Chapter 7 - The Psychiatrist

?At times it is better not to remove the blindfold?

Some stories rather not be told?

But what to do with this curious mind

It craves answers all the time…

It had been three months since Dylan Baker's shocking confession. Not only Emily but many other girls were blackmailed, and Massie Anderson was one of them. Even their court proceedings of the drug trial had ended, and they were all sentenced to five years of imprisonment. They appealed to higher courts but with all the evidence and their confession, there was not much left to consider. Sheriff Williams received various awards for his accomplishments, but the case of Emily Smith's murder remained an unsolved mystery.

In Irisvile, an ostensible peace prevailed, but the enigma of Emily Smith's death continued to haunt Sheriff Williams. The thought of a killer roaming freely disturbed him, and every medal on his chest seemed to taunt him for his incapacity to solve the murder of a teenage girl. The petrified face of Emily haunted him almost every night. The pipe that peaked mercilessly through her bloody red t-shirt traumatized him.?

"Sheriff." An officer knocked on the door of his cabin. "There is someone who wants to meet you."

"Who is it?" Sheriff Williams asked disinterestedly.

"Dr. Amanda Sanders," the officer replied. "She says she wants to talk to you about Emily Smith's murder."

Sheriff Williams raised an eyebrow disbelievingly. There was no person named Amanda Sanders who was even acquainted with Emily. What did she know? A new glimmer of hope was all he needed.?

"Tell her to wait in the interrogation room. I will join her in a minute," Sheriff Williams instructed. As he pulled out the suspect's file, he rubbed his palms together, contemplating the upcoming conversation.

In the interrogation room, Dr. Amanda Sanders, a woman in her mid-thirties with dark brown hair tied in a neat bun, and rim glasses on her nose awaited the sheriff. After a handshake, she revealed that she was Emily's doctor, a psychiatrist treating her since she was eight.?

"Her doctor?" Sheriff Williams expressed confusion. "I am sorry, but there is no mention of you anywhere. What kind of treatment was Emily getting from you?"

"I am a psytriast. Emily used to come to me for medication and therapy."

"Therapy?" Sheriff Williams asked, unable to believe what he heard. "Her parents... Actually, nobody said anything about Emily taking therapy."

"I know," Dr. Amanda replied. "Because nobody knew about this except me and Emily. It was our little secret."

“And why was it so?”?

“You see foster parents are especially reluctant to take in a child with mental health issues so we have a confidentiality clause with the patient. And Emily was not violent, at least not before… So there was no need to inform her parents.”?

Sheriff Williams, intrigued, allowed her to continue. Dr. Amanda explained that Emily had childhood schizophrenia, which is a rare condition. Such schizophrenia can lead to distorted thinking and hallucinations, delusions leading to a disconnection from reality. After the murder of her mother and sisters, Emily displayed clear signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which pushed her over the edge, when Dr. Amanda started treating her. She presented Emily's file, showing reports since she was nine. She also mentioned that it was she who insisted that Emily keep a diary as it would be easier for her to distinguish between reality and imagination, something Emily was struggling with.

"So you are trying to say that the classroom incident never happened?" Sheriff Williams questioned. It was still taking him some time to come to terms with the situation. Sheriff was tired of questioning the professor, who did not seem to budge. And there was unbelieve sincerity in his eyes, one which Sheriff couldn’t ignore.?

"No. I am trying to say that anything with Mr. Philip Jones never happened. I think he is innocent," Dr. Amanda asserted.?

"You don't know anything about this case. Did you even see the CCTV footage?" Sheriff Williams challenged.

"Actually, I do. I agree that I haven't seen the footage, but I came here about a week ago. My mother was ill so I was not here. I was devasted by Emily’s news. Since my return, I have been piecing this puzzle together. Unless and until you actually saw her professor harassing her, we can assume that Emily was hallucinating.," Dr. Amanda defended. Sheriff recalled that he had never seen her professor assaulting her, in fact, he looked just as confused by Emily’s sudden sprint. He even tried to stop her to talk. “The whole drugs scenario with Dylan and Chase must have worsened her hallucinations.”?

"Ok. Then tell me who do you think killed Emily Smith?" Sheriff Williams asked.

"Emily herself," she dropped the bombshell.

"What? You think that she committed suicide. That is the most absurd explanation I have ever heard."

"Suicide. Not exactly," Dr. Amanda clarified, and as the conversation unfolded, she began to unveil her theory.?