulars, right? They’re here on vacation, so it’s a ‘one time’ or ‘one weekend’ type of thing. Is that really effective?”
“That’s a totally reasonable question,” Cleaver said. “And not the first time it’s been asked. The truth is that, generally speaking, I recommend that couples see one counselor on a regular basis, for the sake of continuity and because it allows you to go deeper. However, I’ve found that there are times when couples actually prefer to see someone they know they won’t be interacting with again.”
“Who would want that?” Jessie asked, genuinely curious.
“Often it’s couples like yourself, who haven’t been in counseling before and want to try it out with no strings attached. You meet with me and can then determine whether longer-term counseling is right for you. If it is, and you’re local, I can even make recommendations for counselors or therapists in your area. I’ve also found that this setup appeals to couples who may not want to address a specific issue with their regular counselor. Maybe it’s so sensitive that they want to discuss it with a stranger before bringing to their regular therapist. Or maybe they only want to talk about it one time, and then put it in a box and lock it away. Does that answer your question?”
“It does, thanks,” Ryan said, looking over at Jessie.
She knew what he was thinking: it was time to end the charade and let Cleaver know why they were really there. She could also tell that he wanted her to be the one to do it. She knew why. He was hoping that if she revealed the truth, using her more delicate touch, Cleaver might not react as badly. But she doubted it would make much difference, whoever it came from. She was willing to do it, but not the way Ryan wanted.
“What should we call you?” she asked.
“Cedric is fine,” he said.
“Cedric,” she said with a sweet smile she knew wouldn’t soften what came next. “What was it for the Newhouses? Were they here to discuss an issue with you first before going back to their regular therapist or were they planning to put it in a box?”
Cleaver’s face fell and his back immediately stiffened.